There's a new cupcakery in town!!

A second branch of Primrose Bakery has opened in Covent Garden at 42 Tavistock Street. It's not yet listed on their site but I popped by today and its definitely open and selling cupcakes!!!

It's a really cute little store, pretty much the same as the Primrose Hill branch, except the counter is bigger, therefore letting them display MUCH more cupcakes, and their yummy looking layer cakes, and I think the seating area is a little bigger!! I didn't have the camera to take pics but will be going back asap! It looks very much like the pic above of the first branch, just in case you're looking for it :)

I got 2 cupcakes - a vanilla and a chocolate and both were utterly gorgeous - I didn't eat both, one was for Manny!!! The base of my vanilla was really soft and the frosting was utterly delicious as usual, and as usual there were no complaints from Manny!

I was especially happy to find the newly opened Primrose today (it opened on Monday) as at lunchtime today I noticed a new bakery/deli, Fraiche, opened today just near my work and I popped in to check it out and was seduced by a cute looking cupcake - unfortunately it only looked cute - when I tried the frosting it had a fish taste, and unfortunately the second bite only confirmed it, it DID taste of fish, so it went straight into my bin!

Craving cupcakes...Daisy Cakes to the rescue

So today I was home alone and craving cupcakes - I have gone nearly 2 weeks without a "fix" so I woke up thinking FROSTING! Then I realised I really wasn't in a 'getting on the bus and listening to each stop being announced then jostling with a zillion people' mood so I decided to ditch my idea of going to Buttercup and went to Daisy Cakes Bake Shop in Greenwich instead.

As soon as I walked into Daisy Cakes and smelt the fresh cupcakes baking I knew it had been a good idea - I quickly got a red velvet and a vanilla and headed home to enjoy a people free Saturday!!

Both cupcakes were gorgeous (I liked the red velvet base best and the vanilla frosting...go figure!) and my people free day has been great :)

Hummingbird Bakery Portobello Road

Last Wednesday was another day off work so I went for a wander down Westbourne Grove, via Whiteleys/Hyde Park, checking out Food Inc @ Whiteleys on the way - they had cupcakes but I didn't try them this time as I wanted to go to Hummingbird, but will try them next time - they actually looked like cupcakes from Cake Hole in Columbia Road. I also popped into Tom's Deli in Westbourne Grove and saw their lovely display of goodies including Primrose Bakery cupcakes.

When I've gone to Hummingbird in Portobello Road before there's been such a HUGE queue to get in I've not bothered but at 11.30am on a sunny Wednesday they were quiet :) I got a chocolate for me and a vanilla for Manny and a little cute single container with a vanilla one for my friend Helen! I couldn't resist having a cupcake for my lunch so sat outside with a coffee and a scrumptious red velvet cupcake :) Hummingbird is definitely one of my favourite cupcakeries in London and as usual their cakes were lovely and moist, their frosting thick and yummy :) The shop is v.small but had a good range of flavours (including lemon curd which I must try next time if they have it!) and a few big cakes for sale, whole or by the slice! They had a poster up advertising Thursday as meringue topped cupcake day so I must pop over one Thursday to try those!

What I really loved about my trip there, apart from sitting outside watching the world go by while scoffing a yummy cupcake - when I was sitting outside a couple of Big Issue sellers came over and asked me to watch their dog while they went in and bought a big bag of cupcakes to scoff - they reckoned it's their weekly treat, they were followed into the shop by an obviously wealthy "yummy mummy" with her designer clad kids, while the 4x4 was left outside complete with designer little doggie...cupcakes bring everyone together, they REALLY are magical :)

Any excuse for a cupcake!!

or two!

It was my friend Kevin's 40th birthday on Saturday so I popped to Primrose Bakery to get him a cupcake and couldn't resist picking up a few for myself and Manny and a couple of little ones for my friends Grey and Dawn.

I also had a coffee and a melting moment biscuit in their little coffee area - however it wasn't the lovely relaxing cup of coffee I was hoping for, nor was it particularly welcoming, with staff chattering over my head, and seeming perturbed at their conversations being interupted to serve myself and others that came in. One of the owners was in there when I went in and when I said "hello" (as you do when you go into a shop...or is it just me?) - I got a grunt and a forced smile - mind you I didn't take it personally after seeing their pic in the Mail.

Therefore I think this might be my last visit to the shop, which is rather unfortunate as their cupcakes are really nice and I really love the little shop with its ultra cute little cafe bit but I don't like to visit places where you are made to feel like your interrupting their day - don't run a cafe if you plan to make people feel like they've invaded your front room is my personal opinion!

I particularly found it rather perturbing that when you buy a load of cakes they don't offer a bag- not a problem to me as I always carry bags with me but the woman in front of me who bought a whole cake and a big box of cupcakes, at the cost of over �40, and wasn't offered a bag before the girl just wandered off to continue her conversation seemed rather pi**ed off - not a way to get repeat business I'd say.

Like I said the cupcakes were absolutely gorgeous - the frosting's very nice and the cakes are always fresh tasting - so at least their attitude doesn't curdle the cupcakes. Alas it does put me off visiting! There are enough other places in London that make lovely cupcakes without the attitude.

Cupcakes and bakes

Another new cupcake discovery today - Cupcakes and Bakes in Greenwich's newly launched weekly food market. They will be there Wednesdays and Thursdays so pop along and try some of their lovely cupcakes. We had a vanilla and a chocolate with vanilla frosting and they were very yummy with lovely frosting! I loved the home made taste of the cakes as well - I really do like it when cakes TASTE homemade rather than churned out in a factory!

I shall be returning!!

Sorry the pic isn't the best - my cameras being a pain and also the cakes were in my bag for a while and got a wee bit squished - still tasted fab though!

Primrose Bakery....the first, but not last, visit!

Saturday saw us venture up North to Primrose Hill/Camden to visit Primrose Bakery. I'd had one of their cupcakes some time ago in Selfridges but was keen to visit and check out their full range and I was certainly NOT disappointed!

After a bit of a detour (we got lost as I was navigating and was rather distracted by some gorgeous pink houses!) we found the bakery and from the outside it was utterly adorable with its little cute logo on the window. As you enter the shop there are about 4 small tables on one side (with those American deli style padded chairs that I like) and the other side of the shop has lots of little bits to buy - from reusable bags for your shopping to tattoo man dolls. The most important part of the shop however is at the end of this section - the lovely cabinets of CUPCAKES! They come in large and small and they had about 5 flavours to choose from - with more being baked downstairs in the kitchen - which is just as well as the shop was constantly busy with people buying boxes of cupcakes!

It was rather busy and we didn't think we'd get a seat but thankfully some people were just leaving so we grabbed a pew and ordered 2 coffees and 2 cupcakes - chocolate for Manny and vanilla for me! The cupcakes came served on cute little china plates with adorable little forks (not wooden as often happens and often taints the flavour!). They were totally GORGEOUS and Primrose immediately entered my top 5 cupcake places!! The frosting was to die for, thick and utterly tasty - with just the right amount of vanilla in it -and the batter base was just perfect. Manny was drooling over some cornflake mars bar cake and went and got a bit as soon as he'd finished his cupcake.

We got some cakes to take away - another vanilla for me and also a carrot one. Manny chose another chocolate and a mocha and also he couldn't resist their gorgeous afghan biscuit so we got one of those too! I also picked up a gorgeous set of 3 cupcake magnets and a little cute badge all by Owensays.com. I could've spent a fortune in there and bought loads more but I figured that if I was a bit restrained I had an excuse to go back again to shop v.soon!

We walked a lot of the way home so we ate the other cakes when we got in - the carrot one was full of flavour (and carrot bits!) and the frosting was really nice - sometimes carrot cupcake frosting can be a little too sweet but this was just perfect! Again the vanilla cupcake was beautiful - this time it was pink - the one I had in the cafe was bright green. (I should've taken a pic but I felt a bit self conscious whipping out the camera in the cafe..I need to get over that!).

While there I noticed that they sell their single cupcakes in ultra adorable Chinese take away style containers, complete with the Primrose Bakery logo- like the ones you see in Sex and the City..very cosmopolitan and cute! A perfect little gift for someone special! I will take a pic soon as I'm going to get one as a gift for someone this week :)

Finally - it wasn't a cupcake but good grief the Afghan biscuit was gorgeous!!! I'd never heard of them before but will definitely be having one again!

Her name was Lola....

And she wasn't a showgirl, BUT she did make exceedingly good cupcakes! I honestly didn't mean to eat these many cupcakes in a week BUT I had an impromptu days leave last week and decided to go to shopping up town. This led to me walking for MILES hrough crowds of irritating people and finally after the hell that is Primark at lunchtime I NEEDED to go somewhere lovely and peaceful, and that place was the food hall in Selfridges, where I stumbled upon Lolas. Okay, I knew it was there and it was my very reason for going there but like I said I needed something nice after Primark!

I got myself a vanilla (insisting on pink - the girl serving wasn't one of the usual nice staff and seemed perturbed I specified what frosting colour I wanted..pshaw she obviously did not fully comprehend the significance the colour can make!) and Manny a chocolate. I resisted the urge to get two each so we could try the lovely looking Pistachio Cupcake (current flavour of the month - check here for all available flavours). I also resisted the urge to eat them on the way home and instead waited patiently till I was in the house, before scoffing mine with a cup of tea. I was drooling while taking the pics - aren't they just stunning looking! It was worth the wait, all vanilly goodness with frosting you want to drown yourself in, and you very nearly could - look how thick that frosting is!!! I then had to further avoid temptation as Manny was at the forge blacksmithing and his cake was calling me from the kitchen..however I was a good girl and made do with my own one! Greed is a sin you know ;)

I have failed!!!!

Well my self imposed cupcake ban has been a failure. I am weak and just could not resist the call of Daisy Cakes Bake Shop!! I blame Manny for rushing me this morning to try and get to Greenwich Park in time to see the Time Ball on Flamsteed House at 1pm (http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.20912) which once again we failed to see! We did however get to see the deer (sleeping again!) and feed lots of squirrels monkey nuts!!!

After a long walk in the park a cup of "the best coffee in Greenwich" was required from the Cellar Cafe where Manny had a scrummy slice of carrot cake which was baked by our very own Daisy Cakes Bake Shop!!! I just couldn't go there and not pop in - it would've been rude, especially as one of the girls in the store popped into the cafe and recognised us!

The top 3 pics above show our cakes from Daisy Cakes - mine was a vanilla with sprinkles and Manny had a mocha!!! As usual they were utterly gorgeous and its always so nice to pop in there as its such a cute little cupcake shop and the people that work there are friendly!!!

The bottom picture is of a beautiful cupcake I just chanced upon while wandering round the food section of the market - it was made by the Real Baking Company - and is called their very vanilla cupcake! As well as looking absolutely gorgeous, it tasted divine!

Now - wonder if I can manage next weekend without a cupcake!!!?