The cakes of Bruges - a love story

Mr CC and I have just returned from Bruges and whereas some people – let’s call them weird people – would be looking through photos of their day trips and adventures, I am looking through my photos of cakes; some of which were eaten by me, others just admired from afar.

Bruges is a very beautiful city in the Flemish region of Belgium; so beautiful that the entire city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

While there are so many stunning buildings in Bruges you almost stop noticing them, one in particular caught my eye. I have a new patisserie-crush and its name is Prestige:

This is the counter that greets you on entry:

Every tea or coffee cup arrives with a little delight in the saucer; it differed every time (we went there once or twice...by the end of our stay the staff recognised us! I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed by that?):

The cakes were – of course – awesome and all made on the premises. This looks like a simple strawberry tart, but no. The sable pastry base was biscuity and light, the crème patisserie filling was like eating a creamy cloud and the strawberries were sweet and fruity. I could eat one every day for the rest of my life.

Mr CC chose a “Javannais”. I expected this to taste of coffee i.e. java but it didn’t. I would call this a japonaise as it was many layers of nutty meringue with creamy buttercream separating them.

The giant raspberry macaron was a purchase made from sheer greed, as the cakes are generously sized...but just look at it...how could I possibly walk away from the counter and leave it there?

We did actually sample other patisseries/cafes and found some delights. This beauty was a Delice:

It was a chocolate sponge and mousse outer, with a thick custard filling. My excuse for gobbling it down in about 3 seconds flat was that I was worried that it would melt in the sun:

The apple tart was simple and elegant and Mr CC liked that it wasn’t overly sweet:

This custard slice had an element I’ve never seen before. Each layer of puff pastry had a crisp coating of the kind you get on the top of a crème brulee. I would imagine that they scattered sugar on the cooked puff pastry then took a blow torch to it. The result was lovely as each mouthful of pastry also had a crisp, sticky caramel layer too.

Bruges – you may be a small city but you excelled yourself with your cakey offerings!