Being
treated to confectionery is always lovely but arriving home from a
day at the office to a gift box of twelve sumptuous-looking cupcakes
is without doubt an absolute win! I didn't initially plan to pen a
review (given that I considered it really rather rude to all but
research the gift I'd received!) and yet, upon sampling the wares of
Bristol-based company Absolutely Cakes*, felt somewhat compelled to
do so as I'll proceed to explain...Now, it's fair to say that I take
the art of cupcake creation very seriously and as part of my
self-appointed pilgrimage have sourced some of the industries
front-runners; indulging in the signature ‘Red Velvet’ cupcake at
London’s Hummingbird Bakery and bagging myself some rather
innovative ensembles from New York’s Magnolia Bakery. Yes
yes...though you'll no doubt frown upon my shameless bout of
name-dropping there, the point I'm trying to make is that the dozen
beauties delivered to my doorstep that day were right up there with
the best that I've tasted...
It's
fair to say that since it opened its doors in 2008, Absolutely Cakes
has moved from strength to strength; with a couple of Great Taste
Awards under its belt (or expandable waistline if you will) and a
trio of gold stars awarded by the Guild of Fine Food. Suitable for a
range of occasions, cakes of all shapes and sizes are made
fresh-to-order from their Westbury-on-Trym premises. Cupcakes are
baked using the best quality ingredients – locally-sourced, organic
and free-range where possible – and available in mixed Selection
Boxes of 6, 9 or 12, party packs of 36 or 54 (with their own 3 or 5
tier stands) or in fact, in quantities of as many or as little as you
desire, (though with a minimum order of four - go big or go home,
that’s my motto!) I was also impressed at the extent of Absolutely
Cakes' 'allergy awareness' whereby all cupcakes can be created to a
specific dietary requirement; be it gluten/wheat-free, dairy-free,
egg-free or vegan. Furthermore, bespoke flavours and toppings are
available upon request so if you want your loved-one's name spelt-out
in gold leaf, all you have to do is ask*! You might also be
interested to know that, besides mail order (BS addresses only,
people), you can visit Absolutely Cakes and ogle their offerings at a
number of Bristol's Farmer's Markets including the Tobacco Factory
Market in Southville every Sunday and the Whiteladies Road Market every first and third Saturday of each month. Absolutely Cakes even supports the Bristol Pound*;
which in turn supports independent businesses just like this one...a
concept which you may wish to get involved with if you haven't
already!
Right
then, with the formalities out of the way, let me tell you about the
shameless gluttony that ensued…and, unwilling to single-handedly
attempt all twelve, I drafted in the help of my house-mate who was
unsurprisingly more than happy to lend her sweet-toothed expertise!
We initially agreed that the selection had been beautifully packaged;
the box wrapped with cellophane and secured with pink ribbon; thus,
instigating the wow-factor before the first mouthful had been
manoeuvred. And although elsewhere, this is where the buck often
stops – cupcakes failing to live-up to their visual appeal – this
was certainly not the case here. In fact, I can safely say that –
predominantly on account of the magical middle to be found in each –
these were quite frankly delicious! The 'Toffee Temptation' proved a
personal favourite; the distinctive aroma of burnt-sugar channelled
perfectly via a melt-in-the-mouth layer of sticky toffee sauce. I
also loved that the 'Jelly Bean Bonanza' had sweets sporadically
baked into the sponge and that the 'Terribly Chocolate Orange'
concealed a generous measure of sharp citrus curd which appropriately
offset its rich, chocolaty body. 'B' reported that 'Let's Go Nuts'
was especially intense with its distinctive peanut butter epicentre
and the sprinkling of roasted peanuts that adorned its frosting –
if truth be told, I was a little miffed that I hadn't got in there
first and bagged this particular cupcake for myself! In fact, the
only flavour which we felt didn't quite hit the mark was the 'Ginger
Nice' which packed quite a punch and thus, could be written-off as an
acquired taste. To that end, it would have been preferable to have been provided with details of the boxes content - I mean, I'm all for 'suck it and see' but having to fire-up the website to determine the identity of each cupcake (which would have been entirely necessary had I been subject to the likes of a food intolerance) does seem to detract from the novelty-factor a little...
 |
| Guess the Cupcake...! |
Each
cupcake had been topped with decadent butter-cream icing;
appropriately flavoured in light of its theme. That said, it did not
go unrecognised that a balanced disposition in terms of the
cake-to-covering ratio avoided an overly sickly aftermath.
Furthermore, the sponge had maintained its light, subtly aerated
texture despite the fact that the package had spent a cold, damp
afternoon beneath the recycling box in our front garden as no one had
been home to receive the delivery! A finding which only gave rise to
the notion that these were clearly baked to a high standard but also
that the packaging proved functional as well as frilly. Lastly and
quite incidentally (and not that I advocate theft in any shape or
form) I mused that had an eagle-eyed passer-by stumbled upon this
sugary twelve-pack and let temptation overcome them, they would have
altogether lucked out! Though fortunately for me, the pleasure was
all mine – thank goodness for Neighbourhood Watch...!
And
now for the second opinion...
'B'
gave Absolutely Cakes a rather modest rating of 7/10 and in three
words, described the cupcakes as: 'original and tasty'.
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