AFTERNOON TEA AT THE PALM COURT AT THE LANGHAM, WEST END

It was my birthday last week and we wanted to celebrate as a family and go somewhere special - (I definitely wanted something a little more exciting than Pizza Express)! We decided to go to the Palm Court at the Langham, we had gone for afternoon tea there at Easter and I remembered there was a pianist playing which drowned out Olympia's moaning!! 

Pascal and I had the Wedgewood afternoon tea and my daughter Arabella had the children's afternoon tea with Hamley's which includes a cuddly teddy bear.

I love afternoon tea and what I love most about the Langham is the free flowing sandwiches - they are amazing and we definitely wanted more than one plate. The sandwiches were classic English cucumber, cream cheese and chives; Burford Brown egg, marinated artichoke on rosemary bread; beef pastrami, sauce "Albert", watercress on caramelised onion bread; Scottish smoked salmon, Sarawak pepper and preserved lemon cream; and finally classic "prawn cocktail", iceberg and tomato powder on a potato bun. 

I have to say they were all divine. The pastrami one was definitely my favourite although I was also obsessed by the egg and artichoke - what an original fantastic combination.

Arabella had the jigsaw sandwiches which were also delicious. They were more child friendly flavours - hummus and red pepper, cheese, jam and I can't remember the last one. She adored them and also our cucumber and cream cheese which she kept stealing. Thankfully there was no limit on the amount of sandwiches you can have so Pascal and I had two plates and Arabella a couple of extra. Even the baby Olympia tried some too!

Next up were the scones which are Pascal's favourite part of afternoon tea and these did not disappoint. They were freshly baked - some plain and others with sultanas and then served with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Not surprisingly we had two plates of these as well!

Arabella's cakes were adorable. They consisted of Pedro Pig, a strawberry ganache with vanilla sable. Billy Bee was a mango and passion fruit jelly with chocolate sable whereas Lily the Ladybird was a vanilla sponge with raspberry whipped ganache. Finally Cecil the Sheep, was a crunchy choux with Langham cremeux. 

Arabella isn't the biggest fan of cakes but she did enjoy the Pedro Pig and Billy Bee. She kindly gave me Cecil the sheep which was scrumptious and Olympia gobbled up Lily the Ladybird.

Despite the fact I was already fit to burst, it was then time for my cakes. They were described as an exquisite selection and they really were. They included a Paris Brest (Crunchy Choux pastry, lightened Pecan, caramelised pecans), Babalicious (Blackcurrant and star anise soaked baba, Jivara whipped ganache, crunchy pearls), Decidedly Madeleine (Madeleine sponge, passion fruit jelly wrapped in a coat of dark chocolate), Spherically Challenged (Creamy coconut, liquid raspberry and Manjari mousse) and One in a Million (Caramelised Puff Pastry, vanilla infused mascarpone).

I am salivating as I write this....wow these cakes were outstanding. The Paris Brest was my favourite - I love these - I need to eat more of them!! Between you and me, I ate all my cakes and Pascal's, I couldn't stop.....but it was my birthday!!

Then the waitress surprised me with a birthday cake....

What a fantastic tea - amazing service, huge amounts of delicious food and beautiful piano music. Together it made a very special birthday and I would really recommend it.

The Palm Court at the Langham

1C Portland Place,
London
W1B 1JA
Tel: 020 7636 1000
Email: book@palm-court.co.uk

PIZOOKIE (A PIZZA SIZE COOKIE)

A couple of months ago I went to a fantastic restaurant on the Chelsea / Fulham border called Megan's and I had the most amazing pudding. It was basically a warm giant cookie with Nutella in the middle served with vanilla ice cream. The waiter tried to suggest it might be too much for just me but of course being such a piglet, I managed to finish the whole lot off and I have been dreaming about it ever since. Megan's isn't very pram friendly so I decided the quickest way I can have this pudding again is to make it myself.

This recipe is from Waitrose magazine and it took about 45 minutes to make. You need to leave it to cool for at least 10 minutes at the end.

Ingredients for 8-10 slices

125g salted butter, at room temperature
150g light soft brown sugar
100g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
250g milk chocolate, broken into chunks

Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4.

Put the butter and sugars in a bowl and using electric beaters, beat for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.

Then beat the eggs in one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Tip into the butter mixture, beat until just combined and then stir through the chocolate chunks.

Spoon into a 20cm ovenproof frying pan or similar size cake tin. I used a 23cm cake tin which I sprayed with cooking spray and then lined with baking paper so it was easy to remove.

Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until golden, (25 minutes yields a molten centre whereas 30 minutes will be slightly more set).

Cool for 10 minutes at least and then serve with a big dollop of ice cream if you like.

There are no words to describe how absolutely scrumptious this is.....it is so good I have made it twice this week! This pizookie is very easy to make and it tastes heavenly. Mine was incredibly soft, warm and gooey and it went perfectly with the ice cream. One word of warning, it is not good for the bikini body!!! If you manage to resist eating it all in one go, it will keep for a few days.

CUSTARD CREAM BLONDIES

I cannot eat a custard cream without being flooded with memories of my silver Duke of Edinburgh walk in Wales about 20 years ago. Even though I was not a keen camper (I still am not), I did have fun and I think I consumed my body weight in custard creams and Bourbon biscuits. I found this recipe in Olive magazine and decided to cook it for when my ex mother-in-law came for tea - it took under an hour and was very easy.

Ingredients for 12-18 bars (depending on the size):

175g butter, plus extra for greasing

200g light muscovado sugar

125g golden caster sugar

4 tbsp custard powder

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

250g self-raising flour

Salt

15 custard creams, roughly crumbled

150g vanilla white chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Preheat the oven to 180 C / fan 160 C / gas mark 4. Butter and line a baking tin / dish with baking paper (around 20 x 30 cm).

Melt the butter, both sugars and custard powder gently in a large saucepan. When the mixture is smooth and you can't feel any grains of sugar left, take off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. This didn't take long. I used this "cooling" time to cut up the biscuits and chocolate. I was on a diet day so couldn't even nibble the milky bar - it was torture!!

Stir in the eggs, one by one, until smooth. Then follow with the vanilla extract, flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Quickly stir in two thirds of the custard creams and the chocolate chunks and pour into your baking dish / tin. 

Scatter over the remaining biscuit bits and bake for 30 minutes until golden and set on top. Cool the blondies in the tin before cutting into bars.

I found 30 minutes wasn't enough for me - it was still too gooey inside. My daughter loved it but I preferred it a bit more cooked so I did a further 20 minutes, keeping a constant eye on it so it didn't burn on top.

I loved the combination of the custard creams and white chocolate and it made a great lighter alternative to a brownie. It wasn't my favourite though. My daughter on the other hand thought it was incredible and was begging to have some at breakfast as she couldn't wait for tea. Plus luckily my ex mother-in-law enjoyed it too. 

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE TOBLERONE COOKIES

My lovely ex mother in law came for tea last week and so I wanted to bake something yummy. I initially chose to make a carrot cake but I then decided that it wasn't the best idea as I would no doubt eat the whole thing and I need to get into a bikini in less than a week. So instead my daughter Bella chose this cookie recipe. 

I love Toblerone - it was my dad's favourite and so reminds me of him. One summer, I had a friend staying at our holiday home with us and she ate the last piece of Toblerone....my dad was really cross and shouted at her....it was very very embarrassing!! Thankfully this recipe makes more than enough cookies to share and it took around 30 minutes plus an extra 30 minutes chilling time.

Ingredients for 16 cookies:

2 x 100g bars of milk chocolate Toblerone
100g milk chocolate, chopped
50g unsalted butter, softened
100g soft light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g ground almonds
1 tbsp whole milk

Break 8 triangles off one Toblerone and cut each in half so you have 16 triangles. Put them in the fridge to chill. Chop the rest into small chunks. Try not to eat the chocolate (I struggled with this part)!

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and light. Mine didn't look that light but I figured that is because the sugar is brown and when I normally beat sugar and butter, I use white sugar. Gradually add the beaten egg and then the vanilla extract.

Meanwhile melt the milk chocolate either in a microwave or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Add the melted chocolate to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until smooth. Next sift the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt over the mixture and combine.

Finally add the ground almonds, chopped Toblerone and milk and mix well. Then cover with cling and chill until firm (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 180 C / fan 160 C / gas mark 4. Cover a solid baking sheet with baking paper (I had to use two baking trays). 

On a chopping board, scoop a heaped teaspoon of the dough into your hand and roll into a rough ball. Repeat with all the remaining cookie dough until it is all used up. You ideally want 16 balls. Place them on your baking sheet / tray, spacing the balls well apart. I thought I had done but mine could have been even more spread out (as you can see from the picture). Once the dough balls are on the baking tray, press down lightly and then sit a triangle of Toblerone on each.

Bake for around 12 minutes or until the top is firm but not crisp. I thought mine did not look ready and so left them for another couple of minutes but then they were a little too crispy. A reminder for me to always follow the recipe! 

My cookies were HUGE and I was not complaining. They were absolutely delicious, chewy, very chocolatey, slightly crisp and extremely moreish. I am pleased to say they went down well with the whole family - a little too well with me which is not good for the bikini body!

Powered by eRecipe.com