Afternoon tea in York: we try Milliefox Cafe, Huntington

The silver tray is laden with three tiers of miniature delights to tempt the tastebuds.

On the base, as per tradition, is a plate of sandwiches - all featuring different breads - and a hunk of home-made sausage roll.

In fact, everything bar the strawberry jam for the fruit scone and the bread is home-made at Milliefox HQ in Huntington (milliefoxcakes.co.uk) under the guidance of cake supremo Jo Millner.

Jo opened the cafe at North Moor Road, Huntington, in October 2021 following a spell running a cake-making business from a small studio in Nether Poppleton.

The cafe runs Monday to Saturday in the winter and will open daily through the summer.

When my friend Lena and I arrived on Tuesday afternoon after being invited by Jo to review the afternoon tea offer, the cafe was half full. There were a mix of female friends huddled over a table, tucking into hot drinks and slices of cake, as well as young mums sharing a treat with their children.

"It's a school strike day," said Jo, almost apologetically as she greeted us at the counter. We didn't mind - better to have a lively cafe than one that is soulless with no customers and atmosphere.

We hadn't been settled for long before our drinks order was taken - a hot chocolate (hold the marshmallows and cream) for Lena and a pot of decaffeinated tea for me.

Afternoon tea at Millefox Cafe in York

A few minutes later our tower of goodies arrived.

It was just after 1.30pm and we had skipped lunch with the aim of doing the afternoon tea justice.

Starving, we soon polished off the savoury foundation layer - a finger of white bread generously smothered with cream cheese and folds of smoked salmon; a triangle of brown bread with rich tuna mayo; a sarnie of ham and spinach leaves, and one of cheddar and pickle. The only thing we left was the wedge of sausage roll, which we found a bit heavy for our liking - and we knew we still had a mountain of eating to conquer.

Next came the scone: big enough to fit in your hand, it had just the right amount of dried fruit inside and paired perfectly with the mini pots of clotted cream and jam.

By now we were pretty full - but still had a tray of miniature cakes to manage. From triangles of millionaire's shortbread and chocolate brownie to lemon drizzle cupcakes and strawberry mousse, this had something for all tastes.

But our eyes were definitely bigger than our bellies and we each packed a few of the sweet treats into a take-away box to share with family at home.

If you prefer savoury to sweet, the good news is that Jo also offers a savoury afternoon tea, which comprises of sandwiches, mini quiche, scotch eggs, cheese scone as well as sausage rolls - again, all home-made.

At Christmas time, on the menu was a chocolate themed afternoon tea where even the scone got a cocoa make-over.

Coming soon is a vintage-styled afternoon tea using ornate crockery.

The cafe is licensed so can offer a glass of Prosecco with afternoon tea also.

Jo said: "We hire the cafe for private functions and it holds 32. We are really popular for baby showers too."

Afternoon tea with Prosecco at Millefox Cafe

Besides the cafe, there is a separate party room that can accommodate up to 12 people and is used to host kids parties. From April it will also be used to host cake making and cake craft workshops such as creating cupcake bouquets and sugar paste modelling. It can also be hired for small meetings.

Jo said: "We have two kitchens here so one is used for the Milliefox Cafe and the other is used for Milliefox Cakes where we create afternoon teas to eat in or takeaway, bespoke cakes for weddings and celebrations and our signature brownies that can be posted all over the UK as gifts."

New for March is a coffee service. Jo explains: "We have a selection of beans that can be sold whole or ground and you can try before you buy to make sure the taste is exactly what you are looking for.

"Our new website is being developed which we are really excited about as this will enable online booking for parties, afternoon teas and tables. It will also enable people to order subscription coffee to the door and our new coffee tasting kits will launch in April."

Jo said the business also offers outside catering for parties with a range of options from a buffet and afternoon tea to a brownie or dessert table.

Jo Millner - cake guru at Milliefox Cakes

From humble beginnings, Jo now has a team of eight - and is growing her cake empire by the month.

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It's all a long way from her earlier career in social care. She first started decorating cakes as a hobby to help her cope with the stresses of the job.

And in October 2019, Jo followed her dream of turning cake decorating into a full time job and opened her first studio in Nether Poppleton.

Now based at Huntington, she said there were some benefits to the business and the customer of being outside the city centre. For starters, there is free parking around the cafe and neighbouring streets, and prices are competitive: afternoon tea costs £17.50 while the savoury one costs £19.50.

Find out more at milliefoxcakes.co.uk.