AFT Introducing: Oakley Grange Farm

Photos: © Oakley Grange Farm

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Oakley Grange Farm, in the heart of Leicestershire, is over 200 years old, and has been run by the Mee family for the past two generations. Richard and Inger took over the farm in 2001 and farm organically, raising beef cattle, pigs, sheep and laying hens alongside wheat, fruit and salad vegetables.

Their café is part of a busy working farm and boasts views over the countryside as well as into rural life. Tractors and animals alike can be
seen from the café windows and visitors can also benefit from their local
and farming expertise.

As much food as possible is either grown or reared on Oakley Grange Farm, and if not, they try to source from local suppliers. Everything is freshly prepared and served by Inger and the team in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

In the café, breakfast, afternoon tea, coffee and cake, is served as well as a wide range of hot lunches and sandwiches. The breakfast includes their own sausages, bacon and eggs along with roast tomatoes, mushrooms and toast made from the farm's home baked bread.

Organic beef, pork, lamb, eggs produced on the farm can be bought in their shop plus other carefully sourced  groceries including biscuits, preserves, pickles and chocolates.

To find out more about Oakley Grange Farm visit their page on 
The Artisan Food Trail here

Earl Grey Butter Biscuits

Photo: © childsdesign

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It's amazing how so few ingredients can go towards making such a delicious treat and these butter biscuits are very easy to make. No need to worry about having lots of space to roll out dough, as these biscuits require such a simple method to shape them. Just by pressing a fork on the dough to flatten them, gives a good shape with a pleasing ridged pattern on top – perfect for catching the sugar crystals for added crunch.

We must stress that it is important to use a good quality Earl Grey tea. You may have noticed that cheap Earl Grey tea (especially the stuff in tea bags) contains little white flecks. These are artificial flavouring pellets which will not give a great finished result.
Good quality loose leaf tea is fragranced with real Bergamot oil which is essential for a good biscuit and a cuppa of course.

These little biscuits are a fitting partner to be enjoyed with afternoon tea or coffee or as part of a dessert with ice cream and a fruit compote.
They have good keeping qualities and will remain crispy when stored in an airtight container. We dare you to see just how long they last, that's if you don't succumb to their irresistible butteriness too soon!

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