When I first moved to London just over a year ago, there was one place that I was immediately desperate to try.
Feasting my eyes on London’s foodie scene via Instagram, photos of colourful, innovative, incredible looking pie slices kept appearing week after week.
Those pies were dreamt up and brought to life by Claire Connor, the founder of A Pie Party (@apieparty Instagram), London’s most exciting dessert street food stall.
Claire now runs her dessert business full-time, working hard baking around the clock and coming up with new and exciting recipes that taste amazing and look equally as impressive. As a self-taught baker, Claire has perfected her pie pastry, and so with that solid foundation in place, she can experiment with a number of different flavours and concepts, many of which you’ll find out more about below.
It actually took me quite a few months before I finally ventured to Victoria Park Market in Bethnal Green where A Pie Party has been trading every Sunday for a while back, and the first time I went I naively arrived in the afternoon about an hour before closing, when most of Claire’s creations had sold out. The only thing I could get my hands on was the apple pie, with its generous filling and sweet, cinnamon taste.
I definitely learnt my lesson though, and every time since I’ve been there just after opening at 10, ready to get my hands on the goods.
Not only can you indulge in incredible pies, but A Pie Party also offers other desserts and treats such as cookies, brownies and Rocky Road. One of my favourite is the chocolate chip walnut cookie – possibly one of the biggest you’ve ever seen, but absolutely delicious.
A Pie Party’s second cookie, the Nutella filled chocolate hazelnut one is equally as ginormous as the choc chip and walnut. Only this one goes one step further – it is filled with Nutella. If you can’t finish this yourself, you should be ashamed. It is not for sharing.
A recent variation sees the same cookie filled with Black Milk Cereal’s Kinderella hazelnut cream. I liked the cream, but it didn’t ooze out in the same way as the Nutella, and there wasn’t quite as much packed inside. Still worth trying nonetheless.
One of the regulars that can be found on the stall is the blueberry pie. If you’re not in the mood for a super-indulgent chocolate treat, this fruity option could be the one for you. The blueberry topping is sharp and tangy, and the crumble topping adds a bit of a crunch to contrast the soft berries.
Rocky Road lovers are in luck as you can get your hands on both dark and white chocolate rocky road. I tried both of these in summer, and I couldn’t get enough of them when they’d started to melt slightly and go gooey in the heat. The white one looks beautiful but I surprisingly preferred the dark chocolate one. Would be handy if I were able to dislocate my jaw in order to get this giant slab of heaven in my mouth but sadly, small nibbly bites are the only way.
The chocolate chip brownie is equally as gooey. I really don’t understand the absolute animals who content themselves with dry, hard brownies, when you could devour a fudgey, creamy one. A much more manageable slab than the Rocky Road, this is one for all brownie connoisseurs.
A hugely popular special was the Cookie Dough Cheesecake Pie. One of the things I love about A Pie Party is the combining of different desserts in one – as in, cookie dough / cheesecake / pie. Those three together already sound like a dream. This one was flavoured with vanilla and so the cheesecake filling was very sweet, but in a good way, and the cookie dough ball on top was delicious.
A surprising favourite of mine was the Peanut Blondie Pie. I have resisted peanuts for years and years, always complaining that I didn’t like them, but Claire’s desserts have a strange power over me whereby I’m desperate to try everything despite them including ingredients/foods that I supposedly dislike. And I’m so glad I did give into this one. The blondie base was delicious and the peanut flavour noticeable but not overwhelming.
Next up are two staples that have been firm favourites on the menu for a while. Firstly the Biscoff Browie Pie, definitely a crowdpleaser, considering how long it’s been around. It has a gooey, fudgey base with a Biscoff crumb on top and is utterly indulgent.
The other, is a slightly more recent addition, but one that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The Bourbon Pecan Pie is completely different to anything else Claire has done. The base and pecans are sticky and sweet, and the whisky adds a complementary flavour that isn’t too intense (and that’s coming from someone who’s not a huge fan of alcohol-flavoured desserts).
A summer special that looked as good as it tasted was the Funfetti Birthday Cake Pie. Another dessert hybrid – birthday cake / cheesecake / pie, this one was up there with the best. The funfetti sprinkles added a prettiness to its appearance and the sponge base on top of the pastry was unique.
A Pie Party made an appearance at this year’s London Brunch Fest too, and you may have seen the exclusive pie featured on my blog post about the event. This special was a Bounty Coconut Pie, and I loved it. Sadly there are many people in this world who do not understand the true value of the Bounty, and often leave them untouched at the bottom of the Celebrations tub. But they are fools. Bountys are delicious, and what could be better than a creamy, coconutty brownie-based pie topped with one.
I’ll leave you with my all-time favourite to salivate over – the Toffee Popcorn Pie. This was one of the greatest desserts I’ve ever had; chocolate chip blondie base with toffee popcorn topping and chocolate drizzle sauce. I hope Claire brings this one back as it was incredible.
There is nothing formulaic about Claire’s desserts and that’s part of what I love. Yes, she has perfected her pie pastry, but every other element of the pies is entirely unpredictable. What will top the pastry next time? Sponge? Brownie? Blondie?
Her inventive, imaginative creations really do live up to the Instagram hype, but you know what? Social media hype isn’t enough. Yes, like the photos, react to the stories, but also get yourself down there to try for yourselves. You can get your hands on A Pie Party treats at Canopy Market, Kings Cross Friday-Sunday, Victoria Park Market every Sunday and Greenwich Market every Saturday-Sunday. If you live in the Battersea area, you’ll also find her on Deliveroo.
There is one last thing before I sign off…
Claire’s stall is wonderful, but what would be even better, is a permanent location in London where you could treat yourself to these slices of heaven everyday. A crowdfunding project is underway to raise the funds to open ‘London’s first pie bar’, serving sweet treats by day and cocktails by night. This would also allow Claire to expand her menu, offering things like ice cream sundaes which just aren’t possible on the market stalls.
This can only happen with the support of those who believe in the project. A small amount donated by lots of people could make all the difference, but time is running out. If you would love to support this small business and give it a shot at transforming London’s dessert scene, then head to: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/londons-first-pie-bar/comments#start to donate.
This campaign really needs our support, no matter how little you may be able to offer.
To see loads more of these original pies, that I haven’t been lucky enough to try yet, head to @apieparty on Instagram for droolworthy content. Follow this up with a visit to the stall and…
¡Comemos!
xo
¡Comemos! 