As the blog title suggests toasted teacakes do have a part in my life – albeit a small one.

So what makes a good toasted teacake? Needless to say the quality is important – fairly thick and fruity with perhaps a hint of cinnamon. Second comes the toasting – and by that I mean not just what appears to a quick flash under a candle, but properly brown top AND bottom.

And then the butter. Not margarine, low fat spreads but butter. And preferably loose, not produced from little foil packs which never give enough to cover one half, never mind both. The problem is that this is the way most cafés choose to serve them though some do come ready buttered.

So where I have I eaten a good or even passable offering? Recently a nice one served up in the small café just inside the market hall at Newton Abbot – sorry – can’t remember the name and similarly at the Cabin Café at Whitby Harbour. Neither spectacular but quite tasty and not over priced.

The best one on our recent holiday was in Tideswell, Derbyshire at the Vanilla Kitchen. Not only was it a very good teacake, but very good service from a a young lad who I suspect was working during half term.

Vanilla Kitchen, Tideswell

So where can you get the best toasted teacake? Well at home of course. A pack of Warburtons from the Cash & Carry, reasonably priced, properly toasted and covered with more butter than you ever get in a café.

Proper Kingswear Teacakes

Never mind the diet and cholesterol – spoil yourself!