Fabulous Fruit Pies!

Homegrown plum and apple pie adorned with delicate pastry roses, baked to golden perfection.

Did you know it’s Afternoon Tea Week?  We're celebrating with an extra busy week here at MMC HQ! We've got a cream tea for 40 on Wednesday, Horsley Caravan and Camping Site on Friday and See below for where we'll be on Sunday. It's the perfect weather for a freshly baked scone, clotted cream, homemade strawberry jam and fresh strawberries. Plus, we've been offering a cheeky cucumber sandwich as part of our Summer Cream Tea.

We have been serving cream teas all over the South East this July and August including some great events, which you must put in your diary for next year:

Lindford Fair was a bustling village fete with a duck mascot, raffle, and lots for the family to do including our cream teas right next to the ice cream van. The organisers managed to raise enough for a new playground for the village and we were blown away by the lovely atmosphere. We are delighted to say that we have been invited back next year.

It was our first time at Carry on Crafting in the South of England Showground in Sussex. Not only was the weather scorchio but we met the amazing Dawn Gracie (at Dawns Vintage Do) who entertained us with 40s, 50s and 60s songs for the two days. We just loved her outfits and humour. She even managed to get my teen dancing! Booking the craft classes in advance is essential at this very creative festival. You can turn your hand to anything from crochet to book sculpture.

Ripley Parish Day was a new event for us. There was some great music and lots of people with picnics. Next year the organisers are planning on including some vintage cars. Watch this space!

We have been missing the very lovely Ripley Farmers Market but so happy to have been back again on the 9th August. At one point I looked out at the tables and realised that every single customer was a regular. Thank you so much for sticking with us. Have a look at our Instagram page for updates on our cakes and bakes including some unusual scone flavours.

A few weeks ago, I also had my timely visit from the EHO. I do find these visits stressful but this was surprisingly helpful and we maintained our 5 so all is good.

Henceforth, as we get into late summer, it’s time for fruit foraging. We have pears, apples and plums in our garden and we know it’s safe to use them for our jams as we don’t use any pesticides but instead clean the fruit with a mixture of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Saying this, I’m not against foraging out in nature. We’ve found lots of plums and blackberries and can’t wait for the elderberries to be ready.

My latest recipes are pie shaped. I absolutely love mixing apple and plums in pies. The sweetness of the plum is a fabulous partner to the apple tartness. As the month goes on, I will be making predominantly apple pies with brown sugar and lovely autumn spices. I give them an extra Marvellous twist with pastry flowers. I might even experiment more and pair the apple pies with a homemade caramel sauce. You may not realise but all my bakes are available to purchase at any time by using the contact page on my website.

Just a heads up! Look out for some deals on our crockery hire as we head into autumn. We cam loan our vintage cups, saucers, plates and cake stands for any number of guests up to 100. Details can be found on our ‘hire vintage crockery’ page. Autumn is the perfect time for a cozy afternoon tea or cream tea while there is still some sun and warm weather through September and October. You could make catching up with friends or family a special event  and you don’t even have to wash up!

Coming up over the next few weeks is the Military Heritage event at Hogmoor Inclosure on Sunday and then the steampunk and vintage Floral Fringe Fair at the end of the month. We are taking bookings for afternoon tea at the Floral Fringe Fair but you can turn up unannounced for cream tea and cake. All details can be found on our events page.

If you’ve made it this far, send me a message using the contact link and I’ll give you a code for 10% off

vintage crockery through September and October. Hope to see you soon tea lovers. ❤️