New Year - New Look

This year has started with so much excitement as our website is now live with a brand-new look. Lorraine at Time to Shine and Emma Dunham Photography have worked hard to showcase our vintage style with soft pastels, floral crockery and cakes and scones that look good enough to eat. The website is easy to use with a shop and details about our products. Did you know for example, that we sell cream tea boxes and that these can be vegan, gluten-free or a mix? You can pay online and we deliver free to GU22 postcodes by bike.

Christmas was extremely busy with the relief of a couple of weeks’ break to recover. Now, we can’t wait to get back into the swing of things. Our much-loved tea boxes, packed with freshly baked cakes and scones, are available for delivery throughout the week and our diary is open for private bookings. With less restrictions, we anticipate another busy summer and suggest that you book the caravan soon if you would like a quirky tea shop at your get-together, birthday, christening, wedding, anniversary or any other special event. Prices are on the website and include the hire of the caravan, hire of vintage crockery and cream tea.

We will have our Valentine boxes on the website soon and don’t forget it’s our glorious Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year and we do love a garden party. We’re already inventing picnic tea boxes for those of you who would like to mark this special occasion in what we’re sure will be a scorching summer!

Watch out for our weekly blog complete with our news and recipes. Let us know if there is anything else you would like to see. This time, you can find our popular Cheese and Herb Scone Recipe.

Cheese and Herb Scone Recipe

Ingredients

450g self-raising flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

75g salted butter straight from the fridge

½ teaspoon salt

Teaspoon of garlic powder

3 teaspoons of mixed herbs

2-3 handfuls of grated mature cheddar cheese (adjust to taste)

1 egg

225ml whole milk or semi-skimmed milk

Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven). In a large bowl mix together the self-raising flour and baking powder. Ensure that the baking powder is thoroughly mixed. Grate the cold butter into the flour mix and then rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips. Add the salt, garlic powder, mixed herbs and grated cheese to the flour mix.

Pour the milk into a jug and add the egg. Whisk the egg lightly into the milk. Create a well in the flour mix and add the liquid, saving a small amount to be brushed on the top of the scones. Using a fork, mix the liquid and flour until mostly combined. Then, use your hands to create a soft, crumbly dough. We prefer not to over-handle the dough because it makes a more crumbly scone.

Tip the dough onto a floured surface. It will look very floury but don’t worry, just press it together on the floured surface and roll it out to a one-inch thickness. Use a round cookie cutter to cut the scones out and then place them on an oven tray. Brush the top of the scones with the milk mixture and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes depending on your oven. The scones are baked when they are golden brown but don’t overbake them. You can check the bottom of a scone, if it is light brown then it is fully baked.

Enjoy your scones with homemade tomato soup or on their own with cream cheese and chutney.