The Rocket Cafe…
Not enough hours in the day this festive season? We have found you the perfect alternative to Christmas cake that everyone will love at the Rocket Cafe.
Understandably not everyone has the time to spend making a traditional Christmas cake from scratch. In our search for a delicious alternative we have found success. Of course, it’s always a bonus if the recipe includes tea!
Because The Tea House head office is in Dorset and the shop is in London, Yeovil Junction station provides us a direct connection between the two locations. Imagine our delight when we discovered a wonderful hidden treasure making our way over the foot bridge down onto the platform. The Rocket Cafe.
Standing on a draughty, damp station platform on an early morning commute to work is always a challenge. So imagine the relief when Steve and Claire open the doors to their traditional cafe. Welcoming travellers in for respite from the cold with warm mugs to wrap their hands around and delicious treats to tuck into. We are lucky enough to meet with Steve and Claire to find out all about the Rocket Cafe and THAT cake you can’t wait to discover.
Let’s start with the cherry on the cake…the food. All the food in The Rocket Cafe is made on the premises – apart from branded confectionary. This makes this café all the more unique. The homemade taste makes all the difference. As a result, thought and care has gone into each bacon sarnie, flapjack or teacake. Bread pudding and Victoria Sponge are just a couple of Steve’s specialities. There is however one speciality in particular that we want to introduce to you… The Earl Grey and Orange Tea Loaf.
Steve himself has been tweaked and perfected the recipe over time. It is a very popular choice all year round. The Earl Grey and Orange Tea Loaf is a luxuriously rich loaf cake. It has the perfect moist and gooey texture you look for in a fruit cake. Every Earl Grey enthusiast should indulge in this tasty treat. However, it is also oozing with a citrusy zest that would appeal to anyone! The Earl Grey tea is a wonderful ingredient giving the cake a particular distinction. With a total time of two and a half to three hours for preparation and baking this tea loaf is a simple alternative to Christmas cake that anyone can try.
More about the Rocket Cafe
The Rocket Cafe, owned and run by Steve and Claire for the past two years is a cosy, old fashioned railway cafe. The cafe is set in a grade two listed building with beautiful original Victorian features. Completed in 1904, the original marble is still a stunning feature along the bar. A bar which now serves steaming teas and coffees rather than alcoholic beverages.
The alarm rings at 3.30am each week day for Steve and Claire so that they can commence preparations to ensure the café can open at 5am on the dot. With a queue of eagerly awaiting passengers outside most mornings, they are unsurprisingly hailed as ‘life savers’. Steve and Claire welcome many regulars to the café including some famous faces. Consequently, many of these regulars don’t even need to state their order as Claire knows exactly what to prepare.
“the people make it worthwhile and being here is like a home from home”
You may ask why Steve and Claire dedicate their time to this special cafe? Well, as Steve explained the answer is “because the people make it worthwhile and being here is like a home from home”. All walks of life pass through The Rocket Cafe and feedback from those customers is greatly appreciated by the couple. They are always open to comments and opinions. They listen to what people want and appreciate. Therefore, they try to provide exactly that even down to the simplest of morning comforts, traditional toast!
As well as being overwhelmed by the dedication and kindness with which Steve and Claire run The Rocket Cafe, we were also inspired by a top tip from Steve. The thing with recipes is that you can take them in their original state and experiment over and over and through trial and error you can tweak it to exactly how you like it. For the Earl Grey and Orange Tea Loaf, Earl Grey tea has been chosen as the star of the show but why not try this recipe or other recipes with different teas added?
The Rocket Cafe is a true traditional gem
Here at the tea house we have got the perfect Earl Grey for you to use with this recipe. Our Earl Grey Superior is a delicious blend of elegant Yunnan leaf from China is partnered with a spicy Ceylon in this sophisticated combination to which natural French Bergamot oil is added resulting in an Earl Grey of particular distinction. However if you’d like to experiment and get creative how about our Earl Grey Citrus? A more aromatic variation to the original recipe that has become immensely popular. Orange peel is added to the classic bergamot-flavoured Chinese black tea, overlaying it with sweet floral citrus tones, perhaps a perfect partner for the Earl Grey and Orange Tea Loaf.
We hope that the recipe below will bring the taste of Christmas to you and all the family members and guests who will be lucky enough to share it with you this festive season.
Click here to download a PDF of this wonderful recipe… Earl Grey and Orange Tea Loaf Recipe.pdf
Finally, The Rocket Cafe is a true traditional gem with a welcoming and refreshing atmosphere everyone should experience. We recommend you pop in for yourselves and see what tasty homemade morsels you can discover.
The Rocket Cafe
Yeovil Junction Station Yeovil Junction Yeovil BA22 9UU
Opening Times
Monday – Friday 5am – 1pm
Saturday – 6am – 11am
Sunday – CLOSED
Directions
Simply make your way over the foot bridge, down the steps onto the platform and The Rocket Café is in the second building along the platform. Or alternatively just follow your nose!