Birthday High Tea at The Observatory

The Oliver sisters are on a quest to sample every High Tea offering in Sydney. This month it was the turn of The Observatory Hotel's Globe Bar. We even had an occasion this time - Lee's 24th birthday - so we ordered champagne... a glass each of Moet Rose. Mmmm.

We'd been looking forward to High Tea at The Observatory for a long time, and they didn't disappoint. We started with mini sandwiches - cucumber & mayo, salmon & mayo, egg and wholegrain mustard and cheddar & tomato.

Next up were the scones, and thank God they weren't anything like the solid hockey pucks we had at the Stamford Circular Quay! Creamy, soft and still warm from the oven, we covered them with lashings of double cream and strawberry conserve (with real chunks of strawberry). The conserve was so tasty Amy took to it with her spoon and finished the bowl... classy!

Saving the sweets till last, we were very excited about the mini creme brulee, chocolate mousse with gold leaf, mini fruit tart, almond florentine and mixed berry cake. The almond florentine was crunchy with a rich toffee centre and definitely my highlight, followed closely by the creme brulee.

Being the good sister, I sent the sisters home with a birthday cake (not that they needed anything else to eat), this time a carrot cake with lime cream cheese icing. The recipe was a combination of two I found online - on taste.com.au and the other on epicurious.com

Unfortunately it wouldn't all fit in the container, so I did manage a small taste test. The verdict? Moist, crunchy from the walnuts, the sharp tang of the lime icing... delish!