…this post goes out to the power of twitter… I recently had a lovely and very rare afternoon in Yorkshire with The Viking… we had some business in a warehouse in Wetherby to take care of and as we left I suggested we make a detour on the way home through the charming village of Harrogate… whilst my motives were to end up stuffing my face with cream cakes at the infamous Betty’s Tearoom I knew that The Big V’s increasingly scary obsession with TK Maxx could also be placated in this fair town… you see, we do quite a bit of driving up and down this lovely country and I now know the back end of most retail parks from here to the west coast…
… anyway, back on track and a cup of tea and a heart-shaped cream cake or two later and we’re sitting comfortably in the window of Betty’s… if you don’t know about this traditional tea room, it’s one of the UK’s most famous cafe’s situated in the heart of the spa town of Harrogate in Yorkshire, opened nearly 100 years ago it has become internationally renowned for its array of wonderful cakes and thoroughly British meals… I guess the point i’m making here is that a lunch, followed by cake and tea at Betty’s should most definitely be on your bucket list…
… as we leave the tearoom I tweet about my lovely experience and then when I get home there’s a delightful email waiting for me from the team at Betty’s saying how happy they are I enjoyed my lunch and would I like to receive some goodies to cook with and review on my blog… would I ever…
rose tea and chocolate swirl loaf
I received some charming spiced christmas tea which I think I shall bake into the christmas cake i’ll be making next week but I also took receipt of some very fragrant rose petal tea and some stunning Cru Sauvage dark chocolate which I can tell you is simply heavenly…
200g plain flour
200g strong white bread flour
1 teaspoon fast action dried yeast
1 egg beaten
200ml of Betty’s Rose Petal Tea (make a pot to drink and leave some behind for this…)
1 tablespoon caster sugar
a pinch of salt
80g of Betty’s Cru Sauvage chocolate
3 tablespoons sunflower oil or other plain flavourless oil
once again i’m using the low-knead method… not only is it so simple to do but it produces a guaranteed light and airy bread and with the inclusion of the sugar and eggs this loaf has a wonderful brioche quality to it…
– place all the ingredients apart from the chocolate, into a large bowl and bring together with a rubber spatula until you have a sticky, shaggy mess. Cover and leave for 10 mins
– place a little oil on your work surface and lift the dough onto the oil. quickly run some more oil around the inside of the bowl
– knead the dough for 8 ‘stretch and heel-of-hand turns’ then place it back into the oiled bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes – repeat this step twice more
– before the third turn, melt your chocolate.
– take a third of the dough and place it on an oiled surface, spread it out a little and pour the chocolate onto it before repeating the 8 ‘stretch and heel-of-hand turns’ – knead the non chocolate dough and then place both bits in separate bowls, cover and leave for an hour to double in size
– oil the inside of a loaf tin
– oil your work surface once more and take the plain dough and pat it out onto the oiled surface into an oval shape, next take the chocolate dough and lay this on top of the plain oval and pat it out, then tightly roll the dough up, tuck the ends under and place into the loaf tin – leave to rise for a further 30 mins
– bake on 200C for 5 mins then reduce the heat to 170C for 20 mins until risen and golden
I am of course entering this chocolate loaf into this months excellent blogging challenge, we should cocoa… originally founded by Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog and Chele from Chocolate Teapot but hosted this month by Nazima from Franglaise Kitchen… the theme this month is bread.
eat and of course, enjoy!
Cakeyboi says
I'm right there with the Viking – half my home is furnished from TK Maxx! Loaf cake looks scrummy 🙂
little macaroon. says
Ha ha! Harrogate really has got it all! Haven't been in a TK Maxx for years but will go for a snoop on the Viking's esteemed recommendation! If only there was a branch of Betty's in Aberdeen too, I love the sound of rosé petal tea.
Girl in purple dress says
That looks really yummy – liking the swirl!
Suelle says
Great looking loaf! I'm trying to imagine the flavour, but it would probably be good toasted, with raspberry jam!
Mark Willis says
I visited Betty's tearoom once. I seem to recall that we had tea and fruit cake with Wensleydale cheese, which is a magical combination – but nowhere near as good-looking as your very dramatic two-tone loaf!
Sue/the view from great island says
Impressive, Dom!
Chris says
The loaf is really looking lovely!
Laura loves cakes says
What a great loaf…your swirl is perfect! And rose tea is one of my favourites! I went to Betty's for the first time last year…and I look forward to going back some time! Our Calendar Cakes challenge this month is bread, rolls and buns…you would be most welcome to add your loaf to our linky!:-)
Phil in the Kitchen says
This looks excellent. Rose Petal Tea sounds like the height of sophistication to me. Sadly, I've recently discovered that I have an allergy to TK Maxx – poor old me.
Becs@Lay the table says
My mum loves coming to visit me because she gets to go to Betty's! One weekend she was here we ended up doing three different ones! I personally prefer the one in Ilkley because of its Edwardian stained glass windows and less busy. If you get a chance you really should go. Also there's a Booth's supermarket which is like Waitrose but posher – all the veggies in nice wicker baskets!
Loaf looks beautiful, the swirl is amazing.
Lesley says
I also got a pressie from Harrogate (but not from Betty's). When I was young my dad brought me back a pig truck with little black pigs and little pink pigs, which I still have to this day.
It's been a long time since I had a chocolate swirl loaf and this one with the rose petal tea sounds so good.
Chele says
Good ol' Betty's huh – I've only ever been to the shops in York but what a treat it is. Love how it inspired you to bake for this month's WSC … I am still dithering as per usual … looks a fantastic bake.
Choclette says
Oh Dom, this is wonderful and so cleverly done. It's produced a fantastic result and I'm sure Betty's would be proud of you. I certainly am. I've never been to Harrogate, but did manage a quick side-step into Betty's at York when I was there for work last year. Now I want some wild chocolate too.
ps – this would be a good one to enter into Breakfast Club too (I'm hosting) 🙂
Jen Price says
That loaf looks beautiful, I love a bit of chocolate in my bread and the rose tea sounds like an interesting flavour combination.
Recipe Junkie says
Great swirl loaf. I love Bettys. Their cinammon toast is one of my favourite things EVER.
Katie says
That sounds heavenly. Love the idea of the delicate rose against the chocolate swirl. Your swirl turned out beautifully too
From Beyond My Kitchen Window says
You did such a great job of this swirl bread. I'm trying to imagine what this beauty tastes like.
Michael Toa says
That is a thing of beauty Dom! Love the swirl…
I adore the scent and flavour of rose and with chocolate? yum!
Magnolia Verandah says
This looks perfect – and toasted for breakfast would be even better. This swirl bread looks well………so perfect!
Karen S Booth says
GORGEOUS! The next time in in York, my home town, we MUST meet for tea at Betty's, my treat Dom! XXX
chezfoti.com says
Oh I LOVE Betty's. I've been lucky enough to live in Harrogate on a few occasions and Betty's is the ultimate tea room ever! And so quintessentially and wonderfully English. Your chocolate tea loaf looks mightily impressive! Louisa
Fuss Free Helen says
That looks lovely, a very clever use of the tea.
Love Betty's, the last time I went was to the Ilkely one, following a very blowy walk on the Cow and Calf rocks.
franglaiskitchen.com says
Well Dom this beautiful loaf has such a gorgeous combination of flavours. I love the idea of using rose tea, giving an unusual hint without being overly floral I imagine. thanks for entering WSC with this recipe that I am bookmarking!
Clarence Evans says
I love that loaf, can't wait to have one.
http://www.brownieheaven.co.uk