Gail’s Bakery Christmas Selection
Gail’s Bakery have only recently come to my attention, but everyone seems to be talking about them at the moment. A chain of eight bakeries around London, Gail’s is best known for its bread, but they also do a range of pastries and cakes, and were kind enough to send me some Christmassy treats to try.
Obviously, I had to what was inside that innocent looking box first. I wasted no time in ripping it open, and what I found inside was not innocent at all…
This is a cherry chocolate and rum cake (£15), covered in chocolate icing and topped with gold leaf. At least, that’s the official description. I would describe it as a “rum, rum, chocolate, rum, gold and rum cake”, because this is truly the most alcoholic cake I’ve ever tasted.
To say the texture is moist would be an understatement. It’s positively damp.
There’s so much rum in it that even after just one slice I was feeling a little tipsy. That made it quite difficult to review – but I managed to press on, consuming another three slices before concluding that I like it. But I do think I would have liked it even more had their been a touch less alcohol and a touch more chocolate.
Next up we have rum and raisin brownies (£2.50). These are much more subtle, and less moist than the cake. In fact, althought they’re moist in the centre, they rest of the brownie is a little dry for my taste – but then I am used to the rich, gooey, ganache like brownies of Paul A. Young. There’s a few raisins in there, but I didn’t pick up much rum at all. That could well be because I’d had so much of it in the cake that my taste buds were a bit frazzled. Still, they’re a pleasant snack and far too easy to eat.
Finally, we have the gingerbread reindeer (£1.95 for a bag of two). I’d love to tell you more about them, but as they don’t contain any chocolate, legally I’m not allowed to say much. (But they are crunchy, chewy, gingery and delicious.)