All the press I've seen on Balthazar’s February arrival into the UK from New York has been focused on the brasserie that fills a large part of a street off the Covent Garden piazza. Now, whilst we’re not opposed to savoury food here (I’ll never say no to a cheese scone!), we are, really, all about cake. Next door to Balthazar’s glamorous looking restaurant is their rather gorgeous bakery.
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The first window is heaving with croissants, pain aux raisins and pain au chocolats and, behind those, more pretty cakes line the tables and rest on cake stands above. Loaf cakes, cheesecakes, financiers, Bakewell tart, Kughelhopf, Rhum Baba, Opera… A wonderful variety, all made in house and (shhh…) sold at 50% off in the last half hour before closing. On my first walk past I selected three items after a lengthy discussion with the staff and a small taste of the traditional Kughelhopf. On my way home I happened to pass it again. I decided to take another picture of the window and spotted the 50% off sign so I entered again, selected two more cakes and an incredible tuna roll and headed home with my feast.
The chocolate Kughelhopf was one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve had in some time. Ultra moist and the perfect balance of sweetness and chocolate with nuts to create even more delicious contrast. I would have enjoyed the Rocher more if it didn’t have an unexpected layer of lemon mousse inside it. The financier was very moist but the jam a bit sweet for my tastes. The Opera and Lemon Drizzle were perfectly fine but I’m no rush to buy them again. I am, however, very much looking forward to going back to buy the chocolate Kughelhopf again. At prices ranging from £1 for the little financier to £3.75 for the fancier cakes Balthazar fits in well with other patisserie in the same category in London. Worth visiting!
Chocolate Pecan brownies at the front, Rum Babas in the middle and Eclairs at the back
What a ceiling!
A close up of Balthazar financiers (the Chocolate Kughelhopf is in the top left)