Markets and underground tea parties!

The last couple of weeks at Cake Towers have seen me experimenting for my fair in a couple of weeks' time. This weekend, I decided it was time to venture out of my kitchen and away from my laptop!

I've lived in London for over 10 years now and there's still so much of this wonderful city which I have yet to see; so many cake shops to visit (and sample!), so many markets to discover.

I thought I'd put that right this weekend and yesterday (Saturday) I went to Northcote Road Market in Clapham. As I discovered on my way home, it's a mere 1 1/2 miles from my front door, which is eminently walkable. The market itself isn't the biggest in the world, but it's friendly and there's a nice selection of fresh food. If the market doesn't grab you, there are a number of bars and coffee shops in which you can while away a few hours.

I had two reasons to visit the market (or three, if you include my desire to visit the local area!) - I wanted to get some ideas of how to sell my cakes at the fair and I wanted to meet Laura Amos. Laura owns the Dessert Deli. http://www.thedessertdeli.co.uk/ I've been following her for a while on Twitter and wanted to say hello as I only live down the road. Laura very generously allows people to sample all of her goodies on sale and her cakes are really rather tasty. If I ever need a dinner party dessert and can't be bothered to make one myself, I'll definitely be ordering something from Laura!

Today (Sunday) saw me venture further afield - all the way to West Croydon. I'd be honest in saying that it wouldn't be my number one destination of choice of a Sunday afternoon, but after today, I'll be going back. Through the power of Twitter, I stumbled across the Underground Tea Party and I'm very glad I did! http://undergroundteaparty.blogspot.com/ Two friends host an informal gathering of tea and homemade cakes (one of which is featured above) and it's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There was delightful company, interesting tea (I'd never tried peony and rose tea before today, but I'm so very glad I did) and very tasty cake. (It's always nice if someone else makes it!) Underground tea parties and supper clubs are springing up all over the place and it's a terrific opportunity to spend time with lovely people who enjoy good food and good company!