Now I'm on maternity I have entered the realm of 'ladies what do lunch' and my friend was keen to try out the Sunshine Bakery. It's really cute and bijous - we had to leave the pram outside. They now have a terrace and so on a day like today (28 in Otley!) it would be great. It is inspired by a Parisian bakery and so is decorated in lots of opulent pinks - so my friends' little girl blended in well!
I have blogged about it before here and had a deliciously light and fruity strawberry cupcake before - but this time opted for the cookie cupcake above. It had cookie pieces in the chocolate sponge, chocolate ganache and strawberry ganache topped with cookie crumbs and a piece of home made cookie. David, the owner and main baker, won best cupcakes of the year and says his secret is ground almonds to replace some of the flour to keep the sponge light.
I am always impressed by the reasonable prices too - they had giant cookies for a £1, delicious brownies for £1.50 and cupcakes for £1.75. This is such good value compared to the cupcakeries in London that offer dry and quite average cupcakes in excess of £3!
We only went for afternoon tea and so have yet to try the sandwiches or award winning sausage rolls and pastries - but there were plenty of customers popping in for savories too. Their website includes their full menu and address etc.
I love that as well as tea (last time I tried the hibiscus tea and it was lovely) they also have classy soft drinks like Fenimans. I adore the Rose Lemonade with ice - so refreshing.
We both got some brownies to take-away with us - the two choices were crunchie or malteaser flavour. I got one of each and shared them with my OH in the evening and they were fudgy and delicious.
Overall:
- some of the best baked goods in Leeds
- reasonable prices for great quality ingredients
- lovely terrace for sunny days
- Burger clubs on Sundays and a good savory menu too
- a great place to meet up with friends
- they also have stalls at local markets like the Kirkstall Deli market that I reviewed here
