You know that bit between being asleep and being awake when you then realise it's Saturday and you can just stay in your duvet den? Well, that's how it also feels when you settle down with a cuppa and one of Lorna's pastries from Apsley Bakehouse
Lorna is a trained pastry chef who makes a behemoth catalogue of baked goods from home every week for contactless delivery around the Apsley area. She also attends the Kings Langley market when it's on and supplies various coffee shops in the area (including one of our faves, Boxmoor Coffee and Wine )
To say her menu is exciting is an understatement. There is of course the traditional croissant, pain au chocolat and almond croissant, and she also sources some wonderful sourdough breads to stock too. However the other items are the really exciting bit. No longer do you have to travel to some hipster bakery in Shoreditch to get cruffins, bostocks and fancy doughnuts; Apsley Bakehouse can now provide these for you!
This week we tried some classics: dark chocolate cookies, pain au chocolat, and plain croissant, and we also tried the more innovative cinnamon & cardamom bun, pecan & maple cinnamon swirl, coconut & raspberry bostock, and the pork & fennel sausage roll.
I dug in immediately to the sausage roll-I didn't even heat it through. It was wonderful. Crisp flaky pastry, and I mean FLAKY! This bad boi was layers and layers of incredibly laminated pastry, encasing a moist hugely flavoursome sausage meat. I truly resented sharing it (it may be " 'till death do us part" but hands off my sausage roll!), so next time I will buy one (or two) for myself and then give J his own. I ain't sharing that again!
The cinnamon & cardamom swirl again was super crisp and flaky, incredibly indulgent "twice" baked and then rolled in more cinnamon sugar. Although it must be noted that I did miss the cardamom flavour in there. J had the softer, sticky bun type pecan & maple cinnamon swirl. When i asked for tasting notes I got "I want another one", so I assume it was good!
The bostock is a curious beast. Usually a loaf made with offcut brioche dough, Lorna actually does hers with croissant dough. This week she'd topped it with a tart raspberry compote and coconut shards all gloriously enveloped in a frangipane. The result was a crisp, sweet, sticky yet fresh and zingy alternative to a Danish pastry.
The classics are also wonderful. Her dark chocolate cookies come in a bag of 4 really decent sized cookies (watch out when opening the bag though, as the staples that seal it closed fell into ours and I could have eaten it; just a watch out for young kids.) They're crammed full of choc chips with a slight saltiness which is very welcome. They're not dunking cookies-I'd give these their own full attention. However, I would recommend dunking the croissants and pain au chocolate into a foamy cappuccino. It's a weakness of mine and I encourage you to try it too!
There's nothing I can fault with Lorna's pastries and treats at all. Indeed, I would probably suggest to J that we order more and then keep them in the freezer for whenever I need sweet laminated dough (which let's be honest, is everyday right now!)
Service: Delivery to the door on a Saturday morning. You need to be with it though as orders need to be placed on a Sunday from 6pm until the web-shop closes on a Tuesday evening. Easy to order and check out though.
Value and Price: We got all of the above, plus delivery for £27. It's about £2-£3.50 per pastry which is a good price and in line with expectations.
Quality: Stonking! Flavours and textures all really well thought out and executed.
Overall: OUTSTANDING - Instagram-worthy pastries, which wouldn't be out of place at Dominique Ansel bakeries worldwide delivered to your door. We're spoiled having such a fabulous bakery on our doorstep.
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