Crail Harbour Gallery and Tearoom

I love the East Neuk of Fife. It's such a wonderfully scenic place. Both my daughters went to St Andrews University and it is, of course, the home of Taran Guitars where Rory Dowling makes some beautiful acoustic musical instruments (mostly guitars)

A shortish walk down the hill from the free car park near the tourist information office is Crail Harbour gallery and Tea Rooms. Selling art/crafty type things - perfect if you're one of those with a seaside themed bathroom - it also has seating inside and out.

On a nice day, sitting at one of the 5 tables outside in the small rear courtyard, overlooking the chicken run with a view to the Isle of May, there is nowhere better to have a cup of tea and a cake (main meals are also provided - with dressed crab a specialty).

What is decidedly NOT a specialty is the coffee and walnut cake I was served on my last visit. Now, fair's fair - it's homebaked (I assume) and the view makes up for a lot, and it was quite tasty... but whoever iced the cake clearly needs to go to Specsavers - they very nearly missed. That can be the only excuse for the parsimonious portion of coffee fondant icing both on top and in the filling. The Creme Fraiche, slice of lemon and (baby) strawberry simply weren't compensation enough.

Other cakes I have had there have been grand. This offering was a real disappointment.

Price: £3.95

Walnut Garnish: yes

Walnut in sponge: no

Sponge: 6/10

Icing: 1/10

Filling: hardly any - more of a scrape.

Birthday Cake

I made it to 55 last week. A venerable age and one which was recognised by my wife with a present of a banana milkshake. (She says I'm difficult to buy for but I can't remember how many subtle, and unsubtle, hints I have dropped over the years about wanting a Gibson SJ200 - natural finish, obviously, not sunburst).

I might have been disappointed were it not for the fact that my mum (obviously even a more venerable age than myself!) had made me a coffee cake.

It needs to be known that a coffee cake by Pauline Roberts is the baseline by which all other coffee cakes are judged. So, how would this stack up against the other entries in this blog?

Here we go...

The icing was perfect. And, by perfect, I mean slightly stale and crusty. A common mistake is for cakes to have fluffy fondant icing. This is wrong. The icing needs to be stiff and substantial. Almost chewy. The only point lost on the icing is for the fact that it didn't go right down the sides of the cake. A schoolgirl error but one which, as she is in her dotage, I am willing to forgive. Even though it was my birthday cake. The filling needs to be obvious, not just an afterthought. It is an integral part of the experience - check the photo for how the filling ought to be done.

The sponge was exactly as it ought to be. Slightly claggy, nice and moist, with no chance of it falling to bits on the plate or on the fork (or in your hands, for that matter, I'm not always patient enough to use a cake fork).

There were no walnuts. This does not matter. Mum has never put walnuts on, or in, the cake. It has never been described as a 'Coffee and Walnut Cake' therefore their absence is immaterial.

The crux of the matter is, of course, that there ought to be so much coffee in the cake that it needs to be eaten before lunch if you are intending to sleep at night. The coffee needs to be in the icing and the sponge, giving both a dark texture and a genuine coffee flavour. At this, as with everything else, my mother excels.

And so to the scores on the doors...

Price: Free of charge

Walnut Garnish: no
Walnut in sponge: no
Sponge: 10/10
Icing: 9/10
Filling: yes - and plenty of it.

Tennants Auction Rooms Cafe

It is not often that I get to enjoy two of my favourite pastimes at the same time... but last Wednesday I did just that.

My friend (I'm not sure he'd agree that we are mates) Paul Brett has teamed up with auction house Tennants (in Leyburn, Yorkshire) to exhibit part of his immense guitar collection. In the evening there was to be a charity concert to raise funds for Future Talent.

I decided that a day out was in order. Ans what a grand day out it was. The concert, featuring such guitar luminaries as Ben Smith, Gordon Giltrap, John Etheridge and Raymond Burley (and, of course, Paul Brett himself) was superb...

As was the on-site cafe where I managed to snaffle the final remaining piece of coffee cake.

Now, I ought to make it clear here (as I haven't before) that coffee cake is different to coffee and walnut cake. Both have their place. Walnuts are not a pre-requisite for a coffee cake. They're nice, certainly, and they add something to the overall experience - but they're not actually necessary (unless you're buying 'coffee and walnut cake' in which case their absence would be a reason for a mark down!)

The coffee cake at Tennants (no idea who actually made or supplied it) was just brilliant. In fact it goes to the top of my favourite 'coffee cake not made by my mum' list.

It had everything - a lovely moist sponge, plenty of filling (though a bit more would've been good) and a slightly crusty icing on the top (and plenty of it). A great way to start my afternoon and evening of guitar related fun. Indeed the only way the day could have been improved was if I'd spent the morning watching Liverpool FC beat some other team (ANY team, would do) and if Ralph Mctell had been on the bill for the concert :)

Price: £1.50
Walnut Garnish: No
Walnut in sponge: No
Sponge: 9/10
Icing: 9/10
Filling 8/10

I don't suppose Tennants can guarantee that coffee cake will be available every time... but it ought to be. Paul's exhibition is on display until June 20th when some of his instruments are due to be auctioned...