Review: Teacup on Thomas Street, Manchester

Hidden away in the up and coming Norther Quarter of Manchester city centre, Teacup on Thomas Street is one of my favourite places in the entire world!
Owned by local DJ Mr Scruff (Andy Carthy) this understated New York-esque Tearoom is the perfect place for whiling away an afternoon or two, and offers a variety of wholesome home made treats and lunches, all at very reasonable prices!

Flourless Chocolate Cake and a Latte

I was first introduced to Teacup several months ago by a friend and it has quickly become one of my regular haunts, when I need to escape from uni work, or simply want a slice of their delicious flourless Chocolate Cake (and Oh how delicious it is!)

On my various visits to the tearoom, I've had the pleasure of trying out several of their sweet treats as well as a couple of their delectable toasted sandwiches, and I have to say that there isn't a better tea shop in the Manchester Area, for its food, service or atmosphere which are all second to none.

Panini's at noon

It's interior is an eclectic mixture of New York Cafe Chic and Cath Kidston Kitsch, and is unlike any other eatery in the area, offering a little taste of America in back streets Manchester. The Wedgewood-esque tea service also works to off set this quirky cafe perfectly, offering up the quintessence of Englishness into the mix!

The presentation of their food has the feeling of something really special, and that's exactly what you get. The sandwiches in particular are lovingly crafted and displayed on rustic wooden blocks accompanied by cute little espresso cups of coleslaw and radishes, creating the prefect expreience.

Cupcakes and Coffee

If you're in Manchester and want to have the best tea experience the City has to offer, then go along to Teacup on Thomas Street, and get a taste of brilliance!

Happy Eating!

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PS- Also have a look at their website for further information at: http://teacupandcakes.com/

Royal Wedding Fun!

I've been waiting to do this post for ages, (1) because it's the first time I've written about something I've actually made myself, (2) because I've been planning these little things for about a month and a half, and (3) because...well... it's the royal wedding - only the most exciting day of the year - well my year anyway! (Oh and (4) coz it just so happened to be my birthday as well! so Yay for me!)

Fresh out of the oven

On the 29th April 2011, Royal Wedding day, we had a Tea Party, with flags and finger sandwiches - very refined and very English, I know - and my contribution was a cupcake celebration, so on Wednesday morning I started with baking the cakes, ready for decoration on Friday.
Now, you probably think it was a little premature to bake the cakes three days in advance, and that they might dry out, but oddly enough I always find that if cakes are left to stand for a few days, then they become a lot denser and nicer to eat!

For the occasion, I bought some special little Union Jack cases and flags from The Works, for 99p, so that my cakes had a 'British' feel!
I must admit that I was a little worried about using coloured cake cases, because last time I did the dye somehow managed to leak into the cake and ruin the entire batch, which wasn't good at all! However this time, I threw caution to the wind and used them again - I'm glad I did, because they added a really great feel to the cakes, that no other cases would have given.

Crowns

My other decorations came from a few places... I got the crowns from John Lewis, for about £3 for five, and the Will and Kate toppers came from a company called Simply Topps on Amazon, who sold me a pack of 24 for the brilliant price of around £2 including P&P! (Not bad eh?)

These decorations were brillaint and, as you can see, hid a multitude of sins on my unpiped icing beneath!

Totes Rah! (as Heat Magazine would say - God I'm so classy with my reading materials aren't I?)

The Wedding itself was beautiful (don't you think?)and the tea party a complete success - So I think that all in all it was one of those days which can be classed as pretty damn perfect!

Congratulations Will & Kate!!!

Happy Baking
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