ELISHA EATS
Sweet treats
There’s nothing quite like patisserie goodies to help you cope during the cold winter months. For February, Elisha Young rounds up some of Cambridge’s best bakeries
S hakespeare once wrote: “Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” If January is the month of virtue – salads, fitness resolutions and atoning for the culinary sins of Christmas – then February is all about cakes and ale. Although, I can only help with the cake because I don’t like beer very much. February is also the month of love, and nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like a delicious pastry or cream-stuffed baked good. If you’re trying to woo someone, I can guarantee that taking them to one of these Cambridge bakeries will win over their stomach, and probably their heart too. Modigliani on Mill Road is a small Italian cafe that might not look like much from the outside, but there’s a reason it keeps winning awards year after year. This is a slight curveball recommendation, since it’s more of a patisserie than a bakery, but the sweet treats are so fantastic that they’re definitely worth mentioning. Alongside the espresso, cappuccino and Italian hot chocolate, you can also find cannoli, tiramisu, Basque cheesecakes in various flavours, Italian cornetto (similar to croissants) and bomboloni (Italian doughnuts) filled with chocolate, custard or pistachio cream. The weekly specials usually involve beautiful desserts crafted to imitate anything from a giant pistachio nut to a coffee or cocoa bean, or even a Granny Smith apple coated with fresh dew. Why buy your beloved real flowers when they could enjoy a delicious hazelnut flower made of whipped ganache, praline and dacquoise? The menu is always changing,
FOOD OF LOVE Crisp pastéis at Norfolk Street Bakery (above); a coffee bean cake at Modigliani (below)
so keep an eye on Instagram @modigliani. cambridge to scout out goodies. I recently visited Lisbon and developed an addiction to its famous custard tarts, trying no fewer than ten varieties in the week I spent there. Short of flying back to Portugal, Norfolk Street Bakery, with branches on Norfolk Street and Station Road, is the next best thing. It sells the best pastéis de nata you can find in Cambridge, with crispy, flaky pastry and smooth, luscious custard, topped with the characteristic char. Though this bakery is well known for egg tarts, you can also buy freshly made sandwiches (including piri-piri chicken), queijadas (Portuguese cheese tarts), cakes, croissants and a huge range of bread varieties. Don’t worry if you’re more of a savoury person – there are also plenty of sausage rolls, pasties and pies to feast on. There’s such a good selection that you should probably bring along a large carrier bag so you can try a little bit of everything. How about ordering a romantic Valentine’s Day baked goods platter?
In fact, the area around Cambridge train station has lots of excellent bakeries: Maison Clement, The Cambridge Oven and Eclipse to name just a few. However, my absolute favourite is Kanto on Cherry Hinton Road. It’s a cafe and bakery that serves Filipino- and Korean-inspired food and drink. On the menu, you can find pandesals, ensaymadas and Spanish bread rolls – all of which are soft, fluffy and not too sweet. There are also cinnamon buns flavoured with kalamansi, cheese twists with kimchi and even focaccia sandwiches filled with tuna mayo, sesame ham or seasoned vegetables in gochujang sauce (vegan, but fantastically delicious). My favourite is the egg sando with roasted sesame egg mayo and kimchi butter. But I’ve tried everything from the ube Basque cheesecake to the matcha gateau, Korean garlic bread and adobo pandesal – so I feel confident saying that anything you try will be fantastic. Now what else was it that Shakespeare said again? “If baked goods be the food of love, eat on…”
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK FEBRUARY 2025 55
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