We were invited along to the Cannizaro House Hotel in Wimbledon to celebrate the launch of Style Ambition. During our morning appointment, Eleanor and I discovered our body shape (I’m a rhubarb!) and were talked through what clothes were most suited. We also had a skin consultation and discussed the best ways to detox. Not only that, we also got our nails done and received a gorgeous goody bag, cupcakes and glass of champagne. Not bad all before midday!
Feeling fresh and a little giddy after our breakfast champagne, we headed to Wimbledon Village to The Lawn Bakery where we met fellow blogger Amy. Sam and I had previously visited the busy bakery but were unable to get a seat so we purchased two enormous custard doughnuts to take away. This time, we were lucky enough to get a table after a short wait and sat down for cake and coffee. I ordered another doughnut, this time jam, as I have a tendency to be drawn to the biggest cake on the menu, while Ele ordered a Danish pastry and Amy, an apple turnover.
It was the doughnuts which caught my attention as I pasted the bakery’s window many moons ago. They are enormous with a generous coating of sugar and you can see the filling oozing out which makes temptation impossible to avoid. My doughnut was nice but if I’m honest, the middle was a little dry and a section of the outside was also very greasy, soaked with oil. The dryness may have been down to the fact that when the doughnuts at the counter were running low, they were replaced by the ones in the window which were subsequently replace by fresh ones. We noticed this whilst discussing our cakes. Maybe it would have been nicer if the doughnuts served at the counter were the freshest batch or maybe I’m just overly fussy after sampling the infamous doughnuts at St John’s Bakery (read our review here). Overall, it was a nice doughnut and Amy and Eleanor enjoyed their cakes too.
Once finished, we were greeted by the manager Mario who kindly brought us over coffee plus three of his newest cakes to sample. He also handed us a single red rose each which was a lovely touch. Mario’s service came with a smile (which unfortunately can’t be said about the others who weren’t overly welcoming on our arrival) and he certainly has a lot of passion for his bakery. We sampled the salted caramel pyramid which is a French recipe involving a chocolate biscuit base, salted caramel so thick it maintained its shape, and a small filling of chopped hazelnuts – divine! The flavours were electric and we chose this cake when Mario asked us which should become his signature, taking centre stage on the counter. I would recommend sharing a salted caramel pyramid alongside another cake because the intensity of the flavours would be all too much for just one person.
We each tried a macaron with myself choosing the pistachio flavour. The macaron was nice, with a texture a good macaron should have, but it didn’t taste much of pistachio which was a little disappointing. Lastly, We sampled a rhubarb crumble which was both moist and crumbly. The sharpness of the rhubarb went beautifully with the sweetness of almond which seemed to make up the majority of this treat which is something between a tart and sponge cake. This is an excellent choice if you’re after a piece of traditional English summer.
With a whole cake each plus three samples inside us, we thought it was best to leave and find a quiet spot on the grass to lie down on. Before we left Mario showed us some of the celebration cakes him and his team had created that week, with one even making its way in to’ Hello’ magazine last month! We can’t thank Mario enough for his kind gesture and hospitality and would certainly return to this charming little bakery in the heart of Wimbledon Village. If you’re after a comforting treat from a traditional independent village bakery, then The Lawn Bakery is the place to go.
Living life, loving cake,
H x