CRUMBS

May 5, 2015September 23, 20151 Comment

The second stop of the Hot Chocolate Hot Spot Tour.

It’s quirky, unique, sweet and upon my first visit, Crumbs instantly became a special favourite of mine. Situated just past the infamous York Minster and swallowed by the bustling heart of the city, this dinghy little cupcakery also consists of yes, cupcakes! The variety of flavours will leave you completely spoilt for choice. Upon two of my visits (yes, I have been more than once) I left it up to the waitress to decide for me as she recommended the specials of the day (I would have been there all day if I had to decide.)

It is a very memorable atmosphere – The dinky decor will transport you to a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with patterned bunting and cottage-like wooden beams across the ceiling, mismatched seating and handwritten signs – the whole place just looks as though so much love and effort has filled it and never left.

The Hot Chocolate: None of that instant, boiling water that burns the taste of the chocolate but milky and creamy topped with mini marshmallows that didn’t melt straight away. It gave me a real homemade hot chocolate feel – it will give you flashbacks to when you’re seven years old in your pyjamas, snug under a blanket on the sofa watching Disney movies whilst sipping on warm, chocolate-y goodness.

The cupcakes were perfectly presented and perfectly decorated. Like those ones you would see on the front of every baking magazine…and they tasted as good as they looked. Upon my visits I have had a lemon, red velvet and Victoria sponge cupcakes – and I cannot fault any of them. (I’ll admit I’m a little biased as I can never fault food, after all it’s food!)

Lemon Cupcake

Clockwise from top: Red Velvet, Chocolate Orange and Lemon

I don’t understand why they would call it Crumbs…I didn’t leave a single one.

If you do decide to go (which I highly recommend), Enjoy! 😉

Crumbs Cupcakery,
10 College Street
York

For the menu and more information visit: http://www.crumbscupcakery.co.uk
Twitter: @CrumbsCupcakery

THE PERKY PEACOCK

April 1, 20151 Comment

As promised we now begin our Hot Chocolate Tour within York – first stop, The Perky Peacock.

I’ll just dive straight into it:

First things first, there are two Perky Peacocks situated in York, myself and a friend of mine (Harpreet) visited only one of them (the address I’ll place at the bottom of the post). So, as we entered the small cafe, an instant aroma of coffee surrounded the air. The atmosphere was a quiet one, yet buzzing with small, intimate conversations at each table – there was the effect of this being a popular coffee hot spot! The staff welcomed us as though we were already a member of their Perky Peacock family, awww!

We seated ourselves upon a high top table upon some high wooden chairs, each furnished with a different coloured cushion.

There was no need for menus, the whole thing was right up on the wall that substituted as a giant chalkboard! – How CUTE! Everything handwritten added character and personality to the place plus there was an adorable coat stand (which we didn’t even use!) Also, as you can see the cafe was infested with book nerds – not that I’m complaining about that! But serious bookish vibes were ongoing in here!

A stack of books next to me for me to take at my own will to read whilst I eat/drink! Very considerate! I did get my read on…

Then we ordered, since it was nearing up to lunch time and I didn’t eat breakfast, I felt a nice BRUNCH was also in order! We got up to order at the wonderfully stocked counter with cakes, cakes and more cakes! – All homemade too!

As we seated ourselves back down the food and drinks did not take long to come! But as we waited we had time to appreciate the interior a little bit:

The lonesome lightbulbs were a favourite of mine 🙂 It gave an urban, fresh theme to the place.

And now, I present to you…my brunch!!

Poached Eggs on toasted artisan bread – absolutely delightful! The bread was crispy and soft, the eggs perfectly poach-y ! To cut it short, there was nothing left on the plate by the time I was done! 😉

Harpreet decided to feast upon a slice of Banoffee cake, and she detailedly described it as:

“The cake was very delicious with a very strong flavour of banana, the added sweetness from the toffee combination was a stroke of genius. The balance of the flavour was impeccable and really went well with the hot chocolate which can usually be overpowered in a combination of other sweet desserts, but in this case it was prefect!”

What can I say, the girl really knows her cake! 😀

Now speaking of hot chocolates – let’s move on to them!!

Aaaah the sweet, sweet aroma of chocolate, deliciously melted and combined with bubbling hot milk to serve our chocolate craving needs! The Perky Peacock served us theirs with cute little marshmallows too!

The hot chocolate was a perfect drinking temperature, the chocolate not too overpowering however, in my opinion I could have done without the marshmallows. Their sweetness sunk into the rest of the drink, putting off the taste of the chocolate but overall, The Perky Peacock is a MUST-VISIT kind of cafe! And, I intend to visit the other one soon!

Hope you guys found this helpful! To find out even more information about The Perky Peacock I have listed more details about them below:

The Perky Peacock,
74 Gillygate,
York

Website: http://perkypeacockcoffee.co.uk/#home
Twitter: @ThePerkyPeacock

HOT CHOCOLATE HOT SPOTS : THE YORK EDITION

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015Leave a comment

Like all good ol’ fashioned Brits, there is no better sound to me than the sound of the kettle rearing itself up for good old brew! I sometimes think I was meant to be born in a past generation (old biddy in a twenty year old body over here!) Aside from the comfort of your own home, it is pretty hard to determine where to go for a chillaxing moment when your out and about…SO…I’m going to tell you!

As I am studying my undergraduate degree in YORK I have come to the conclusion that the historical little city oozes with the CUTEST, QUIRKIEST, COSIEST cafes for food and hot drinks! And it got me thinking that these little places are one of a kind and nobody outside of York are aware of them!

SO, I have decided to venture upon each little cafe to seek out the best hot chocolates in York (those standard Costa and Starbucks brews are so overrated!) As well as hot chocolate’s there will also be food involved – I can’t go into a cafe and not eat!

So keep your eyes peeled on this space as my first review will be up very very soon!

Iram x