Ask anyone who knows me, even if they've only met me once, and they will tell you that the number one thing I love is cake. In all shapes, flavours and forms, cake is truly one of life's delights - eating it, baking it, drooling over photos of it - I absolutely flipping love it and I'm not afraid to shout it loud from the rooftops!
Which leads me to a very special evening last week. First of all it was invite only, second of all the whole purpose of the evening was to EAT CAKE and third of all it was for VIPs - very important people who can scoff cake like it's going out of fashion... Sign. Me. Up.
Let me take you along for the ride and while I'm there introduce you to Bendelow's Kitchen: Catering/Baking/All Occasion Goods run by Dominique Bendelow.
I'm going to start right at the beginning because the first thing I saw when I entered the event was lines and lines and oh so beautiful looking scrummy lines of mini cheesecake pots *D R O O L* I managed to remember my name (just!) and sign myself in before deciding right there and then that it was going to be a mighty fine evening!
The whole place was filled with cake. Oh my, it was a dream come true. There were cupcakes, mini puddings, pieces of fudge, millionaire's shortbread, meringue kisses...I lost track of it all while figuring out how many things I could eat without looking like the greediest one in the room (as if I really cared, ha, bring it on!)
So what did I try? First of all I had churros with a chocolate dippy sauce. Fluffy, sugar sweet, oh so light and very very tasty indeed - the perfect starter course. For mains I moved on to the sticky toffee pudding for which there are no words. One of the nicest versions of this famous pudding I've ever had, and trust me, I've tried many. For pudding I opted for the cheesecake - shaved chocolate on the top, the richest most heavenly chocolate sauce, dipped right into a creamy cheesecake filling and crumbly biscuit to finish. I honestly contemplated if I could fit one into my handbag to bring home for second pudding. Instead what I actually had for my next pudding was the scone that I got in the goodie bag which was also exceptionally fine!
Oh what a night! It's basically like it was made just for me! If you fancy trying out some of those deeeelicious treats for yourself you can follow Bendelow's Kitchen on Facebook and drop Dominique a message to talk all things cake. Obviously I can highly recommend you do just that!
A big thank you to Bendelow's Kitchen for my invite and all the tasty delights - I had the most lovely evening! My big love of cake is entirely my own and can previously be found documented pretty much everywhere.
A couple of weeks ago when Dave was on holiday we headed to Wynyard Gardens to see what all the fuss was about. My Ma had been first on her own, then took my Pops back as she loved it so much, and there was all kinds of talk about how good the cakes were and how nice the gardens are (notice the cake reference came first...always), and we do love a wander round some gardens, so off we went. It was a Monday morning, and man was it a civilised way to spend a few hours at the beginning of the week!
The majority of the gardens are contained within a walled garden, though you can head out into the grounds a little bit where they host weddings and events. The walkways are very people friendly, and definitely buggy and wheelchair appropriate, so open to all! There are roses and blooms of all colours, and water features, and lots of seating areas where you can take a pew and take in the sights and sounds. We waited patiently until some people moved on so that we could nab the bench right opposite the main waterfall features at the back of the garden and it was so peaceful, pretty much could have fallen asleep right there and then.
Having heard so many good things about the cakes it would have been rude not to go and check them out so we finally dragged ourselves away from the bench and headed to the cafe.
It is of course in a tip top location and you look out right across the gardens. It was warm enough for us to sit outside so we nabbed yet another prime spot and sat down to enjoy the delicious treats. I had the fruit scone with cream and jam which was indeedy very delicious, and Dave had the English garden cake which was pretty good too. My coffee was a little bit too much froth and not enough coffee but it wasn't that big a deal when you had this view to gaze upon:
We would probably have lingered there for a while just soaking it all in, but along the way from us was a group of women who NEVER STOPPED TALKING about all the films they had seen and programmes they had recorded and which Nicolas Cage movie was the best and it was all a bit much for early on a Monday so we wandered around the grounds for a while longer, which was definitely the best (and quieter option).
All in all, it truly was a lovely way to while away a couple of hours. We paid £5.50 each to get into the gardens and as we wandered around decided it would be worth paying the £15 for an annual ticket so that we can go again as the seasons change. You can visit 8 times on the annual ticket which is a pretty good saving!
I would highly recommend a visit if you're in the area as the gardens are really rather delightful. If you just want to go and try out the scone, you can go into the cafe without having to pay to go into the gardens, and if you sit outside you would still see the gardens...up to you really, both are equally lovely.
For more details the website is here.
I'm already looking forward to going back as Summer winds down to see how it looks in Autumn. I have this idea that it will be just warm enough to sit outside bundled up in a jumper with a steaming bowl of soup in front of me. And then maybe in the Winter a delicious hot chocolate as you gaze upon the fairy-lit garden...(sidenote: that is pure dreaming on my behalf and I have no actual information that there will be fairy lights...but I am ever hopeful).
