Hummingbird Does the American
I’ve been planning a birthday present for a very special friend of mine and have been thinking about when I’d last visited London with my parents. Somehow, I started associating my thoughts with the Hummingbird Bakery. Situated amidst Portobello Market, this bakery has done very well for itself that it opened its second store in Kensington last year 2007. The Portobello outlet is a quaint little shop with very pretty, girlish decorating. It reminds you of a typical American cupcakery which is exactly what the Hummingbird aims to do – present Londoners with a top-quality alternative to English and French puds and sweet pastries.
I’ve been to the Hummingbird only once but it’s left a deep impression because of the experience of it with my little sister. She’s into colourful things, definitely the colour pink (which really is the theme of this bakery, so watch out for pink-suffocation), and sweet treats. I’ve made a mental note to visit the Kensington store sometime soon just to check it out. It reminds me a little of where I used to work at – awfullychocolate – although the Hummingbird has less of a minimalist ideology and image. Pretty, homemade with good service – the Hummingbird aims to bring American homemade goodness to you.
If you’ve heard of Magnolia Bakery NYC you’ll get the idea. The cupcake menu offers the staples: Vanilla, Chocolate and Red Velvet cupcakes (very my Grandma made this today and she uses her secret recipe type of cupcake) which are very American, in my opinion. Unlike in NYC, of course, there isn’t exactly that insanely long queue snaking out of the store since I doubt the English are that into cupcakes like the Australians or Americans are. These cupcakes are very light, buttery and fluffy, topped with traditional buttercream. They’re small and you can even go a tad littler for a mini cupcake. Pretty little things that they are – you can pop into the shop and get a cupcake wrapped in a tissue real quick and eat it as you go exploring through the vintage/antique shops of Portobello Market. I’d say it’s definitely quite a fashion statement to have a Red Velvet in one hand whilst haggling with that Italian dude for a Venetian mask. (in fact, I’ve done exactly the same thing in Milan but with a bag of calderoste or roasted chestnuts)
However, these cupcakes are sugar-explosive. What I mean is they’re terribly sugary. Both the cake and the buttercream are packed sky-high with sugar and its after effects involve about an hour long sugar-high. So if you’re not that into your sugar, it’s definitely worth a try but maybe a mini cupcake would be more than suitable. Prepare to spend a little more as well on these cupcakes. £0.95-1.85 for a cupcake, these cupcakes really aren’t your usual cheap Tesco or Morrisons fare. If I’m being completely honest, M&S might be a better bet for good and affordable cupcakes. Although lovely as they are, these cupcakes aren’t anything special if only for the experience of getting a cupcake from a specialised cupcakery. These cupcakes will be very easy to replicate with the right recipe, ingredients and special care. Nevertheless, the Hummingbird bakery has scored a very special place in my heart – providing me with the inspiration to create my own cupcakes, to honour them with buttercream and cake deco and continue the spread of cupcake-love!
