Coffee Time at Emmeline's Homebaking - Abergavenny

On Friday I convinced my sister and dad to spend a little quality time and come with me to the relatively newly opened Emmeline's Homebaking in town for some coffee and cake. I had been once before about a month ago and knew I had to write about it; the cake they serve is truly exceptional and I have yet to find anything like it anywhere else in the area.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the sight of this enormous cake - I think it was an orange and almond cake with a meringue topping - just one of many incredible creations on display.

Situated just up from the high street in Abergavenny, Emmeline's takes a quiet back seat from all the cars and busy shoppers of the town. This is the place to come if you want a truly relaxing experience with your tea and cake. The atmosphere is welcoming and homely, and the decor is lovely - like a collection of dining rooms in one big room. Plus, anywhere that has a bookshelf as big as the one at Emmeline's is good enough for me.

The coffee came in a cafetiere which stretched out to four full cups - a nice change from the stingy single cups you get for double the price in other coffee shops. The crockery was gorgeous, too. 

And the cake. Oh my gosh, the cake. 

My dad and I shared a slice of the peanut cake. I cannot even describe how perfect it was. The sponge had peanuts dispersed throughout, and it was just the right balance of sweet and salty with the peanuty-caramel ganache on top, a final topping of cream and a sprinkling of chocolate and peanuts. It tasted like a snickers bar in a cake, and yet it wasn't too rich or gacky (yep, made up word) in texture.

The coffee could have been a little stronger - but that is purely down to taste. The last time I visited I had a smaller cafetiere for one and it was just right, so perhaps it all depends on the size you go for. 

At Emmeline's they provide a vast range of wheat free cakes, which is great for those who are intolerant. Sarah chose the wheat free rhubarb and raspberry cake - a slightly more summery choice but delicious all the same. A lot of places get gluten and wheat-free so wrong; their products can be dense and heavy and a lot of the time, tasteless. Not at Emmeline's. Somehow their wheat-free cakes taste just as light and fluffy as the ones made with regular flour.

My aim is to go back and try every single cake they have. There are so many original and interesting flavours, including a Lindt chocolate cake(!) There is also a large range of teas to choose from if you're not a coffee person, and lots of Lindt chocolate - the best. Check out their Facebook page for more pictures and information.

Review - Cream Tea at Gentle Jane - Grosmont, Monmouthshire

I will never say no to cream tea. Ever. I had this for my lunch a few weeks ago when my Grandpa came to Wales. It was the best cream tea I'd had since my afternoon tea at The Angel, Abergavenny. I put butter on my scone too. Yep, butter AND clotted cream. We got a badass over here.

I felt like I had stepped back in time when visiting Grosmont. It is a quaint little village near Abergavenny with a traditional post office and shop that sold postcards, sweets, and everything you might have found in a post office ten or twenty years ago. It was lovely to see that these things were still going strong, if only in the very small villages in the more rural areas of the UK.

 

My dad said we had to go and visit the castle first before sitting down for a coffee. Yawn, I thought, but it turned out to be a picturesque and fascinating little adventure.

We walked up the hill and admired the remains of the incredible castle. 

 

My Dad and Morag climbed to the top and I began to follow them up, but chickened out as it was super high up.

On my way back down I found this marking in one of the stone bricks:

I don’t know what it means but I thought it was pretty cool, and considered the idea that it might have been engraved in that stone for hundreds of years.

After that we went down to Gentle Jane (yay). Gentle Jane is a bed and breakfast as well as a tea room on the main street of the village. We sat outside where there was a view of an old church and graveyard. It was a warm day, and the atmosphere was still and pleasant, despite a horrible amount of wasps bothering us.

We ordered coffees, hot chocolates and a few scones to share, and Grandpa wrote his postcards.

The service was very friendly and genuine. It's nice to visit places where the staff make proper conversation with you and don't just repeat their rehearsed terms and phrases with every customer.

This was what I had been waiting for. I loved the unique touch of raspberries on the side. It was absolutely amazing and even though I was full afterwards, I could probably have scoffed another...

I will definitely be ordering the same again if I ever re-visit Gentle Jane. Are you a fan of cream tea? If you want more information on this place you can check out the Gentle Jane website here.

Review - Afternoon Tea at The Angel - Abergavenny

To celebrate my degree results my parents, eldest sister, brother and I went for afternoon tea at the gorgeous Angel Hotel in Abergavenny. It was a boiling hot day so we sat in the courtyard where parties were gathered with pitchers of Pimms and glasses of wine. The atmosphere was relaxed yet sophisticated, and as always The Angel delivered exceptionally.

The hotel also has a bar and restaurant, both of which I have been to and been served outstanding food and drink. A little on the pricey side, The Angel is definitely for special occasions like achieving a first in your degree ;)

If you are looking to dine somewhere luxurious in the town centre of Abergavenny, The Angel is the place to go. It is just a five and ten minute walk from the bus and train station and is situated smack bang in the middle of the bustling market town. 

Now, onto my favourite part - the tea!

The range of teas on offer is incredible. There are more than 30 to choose from and my eyes darted straight to the green tea section - big fan; can't go a day without the stuff. I always like to try something new so I chose the 'Flowering Osmanthus.'

Described on the menu as fresh and fruity with hints of apricot and ripe peach as well as jasmine, osmanthus and China lily flowers, I couldn't resist as I loved the sound of all those things. The biggest attraction for me was the fact that it came in a clear glass teapot so I could see the flower blossoming in the pot - beautiful.

My Mum chose her usual cafetiere of strong black coffee, my Dad an English breakfast tea and Sarah and Craig, Vanilla tea. 

The afternoon tea came out in stacks of stunning plates that sat strategically on the wooden table - we did have a minor accident (clumsy me!) but the waiting staff were excellent and cleaned up the spilt coffee and replaced the few cakes that were dropped. 

On the top plate were sliced strawberries topped with cream poured by the lovely waitresses. The second plate underneath held the decadent selection of cakes and pastries: (rum baba, custard slice, chocolate & raspberry swiss roll, carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, profiteroles, banoffee pie). And on the bottom plate were four types of sandwiches: (savoury cheese, smoked salmon, ham and egg). I gave my cheese and egg sandwiches to my Mum and Dad - I wasn't too keen on those fillings but the salmon and ham sandwiches were spot on.

Soon after we had finished nibbling on our sandwiches, fruit and cakes, the waiter and waitresses brought out our scones. They were warm and dusted with icing sugar, served with a bowl of thick cream and strawberry jam. 

Now, I have heard that everyone assembles their scone differently, and I didn't know there was such an art to it until recently, but after a bit of trial and error I found that I prefer to put the jam on first, then the cream. Just, yum.

If you have never heard of, or been to The Angel then I would definitely recommend a visit if you are ever passing Abergavenny. It is such a gem and the afternoon tea I reviewed in this post was actually the winner of the Tea Guild Award of Excellence 2013 which I think is a fantastic achievement. 

To read more about The Angel and to book a room, table or just to have a nosey, check out their website at: www.angelabergavenny.comand let me know your favourite tea room in the comment box below - I am always looking for new ones to visit!