A dream come true in Grantchester and the Orchard Tea Gardens

The Orchard Tea Gardens in Grantchester

     Ever since I saw an article in Victoria magazine about the Orchard Tea Gardens near Cambridge I've dreamed of going there. They conjured up visions of Cambridge University students before the Great War, all dressed in white, sitting among the blossoms, drinking tea and eating scones with honey while they chatted amiably about their exams or their latest poem, and I wanted to be on the spot to pretend to be one of them. Well, I finally managed it!

England 2015 Trip Journal
Tuesday, April 7

     I feel I should be writing poetry since I'm sitting in the Orchard Tea Gardens in Grantchester. It is no mystery to see why Cambridge students liked to come here and sit, contemplating the world around them as they laid back in the lawn chairs smelling the sweet fragrance of apple blossoms, feeling the soft breeze and gentle warmth of spring sunshine as it goes in and out of the clouds. Which is exactly what today is like!

Under the peaceful trees of the Tea Gardens in Grantchester

The iconic green lawn chairs in the Orchard Tea Garden

Baskets heaped with the perfect scones.

     Ah! You lean your head back and close your eyes, and you can hardly open them again they become so instantly comfortable. As soon as we walked into the pavilion with the kitchen we were greeted with the smell of fresh, hot scones – I could even see a huge pile of them on the baking trays covered with cloths behind the counter. Proper scones, they are: big, golden, and halfway between airy and dense. They are the quintessential scones. And once you slather them with dollops of butter, clotted cream, honey and strawberry jam, the result is glorious.

I present to you the perfectly delicious scone of the Orchard Tea Garden!

My lunch: ham, cheese, bread, an apple and 3 chutneys.

Mom's delicious quiche from the tea pavilion.

     There could hardly be a more peaceful piece of English countryside than the village of Grantchester. And the Tea Gardens is the most peaceful spot in the village. We wandered through the shady gate that's tucked away on one side of the Garden, that seems to beckon people to step through it and explore what's on the other side. After strolling over a lush green field we entered a small wood with a little winding path that leads to a branch of the river rolling lazily by.

The enchanting woods we wandered through in Grantchester.

The river in Grantchester.

     It was then time to get on to Cambridge if wanted to get there before the shops shut, so we made our way back through the Tea Gardens and along the quiet road to find our car. Just around the corner from the Tea Gardens is a lovely house with a statue of Rupert Brooke, the poet who in his college days used to frequent the orchard and the lawn chairs where he composed some lines about his memories there in his poem, "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester."

Stands the Church clock at ten to three
And is there honey still for tea? 

There is something fittingly and nostalgically poetic about Rupert Brooke, who had been a promising young student at Cambridge and spent time in this beautiful place, and then wrote this poem about his visits there while he was in Germany during World War I not long before he died in 1915. So I'm glad they are remembering him.

The statue of Rupert Brooke in Grantchester.

     After passing the pond and a few more fields we reached our car. We would have parked in the Orchard Tea Gardens parking lot, but there was some roadwork that prevented us going farther than the old church, so we parked along the street instead.

Grantchester's picturesque pond, complete with swans.

     Well, we spent so much time thoroughly enjoying ourselves in Grantchester that we only had time for a short jaunt back into Cambridge. Around 6:00 we drove straight into the city, using our hand-held map – a good investment – to find the central parking garage instead of the GPS. It was only £2 for 2 hours.

     We were in search of a pin for me to add to my backpack, but, of course, nearly every shop was shut except for one across the street from King's, and their pin was £4.50. I bought it anyway, since, as Mom pointed out, we came all that way to find one. :)

One of my favorite memories with Mom:
coffee and conversation in front of King's College.

     We then grabbed a large coffee from the Caffe Nero across from the college, and decided to sit on the low wall enclosing the front lawn to relax and enjoy our surroundings. We also enjoyed one of our many talks about English history and literature. This time we were contemplating the motivation for a people to follow their leader into war, from the Iraq war motivated by fear of terrorism, to Henry V's conversations with his troops in Shakespeare, who were compelled by force and fear to follow a monarch. (Yes, we do enjoy that sort of conversation...) :) It's hard not to have those in England, when history and literature are connected with nearly everything one sees.

     Then it was after sunset and time to return to Luton!










© Anna Morton 2016 

As American as Cherry Pie – or should I say British...

| Making my first cherry pie – a British one! |

     One of my latest baking adventures involved embarking on the creation of a cherry pie. I've never attempted one before, so I decided to consult the experts – which in my case is The Great British Bakeoff: How to Bake cookbook! And just as a British cherry pie seems a twist on it's usual American associations, this recipe gives us something just a little different. Instead of the usual flour, fat and water that you mix together and roll out, we get to have a bit more fun by adding almonds to the dough and grating it!

     Now, if you know much about British desserts you have probably heard of the Bakewell tart, that little pastry flavored by cherry and almond, which gives this recipe even more of a British connection. Then if on top of that fact you confess that you aren't the greatest fan of too much almond flavor, allow me to reassure you that this recipe is as delicious as any cherry pie imaginable – it is fresh, simple and bursting with the flavors of juicy cherries and a sweet crunchy crust!

     For the crust I simply threw everything into a food processor and pulsed it a few times:

• 250g all-purpose flour
• 50g ground almonds (I love the almond flour from Trader Joe's!)
• 175g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 100g sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons cream
• 1 tablespoon iced water

     Then you mold it into one big lump, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it. The recipe said to refrigerate it for half an hour, but I left mine in longer while I got distracted doing other things, and it hardened into a nice solid piece, which turned out to be easier to grate than it would have been after only half an hour.

     I have to say, grating crust is not necessarily easier than rolling it out. The dough inevitably begins to soften in your hands so that by the end you're sort of squishing it through the grater. But then you don't have to deal with finding the space to roll it out, or the dough sticking to the counter top, or the dough cracking when you lay it into the pie plate (off-centered, of course...). But I'll admit that the best thing about it – let's be honest – is that it's just fun do do!

     Basically you slice the lump of dough in half, grate the first half into the pie pan and squish it down with your fingers until it's in an even layer on the bottom and up the sides...

....then you put the filling in before taking the second half of the dough and grating it all over the top. Et vòila!

     It seems like quite a lot, but once it's all cooked it flattens out a bit and turns into a deliciously mild, sweet, nutty, crumbly pie crust that ought to be a part of more recipes. :)

The marvelous Warm Cherry Crumble Pie!

© Anna Morton 2016