So we've moved...again! back to North Wales where we lived two years ago for my husband to finish off his last year of Uni. We've been here for 3 weeks now and we've had amazing weather so we've been out and about exploring daily, showing Ella the sights and with everything basking in golden sunlight and blue skies I'm wondering what I didn't like about living here the last time around?
Oh yeah...lack of cake!
So whilst I'm dreaming about better cake days, here's a round up of all the best baked treats I've been eating over the past year!
In Leeds on the last Saturday of every month, Kirkstall Abbey (pictured at the top) hosts a very awesome
food market!
It's worth going for the
Yummy Yank's stall alone! because everything's baked by an American, so what more needs to be said! Think huge slabs of rocky road bars, peanut butter bars, pecan pie bars and...
chocolate nutella cheesecake cake!
Everything I've ever tried from here is amazing!
I was also SUPER excited to discover a stall selling only
Nanaimo bars! which originate from Vancouver Island and are a truly Canadian confection! It's safe to say I ate my fair share whilst we lived over there...and whilst I came across all kinds of combos - raspberry, peanut butter, mint variations...I never came across an Oreo one!
They were so tasty, and I wanted to buy every variety on the stall!!
Heading up to Scotland next...here's my cakey round up of all things tartan and bagpipe like!
Cup is right in Glasgow's town centre, they have a cabinet filled with a good variety of cupcakes, and they also offer afternoon tea's which seemed quite popular.
For me, their cupcakes were just okay - not particularly moist and the frosting was on the heavy side.
Just outside of the centre is
Cushion & Cake, a little vintage style tearoom. I was a little disappointed with their cake selection on the day I visited. I had heard good things about this place but none of their flavours were that appealing to me...
until I heard them mention coconut and I was sold! It also came sandwiched with some pineapple jam, I asked them if it was homemade and they said it wasn't (insert stoney Mary Berry face here!) I would have expected a little place like this would have whipped everything up themselves! it was a pretty good cake!
My mom and sister shared the polenta cake and they weren't bowled over either!
Next up was
Cupcakery Bakehouse, whose cupcakes I really wanted to love! We went in when Ella was still a teeny tiny newborn to take away some cakes for a sweet treat! The owner would have chatted to us all day and was such a nice guy, he told us how he had gone down to London and sampled all the cupcakes down there before he opened up...so in my head I was thinking these are going to be good!
My husband got the ferrero rocher one, and his chocolate frosting tasted of mint! It was so weird! I don't know whether it had been next to mint flavoured ones in the cabinet or if the wrong frosting had been put on but it was just a strange combo!
My coconut frosting on the bounty cupcake was tasty but again the chocolate cupcake part was just dry, so Glasgow really didn't impress on the cake front!
but in Edinburgh it's a whole different story and the cake scene is a whole lot tastier!
Just off the main road is Bibi's Cake Boutique specialising in cupcakes, and what a variety of flavours they had!
It was a no brainer! and I had to pick the Nutella one! A nice moist chocolate cupcake with fluffy creaming Nutella frosting - you can't go wrong!
Now my very favourite find is
Love Crumbs. I love everything about it, from the piano you can sit at that acts as a table to the little window seat if lucky enough to score it where you literally sit in the window - like you're on display or something! to their unusual flavour combos, and most of all their creamy dreamy beautifully frosted layer cakes! This place is a total winner!
My only complaint, is that both times I've gone have been late in the day and they display their cakes in an open cabinet (which looks very cool and hip admittedly) but I'm pretty sure their cakes would be way fresher if they were contained better...
Storage issues aside,
I present the peanut butter and jelly layer cake!
Any UK cakery that presents peanut butter baked goods makes my husband do a happy dance! He was loving it!
Cheesecake swirled brownie - it's a win win!
Another time went and got peanut butter and white chocolate tart and this utterly divine mint and white chocolate brownie - see those green pieces on top - they were like mint cracknel! which features inside one of my favourite South African chocolate bars, peppermint crisp, where they found them in the UK I will never know but the baked goods are consistently inventive and amazing here! I'm still hoping to make it there one day when they have made their brownie meringue pies because they always look amazing on their IG feed!
Over in Leith,
Mimi's Bakehouse had been on my to visit list of a long time! I finally made it with my mom and sister shortly before we left Scotland, which was a shame because had I discovered it sooner I would have been back for sure!!
It was very cute inside, bunting galore!
and I adored the hanging rolling pins and whisks from the wall!
Clearly, Mimi and I think alike!
This coconut slice was the dreamiest creamiest slice to ever touch my lips! I am so desperate to recreate it! a chocolate biscuit base, covered in creamy coconut with tiny coconut shreds in and topped with milk chocolate and a piece of bounty - a coconut lover's dream!
Once back in England again, we couldn't stay in Shropshire without visiting my favourite Shropshire cake establishment -
Queenie's Cupcakery.
I was so pleased to see their more out their flavour combos this time around, our first visit they mostly had traditional flavours but I loved that they had branched out!
This berry cupcake was covered in cream cheese frosting, and meringue pieces and was so amazingly delicious it almost made me regret my choice...
almost but not quite because this snickerlicious cupcake was the best cupcake I've eaten all year! Now that's some compliment! The frosting was oh so silky and creamy with a little layer of peanut nougatty goodness underneath and a MOIST chocolate cake! Finally!!
Byron was also super happy with his chocolate hazelnut combo and again we couldn't get over the creaminess of that frosting!!
We took a random daytrip to Liverpool! I googled cupcakeries as you do, and came across
Cuthbert's Bakehouse. I heard their Nutella Cupcakes were worth the visit alone, I tweeted to ask if they would have them on the day we were going and they said they would make them especially - now that's service!
It was all very quaint inside...but with no cupcakes in sight we were getting worried! I asked about the Nutella cupcakes and I was told they were just coming out the oven. So we had to wait a while for them to cool down and be frosted...but when a fresh Nutella cupcake is headed my way I can find a lot of patience!
They were SO worth the wait! and so good, that we boxed up a whole load of them to take home too! That frosting was to die for!
Sooo silky smooth! if you are ever near Liverpool, you have to detour to try on of those!
My last caking adventure ended up in London where I hadn't been for nearly 2 years! which was painful for me! I love London with a passion! and the one thing I was desperate to do was try a Nutella duffin from
Bea's of Bloomsbury. I've tried their jam duffins, but as you all know I'm obsessed with Nutella and these little beauties weren't around on my last visit. I especially tweeted and asked if they would be in the bakery when we visited, I was assured they were made Mon-Fri. So off we headed to their St.Pauls location which was waaaay out of our way but man I wanted a Nutella duffin! It was bank holiday so they only opened at Midday, cue sitting around in the rain waiting for 30 minutes because no other shops were open either!
and then we get inside and not a duffin in sight! Apparently they only make them at their St.Pauls store on the weekends! I was SO upset to have missed out. We weren't going to have time to go to their other store...so we picked up a few goodies to keep us going but I was too bitter about my poor Nutella duffin disaster to enjoy them!
The brownie was packed full of coconut and walnuts and was just the fudgy kind of delicious you expect from a brownie, and the monster peanut butter and jelly slice was pleasing my husband no end!
When I'm in a happier mood, I'm sure their key lime cupcake will hit the spot! with toasted meringue frosting and a key lime curd filling - yum!
So that's that...the one upside of a lack of tasty baked goods to buy around these parts is I will be making alot more so hopefully this blog will see more action! and you can bet it's going to be Nutella orientated ;)
