Covent Garden Hotel Afternoon Tea

    This post comes to you from lovely Essex as I rely on the generosity of friends to keep me off the streets here in London. We have found a flat we like and our offer was accepted yesterday, but unfortunately the property isn't available for us to move in until the 25th at the earliest so I've got some time to kill while I apply for jobs and try to get my life together.

Photo courtesy of afternoontea.co.uk

   My parents were in town last week which was wonderful as getting to this stage of finding a flat was an absolute nightmare and it was nice to have someone to hold me as I sobbed hysterically every night. I think I gave my parents a fairly accurate view of what it's really like to live in London. While they were here I took my mum out for afternoon tea as an early Mother's Day present as I won't be around for the actual event. We looked at a few places online at www.afternoontea.co.uk and selected the Covent Garden Hotel due to it's appealing menu and lovely looking dining room. We were not disappointed. 

photo courtesy of tripadvisor.co.uk

   Tea is held in the hotel's restaurant Brasserie Max and my mum and I were sat right on the window at a lovely little silver table for two looking out onto cobbled streets and shoppers. I'm afraid all the pictures on this post are stolen from other websites as it was so lovely inside that I didn't want to ruin the moment by pulling out my phone and snapping pictures. I suppose this is something I'll have to get over if I wish to continue this blog! The staff were friendly and attentive from the moment we turned towards the hotel and the doors were opened for us by two lovely gentlemen who showed us to the restaurant. Mum and I selected one Vintage Tea menu and one Covent Garden Tea menu to give ourselves a bit of variety. Each tea includes coffee, hot chocolate or basic tea. Herbal teas are extra, but they gave me some soy milk for my Earl Grey free of charge.

photo courtesy of tripadvisor.co.uk

 It was a bit of a wait for the food, but we didn't mind as we knew it was because everything was being made fresh and we sat, sipping our tea and enjoying the people watching. Our food arrived on it's traditional three tiered platter and the waitress explained what everything was. We had a selection of finger sandwiches including smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, egg, cheese and pickle and chicken salad. The bread was so soft and fresh and the fillings were flavourful and perfectly paired. We enjoyed them so much we even went for a second round! My only complaint was that the bagel crostini with the smoked salmon was so hard I thought I was going to break a tooth and my mum had to resort to eating the topping off and leaving the bagel which she remarked made her feel a bit like a five year old who only eats the icing. We followed our sandwiches with plain and strawberry scones both of which were soft and moist on the inside with a delicious crunch on the outside. I could've gone for a second round of those as well, but I knew I'd better not! After that it was onto the desserts which ranged from a chocolate caramel opera cake to a rhubarb custard mille feuille to a mini banoffee pie. Each was flavourful and sweet without being overly sugary or too strong. There was even a cucumber elderflower jelly that mum and I both enjoyed very much even though neither one of us was expecting to. 

photo courtesy of tripadvisor.co.uk

   We left, stuffed and filled to the brim with two pots of tea each, and all for about £50 thanks to a %20 off from afternoontea.co.uk. I will definitely be returning when I have the funds to indulge again! 

-Holly

Coconut Crunch Cookies

      Cookie week is drawing to a close. It's a short week, let's just pretend that tomorrow is a holiday because Papa Bear has about 11 bags of cookies in the freezer and believe it or not, I'm tired of baking. Really I'm more tired of doing the dishes after baking so it looks like this may be it for me and the KitchenAid mixer until Christmas and I will miss him. But I leave Vancouver on a (sugar)high note with these amazing Coconut Crunch Cookies. The cookies themselves aren't crunchy, they're nice and moist and cakey, the crunch comes from the almonds and the coconut. In a limited study of my family and the people I worked with when I made them last they were rated very highly. 

Coconut Crunch Cookies

make a lot (3 dozen maybe?)

1 c butter, softened

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 c flaked coconut

1 package milk chocolate chips

1-1/2 c chopped toasted almonds

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs and extracts.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter and mix until combined. 

Stir in coconut, chocolate chips and almonds.

Drop in 1-1/2 inch scoops onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes at 350ºF (180ºC) until lightly browned.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Share with people who you want to like you. 

Until London, Happy eating!

-Holly

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

       I write this to you on a rainy, dark Vancouver evening sitting in my jammies in front of the fire which anyone who knows me knows is just how I like it. What goes well with dark, rainy evenings? Well, a lot of things, but fudgy, moist oh so chocolatey cookies for one! So for day 3 of cookie week I introduce to you....the Chocolate Truffle Cookie. It's normally what I would consider a "seasonal cookie" but maybe that's just because I first made them for Christmas two years ago but there's no rule in my book, written or unwritten, that says you can't enjoy these babies year round.    

Like the name implies they're basically the cookie form of the inside of a chocolate truffle. Dark, with a rich chocolate flavour that quite literally melts in your mouth. Whatever you do, don't eat the dough or else they won't make it to the oven, but then you can reward your self restraint by licking the bowl and spoon until all you can taste is porcelain.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies
Makes 24 (less, if you start on the dough, I got 20 out of my last batch)

4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1/3 c butter
1 c sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla 
1-1/2 c flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
icing sugar for dusting

In the microwave (carefully!) or in a heatproof bowl over boiling water, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and 1 c of chocolate chips.
Let stand to cool for 10 minutes. 
Meanwhile beat the egg and sugar, add the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla.
In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Gradually beat the flour mix into the chocolate until just combined.
Stir in remaining chocolate chips.
Cover and refrigerate for about 3 hours or until firm enough to easily shape into balls. 
Scoop out enough dough to make 1-1/2 inch balls. Place each ball 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Lick off all the gooey dough that is stuck to your hands, spoon, bowl, kitchen counter wherever. 
Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for 10-12 minutes until the tops begin to crack. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar.

If you don't want the gooeyness all over your hands you can flour them ahead of time to prevent sticking, but I mean really, why bother?

Happy licking!
-Holly