Coffee Break: Mad Hatters Tea Room, Chester

When you find yourself stuck on a rainy ‘summer’ Sunday afternoon, you’ve got two choices. You can either stay home and wait for the clouds to pass or you can go out and brave the storm for a slice of cake. And you know any option with cake is the right one.

That's exactly what we did last month on a day out in Chester when we came across the super-cute Mad Hatters Tea Room. Located on the The Rows, this tea room's cosy setting and colourful display of cupcakes made it the ideal place to get out of the drizzle and indulge.

On this occasion we opted for Harry's hot chocolate - with marshmallows and cream obviously - and a couple of rainbow sprinkled vanilla cupcakes. Absolutely amazing, the best cupcakes we've had in a long time and you can even buy some of your own hot chocolate to try at home. 

As the name may suggest, there are plenty of Alice-themed accents throughout for any Wonderland fans out there from the special Afternoon Tea names to the rustic menus - we will definitely be back soon to try The Red Queen's Afternoon Tea (priced at £20pp). 

The Mad Hatters Tea Room is open 7 days a week. For more info and to check out menus visit their website.

http://www.madhatterstearooms.co.uk/

ATC does NYC - An adventure in cake.

Underneath New York City's famous Grand Central Terminal lies an entire world of exotic honeys, bakes, fruits and best of all - cakes! We were lucky enough to visit this hidden gem and sample some of the best treats the city has to offer. 

The Market hall offers so many different varieties of food that it's difficult to decide what to indulge with. We like to think of it as a bit of a snapshot into just a few of the amazing homemade bakes nestled in the Avenues of this vibrant city - a mini New York almost. Eli Zabar boasts a fabulous range of fruit tarts and cakes. But it's their oversized colourful macaroons that really caught our eye - and we can confirm, they're delicious! 

You can spot Zaro's Bakery in various places around the city so we figured their cupcakes must be worth a try. We were right, they're so yummy with lashings of buttercream and enough flavours to appeal to just about everyone. In fact, there's so many, you might just need two. 

Our advice? Get your cupcakes to go and take advantage of one of New York's countless outdoor seating areas. We opted for an outdoor cupcake picnic in the New York Library gardens - made all the more perfect by the crisp Winter air. 

Of course no trip to The Big Apple would be complete without a stroll around Central Park. In the hub of the famous landmark you'll find La Pain Quotidien, a homely hideout serving great coffee, green teas and pastries. A latte and pan au chocolat and we were set for the day. It's reminiscent of a winter cabin, helped naturally by the New York January snow fall and low yellow lighting. 

It's quite a communal space where you're encouraged to share a table but it suits the environment perfectly with joggers popping in for a quick drink and walkers exchanging stories about their cute dogs. It's quite a nice concept actually. 

It's an almost impossible task to decide which coffee shops to venture to in such a big city which is why outdoor markets that serve a taste of what you can find, are such a great place to start. With so many sights to see you have to wonder where to get the time for tea! 

Have you been for a great Afternoon Tea or coffee in New York?

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Cake Break: Fancie, Sharrowvale Road, Sheffield

As promised, here's the second instalment of our visit to Sheffield's Fancie. Find out what we thought below...

Caroline: 

Considerably more intimate and flowery than its Ecclesall Road sister, the original Fancie is everything that's good and girlie. Decorated throughout in Cath Kidston-esque patterns (which include stars, polka dots and pretty florals) and enhanced with quirky table games and vintage pieces, this shop is the perfect place to escape from the humdrum of student life. 

The shop's main focus is on the lovely cupcakes (twelve varieties nonetheless) which are produced daily in the Fancie Bakery, offering a variety of distinctive flavours. As a treat after our tea, we were given a couple to take home. Without hesitation I went for my favourire 'Red Velvet' and their unusual 'Raspberry and Almond' Cupcakes. Needless to say both were delicious. As a bit of a cupcake fanatic (and baker in my spare time) I always like to judge cakes by their buttercream - It HAS to be perfect and anything less just will not do. I'm pleased to say that the icing in both cases was immaculate and exactly in line with my standards. Well done! 

Cappuccino Cupcake!

Laura:

Fancie’s cute cupcake café is where it all began and I can certainly see why it’s still so popular today. Decked out in hot pink and white it’s a complete contrast to its sister Canteen bakery and oozes home-baking charm.

Set out open plan, there’s a family feel here with patterned tablecloths, pretty teacups and even children’s artwork pinned to the fridge with alphabet magnets - very sweet and welcoming.

The cupcakes themselves were absolutely gorgeous. Like Caroline said we had a choice of Fancie’s 12 signature bakes and I went for gorgeously girly Pink Marshmallow and Cappuccino cupcakes. The sponge was lovely and moist and to join in Caroline’s buttercream fan girl moment, yes the buttercream was AMAZING. My favourite was the marshmallow cupcake simply for being the pinkest cake I have ever seen – oh and it was yummy!

This mini cupcakery also has quite a large range of drinks on offer so to finish our day I sipped on a vanilla latte - which could very well be my new favourite hot beverage! 

Fancie is located on Sharrowvale Road, Sheffield. Cupcakes can be ordered to go or can be enjoyed in the shop between 9-5pm Monday to Saturday and 11-5pm on Sundays. For more information check out the website HERE.

DISCLAIMER: As is common in the catering and leisure industry, we were provided with complimentary services for review purposes. Whilst this has not influenced our review, we believe in the full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. 

Cake Break: Sooty's Cupcakery, York

It's not exactly traditional to have cupcakes for breakfast but walking past the window of this delightful little cupcakery, you have to forget it's 11am and just indulge - as I did!

 

 

Decked out with 50's style diner seating and shelves stacked with increasinly popular American sweets, everything about this cupcakery invites you in - and that's before you've even tasted the cake.

 

The lovely lady at Sooty's introduced us to all of the different cupcakes available that day, each of them made by her daugher. Naturally, as a self confessed Mini Eggs addict, I chose the chocolate buttercream Mini Egg flavour. It was just gorgeous, the buttercream was perfect and the sponge was nice and fluffy.

 

To top it off, my coffee arrived in a pretty homely mug accompanied by floral patterned china to balance the quirky with the quaint.

 

 

Overall Sooty's is a cute and quirky little place where the cupcakes live up to their pretty surroundings. Highly recommended for a sweet pit stop.

 

(Laura)

Dish and Spoon, Burton Road, Didsbury

Environment

Laura: The Dish and Spoon has a real seaside vintage feel with a mix of cornflour blue hues and natural tones. I found the retro kitchen quality to the tea room to be very inviting with the various jars and utensils on display along with the folddown table tops and old fashioned sweet jars. We visited on a particularly quiet afternoon so it was difficult to judge what kind of atmosphere it projects but I can imagine that with its petite and intimate design it would create a really friendly environment when full of tea and cake lovers.

Caroline: Simple and sophisticated, Dish and Spoon provides the perfect environment for a relaxing afternoon alone or with friends. Decorated throughout with blue and wooden themes, this cafe emits a tranquility which is rare within the city, providing a calmness characteristic of a rural or southern coastal town.

I particularly liked their blackboards and old fashioned scales, which really gave the place a quaint, homely feel. I can also highly reccommend their personalised memorabilia, which can be purchased in store and has some of the nicest designs I've ever seen - especially their tea towels!

Food

Laura: Oh what to do when every cake in an entire shop looks so yummy? I’ve had a real obsession with peanut butter buttercream lately so my decision was made when I saw that they had a cupcake with this on top. It was absolutely lovely, deliciously moist and the buttercream with chopped nut sprinkles was perfectly smooth. I chose a bottle of raspberry lemonade to go with my chocolate treat which was a refreshing change from usual drinks menus and definitely added a special touch.

Caroline: A while ago someone told me to try red velvet cupcakes, so when I saw that Dish and Spoon were selling them, I had to taste one. It was YUMMY and I especially loved the cream cheese topping - which I'm definitely going to try when I make some of my own cakes soon!
To accompany my cupcake, I chose a sicilian lemonade which was just perfect for a warm spring day.

Service

Laura: We were assisted promptly at the counter and our food was brought to our table which I personally believe makes a world of difference to a tea room experience. We were greeted with the upmost of manners and a smile, something very high up on my checklist!


Caroline: Once again, I have no complaints in this department. The service was pleasant, friendly and efficient - Very well done!

Overall Thoughts:

Laura: I thoroughly enjoyed our visit and thought the cupcakes were just delightful. The tearoom itself is pretty but not too over the top with vintage accessories, which for a quick cake and coffee pit stop, makes it the ideal place to be.

Caroline: This place is a perfect retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life, and with its nice cake, good service and relaxing environment, I wouldn't hesitate to visit again!

Cupcake Rating:

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Hey Little Cupcake, Spinningfields, Manchester

Environment

Laura: I loved the colour scheme! The chequered hot pink and white floor tiles were just so striking and the artwork on the walls (Available to buy by the way!) couldn’t help but catch my eye. There were also various table top games and reading materials dotted around which I thought was a lovely touch. The only thing I would point out is that it wasn’t entirely pristine. The primarily white furnishings made every coffee ring and chip stand out so I would have liked to have seen more attention paid to maintaining its squeaky clean look.

Caroline: With its cute works of art and shocking pink and white themes, you can't help but be excited when visiting Hey Little Cupcake, and on the whole it doesn't disappoint. It's everything you'd expect from a cafe of this kind - small in size, but perfect for having a girlie chat and afternoon tea. Like Laura, I too was a little disappointed by the coffee rings on the table, but alas white will be white and with daring designs, comes great responsibility. A quick wipedown between customers would be sufficiant enough to boost the overall table aesthetics!
I was particularly impressed by all of the custom artwork for sale on the walls (and greeting cards by the till) and thought it really added that little personal touch.

Food

Laura: There was a good range of cupcakes available with some unique flavours, particularly the After Eight design with its sandwiched effect. I stuck with old faithful and tried a pink vanilla cupcake. Beautifully decorated and super soft buttercream but I can’t help but feel it was a little lacking in the sponge department. Top marks for presentation though! Alongside this I chose a bottle of dandelion and burdock, a great little addition in old fashioned bottles and again with my new favourite accessory… red and white paper straws!

The prices are a little on the steep side with a cupcake averaging at £2.40 but I do feel this is due to their attention to detail which I couldn’t really fault.

Caroline: Presentationwise these cupcakes are flawless, and you can really tell that lots of love and care has gone into the creation of each one. I had the Vanilla Good Girl Cupcake, with sugar pearl and glitter topping. I have to say that the butter cream on these cakes is some of the best that I've ever tasted (and I've tasted a LOT of buttercream!) Their selection is varied and is really striking when presented all together.

I also had the pleasure of tasting one of their brand new marmite and cheese savoury cupcakes, which although not as good as their sweet cousins, were certainly something different and well worth a try if you get the chance!

Service

Laura: Our server was very friendly and when I enquired about the samples available she was incredibly informative and enthusiastic about their new creations. Again to go back to my main criticism, although there was only one member of staff present, it wasn’t very busy, therefore I would have liked to have seen the tables maintained just a little. Other than that, very pleasant staff!

Caroline: The staff were polite and friendly and gave us prompt service with a smile. Very Good!

(It was also nice to have them say goodbye to us as we left - it's always a nice touch!)

Overall Thoughts

Laura: Overall I enjoyed our afternoon at Hey Little Cupcake. It was a satisfying way to spend an hour with good company. I just felt that the general flair was much more interested in cupcake presentation rather than quality of environment and flavour.

Caroline: I liked this place, I really did. My only note would be a damp cloth on the tables - but I've said that already - otherwise everything was exactly as I'd expect it to be. Pretty little cafe with pretty little cakes!

Cupcake Rating