Banburgh Castle

We'd been to Banburgh Castle a few years ago and, despite it not being a National Trust property (and would, therefore, cost us actual money to go in) we had enjoyed it enough to decide to go again.

Set in a spectacular position right on the North East coast, the castle has a long history of varied inhabitants seeing combat on a number of occasions and also being used as a school, a hospital - and a private dwelling.

The castle boasts a small cafe, with not a great number of tables and even though the day was grey, overcast, cold and with fairly frequent showers, it was a struggle to get a table. Being a gentleman, I sat down to claim territory while Sara went and got the grub. The age of chivalry is not dead...

And 'grub' included a coffee cake.

It was only a small piece - but the icing looked nice and thick, the sponge was moist and tightly packed and there were big chunks of walnut visible, although none on the top. It should have been delicious. In fairness, it wasn't that bad. It just lacked 'something' and I've no idea what that was. The icing wasn't as sturdy as it had looked - much more 'fondant' than good, chewy icing. Maybe that was what left me feeling slightly underwhelmed?

I'm also writing this having just had a piece of my Mum's coffee cake so have to accept that all memories of previous offerings are somewhat tarnished (more of that in another post).

Price: £2.75
Walnut Garnish: no
Walnut in sponge: yes - lots and lots of nice thick pieces
Sponge: 8/10
Icing: 8/10
Filling: yes - a decent amount.