Chelsea Bun - Fitzbillies, Cambridge

Fitzbillies Chelsea Bun

Firstly, an apology for the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks.  Sadly, my Gran passed away and therefore, my time has been spent elsewhere.  We are left with fond memories, many of which involve food, and I am sure I have inherited my love of good food from her.

Anyway, some resemblance of normality must resume so I am pleased to bring you my next installment.

The choice here has to be credited to a friend of mine, Milton, who recommended the Fitzbillies Chelsea Bun to me in his blog.  I will also place all blame on him for my inevitable repeat visits and the resulting hole in my wallet and expanding waistline!

Fitzbillies, located on Trumpington Street near King's College, Cambridge is a beautiful bakery, renowned for it's Chelsea Buns, which are also available to mail order.  The selection of sweet and savoury goodies was fantastic and it took me some time to decide on what to have for my lunch.  The signature Chelsea Bun won in the end, but I also went for a rabbit pasty to start which was absolutely delicious too.  Anyway, this is about the cakes, so without further ado I'll get down to business. 

Presentation - Score: 7/10

My personal opinion is that Chelsea Buns are not the prettiest of cakes, but at the same time there is a certain appeal in their swirling form.  What set these Chelsea Buns apart was the honey oozing out of every crevice, which is enough to make me drool even now just thinking about it!  This means the Fitzbillies Chelsea Bun scores a rather good 7 out of 10 for presentation.

Taste - Score: 10/10

Firstly, these buns should come with a warning not to eat them at your desk in the office unless you have a plentiful supply of wet wipes to hand - a thank you to one of my colleagues there for coming to my rescue :)  Secondly, these Chelsea buns are deeeeeelicious!  The sweet honey, spicy cinnamon, chewy currants and perfectly textured dough combine beautifully to create a treat that is truly divine and is well deserving of a perfect 10 out of 10 for taste.

Overall - Score: 9/10

Here we have another special cake, which doesn't quite pip the courgette cake to being the best one I've reviewed so far, but runs a very, very close second.  Overall, a fantastic score of 9 out of 10.  I can't wait to go back and try something else...and maybe another one of these :)

Fresh Cream Scone - Julie's Bakery, March

Julie's Bakery Fresh Cream Scone

After last week's interesting experience with Greggs I decided to try another bakery in March.  Julie's has a wide range of sandwich fillings on offer, freshly made to order, but not quite as much choice in the way of sweet treats.

I was tempted by the fresh cream counter and plumped for the fresh cream fruit scone.  Here's what I thought.

Presentation - Score: 7/10

The scone was nicely shaped, round but not perfectly so like the ones at The Carnaby Room.  There was absolutely loads of fresh cream in the middle, already looking to burst out the sides with just the weight of the top half of the scone.  The only disappointment really was that there wasn't jam squidging out the sides as well.

All this means that the fresh cream scone from Julie's bakery scores a very respectable 7 out of 10 for presentation.

Taste - Score: 7/10

As expected with the first bite, I was scraping cream up of the table, but, ignoring the mess, I was impressed with the texture of the scone.  It was nice and soft, maybe not quite crumbly enough, but certainly not too dry.  My only complaint with the scone would be that, in my opinion, there wasn't enough fruit in it.

The cream was slightly sweeter than I expected, but a lovely texture, and definitely the next best thing to clotted cream.  I have to say I hardly noticed the jam though, which was disappointing, as everything else was rather good.  Therefore, the fresh cream scone from Julie's bakery scores another good 7 out of 10 for taste.

Overall - Score: 7/10

Another solid score from a scone, but I'm still waiting for one that has everything.  The Butterfinger's cream tea needed better cream, the Carnaby Room scones were not really up to scratch and this one needed more jam.  Will I find the perfect combination?

Therefore, the fresh cream scone from Julie's bakery scores a good 7 out of 10 overall.

Apple Rhubarb & Custard Pasty - Pasty Presto, Cambridge

Apple, Rhubarb & Custard Pasty

I do like a pasty at lunch time, traditional Cornish and steak and stilton being two of my favourites, but I've never eaten a sweet one before.  So, when I saw this in the window of Pasty Presto in Cambridge I was intrigued.  The fact it had rhubarb and custard in definitely sealed the deal, so here is what I thought.

Presentation - Score: 5/10

Pasties are never going to make the top of the list in terms of looks, but they do rough and ready really well.  I think the fact that the only differences between this and the savoury pasties were the markings and icing sugar on top kind of tells the story.

However, the pastry was a beautiful golden colour and I couldn't wait to see inside so the Apple, Rhubarb and Custard Pasty scores an average 5 out of 10 for presentation.

Taste - Score: 7/10

Taking the first bite, I was full of anticipation.  As I went to sink my teeth in I took a breath, and got a lung-full of icing sugar!!  After a brief coughing fit, and brushing some of the remaining icing sugar off the top so there wasn't a repeat performance, I took that all important first bite.  The pastry on the outside was delightfully crisp and just that little bit flaky, not so much that my lap was showered in the stuff, but just enough to create a wonderful texture and sound to the bite.

The filling was lovely too, not too sweet, with a good mix of apple, rhubarb and custard to create the flavour - although if I had my own way I'd drop the apple and just go with the rhubarb and custard!

Therefore, the Apple, Rhubarb and Custard Pasty scores a good 7 out of 10 for taste.

Overall - Score: 6/10

I was very pleased that I gave the sweet pasty a try, and would definitely choose it, or another flavour, again.  It was always going to be let down a bit by it's looks, but at the end of the day if it tastes good the looks don't really matter.  All-in-all, a very respectable 6 out of 10 for the Apple, Rhubarb and Custard Pasty.