Granny's Tea Room: A Nosey Round a Vintage Business

One of the great perks of being a blogger is the excuse to visit relevant places in the name of blogging. To snap photos, meet new people, and in this case... sample some yummy cakes and sup tea from a vintage teapot. Sigh. The things I do for you lot!

This is Granny's Tea Room in Todwick, outside Sheffield, the dream-brought-to-life of Lesley Taylor. Inspired by her grandmother's home, Lesley has created a warm and welcoming tea room complete with lacy tablecloths, a children's play area, vintage curiosities aplenty and 1940s music playing in the background. Oh, and delicious fresh homemade cakes and sandwiches made from local ingredients, all served on vintage tea sets by able helpers Danielle and daughter Jasmine. 

The venue also hosts vintage treasures for sale, courtesy of the lovely Sally of Curiosity, as blogged about here. I thought I recognised one of her hand knitted tea cosies as I tucked into my cream tea!

Seizing the opportunity to bring her long-term dream to life, Lesley and her family worked hard to bring the tea room to fruition in a short space of time. Despite only opening a few weeks ago, on walking in I was amazed at how homely it looked, as though it really had been running for years. Lesley admits to liking clutter, though, and keeps spotting spaces just waiting to be filled with more vintage finds!

After a cream tea and a pot of Yorkshire Tea I could quite happily have curled up here for a snooze!

The menu features everything from afternoon tea to crumpets, toast to Black Market Specials - aka delicious home baked cakes of the day. My cream tea came with a choice of three jams, a generous helping of clotted cream, fresh strawberries on the plate and two scones, together with Yorkshire Tea. I was so busy troughing that I forgot to photograph it! 

Granny's Tea Room has already become a welcome addition to this local community. I do love seeing a happy story come out of the recession - the wartime spirit lives on in bucketloads in this place!

Granny's Tea Room can be found at 18 The Pastures, Todwick, Sheffield S26 1JH. 07792 131446.

Latest Thrifted Finds Part 1: Vintage Tea Set

This thrifting lark can be a funny old thing at times. It was only on Monday that I flopped on the sofa after work and found myself drooling over a gorgeous four piece vintage tea set recently acquired by the lovely Liz over at Shortbread & Ginger. 

Sixteen hours later I popped into my regular charity shops for the first time in a good few weeks and stumbled across this fifteen piece bone china tea set in the same colours and a very similar pattern. It seemed like serendipity had decided to make my week.

A little worn in places, I love these timeless colours and really like the fact that it must have been used and enjoyed a lot over the years.

It took four ladies to wrap it all up and I actually felt guilty for only having to pay £2.00 for the entire set! Fortunately I donated more to charity in the form of a few more lucky finds which I will show you in part 2 on Friday.

Have a lovely day (did you know it's National Chocolate Week?)

A Pair of Charming Vintage Coffee Pots

As you can probably tell by now, I had a pretty productive and fruitful weekend in Wales recently! Not only did I return home with a new-to-me Dyson (when you're a dog owner these things are really rather exciting. No, really. They are.) but my nan also bestowed these two lovely Royal Albert china coffee pots upon me. 

Yes! More pink roses! I am delighted with these gifts because I don't own a coffee pot so now I can offer either tea or coffee with style. My nan said this pair had been sitting in her kitchen cupboards since she moved to Wales full time, and by my calculation that's well over thirty years ago. She's pleased that they have gone to a home where they will be displayed and enjoyed again, and I think they're so pretty. 

I did a little research on eBay at the American Beauty range and the tecups had me drooling. I can feel another collection coming on...

Have a wide awake Friday!

Lavender Shortbread Recipe

If you're keen to hang onto the memories of summer (eh? what summer?) or just fancy making use of the last of your lavender flowers from the garden, lavender shortbread always goes down well, I find. It's not at all flowery or over-powering, in fact it's more like a delicate after-taste, and this buttery recipe is the one that convinced me that shortbread is far from dry and boring.

You will need:

125g caster sugar

350g butter, room temp.

4 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted

4g fresh chopped lavender

325g plain flour

Pinch of salt

65g cornflour

Cream together the butter, caster sugar and icing sugar until light and fluffy (this is always my favourite bit because the transformation is magical!) Next, mix in the lavender. 

Mix the flour, cornflour and salt, add into the butter mixture and combine together. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop in the fridge to firm up for around an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Forget the rolling pin - pop your dough onto a greased flat baking tray and flatten it using your fingers so it forms a round, about 5-7mm thick. Use a fork or a finger to mark round the edges, or make any pattern you wish.

Pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until your shortbread is beginning to look golden. 

Leave it to cool for half an hour before cutting into individual biscuits. You could sprinkle some caster sugar and extra lavender on for decoration.

These biscuits make a great offering for an afternoon tea party, posh snack with a cuppa in front of the telly, or a present for someone lovely.

Have a sweet day,

Rhubarb and Apple Autumn Pastries

I'm a huge fan of pastry but must admit I'm a little lazy when it comes to making it myself. For the cost of a packet of puff pastry from the supermarket (£1 in this case - hurrah!) and some grown or gifted late summer fruit if you're lucky, you can knock up a batch of these seriously tasty breakfast or afternoon tea treats in minutes. Perfect if you become tempted while watching The Great British Bake Off!

You will need:

5 sticks rhubarb

2 apples

1/2 handful sultanas

1 pack of shop bought puff pastry

A little milk

1 tsp brown sugar

Chop your rhubarb and pop it in one bowl, and chop the apples and place those in another. Sprinkle both bowls with a little sugar - or add some sweet cecily - and stew in the microwave for a couple of minutes until softened, but not too soft.

Roll out (or unroll) your packet of puff pastry, and cut it into squares depending on how large you want your pastries to be. Pop a spoonful of your rhubarb into the middle of half your squares, and apple on the other half, adding a few sultanas over the apple ones.

Brush round the edges of your squares with milk. I folded the rhubarb squares in half to make triangles and the edges of the apple ones up to make squares so I could tell the difference, but the shape you choose is entirely up to you! Sprinkle a little brown sugar on top of each.

Now just bake in the oven according to the instructions on your pasty packet, then once cool dust icing sugar on top.

I'm extremely impressed if any of you have mastered homemade puff pastry, I just never seem to manage it. I am excellent at eating it, though! 

Happy Monday!

Chocolate Tea Cake

"What's that?" I hear you say, "a chocolate cake with tea in it?" 

Oh yes. This cake makes a fantastic tea-tastic afternoon tea treat. Here's how to make it:

Ingredients

4 eggs separated

4oz butter, room temperature

12oz sugar

1/2 pt brewed tea, cooled

17oz plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3oz breadcrumbs

3oz cocoa powder

8oz nuts - chopped hazelnuts or walnuts 

A 9ins bundt or ringed tin

Preheat oven to 360F or 180C

Cream the egg yolks, butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the tea. (Tea!)

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, breadcrumbs, cocoa and nuts, then fold gently into the tea mixture.

Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks then fold into the tea batter. Pour into your tin, then bake for 60-70 mins until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool for 20 mins before turning out... and enjoy!

Ah, a chocolate cake with tea in it. Doesn't get any better than that.

Are you planning any baking this bank holiday weekend?