Who doesn't love afternoon tea? We had some special guests this week at the Palava head office and took it as an opportunity to get creative. As part of the floral theme we have been exploring, we baked a Victoria Sponge with a difference. In addition to a double cream and strawberry jam centre, we decorated the centre piece of our afternoon tea with edible flowers.
Restaurants and cafes are using edible flowers more than ever in sweets, savoury dishes and cocktails. We got ours from Maddocks Farm - one of the most popular producers of organic edible flowers in the U.K. Cut flowers from florists and supermarkets are generally not suitable for eating due to the chemical sprays used to preserve them. Maddocks Farm is based in Devon - close to wild and rugged Dartmoor. As an eco-friendly farm, the production of the flowers includes solar powered electricity, use of natural spring water and environmentally friendly packaging. No chemicals are involved in the production of the flowers, making them perfect for adding to recipes or as decoration to your home baking.
We were excited to incorporate organic flowers into our afternoon tea. As a company we value the ethics and quality of organic production greatly and are ourselves committed to using organic cotton for our dresses and skirts. This ensures a more ethical means of production and results in fabrics that are softer and kinder to the skin.
Our cake recipe was from Bee's Adventures in Cake Decorating by Bees Bakery by Bee Berrie. A gorgeous book, filled with creative ideas that has certainly rejuvenated team Palava's baking creativity! We stuck with the basic, fool-proof vanilla sponge recipe that was as easy and delicious as promised. We are now looking forward to trying out the colourful and unusual recipes such as aubergine cake, beetroot and chocolate cake, orange veg cake and avocado icing.
We also decorated these tasty prawn and cheese slices - made especially by our boss Bryony from a favourite family recipe. To make these, simply mix freshly cooked prawns with cream cheese and dill - season with salt, pepper and lemon and serve on freshly sliced wholegrain bread. Add as many edible flowers as you dare!
To wash down the cake, we enjoyed a pot of earl grey tea and a few glasses of Italian sparkling Rosato. It was certainly an afternoon tea to remember!
We continue to celebrate flowers and nature this week and the various ways we are inspired by them. Our pick of the week includes a selection of our floral skirts - a great alternative to our classic dresses. Enjoy!
For information on deliveries in time for Christmas & extension of returns, please click HERE. Please bear in mind that Royal Mail strikes and the consequent increase in demand for other couriers will affect delivery times. We advise you to order your gifts as soon as possible to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas.
Free UK Standard Delivery on all orders over £90
EU customers: Enjoy 20% OFF orders
We know that Brexit has affected both customers and small business in the UK and EU countries, who found themselves sometimes affected by unexpected import duty taxes or customs fees.
We're pleased to announce an exclusive discount to our EU customers:
Enter code WeLoveEU upon checkout to receive 20% off on EU orders across the entire Palava range.
*Please note this discount code cannot be combined with other promo codes. Only one code can be applied at a time.
Palava products are shipped from the UK, but please keep in mind, that you or the recipient may have to pay duty and VAT upon or prior to delivery.
This differs for each country, so please check your local regulations beforehand. Each country is subject to their own laws for import of goods, taxes and duty.
You may not be charged anything, or be able to claim back any duty fees, however, we hope the 20% discount will help offset any potential Brexit related costs for our customers.
If you have problems applying the code on our website, please email hello@palava.co and we'll be happy to assist and reimburse you with the 20% off for EU orders.
1. Will I have to pay more now for EU shipping?
No, we haven't increased our delivery fees for EU customers, despite increased costs to ship to EU countries. Instead we have absorbed the additional postage costs and staff resources for the paperwork.
2. Will I be charged for Duty/Tax by customs on arrival of my parcel?
You may be charged tax for your order on arrival by the country of destination and this is not imposed by Palava.co, these taxes are referred to as “Import Taxes”. We thus advise looking into the national taxes imposed by your country on the import of goods from UK merchants. We have seen in the past that not all international sales are subject to import duty and taxes, but that does not mean that on arrival the individual country will not impose these charges. Charges on imports are often based on the destination country, product type, product value, county of origin, and declaration of use of goods. If goods are of a low value certain countries may not impose duty charges, but we highly recommend you look into the guidance provided by the local governing body that manages your country’s imports and tax charges.
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