Just before Christmas my bakery wingwoman Sophie and I bravely ventured on a London bakery tour with the team at Mademoiselle Desserts.
Starting in Hammersmith and meandering our way through central London, we visited around a dozen bakeries including Arôme, Buns from Home, Chestnut Bakery, Crème, Cutter & Squidge, Fortitude, and Outsider Tart to spot trends and sample the delights that were on offer.
It was one of those ‘this can’t be a real job’ kind of days that, combined with the Christmas decorations and a heady sugar rush, was truly delightful. It was also filled with learning and inspiration, which I wanted to share:
Cereal milk might just be my new favourite flavour
My two favourite food categories are bakery and cereal, so combining the two in one delicious dish is my idea of heaven. The dish in question is the iconic Crushed Milk Chocolate Cookies & Frosties Soft Serve from NAC on North Audley Street. As the name suggests, it combines fresh-from-the-oven cookies – which were delightfully gooey in the middle and crisp on the outside – with a generous swirl of cereal milk-flavoured ice cream and a sprinkle of Frosties for good measure.
As only the second stop of the day, I should have had more self-restraint and yet I found myself polishing off the majority of the dish as everyone else exercised will power that I clearly didn’t have.
I’ve heard murmurings of cereal milk becoming a ‘thing’ in the bakery and dessert worlds but had yet to see it in action (the only other time I’ve had it was in the form of Coco Pops condensed milk in a cocktail at The Hideout in Bath). Having done so, I can only say one thing – more please!
People can make or break a bakery
While I was enamoured by many a delicious baked good on our day trip, it was the people that really brought it to life and highlighted those establishments as ones I would go back to in a heartbeat.
There’s nothing like the joy of basking in someone’s passion for bakery, taking on board their recommendations about what to try, and then reporting back that they were correct – the tiramisu croissant was indeed a triumph. This was particularly true of Fortitude and Chestnut Bakery where we had the time to engage with staff, see them hard at work, and learn more about them.
It’s something I have experienced elsewhere in Britain, from my local Gwyn’s Bakery in Horsham to Lovingly Artisan in Cumbria, and Pettigrew Bakeries in Cardiff to name a few. But it’s fantastic to see that the hustle and bustle of London life hasn’t detracted from the warmth a bakery can offer.
TikTok hits don’t always deliver in real life
TikTok is both a wonderful tool and a literal waste of time, which can make deciding whether to visit a bakery based on what you have seen on social media a difficult task.
As intrepid bakery explorers, we took it upon ourselves to visit some of the hottest TikTok sweet spots and were met with queues on a Wednesday afternoon which pointed to their online fame. Sadly though, we were left disappointed with the fare on offer by one or two.
In fairness, it might have been that I didn’t choose the best thing on the menu or perhaps it just wasn’t to my taste, but it’s safe to say that some of the spectacles on the internet are very much style over substance.
Fusion food is fantastic
Hybrids have long been a staple of the bakery scene, with the likes of the cronut, yumnut, and crookie rising to fame while a host of oddly named mash-ups have come and gone. If the London bakery scene is anything to go by, there is plenty still money to be made and consumers to delight by combining flavours, techniques, or formats to create new experiences.
This was particularly true of Arôme, which prides itself on its French techniques coupled with Asian ingredients. The Apple Miso Danish was a joy to eat – refined, delicate, and balanced with the sweetness from apple and umami from miso, while somehow evoking the memory of a McDonald’s apple pie. The viral Honey Butter Toast didn’t disappoint, delivering a sweet, buttery crunch, while the Hot Dog Croissant (initially amusing at its boldness to exist) won the group over with crisp pastry and triumphant flavour combo of hotdog, cheese, Japanese BBQ sauce, and sesame.
There was also fusion or hybrid offerings elsewhere on the tour from a Christmas Trifle Cake at Cutter & Squidge to Banana Bread Buns at Buns from Home, the aforementioned Tiramisu Danish at Chestnut Bakery, and Miso & White Chocolate Cookies at Crème.
London’s bakery scene is alive and kicking
The phrase ‘well, duh’ may come to mind but I feel it is worth pointing out. What we saw as we racked up 18,000 steps and who knows how many calories was the sheer diversity of London’s bakery scene. Sure, with just a dozen businesses under our belt we didn’t even scratch the surface of what was on offer, but it was exciting to see (even just in passing) the assortment on offer.
There were humble bagel shops fuelling Londoners at lunchtime to a high-end patisserie with a doorman outside, community bakeries offering a place to catch up with friends over a pastry, and on-trend single category establishments selling buns, cookies, or cake by the bucketload.
No comments yet