Tea and cakes with Jane Austen

I've been so busy these past few weeks that I haven't had the time or energy to bake, let alone post pictures! I do apologise; I'm hoping to do some more festive baking and so there should be more entries soon!

To satisfy my wish to write I've decided to tell you about a beautiful tea room in the village of Chawton, Hampshire.

We visited this cafe in late August whilst we were in England for a wedding. As an avid Jane Austen fan, I couldn't leave without visiting the house she lived in for many years! However, before we entered the beautiful cottage we stopped for refreshments in the tea room opposite - the aptly named "Cassandra's Cup". (For those of you who don't know, Cassandra was Jane's sister and close companion for most of her life.)

It was a sunny day and the we considered sitting outside under the pretty awning. However, the minute we stepped inside we realised that to not sit inside the actual café was an insult indeed! A large room awaited us, bedecked with pretty pastel pictures and an array of tablecloths. A small wooden counter greeted us to the right, and directly ahead was a lovely cream dresser filled with cakes! As we say down we noticed the teacups attached to the ceiling - a very cute idea.

Cassandra's Cup is definitely an English tea room. They sell all sorts of teas and homemade cakes, plus deals for a cream tea (scones with jam and cream and a large pot of Earl Grey)! We had a hard time deciding what to order, but in the end I went for a simple Victoria sponge with some tea. Mum picked a luscious-looking coffee cake, whilst my sister stayed true to form and chose a chocolate brownie!

The cakes were delicious. Freshly baked that morning, my cake had just the right amount of jam and buttercream spilling out of a gloriously moist golden sponge. Naturally I had to try the others and so I can safely say that the rest of the cakes were just as scrumptious! Sitting inside the tea room and peeping out of the window onto the quiet street outside, I really felt as if Ms Austen would come knocking on the door any minute!

A view of Jane's house from the café