Dear foodies, I must warn you: once you’ve tried this bakery, your taste buds will become so picky and pedantic, only the Cuckoo’s Bakery cupcakes will do. You will most likely develop some kind of obsession with this particular place.
Graham Savage and Vidya Sarjoo, two very good friends originally from London, were well aware of the gap in the Edinburgh market for high quality cake shops that use traditional baking methods and local ingredients. So, the lovely Cuckoo’s Bakery was opened on Valentine’s Day in 2011. Indeed ‘lovely’ seems to suit the place perfectly: cosy, welcoming and cute in all ways possible. At Cuckoo’s, you can choose from a huge variety of food and drink: from breakfast rolls in the morning to hot beverages and cakes in the afternoon. They take German ‘Kaffee und Kuchen’ and Swedish ‘Fika’ to the next level. You can even buy their crockery!
Cuckoo’s has a history of winning awards for cupcakes, but my attention was grabbed when on November 10 Cuckoo’s Bakery was listed in “Britain’s Best Cake Shops” on Stylist.co.uk. So, the next day, I went round for lunch and was pleased to see the variety of meals proposed; soup from £4.50 or any of their sandwiches, baked potatoes, salads, or ciabattas from £6.50. I had the Bacon, Cranberries and Brie Ciabatta melt, which was served with a side salad and coleslaw. The portions were generous and the ingredients very tasty, thus the French girl inside me really enjoyed it.
Also, I obviously had to taste the winner of the ‘Scottish Baker of the Year Award 2014’ in the category “Best Individual Cake” – the Raspberry & White Chocolate cupcake. If you like cakes, fruits and chocolate, go get it now, that’s my advice. If you don’t fancy these ingredients in particular, no need to panic, as there is a wide range of other flavours to discover. “We have two new special cupcakes every week,” said Hannah Vigers, one of Cuckoo’s employees, “the flavours vary with our bakers’ inspiration, our customers’ suggestions and the current trends.” Indeed, you might remember Cuckoo’s ‘Yes’, ‘Undecided’, and ‘No’ referendum cupcakes for instance. But there’s more – Red Velvet, Banana and Sea Salted Caramel, Coconut and White Chocolate Dipper, and Lemon Berry. It is also good to know that at least one of the flavours per week is made gluten-free in order to satisfy every cake-lover’s dietary requirements!
Cuckoo’s bakery has also introduced two new concepts. Everybody at some point has wondered, ‘What happens to the leftover cakes?’ Well, you will be reassured to know that they are collected after the shop closes in the evening and are donated to a local charity called Fare Share, which distributes them to shelters around town.
The second is probably going to interest any student craving food: – you can get 10 per cent off your cakes when you bring your box back for a refill! This bakery deserves a 4.5.
Cuckoo’s Bakery, 150 Dundas Street, EH3 5DQ Edinburgh (cupcake: from £2 to take away or from £2.50 to sit-in / Buy their crockery online on cuckoosbakery.co.uk).