Sweet Mini-Series: Hummingbird Bakery Chronicles, by Cake Gumshoe Alexandra

CakeSpy Note: This is the introduction to a series of several entries about (and recipes from!) London's Hummingbird Bakery by Cake Gumshoe Alexandra Levert, who is an assistant director for a French television network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She loves cooking and baking because she finds it comforting and yet challenging at the same time. She tries to combine her love of food and her love of travel as much as life will let her.

Alexandra's Spy Report

I recently went to visit my Australian friend and her boyfriend in London, England. Upon my arrival, as I reached into my bag to give them a little souvenir from my trip to Prague, she handed me a book… Something called Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I was immediately intrigued by it, seeing as the cover adorned lovely cupcakes and a few other desserts. You see, I’ve been obsessed with cupcakes for quite a while now, and seeing this picture of the beautiful and perfect sweets didn’t help my obsession. When I finally opened the book, I remember being completely enamored with the variety of desserts being described and also with the beauty of their presentation. To my great surprise, my friend told me the bakery was actually in London itself, and that we could go to one of the three locations during my stay. How marvelous!

My experience at The Hummingbird Bakery

The location I went to is situated on Wardour Street, a small side street in SoHo. I could see the white and pink hummingbird sign by the entrance from far away. When I went in, I found it as adorable as I thought I would: Cupcake pop-art on the walls, cookbooks on shelves, dessert trays and, most importantly, endless rows of cupcakes. I went there on a Saturday, so the bakery was packed and extremely busy. I queued for my chance to finally get one their sweets, but when one of the girls working there asked me what I wanted, I couldn’t even choose! Vanilla with vanilla frosting? Too easy.  Vanilla with chocolate frosting? Too common. Orange blossom? Maybe some other time. Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting? Perfect! I bought my cupcake along with two notebooks as souvenirs for my friends back in Toronto. Then my friend and I walked to Trafalgar Square and devoured our desserts in seconds! The cake was moist and flavorful, the frosting was simply delicious, and the two put together made it one of the best cupcakes I have ever had. My friend had also bought the raspberry cheesecake and after having only a spoonful of it, I can honestly say it was incredible.

The final word?

So, if you are ever in London and are looking for a little (or big) something to satisfy your sweet tooth, I definitely recommend The Hummingbird Bakery. Now, I am back home and eager to try some of the dessert recipes. Stay tuned to hear about my attempt to make some cupcakes of my own.

In the meantime, check out Hummingbird Bakery online!

Comments

[claire]

I love it! brings back great memories and i look forward to reading more.... Miss you

[Siobhan]

I love the Hummingbird Bakery! I was given their cookbook last year and I finally got to taste one in their SoHo bakery this summer. I live in Ireland but I'm actually moving to London this weekend - I can't wait to have such delicious cupcakes accessible to me! Woohoo! :-)

[Jeff]

Having had the opportunity to bake some of the recipes in the Hummingbird book I look forward to reading your reviews. I have found that they produce cupcakes of a quality well above average. Hummingbird cupcakes are never excessively sweet. The customarily sugary nature of this type of dessert is reigned in by flavours that are not overly complex. I imagine that you will touch on things like favourite recipes in your segments, but I am curious which ones gained your favour. I have a place in my heart for almost everything in the book and find it hard to choose one when it comes to baking. I can guess it will be much the same for you.

P.S. Wonderful photos. They really fit in with the style of CakeSpy.

[Sasha]

I have to say, the author really missed out by not walking a block down the same street on to Princi. My boyfriend works on Wardour Street and has turned me on to their passion fruit cheesecake - the taste is indescribable, absolutely perfect dessert

[ugg tall boots]

The <a href="http://www.classicuggtallboots.com" title="ugg types boots"><strong>ugg types boots</strong></a> are your best choice in this cold winter.

[ugg tall boots]

The page is good.

[ed hardy clothing]

Do you like shopping? Maybe many of you answer “yes”, and your favorite brand is [url=http://www.edhardypick.com]ed hardy clothing[/url]. What is [url=http://www.edhardypick.com]ed hardy jeans[/url] ? [url=http://www.edhardypick.com]cheap ed hardy clothing[/url] is known for its design of bold streets fashion trend .[url=http://www.edhardypick.com]ed hardy womens[/url] is not only loved by most young people, but also a lot of popular Hollywood stars. A major part of buy [url=http://www.edhardypick.com]ed hardy shoes[/url] self-esteem and whole personality design is derived from his cheap ,and $key5 choice up in style or in ways that he feels comfortable .Designer $key6 is basis speaks a lot of his own personality which given a wear person’s way of styling himself up in everytime .$key7 are always so popular in public. And because of its popularity today, $key8 seems much accessible .Ed hardy sale on the website, you can click the link to find your size.u2200fmx