Whilst in London I went to Paul A. Young's shop in Wardour Street. I'd read about good things about his chocolate on various blogs I follow and decided to buy the sea-salted caramel.
The presentation was simple yet elegant, come in a clear wrapping with a purple ribbon, which looked nice against the dark chocolate.



As you can see, the bar came in 4 chunks, and as it was a small bar, I took the executive decision not to share :) I ate a piece at a time over about 4 nights so I could savour the bar.  The pieces were a bit too big to eat in one go, so I broke them in half.   The chocolate snapped well and had a rich chocolate and caramelly smell.

 The chocolate was smooth and tasty but not bit bitter.  The sea-salt caramel was something I'd never tasted before, and had a very different taste to 'normal' caramel.  It reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what.  I should have written this closer to the time as I could have given a better review.  However, it was very tasty and I'd give it an 8/10 :)

On a side note I finally finished reading Lord of the Rings.  It was my second attempt at reading the books, and I found them much easier going this time round and I really enjoyed them, and I did shed a tear or two at the end when Froddo leaves for the grey havens...
Brilliantly written books and wonderful stories.  I'd always thought the films were better, but after completing the books I think I'd have to rate them on par with each other.

On to reading Double Cross by Malorie Blackman now.

Hope everyone's having a good week :)

Hummingbird Bakery

I haven't blogged since my first post really, been rather busy with work.
A few weeks ago I visited the Hummingbird Bakery in London...

From the Hummingbird Bakery I bought a Black Bottom cupcake, the picture is from their facebook page, as I forgot to take one myself.  The choice was a hard one though, as there were so many different options available :).

The cupcake came in a very cute box, and the cake looked exactly like it does on their website, so presentation was perfect.
The cupcake is described as a 'decadent, dark and dense chocolate sponge, baked with a cheesecake centre and frosted with cream cheese frosting'.  The frosting was wonderful and had a lovely smooth texture and wasn't overly sickly.  The sponge was delicious and soft and contrasted with with the denseness of the cheesecake part.  Overall this cake was simply immense, when I go again, I'd be very tempted to buy it again...if I didn't feel an obligation to try the whole range.


Inspired by this visit I downloaded the 'Cake Days' app on my iPhone and decided to give the Red Velvet Cupcakes a go.  I'd never made them before and was quite excited to try baking something new!
The recipe on the app was very easy to follow, and there was a video recipe to go with it.  The cakes turned out wonderfully (if I do say so myself) and tasted delicious!

 The only thing letting down was perhaps the frosting. It tasted sweet and creamy, but I don't think it was thick enough.  The Cake Days app provides a video on how to frost a cupcake and how to get the Hummingbird's 'signature swirl', however, I didn't quite get the hang of it and think I need a bit more practise before I'll get it right.

However I have to say they were a definite success and everyone who tried them thought they were lovely.  I can't wait to try baking another recipe when I have the time, the only problem will be deciding what to bake!

I'd recommend the Cake Days app if you enjoy baking yummy treats...download it...now!

Happy Baking :)