The Hummingbird Bakery, London

I remember the last time I was in London; after studying Cupcake-Top-10 lists, I had so many plans about where I'm going to eat the best (cup)cakes in the world and stuff like that. The Hummingbird Bakery, Primrose Bakery and Buttercup Cake Shop were the three bakeries on my list to visit, and yet I forgot about them completely. There's just so much more to do in London (or anywhere else) than spending time searching for that one cupcake place.

While browsing the (huge) cookbook section at one of the Charing Cross Road bookstores, I think it was Foyles, I found The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, which I never even knew existed. The first impulse was to buy it, but then I didn't, because I had to fly back home with a low-cost airline and the weight of my luggage was already starting to become a problem. But I still read some of it and found out that, apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow loves their cupcakes. It's also the first bakery in the UK that started baking american style sweets - cupcakes, whoopie pies and cakes. I read that one of their bakeries was in Soho, which was close to our hostel, but in the end we didn't make it there because... we didn't look for it. Because visiting one bakery a day was enough.

This time, I was determined to find it. The Old Brompton branch seemed to be close to our hotel, so on one cloudy morning, we started looking for it. From the wrong end of the Old Brompton Road...let's just say that we walked there for 30 minutes, and when we found it, we realized that it was right in front of South Kensington tube station, where we started the search (got on the bus). Oh well. It was a good workout, I guess. 

On to the bakery. The place is tiny! There are three tables with two chairs each, and no customer bathroom. (I must add that they closed this branch down in early January for some renovating, so I have no idea what it looks like now.) We sat down and took our coats off. Then waited a couple of minutes. One woman was sitting and eating a cupcake, otherwise, the place was empty. There were 3 or 4 employees standing around, doing nothing, but no one came to take our order! I didn't see any signs that they don't serve food at the tables... I got up, ordered and carried the cakes to our table. I didn't take our drinks though, since I only have two hands... The employee that carried our drinks seemed to be very reluctant about that. Seriously? It's not like you have anything else to do...

I was so excited about my pick, the Chocolate Devil's Food Cake. When we came in, there wasn't any, but they brought a freshly made cake out soon enough. The first bite was good. But then the second, third... I was already in a diabetic coma! Sugar is probably the main ingredient here, I'm not kidding. By the time I reached the side covered in frosting, I was exhausted from eating it. I drank the whole bottle of water while eating because otherwise I wouldn't be able to swallow it. I left the frosting. Sure, it looks good, but I like my pancreas and its insulin-producing ability.  

If you're asking yourselves why I didn't order a cupcake, since this blog is called Tanja's Cupcakes, it's because I got tired of bad tasting cupcakes that are never as good as cakes are. Also, there was A LOT more frosting on there. And food colorings. Not cool.

The Red Velvet Cake had too much frosting as well and it was not as cream-cheese-y as Lola's is. The cake was good but dry. I'm not a fan of red velvet, so I can't judge. But the amount of sugar in the frosting was enormous. It probably is like that in every cake.

I haven't read any good reviews of their first cookbook. They sell it in their bakeries, along with diaries, notecards and notebooks. I don't know if the prices are any lower than in other shops. We paid around 4£ for each cake, which is not cheap at all, and were very disappointed by the service and the taste. I don't think we'll ever visit any of the Hummingbird Bakery branches again. 

The decorations in the window are beautiful though.

The Hummingbird Bakery
47 Old Brompton Road

South Kensington, London

SW7 3JP

2010: a year in recipes

It's a bit late to wish you all a happy new year, but still: Happy New Year! Amazing, how quickly 2010 flew by! The fact that it's already 2011 also means that my blog is one year old. Its birthday was on 23 December (and I completely forgot. I'm ashamed). For those readers who haven't been around for long (and to remind those who have) I have made a list of the best recipes I made in 2010. You can't go wrong with them. Seriously. As I'm an amateur baker, your skills are probably better than mine in any case, so making these cakes/cookies should be very easy! 

Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

It's the first cake I ever made and I still think of it as the best ever. It's my go-to chocolate cake for any occasion, if I have enough time of course. It does take some time to prepare and bake (and wash the pan if you only have one), but the result is delicious and tiny and so cute! Only for chocoholics though.  

Fling (from the Whimsical Bakehouse)

My attempt at chocolate decorating gone a bit wrong. This is the first and only cake I made from the Whimsical Bakehouse cookbook. It uses white cake and my family actually liked it. Just because it has huge chunks of chocolate in it! The decorations are very simple to make if you have a microwave, some piping tips and the right kind of chocolate. I have none of those and I still managed to do it, so it's not that hard.

Chocolate Crinkles

Probably the simplest, cutest cookies in the world. Forget cookie cutters. All you have to do is roll the dough into a ball and roll it in nonpareils. Perfect!

Easy Chocolate Cake

By now, you've probably noticed that I like chocolate a lot. This cake tastes good and takes just a fraction of the time you would need to make the Nigella's version. So I love it.

Cookies and Cream (Oreo) Cheesecakes 

I've never tasted cheesecake before these cupcakes, but it sure tastes good. I still think it's the best recipe in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes so far.

Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

Homemade ice cream! Anyone can make it! I needed someone to force me to try it (the Daring Bakers), but since I did, I have made it many times. It's a time consuming and tiring thing to do, but it tastes really good, especially with this cake on top. Chances are, your cake will actually look beautiful!

Crostata

The fruity goodness is just something I can't describe with words. The dough is incredibly easy to make. Then, just take a bag of frozen blueberries or whatever berries you have, spread them on top, and bake it. Yum!

Stollen

I know the season for fruit breads is probably over, but you can still bookmark the recipe for next December. Sure, it uses yeast, but I've made it four times and it was always delicious. It tastes good even after a week, which is great if you don't plan on giving any away, as it's quite huge (it uses almost 1 kg of flour).

I hope this list will keep you busy for a few days until my next post(s). Hint: I was in London and I ate a lot. In the meantime, go bake something! I would, if I wasn't ill and unable to stand, let alone knead. But I guess that's what you get for celebrating the New Year's Eve outside! I had to learn somehow...