Cake in a jar

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Caitlin panel

A new vegan bakery opened just a couple of weeks ago in Barcelona, which seems to bursting at the seams these days with new vegetarian and vegan restaurants. But bakeries? This one’s the only 100% vegan bakery! I knew I had to check it out.

La Pastisseria Besneta is so new Google couldn’t even seem to find it, so I headed there in hopes that it was open on weekends. Luckily, it was open – and I got to taste test their lemon meringue cake!

La Besneta sells whole cakes, or individual servings of cake in a jar. The cakes in a jar are super cute (and super hipster), and wouldn’t look out of place in Shoreditch. It makes the whole cake buying and eating experience just a little bit more exciting. The day I visited, they had two muffins and four different kinds of cake (carrot cake, lemon meringue and two different chocolate cakes, one with raspberry filling and one without). I selected the lemon meringue.

besnetacake

 

The meringue was light and fluffy and the lemon was just the right amount of tart. The only downside is that while cake in a jar is very photogenic, it’s a little bit difficult to eat. Make sure you have a spoon – and not fork – handy!

If you visit Barcelona, definitely check out this new vegan bakery in the Gracia neighbourhood. Like the bakery on Facebook.

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Screaming Carrot

Every town should have a Screaming Carrot.

My recent stop in Nottingham opened my eyes to some marvellous things, not least a workers’ co-op vegan bakery and grocery store named The Screaming Carrot.

Tucked away down a small road in a quiet suburb, The Screaming Carrot is a one-stop shop for all your vegan pantry needs and sweet treats. 

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Unbakery

I adore the name of this raw cake business. Paradise Unbakery. Unbakery! Get it?!

The gorgeous creations of this independent business first caught my eye a few weeks back and I meant to let you all know about it sooner, but it slipped my mind until I was browsing my photos today.

Check out these gorgeous raw vegan chocolate and cherry cakes.

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New vegan cake in Brixton

I was stumbling away from Rock ‘n’ Roll Vegan Brunch yesterday when I noticed a new store situated just a few steps down Tulse Hill (five doors away from Veg Bar) in Brixton.

Health and Pastry looked to be a small health food store with some interesting groceries, so I popped in for a quick inspection.

To my complete surprise, I was greeted by the following sight.

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New vegan baker

What do you need, London? Of course you all answered in unison: more vegan cake options!

If you get down to Brick Lane most Sundays you can make friends with Randi and her impressive vegan food stand called The Friendliest Flour.

237061The range on offer at the market includes (get ready for a long list):

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Sweet tooth

It’s a determined trickle in London. Slowly, but surely. Vegan food is taking a foothold as more and more compassionate people take chances on creating and selling plant-based foods. One such vendor is vegan baker Giancarlo Roncato.

A trained chef who decided to swap the animal based ingredients out of all his food, Giancarlo can now be found plying his wares on market stalls around London. Josh and I paid a visit to his Chatsworth Road operation a few weekends back and were delighted not only by the choice on offer from Giancarlo, but also the vegan-friendly vibe of the entire market.

So, what does Giancarlo and his Vegan Sweet Tooth bakery offer? Check it out below.

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More cake

Can you remember a time when finding vegan cake in London was a struggle? Now it seems you can’t walk down the street without tripping over a piece of dairy-free sponge or accidentally eating half a dozen cupcakes. OK, that last one might be just me… and you can take out ‘accidentally’.

It seems the more cake vendors we get in the capital, the more up-and-coming bakers are inspired to get in on the act. It’s a fabulous win/win situation for fat, gay vegans and other cake aficionados.

The latest cake maker to catch my attention is the super friendly Kirsty of Garden of Vegan. Kirsty is a home baker turned business person looking to impress London with her cruelty-free cakes. She generously hand delivered a bag of her goods for me to sample and asked me to let you all know about her new business.

Here is what Kirsty had to say about getting your hands on some vegan cake:

“We began as wholesale but in an ideal world we want people to order directly from us. We are working on an online order form, but at the moment if people want to order they just email us at gofvegan@gmail.com or contact us via Facebook or Twitter and they can request a menu. Once they decide on what they want, they send us an email, we send them an invoice and they can pay on delivery.”

Kirsty also assured me she is proactively searching for cafes to sell her cakes. If you are a cafe owner or have a local hangout that could benefit from vegan cake, get in touch with Garden of Vegan.

Check out some of their creations below.

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I’ll be gone

Businesses come and go quickly and sadly vegan businesses can be the swiftest departures of them all. It is extremely difficult to stay afloat at the best of times and even harder when you are part of a ‘niche’ market.

I am sad to hear of the closure of a gorgeous vegan cafe in Barcelona called Vegan Bakery. I had only just visited a few months ago and now it appears to be no more. I’m not on the ground in that town to do my usual snooping, but I have seen whispers on the Internet that the close is temporary until a new location is found.

I would love to hear from anyone involved in the cafe or anyone with information on their future. It won’t be too long before I’m heading back that way and I would really love to support their endeavours.

Until then, take a sneak peak of what I enjoyed during my recent visit to Vegan Bakery.

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This is your ticket to Freedom

Here is some excellent news to get you over those midweek blues.

Freedom Brewery is a fabulous producer of lager and beer operating out of Staffordshire, UK. They have been supplying drinkers with outstanding beverages since 1995 and all of their products are certified by the Vegan Society as suitable for a vegan diet. A little while ago, I published a short review of their lager and I have been enjoying this drink ever since I put that story out.

Now, here is the really good news…

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“Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?”

Slip your pleather shoes on, grab your Oyster card and get to Brixton as soon as you can. Vegan baking superstar Ms. Cupcake is now tempting your cruelty-free taste buds with donuts. Get them while they’re hot.

If you recall my last post about Ms. Cupcake, you will already know about the staggering range of vegan cupcakes they produce. The bakery is the first of its kind in London and is fast becoming a favourite destination for their many loyal customers. The cupcakes are certainly delicious enough to warrant a visit, but now Ms. Cupcake offers even more treats to entice in the form of donuts.

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