From bespoke cupcakes and homemade marshmallows to decadent hot chocolates, Norwich is home to some fantastic cafes, bakeries and shops with a range of seriously sweet treats on offer. Here are some of the best:
• Pandora's Kitchen
Located at 67 London Street, Pandora's Kitchen serves up a range of homemade food, from meals made for brunch to afternoon teas. But it is their speciality hot chocolate menu that really packs a punch.
Head chef, Jeff Taylor said: 'We love all things sweet at Pandora's. We are famous for our gooey salted caramel brownies, we reckon our fruit scones are the best in the city and we can not keep up with the demand for our speciality hot chocolates. The most amazing Italian hot chocolate is frothed into hot milk and then flavoured with different syrups to create unbelievable combos such as The Rocky Road, The Milky Bar and The Crème Egg'.
•Doughnut Lab: supplies Frank's Bar, The Little Red Roaster, The Wallow, The Birdcage and many more
You've probably eaten one of the gourmet doughnuts made by The Doughnut Lab and not even realised it. Ryan and Sophie Winstanley launched the yummy business in May 2015 and have since been filling the coffee shops of Norwich with their tasty treats, including chocolate éclair, peanut butter and jelly and strawberry cheesecake doughnuts.
Currently, you can find their doughy delights at places such as Frank's Bar on Bedford Street, The Little Red Roaster on Grove Road, The Wallow at 36 Exchange Street and The Birdcage which is located at 23 Pottergate.
•Macarons & More
Norwich based MasterChef finalist Tim Kinnaird opened the Macarons & More shop in the Royal Arcade in March 2013 to sell a range of luxurious treats. The shop's focus is of course on macarons, something they refer to as the 'divas of the patisserie', but they also sell a range of cakes and baked goods such as blondies and brownies, millionaire's shortbread and gourmet marshmallows. The macaron flavours for this month include, pistachio, passion fruit and milk chocolate, violet and blackcurrant and strawberries and cream.
•Cupcake & Co
Cupcake & Co began as a small stall on Norwich Market but as of January this year, the company moved into a new home at 83 Upper St Giles Street from which owner Anne Falgate sells a range of homemade cupcakes and brownies, with gluten free and vegan options available.
Anne says her most popular items include marshmallow and peanut butter brownies and when it comes to cupcakes 'the red velvet cake goes down well as people love the classics'. This weekend will see extra sweetness added to the store with the launch of Jack's Gelato, a range of homemade ice cream with unique flavours including elderflower, lemon curd and ginger. Free samples will be available to try on Saturday 23 April from 11am.
•Deerly Beloved Bakery: supplies Unio at UEA, Waterstones Café, Biddy's Tea Room and St Benedicts Food Store
Deerly Beloved Bakery was founded in 2011 by Kayleigh Baddeley and is a 100% vegan bakery that creates sweet treats for several different locations across the city each week, including Unio at the University of East Anglia, Waterstones Café W on Castle Meadow, Biddy's Tea Room on Lower Goat Lane and St Benedicts Food Store at 43 St Benedicts Street.
According to Kayleigh, their best selling items include, 'whoopee pies, peanut butter blondies and double chocolate brownies'.
•Christophe's
We've all seen Christophe's yellow Creperie parked in Davey Place beside Virgin Money. The mobile catering service is based in the city centre from Thursday to Sunday selling a range of sweet and savoury crepes. Owner, Chris Smith says his most popular pancakes are The Mont Blanc, which contains strawberries, chocolate and marshmallows and The Nutty Monkey made with Nutella and bananas.
Smith is also keen to encourage customers to 'have fun and mix it up by experimenting with fillings. If we've got it, it can go in a pancake'.
•Alice & The Aga: The Alley
Alice Rose, under the name Alice & The Aga, creates a range of unique bakes for The Alley, a new café located at 20 Bridewell Alley. From Tuesday through to Saturday, Alice produces speciality cookies, switching up her products daily depending on what the café's customers like.
'I try and steer away from the usual chocolate chip cookies and make something a little different,' she said. 'Recently I've made peanut butter and bacon cookies and ones with horlicks and cornflakes.' Alice also makes marshmallows for the café in flavours such as coffee or coconut.
• Where's the best place in Norwich for something sweet? Let us know in the comments below.
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