Stephanie Almeida Bespoke Cakes Buckinghamshire
I had the great honour to have the lovely Stephanie bring me some of her best-loved cakes in cupcake form. Now, I eat a lot of cupcakes – probably too many – and I have to say that these were THE BEST CUPCAKES EVER. If these are as good in cake form, everyone who orders one is going to be begging for more.
Passion Fruit – This glorious cupcake was awesome! Look at the gold and silver foil on the passion fruit icing. The sprinkled seeds are just the ‘icing on the cake’ as this glorious icing was the perfect balance between tart and sweet. The icing itself is lighter than it may seem and that intense burst of sharp passion fruit with the lightness makes this absolutely moreish. The cupcake itself is vanilla and glorious but it serves as the transport mechanism for the icing which is magnificent. In a cake this would be gloriously balanced.
Lemon Meringue – look at this cupcake! This cupcake is a perfect miniature lemon meringue pie. The marshmallow topping is deliciously sticky and sweet without being too sweet. The lemon curd was the perfect tart counterpoint to the topping and the cupcake was a deliciously neutral vanilla. I would have absolutely died and gone to heaven had there been more lemon curd. Husband forced me to share he was so taken with the passion fruit one. He never shares my reviewing and this he could not resist! My goodness with the balance of sweet and tart and the cupcake this was perfect. You can taste the skill!
Black forest – from the cherry compote to the cherry on top, this is a masterpiece. I hope you can see from the image that this is a well-constructed cupcake, combining all the elements of the perfect black forest cake. In fact I heard that during a wedding tasting that the bride chose it as one of her cakes for the summer wedding she loved it so much. The icing is again light and the chocolate cupcake is delicious. The cherries are absolutely perfect both in the chocolate and compote. As a cake this is going to be absolutely glorious. I can’t get over just how delicious this cupcake is.
Triple Chocolate Cake – with chocolate sponge, the chocolate ganache and the chocolate buttercream it is absolutely delicious. In fact, it is so delicious I want to have some sort of celebration so I can order one and not be a complete pig and eat the whole thing myself… I might still do that. The Amedei chocolate used in the ganache and buttercream is amazing and really adds a depth of flavour to the cake. This is a gloriously flavoured chocolate cake not only because of the quality of chocolate used but the professionalism with which it is executed.
Overall I was extremely surprisingly impressed by these cupcakes. Perhaps it is because Hummingbird is such a conveyer belt of cupcakes or perhaps the high quality education Stephanie had plus her time with one of the best chocolatiers and at one of the best patisseries served her well. It is likely that Stephanie is a consummate professional with some of the best skills around. She certainly makes Lola’s and Hummingbird cupcakes look like the work of amateurs. BUY HER CAKES NOW!
