I had first come across Sweet Science Patisserie on Instagram, like many of my new food finds. Their bakes sounded interesting – a mish-mash of popular sweet sweats like Bakewell, Kinder and Biscoff all reinvented. The ‘science’ in the name suggests experiments are taking place here, combining all sorts of wonderful flavours. Think Cherry Bakewell Cheesecake Blondie and Kinderella Rocky Road – this is not your usual dessert shop!
One positive to come from the temporary closure of cafes and restaurants this year is the rise in independent bakers, chefs and food suppliers online. We should all continue to support local! Thanks to the internet, we’ve been able to enjoy tasty sweet treats even in the height of lockdown. Find out what we ate here.
Sweet Science Patisserie has certainly made a name for themselves in Portsmouth and surrounds. I say ‘them’ but I think it’s just one guy working his magic in the kitchen. He’s a bit of a mystery man but what we do know (thanks to Instagram) is that he has some cool tattoos (far from the likes of Mary Berry) and he works extremely hard (we’re talking 14 hour days!).
Now, let’s get on to the goodies. We were kindly sent a selection of bakes to try. They arrived nicely packaged in a crisp white box wrapped in shiny ribbon, which was nicely curled – just as you would wrap a Christmas gift. First to try was the Oreo cheesecake. This was a very generous portion of creamy cheesecake with Oreos hidden throughout it and an Oreo base. I’m not much of an Oreo fan but I do love a cheesecake and this one was flavoursome.
Then there were the chewy and gooey cookies. Sweet Science Patisserie bakes many types of cookies with popular chocolate bar toppings like Kinder Bueno and Reece’s PB Cups. They are just as the description describes ‘chewy and gooey’. Both cookies were good quality bakes and had just enough sweetness to leave you satisfied but not in a sugar coma. It’s hard to choose a favourite but I think it has to be the Kinder Bueno one because I love the hazelnutty cream inside and this had spilt out onto the top of the cookie when in the oven – wow!
Next up was the deep-filled Oreo cupcake. Again, I’m not a lover of Oreo or chocolate sponge (don’t ask me why, I LOVE chocolate but I just don’t like chocolate sponge or biscuits – yes, that is rather odd isn’t it?!) but I tried it anyway and I have to say, this was a really fresh and bouncy sponge! From experience (mainly of tasting, not baking) I know how hard it is to get this right. The best bit? Biting into it and realising it’s filled with chocolate sauce!
There’s a selection of dessert pots to choose from on the website and I’ve tried the Biscoff coffee pot and the carrot cake pot. This is a really nice dessert to eat with a small spoon or fork in front of the telly – a real weekend treat! You can see all the layers through the clear pot so you know exactly what you’re getting. The sponge was lovely and fresh in both pots and the cream filling plentiful. I’m a big carrot cake lover and this was my favourite of the two.
Carlos bought me the Cherry Bakewell cheesecake blondie for my birthday. Now, this is an insane hybrid, mixing cheesecake, blondie and what looks like a Mr Kipling Cherry Bakewell. Three of my favourite things! The description explains it as “a buttery smooth blondie, caramelised, baked raspberry cheesecake topped, cherry Bakewell tart, baked through”. Gee Whizz. This was incredibly gooey and it’s definitely not one to eat with your hands – similar to the Salted Caramel brownie pictured above! If you love gooey indulgent desserts, these are the ones for you!
We’re saving the best for last – Kinderella Rocky Road! Now, this is science! “Smooth kinderella [the inside of a Kinder Bueno], marshmallows, Oreo, melted Milkybar, crushed Oreo”. It was like nothing we had ever tried before and the portion was humungous, so we were able to enjoy it two nights in a row -yey! There’s no denying that the best part of the Kinder Bueno is the filling and if we could, we’d eat it by the spoonful, right? I don’t know how Sweet Science makes this rocky road – it would be impossible to scrape out the inside of individual Kinder Buenos – but this bake is impressive and we will definitely have it again.
Sweet Science Patisserie does a great job at keeping their menu fresh and interesting with new bakes coming out every month. It certainly keeps those with a sweet tooth, like me, on their toes and waiting excitedly for the next release. As we try new things, we’ll keep you updated on here – so check back to see what’s new.
Sweet Science delivers to a wide area which is great if you don’t live in Portsmouth or have friends further afield. Online, you can choose from a selection of individual bakes or which make a perfect gift. You can also collect from Southsea which is handy for Pompey folk like us.
To drool over the menu, head over to their website and let us know what catches your eye. Postcodes available for delivery to po1, po2, po3, po4, po5, po6, po7, po8, po9, po12, po13, po14, po15, po16, po17, so14, so15, so16, so17, so18, so19, so30, so31, so50, so53.
Living life, loving the science behind these unique bakes!
H x