Dream custard creams from Hart's Bakery

Bristol is already unfairly well-provided with artisan bakeries but here's another one from Laura Hart who used to bake the fantastic bread and cakes at Lido and before that at Q.V. and Bordeaux Quay.

I met her today at the Made in Bristol Craft Fair where she was running a joint pop-up tea and biscuits stall with Kate Gover of Lahloo Tea. She'd baked some amazing-looking mince pies and these delicious heart-shaped custard creams which tasted almost exactly as I remember them when I was a child, only crumblier and slightly less sweet. (Apparently the secret is using Bird's Custard Powder in the filling.)

She also sells her bread, croissants and cakes in Hampton Lane (just off Cotham Hill) from 8am to lunchtime Monday to Friday and normally has a stand outside Planet Pizza in Gloucester Road from 9am to lunchtime on Saturdays.

You can keep tabs on any other outlets via her website www.hartsbakery.co.uk

The croissant that thinks it's a pretzel

I don't want you to think I'm fixated by carbs or anything (the truth is I am) but it's hard to avoid them in New York. And my second great find, introduced to me by the wonderful Dorie Greenspan, is the Pretzel croissant at City Bakery.

Actually Dorie's not alone. There are so many people obsessed with this croissant that the City Bakery has a dedicated website for it. (There's also a rather bizarre black and white YouTube video of them making it - or maybe another croissant - inexplicably backed by the soundtrack from My Fair Lady. But persevere through 'The Rain in Spain'. There's a great sequence of them rolling them out.)

Anyway the croissant is just heavenly. Less fatty and flakier than a typical French croissant with salt and sesame seeds sprinkled over the top it has the sweet-salty-crunchy appeal of salted caramels. I also loved their apple sauce cakes with bourbon raisins (below). Dorie and I both felt though that their celebrated chocolate chip cookies were a touch too sweet, an almost heretical view in New York. But Dorie can get away with it because she is a Baking Goddess. You should check out her lovely blog.


City Bakery is at 3 West 18th Street, just off 5th Avenue. If you're visiting New York you must go there for breakfast.