It had never crossed my mind when planning my Teas out, to do a Valentines themed one. Unlikely to have had it off work and i guess not the wildest thing to plan. I saw a post on the deals sites about a 12pcs Argos Heart Dinner set down to £16.99 from £24.99 and now its only £13.99!. Trying to avoid going out although i wanted to, i saw about delivery but decided to click and collect it with some other items. My 1st time out the House since December 16th when i came from work.

This Dinner set was the inspiration for the Tea, and had i not seen it probably would not have thought of it. I began jotting ideas down and things i had made previously to fit the theme. I wanted to make different things and not be left with loads of leftovers but still have variety. Years and years ago i did a Valentines themed Cake stall, and many of these i used on this Tea even the Shirt i made for the occasion back then i wore ( albeit smaller and tighter)

Because i had come up with the Tea so last minute, i did not have a Teapot suitable for it, i used the Cups from another Tea which were Red & White and my Heart Ramekins i brought last year in Poundland. The menu i planned was whittled down from many ideas, taking inspiration from classics like Red Velvet to Meal deals for Valentines Day and typical Chocolate gifts like Ferrero rocher. I could do another next year with the other ideas and give me time to find a Red or Hearts love themed Teapot.

I could have done it today on Valentines Day but did it on Friday 12th February live at 5pm via Facebook video link below. Complete with some Love themed tunes and occasional singing. I think it went well and there was not many baking mishaps.

THE MENU

  • Chocolate covered Oreos – These were made in my new Heart embossed mould, they were supposed to be Strawberry flavour but could not get the Strawberry Oreos in time from Ocado.
  • Strawberries & Cream Lindor Blondies
  • French Toast Hearts made with a 19p reduced Yellow sticker loaf of Bread with Nutella dip
  • Love Heart Scones with selection of my Jams ( Raspberry, Strawberry Lavender, Strawberry Violet)
  • Love Heart Shortbreads and sticks
  • Red velvet Cake i made sure this was definitely Red for this occasion
  • Cheesey chat up line Toasties Beef Sandwiches both made from a free Bread mix from work
  • Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart – made with Salted Caramel Cream in a sweet pastry crust. Drizzled with Salted caramel spread
  • Chocolate Covered Strawberries
  • Hot stuff Cheese & Chilli Savoury Scones – these needed a bit more heat
  • TEA- i chose to try my Royal Blend Tea from Fortnum & Masons this really tasted like PG tips lol

HOW DID IT GO?

As with any of my Teas something always goes a bit awry, the Chocolate Tarts were setting in the fridge and the leftover punnet of Strawberries tipped over and set in the Tart ! I opened the fridge the next morning and the Ganache had been pushed to one side. I pried them out and was left with a big gaping hole in the middle so i cut around it.

The Strawberries probably needed to have come out the fridge sooner, as the fridge was cold the Chocolate cracked off then when you bit into it. The Hot stuff Scones needed more of the Chili Cheese i used half half, next time will include some Chilli relish in the mix to boost the spice a bit. In terms of cost this was a relatively low cost one under £35 which includes food and the dinner set.

LEFTOVERS?

When planning the Teas and vast selection of treats, i am always mindful of leftovers and minimising food waste. When i was working i could take leftovers into work, they would be appreciated and eaten . Now being in lock down it is the freezer and a few days of repeat treats. I am quite good at food recycling, and have already made use of the leftover Bread from the French Toast hearts, turning them into some Bread Pudding which always gets eaten quickly , sometimes i don’t even get a look in! of course a lot of what i come up with incorporates leftovers anyway. Leftover Chocolate rescued from work from being binned as out of date. Cheap supermarket yellow stickers. In this case i think the leftover Blondies and Red velvet will be frozen and maybe the Chocolate Tart we will eat. Strawberries can be eaten easily as the Shortbread and Oreos which will keep for a good while yet.

Thanks for reading and if you would like to find out more about the Themed Teas i create, check out my other blog posts

Adam x