Afternoon tea birthday treat

I think the CCBF (Caked Crusader’s Boyfriend) knows me pretty well and knows that anything involving oodles of cake will make me happy. He booked afternoon tea, for my birthday, at the very posh Browns Hotel in Mayfair instantly earning lots of Brownie points – who wouldn’t want to go for a lovely tea...especially at the winner of the Tea Guild’s “Best Afternoon tea 2009” title?

The cake stand had yummy little finger sandwiches on the bottom tier, warm scones (the jam and cream came in little china bowls) on the middle tier, and a selection of divine little pastries and sweet meats on the top:

We managed two platefuls of sarnies and scones but could only manage one plate of the pastries!

The mini scones were delicious and still warm so that the jam oozed over them:

The pastries had a lot of finesse to them; here’s a rundown. Some of the pictures aren't great, it was a gloomy day and I was torn between taking great photos and eating great cakes...you can probably tell which option won!

Apple cream filled macaron – quite exquisite; the apple cream was so fruity and tangy.

Lemon curd mousse sponge with meringue topping – the CCBF tackled this one and seemed to enjoy it a lot!

Pistachio sponge filled with a light chocolate cream – it was made in a mini bundt mould and the sponge was so rich and moist.

Chestnut cream tart – very pretty. All the creams were whipped and light as air. Didn’t get a great photo of this one, you can just see it poking out from behind the pistachio sponge:

Chocolate mousse with pear – this one had the CCBF’s name all over it (not literally, that would’ve been weird) as he adores any chocolate desserts. It came in a tiny glass but he said it was exceedingly rich. Yes, that's his spoon plunging into it!

We finished the lovely day off with cocktails at the Skylon bar, part of the Royal Festival Hall complex on the South Bank – here’s my favourite, a Prunelle:

Thank you CCBF for a wonderful day!