desserts – ¡Comemos!

The Clock

18th Oct 2020Leave a comment

Having grown up in a small village with no shops and next to no public transport links, getting to any decent restaurant or café was a bit of a commitment. Driving and parking would have to be considered, and so the concept of a regular, local, neighbourhood spot just didn’t really exist.

Fast forward to now, and living in North London, I’ve begun to discover the wonders of having fantastic restaurants more or less on my doorstep.

Although I don’t live in Crouch End, it’s fast becoming one of my favourite parts of London – a lovely, little residential bubble, walking distance from my flat. And it’s in Crouch End that I’ve had some fantastic brunches and dinners in the past 12 months.

It was a evening browse on Deliveroo that led me to The Clock, whose menu looked far too good to be available for takeaway on a delivery app.

On a warm summer’s Saturday night (this is not a novel…), you could be mistaken for thinking we were abroad, on holiday – something which we could only dream of in the months following Lockdown phase one. It certainly didn’t feel as if we were in London.

The Clock has the appeal of being a small, intimate venue, with an understated shopfront (that to be honest, you could easily miss), and a comforting, homely vibe inside. Staff are friendly, but not overbearing, and the menu makes it delightfully difficult to choose from.

I’m actually going to reference two visits here, as I returned within a couple of weeks, having loved it so much. On the first visit, we shared Seared Scallops with Fresh Pea Purée and Hazelnuts. Not only was this beautiful to look at, but the scallops were cooked perfectly, and the pea purée was light, and well-seasoned.

On my second visit, I was particularly impressed by the Sweetcorn and Chorizo Croquettes, where the filling had been blitzed to a smooth puree-type paste. Despite the potential for this to sound slightly like mush, it was incredibly flavoursome and with the crunchy croquette exterior, the consistency of the filling worked really well.

The Salt & Pepper Squid was decent, but not wowing, so for a little salty, snack-style starter, this is a great option.

On to the mains and as much as I should probably save the best until last, I have to go straight in with the Lemon Sole with Samphire. I love those magical moments where you genuinely know you’re eating one of the best things you’ve ever tried. This certainly was my ultimate fish dish. You have to persevere to deal with the bones and forget trying to look elegant when you’re picking them from your teeth but ignore that, because the flavour… Slightly citrussy with a light, flaky texture, this fish is buttery and delicious. The samphire adds a lovely burst of colour, with brown shrimp dotted throughout. A side of equally as buttery green beans with hazelnuts was a nice addition – I should add that the piece of fish is huge, and so you probably won’t want a heavy side.

One of their most featured dishes on social media, and for good reason, is the Cornish Crab Linguine. Served in the Spider Crab’s hollowed out shell, the linguine is freshly-made, with a light olive oil sauce coating with roasted tomatoes. The shell serving dish is a bit of a novelty, but one that I absolutely bought into.

For hungrier bellies to fill, the Double Cheeseburger with thick, juicy patties, cheese and cornichons is a solid option. A mountain of a burger, you certainly won’t be left wonting for more, and the well-seasoned chips carefully straddle the line between fries and chunky chips (something which I’m definitely here for…).

I couldn’t complete my review without mentioning the desserts, despite the fact that I certainly didn’t need one either time. Their Sticky Toffee Pudding is indulgent, with a moist, treacly sponge and a generous helping of vanilla ice cream plonked on top, and you’ll find it paddling in an oozy pool of toffee sauce.

For those who love a boozy pudding with an added caffeine-kick, the Bailey’s Espresso Chocolate Pot is a great shout. It’s super rich and creamy, and the crumbly biscuit topping adds variation to the texture.

This time though, I really have saved my favourite until last, and to top things off, it was so unexpected. The Summer Berry Pudding didn’t necessarily stand out to me on the menu, as I tend to steer towards chocolate or caramelly style desserts rather than fruit-based, but this was the highlight of the meal. It’s a beautifully striking deep red colour, with the sponge completely saturated with the rich berry sauce. A big dollop of clotted cream on top finishes it off perfectly, and helps to balance out the sharp, punchiness of the tart berry flavours.

It’s important to point out that The Clock has since brought in its new Autumn Menu which looks absolutely fantastic, however not all of the dishes mentioned above are still available, so please see below for their current availability:

Scallops with Pea Puree and Hazlenuts – no longer available having been replaced by an alternative scallop starter
Chorizo and sweetcorn croquettes – still available (listed under the ‘bites’ section of the `a la carte menu)
Salt and Pepper Squid – available on the fixed price menu
Roast Lemon Sole – a slightly different variation is available with sea asparagus and herb butter emulsion
Spider Crab Linguine – still available
Double Cheese Burger – available on the prix fixe menu
Sticky Toffee Pudding – still available
Baily’s Espresso Chocolate Pot – no longer available
Summer Berry Pudding – no longer available

I can’t wait to next head to The Clock for another fantastic meal, and to try out their new menu. It has the loveliest atmosphere inside and is perfect for a date night.

With current Covid restrictions, we know that the hospitality industry is really being tested, and so please do head to independent restaurants like this one with your household – not only will you be eating really well, but we’re also helping these businesses to stay afloat. Places like Crouch End are as lovely as they are because of local businesses like The Clock so check out the menu, book your table, and lend your support.*

*households only!

¡Comemos!

The party you’ll never want to leave

20th Oct 201920th Oct 2019Leave a comment

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!

Hello, this is London’s number 1 cheesecake expert speaking…

28th Aug 201928th Aug 2019Leave a comment

Sixteen years of my life I spent thinking I didn’t like cheesecake.

SIXTEEN YEARS.

I will never be able to retrieve those lost years, but what I can do is attempt to make up for the lack of cheesecake in my life.

According to the wonderfully useful and addictive Eaten app (see my previous blog post on how it all works), I am officially the number 1 cheesecake expert in London. You simply cannot argue with their statistics. Here’s the proof:

So what is it that makes such a good cheesecake? And what are the warning signs of a disappointing dessert of this kind?

We’ll leave the best until last so I’ll start with some of my least favourite efforts.

One of the most important aspects of the cheesecake is its base. A dodgy base = a dodgy cheesecake. A few months ago I got carried away in a whirlwind of Brazilian flavours at Temakinho in Soho, and couldn’t resist their passionfruit (or maracuja) cheesecake. The flavour itself was lovely and sharp but the base really let it down.

I need to taste the buttery crumbs with their gritty texture. A welded-together stodgy base like this just doesn’t do it for me, no matter how lovely it looks.

Another major factor is of course the creamy cheese filling. Unfortunately this one just wasn’t creamy enough and had an odd savoury cheese flavour rather than a sweet cream cheese.

Ultimately Temakinho had produced a dessert full of fruity flavour but lacking on the textural front (with that disconcerting actual real-life cheese cheesiness).

Some attempts find they have the opposite problems though. Take this banana cheesecake from Almost Famous in Leeds, for example.

An excellent biscuit base (if you can actually manage to get your spoon to the bottom of the jar), and a pleasant consistency to the cream cheese. HOWEVER… bananas. I love bananas. And I love desserts flavoured with actual banana. But the problem is, as it’s not as sweet as other fruits, once you combine it with cream cheese and/or whipped cream, the flavour is is not powerful enough to shine through. The texture of the actual banana pieces gets lost in all the creaminess and the overall flavour of the cheesecake becomes quite bland. I often find this is also the case with an average banoffee pie. Banana + cream is not enough. More sugar or an extra burst of flavour somewhere is needed to heighten the overall taste. A pretty cheesecake that felt good to eat, but didn’t quite hit the spot.

Moving up slightly, we find this dessert in a whole new form. The frozen cheesecake by Whipped in Covent Garden looks absolutely delightful. Their fantastic menu allows you to customise your flavours, and so I ended up with a Lotus Biscuit base, blueberry sauce, honeycomb and oreos. To be honest I think I panicked under the pressure of having to come up with my own flavour combinations, but this is what appeared before me…

This majestic beast was slightly overwhelming and I hadn’t expected it to be quite so tall. But not one to turn down a food-related challenge, I put in my best efforts to finish it. My thoughts on the idea of frozen cheesecake? I’m not sure if it’s a ‘thing’ . As in, is this frozen cheesecake? Or is it basically just ice cream/soft serve/whatever you want to call it with a biscuit base hidden at the bottom. I would argue the latter. That’s not to say it didn’t taste decent; the blueberry sauce with the ice cream (as I insist on calling it) tasted good, but ultimately I prefer the more traditional cheesecake-baking methods.

Ok we’re getting to the good stuff now, and a pleasant surprise up next. You may have seen this dessert already in my Chalida review from a few months ago. In it, I talked about my indifference towards mango, but also came to the conclusion that in this particular cheesecake, the flavour worked fantastically.

The base was very thin, but the creamy topping was so light that the ratio of base to topping worked really well. It was airy and non-indulgent with a lovely sweet sharpness. On top of that, you have to acknowledge the carefully thought-out presentation, producing a delicate-looking dessert, rather than dishing up a heavy, indulgent slab.

In complete contrast to Chalida’s mango cheesecake is another Whipped creation, and a super popular one at that. After the interesting and probably not recommendable combination I chose for the frozen cheesecake, I decided to play it safe with my baked option, going for their classic banoffee cheesecake.

Now, backtrack a few paragraphs and there I am going on about how banana doesn’t work in a cheesecake. Well, it can, and here’s how…

This is not a load of plain cream cheese with plain whipped cream, with a few bananas chucked in. This cheesecake has a strong banana flavour, complemented by gooey toffee, warm melted chocolate and a crunchy biscuit crumb. There are lots of elements all working together in your mouth. Contrasting textures, chilled cream cheese vs warm sauce, and extra sugar from that toffee and chocolate. Extra sugar doesn’t always sound like a positive, but when it comes to banana desserts, it really is a requirement.

The fact that the cheesecake is baked does give it a heavier feel, but really if you’re looking for a light, guilt-free dessert you shouldn’t be heading to Whipped anyway. It’s the equivalent of a vegan going for dinner at an Argentine steakhouse.

Another surefire way to success is to come up with original or less obvious flavour combinations. I love vanilla, strawberry, salted caramel… the list goes on, but sometimes the way to stand out on a menu is to be different.

This next cheesecake is apricot and white chocolate from The Tap and Run pub in Upper Broughton.

You’ll see that the ratio of base to topping in this one is slightly skewed, and ideally I’d probably have a slightly thinner base, but the stand-out for me was the apricot flavour. I’ve never seen apricot in a cheesecake before (although I’m not doubting that they exist), and that candied apricot topping was delicious. I have to say that white chocolate is quite difficult to include in desserts as it gets easily lost when combined with other more powerful flavours, i.e. the apricot in this case, but nonetheless this was a beautifully-presented dessert with a delicious take on the traditional fruity cheesecake.

Right, just a few more to go. And a really important point here is not to neglect the chain restaurant dessert. One of the nicest cheesecakes I’ve ever had was the lemon cheesecake with raspberry coulis from Zizzi.

It may not be the most delicate-looking but boy did it taste good. Lemon topping with raspberry coulis is a fantastic combination, and the portion is the perfect amount to avoid feeling like you’re going to roll out of the restaurant (although if you’ve also had a starter and a pizza like me, you may end up feeling like that anyway). But the point is, don’t turn your nose up at places like this. It’s great to support independent businesses and everyone loves a cosy, intimate setting, but personally I think the zizzi menu is pretty decent, and this certainly was satisfying.

Now to my top 2.

Heading for dinner at a fish/seafood bar, cheesecake was the last thing on my mind. Yet, the berry cheesecake at J Sheekey was stunning.

Not only is the presentation incredibly elegant, but that berry compote topping was beautiful. As much as I like chocolatey, caramelly style cheesecakes, you can’t beat the contrast of a thick creamy cheese topping with a light, sharp hit of fruit. I’ve used the word ‘sharp’ a huge number of times but there really is no other way to describe that taste and feeling when the sugary cooked fruit hits your tongue.

For me this cheesecake was second only to one. And that one remaining slice of delight is Crumbs and Doilies Apple Crumble Cheesecake.

The excitement for me was the originality. Not just a fruit cheesecake, not just an apple cheesecake, but an apple crumble cheesecake. This title led to high expectations. I didn’t want a cheesecake that just tasted of apple, I wanted to be able to sense the difference between the flavour of the fruit itself, and the flavour of the crumble dessert that we all know and love.

I was not disappointed. Texture-wise you can see just from the photo that we have a clear crumble topping, with an added sticky toffee style sauce. But it wasn’t just that. It didn’t have a generic, artificial fruit flavour, it really did taste specifically of an apple crumble. The cheesecake topping itself wasn’t the best texture I’ve had, as I prefer a very smooth creamy cheese, however, I have to give it to them for originality and flavour. I have never before seen an apple crumble cheesecake, and now I feel like I don’t need to. I’ve tried it, it was delicious, and now I’m ready to be wowed by something completely new.

This is not the end of my cheesecake marathon. It really is my go-to dessert and there’ll be plenty more for me to discover.

If you want to keep up with those future discoveries, you can check out my Instagram account: @foodtravelsldn, or my Eaten account of the same name, where you can also find my full list of cheesecakes ranked from best to worst.

Now close your laptop, put down your phone, find yourself a nice, big slice of cheesecake and shove your face in it. Immediately.

¡Comemos!