Langage Farm Clotted Cream - Devon's Best

These pictures don't really need any additional description!  

One of my favourite things to eat: chocolate brownies made by my daughter (she is 13 and already a great cook) using the River Cottage recipe, no nuts for us, and then glammed up with some local raspberries and a mountain of Devon Langage Farm Clotted Cream and served in a vintage glass sundae dish from Antiques Ad Hoc in Ashburton. Perfectly delicious.  And a great treat to serve some visiting members of the family at the weekend.

Who Serves the Best Cream Tea in Devon?

NB - 
Update Summer 2013
Dartmoor Tearooms is now for sale!  I visited Angels in Torquay the other day and stand by what I said a year ago - fabulous cream tea!

Update Summer 2012
Dartmoor Tearooms are not opening this year due to refurbishment.  They will re-open in Spring 2013.  In the meantime try Angels, Babbacombe, Torquay for an amazing cream tea.  You won't be disappointed!

A cream tea with thick clotted cream and deep red jam served atop plump doughy scones is one of the delights of going out in the afternoon in Devon and Cornwall.  In my time, I have had many a cream tea, a surprising number of which have proved disappointing.  All too often, there is insufficient cream, average jam or a tiny two day old scone.  I have been hearing great things about the Dartmoor Tea Rooms in Moretonhampstead, Devon (longest unhyphenated place name in England I believe).  It was lunchtime, but we all decided to have sweet stuff instead.  Daughter had a chocolate brownie with ice cream and raspberry sauce which she said was delicious.  Husband and I shared a Classic Cream Tea (two scones) plus an in-house homemade toasted teacake.  The tea cake was absolutely wonderful – slathered in butter, just the right amount of dried fruit and peel and a lovely sweet sugar crust on the top.  Divine. 

Tea was of high quality.  I love the ‘FORLIFE’ tea pots that they and lots of cafes are using at the moment (e.g Twenty Six in Teignmouth).  They have an inbuilt strainer inside the main body, so the brew is perfect, no fiddly strainer and presumably easier to clean up afterwards.  They are for sale in the cafe at a good price of £20 – I have seen them for sale online for £22-£25.  Looking forward to receiving one for my birthday (hint, hint).

Everything in the cafe was so clean – I loved the way the crockery, the milk jug, the tray and the cutlery were all so gleaming.  It was a very welcoming environment, friendly waiting staff, fresh flowers on the tables and lots of bits and bobs to look at and admire.

But the burning question - was this the Best Cream Tea in Devon?

Well, I give Dartmoor Tea Rooms a resounding ten out of ten for the fabulous teacake and for the fine pot of tea.  The cream and jam were very good and were just about the right quantity.  The scones were large, just warm (felt very 'fresh' warm rather than re-heated warm) homemade, light and tasty and certainly enjoyable.  But......I have such high standards as I have my own resident scone-maker in my home, and hers are perfection, and have a slightly more buttery golden texture (secret ingredient being yoghurt).  So, outside of my own home, this is probably as near as dammit, one of the Best Cream Teas in Devon.  But of course the quest is ceaseless and I must carry on in my search to find the Ultimate Devon Cream Tea.  This one is jolly good and is definitely on the short list.

NB I think Dartmoor Tea Rooms may be shutting at the beginning of July for a week or two, so do check before going there; but DO go there, it's a great place.  Open Weds-Sundays from April - November.

Real Food Store, Exeter - Best Brownies in the World!

The Real Food Store, Exeter, opened on Wednesday for the first time.  I visited yesterday and was hugely impressed - great cafe on the first floor, smiling enthusiastic staff, amazing food and overall a wonderful experience.

No pictures of the brownies as we snaffled them so quickly but they were independently voted in a blind tasting by four people to be the Best Brownies Ever! Really very chocolately indeed - just right level of moist interior and slightly crispy exterior and wonderful texture - and no nuts - even better in my opinion.

These were some of the other goodies I bought (obviously on a health kick...no, I just knew my Riverford veg box would be arriving the next day...) Handmade chocs from Teignmouth, Teonie's giant and tiny cookies Love the shape of the white loaf.  I added the pastrami, cheese and cornichons to the sourdough roll.  Makes it look a bit 70s.

Real Food Store is just down from Sofa Workshop, near the bus station, opposite the entrance to the Underground Passages.

Go, eat brownies, enjoy!