Sweet things in South Kensington
Friday, January 16th, 2009, posted in: Pudding, Sweets & Snacks, cafe
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I have been living in and around the Kensington area for little over seven years and I’m glad to say that there are lots of sweet offerings in the vicinity. Since it’s friday, I’d like to keep this one short and sweet. Three spots to hit the next time you are feeling sweet. Your choice of frozen yogurt, freshly baked cookies or the best fairy cakes in town.

You might like to start your journey into the West with a sit down and a cuppa at the Hummingbird bakery. The low ceiling, wooden interiors are furnished with dinky tables and red velvet sofas. I have never seen so many women packed into such a confined area before this cafe. Hummingbird is best known for their dense cakes with ultra sweet and super rich frosting.
The sweet offerings come in two varieties, the cupcake or a large slice. I’d suggest you try the red velvet, the sponge bits are a deep red colour with a rich vanilla frosting, myself I’d go with the pictured vanilla cake – the flavour of the egg is just fantastic. Next to it, is the bling bling cupcake which is an obvious chocolate flavour. With so many females in the cafe, it can only mean that the cakes are well and truly sinful.

About 10 steps outside the station is Ben’s Cookies , which are freshly baked in the shop everyday. These little babies are best had warm and the highlight is the large chunk of chocolates they are baked with. The cookie dough is sticky and moist, coupled with melting chocolate makes it oh so great. They come in a variety of flavours too with ginger & white chocolate, rum & raisin , cranberries & white choco being some of the more interesting ones. They sell them by weight and each cookie is pretty large and generally costs about 110p each (I think). Here’s a money shot of the insides….

Seriously, these cookies are pretty good and they are the real deal. I love the white chocolate. The one pictured is the triple chocolate chunk, but the melting white chocolate is 7th heaven as far as I’m concerned. Speaking of the shop, it’s take away only so no sit downs, I think you get a buy 5 get 2 free deal, a tip for when you get home: bung it in the microwave for about 5 seconds, you will appreciate the heat and the melt. Oh, they also do these ice creams too – avoid at all costs, I cant remember the ice cream brand they are selling in conjunction with the cookies, but whatever it is, they’re not really good. You are better off getting your favourite brand (haagen daz me).


Finally, there is a quiet new player in town and they call themselves SNOG. No, they dont sell kisses, instead they sell you healthy frozen yogurt either in classic plain , or green tea. Yes, you read that right, green tea frozen yogurt. These pioneers of frozen goodies plan to dominate the sweet tooth world – and make you healthy too. The small pot ( which is pretty big in itself ) is only 78 cals, that’s what it says on the label. To make the yogurt even more palatable, they offer a smattering of toppings which include potent fresh fruits in blueberry, strawberry, kiwi, mango, all colourful & juicy. They also have nuts and naughtier stuff like mini oreos. Myself, I went for the blueberries and mochi ( japanese rice cake, which are not quite distinguishable from the yogurt , but it’s there ) . Each topping is about 65p and the mini pot is about £ 2.15. Cheap, cheerful, lots of females hanging out there too and folks, I’d just had my first snog.

Thank you for taking part in this sweet trip to South Kensington, if you’re ever in West London, hop on the tube (underground) and head westward either on the District (green) , Circle ( yellow) or Piccadilly (blue) line, and make sure you knock on my door too and come say hello. Time for abit of snogging of me own now. Have a lovely weekend peeps.
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Posted in: Pudding, Sweets & Snacks, cafe







Oh, those cakes look yummy!
You are making my sweet tooth twitch !
Nice roundup. SNOG sounds a bit like a place we have here called Pinkberry (right down to the trendy interior).
Love this testosterone loaded quote re: The Hummingbird “With so many females in the cafe, it can only mean that the cakes are well and truly sinful.” Classic!
Snog, I’m sure their yogurt is tasty, but the atmosphere looks a little spooky to me! Especially the mouse statue in the corner! Although I could have unresolved childhood issues, so take that with a grain of salt
Hummingbird Bakery is down the road from me (mmmm) and the Red Velvet is my favourite cupcake there. The cupcakes are usually covered in cream cheese icing which the best bit of it.
Is the big red velvet cake covered in vanilla frosting? I don’t think it would be as delicious as the cream cheese. Go for the mini version.
oooooooooh! A few sweet things indeed!
Only 78 calories?!?!? Lemme at ‘em Snogs (errr…the frozen yogurt, not the kisses)! I LOVE frozen yogurt, especially the low cal ones, it is like eating ice cream without the guilt. Dang, wish I could go to Kensington…we don’t have good frozen yogurt places here, sigh…
I absolutely love hummingbird… we always go for the red velvet cupcakes… not been to ben’s cookies but sure sounds delish
We often overlook the beauty of a properly made “sweet thing”, but when executed right, it’s the perfect end to a meal or a treat on its own. Thanks for an amazing roundup of sweet choices!
snog! I love the name
man… I could use something sweet now! Thanks Kang
[...] Have your say here. Finally, I wrote a short post about three sweet things you can eat in South Kensington, frozen yogurt, cookies & really tasty cupcakes – enjoy it all [...]
HoneyB, oh yesh they are !
Loving Annie, that’s the correct effect im after!
Marc, Pinkberry sounds pretty cool too, frozen yogurt must be a trendy thing?
Heidi, hehehe, seriously so many women in there!!
a bit spooky? hmm, I suppose I can see how it could be, but surely it is harmless
Jess, my apologies you are correct in the red velvet is smothered in a cream cheese frost rather than a vanilla one. I need to print a retraction
thepinkpeppercorn – three no less
the food site, I did feel that too when I was eating the frozen yogurt, just like ice cream but no guilt!
Bethany – you must try ben’s cookies too – cheap and cheerful but really tasty
Global Patriot – oh yes, it is often the small things which are the best.
Jo – sure Jo – MUAH. here you go, a sweet snog from kang? :S hehehehe… sorry Im being cheeky once again.
Those cookies are what caught our eye! They look like yin yang flavor fun!
The Duo Dishes – oh you are right, I didnt notice that until you just pointed it out
yeah the cookies looks yummy…………
[...] of the branded cakes currently taking over the capital. Don’t get me wrong though, I do enjoy Hummingbird creations, but there is a time for rich cakes, and then there are times for something less [...]
We totally love SNOG’s frozen yogurt! We have been working with lots of potential new Frozen yogurt concepts and really think this could be the biggest new thing!