The Scottish Baker of the Year awards are in, and they've inspired my best bakery crawl
I have a bucket list of cakes to try
I’m so lucky to have three excellent bakeries within walking distance of my Leith house.
There’s Asta, The Pastry Section and Twelve Triangles. I don’t always have to make a purchase. They’re used to seeing my Cujo-esque drool-lathered face pressed up against the glass.
My bakery obsession has also extended to living vicariously through the Scottish Baker of the Year award, which was announced on May 16 at a ceremony in Glasgow.
It was hosted by Edith Bowman, who presumably got paid in yum-yums and played Cake by the Ocean on her DJ decks.
Since receiving the release, I have been staring at the list of winners, and deciding where to go next, either to buy something or to stare in the window and salivate.
Here are my thoughts.
1 The overall winner of the year went to Harry Gow Bakery, who have more than a baker’s dozen of branches that stretch from Brora to Keith in a squashed croissant shape. They’ve won the awards an incredible three times, yet I have never tried their wares. To launch the event, earlier in the year, they made a giant 78-inch empire biscuit. I’m not really into those jammy-middled powdery offerings, but I’d take a dozen of their doughnuts and a sausage roll.
2 There are 11 baking categories at the awards. My eye skipped past the Morning Roll winners - boring - and went straight to Sweet Treats. At the top with Best in Scotland was Glasgow’s The Bakery Hinba and their chocolate and olive oil cake. My goodness, that sounds right up my alley. I’ve been to their Great Western Road sister branch for coffee before, but this treat has so far eluded me. I shall dream about it tonight, and wake up to find that I’ve eaten my pillow and eye mask.
3 I was very interested in the Scone category. It’s been such a long time since I had a truly decent one. Usually, any art gallery cafe is the place to go. My husband makes adequate cheesy ones, though they are usually the size of Trebor Extra Strong Mints and quite dense. According to the awards, the Best in Scotland is the plain scone from Fergusons in Kilmarnock. It’s ironic that an ordinary one took home the prize, when there were so many bonkers versions in this category. For example, there’s a Regional Gold winning chocolate orange scone at Irvines Bakers, and a Regional Silver winning hot heather honey scone from The Bread Guy. They’ve all scone totally bananas.
4 The doughnut award was taken home by Harry Gow, for their lemon meringue version. However, there are yum-yums and jam and cream fingers in this category. Tsk. That’s like sneaking cats into the ring at Crufts. Surely, you need a hole in a doughnut.
5 I love the Morning Goods category. Of course, it features croissants galore, with Harry Gow (yet again) winning for their pain Suisse and my favourite Company Bakery getting Regional Gold for their plain croissant. The rest of the list prompts me to imagine a parallel universe where I could have fudge pancakes from Regional Bronze winning Aulds Bakery for my brekkie, instead of porridge. That’s the life I want, complete with a giant sugar crash and subsequent tearful meltdown at 10:20am.
6 Although it’s not really my thing, I am still intrigued by the Morning Roll category. Someone in my area feeds the squirrels with these bakes, and they sit at the top of the tree out back, looking blissful as they clutch their spoils to their chests. I wish I could get so excited by this staple. Maybe the Best in Scotland, Goodfellow & Steven, could kindle a love for a simple squashy bap. Interestingly, the Scone winner, Fergusons, makes something called a ‘dolly roll’. A quick Google reveals that this is either the rolls that were popularised by Dolly Parton in her cookbook Dollywood, or a Hungarian pop band, who have hits including Elpattant Egy Hur (A String Snapped).
7 The Biscuits category is intense, with 27 regional winners, and one top dog - Harry Gow, yet again, and their Chocolate Caramel invention. I’m a bit scared of the Regional Gold winning red velvet and cream stuffed cookie from Maria’s Baking Stories, but I could try a little nibble. There are seven empire biscuits on this list. Too many, especially when there isn’t a single Dundee cake or cloutie dumpling anywhere. If I could choose any of the winners’ biscuit creations, it’d be Company Bakery’s Regional Silver rye and dark chocolate cookie or the good old Viennese from Christie the Baker. I’m also intrigued by the Tiramisu Cookie Sandwich by Perth-based Rabbit Hole Cakes Ltd.
8 In contrast to the Biscuits category, there is tellingly hardly anything in the Better For You and Free From category. Just four winners, with the Best in Scotland going to The Bread Guy’s Saturated Fat Reduction Softie.
9 In the Sweet Treats category, there are two Gold Regional Awards that go to Edinburgh business Mademoiselle Macaron. Now, I’m a rarity in that I don’t really like macarons. They’re just too light and airy for someone who enjoys the reassuring heft of a fruit cake or a doorstopping iced bun. Still, I could make an exception for their Dark Chocolate Cherry or Pistachio versions.
10 This week, Alan Cumming posted on Instagram about Scottish bakeries, and how they love to put a sweet thing on top of an equally sugary thing. Indeed, I think there’s a lot of that at these awards, with Biscuff, Bueno and Rolo all getting honourable mentions. In for a penny.
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