Scrumptious English delights!

By Cheranka Mendis

What would you say if you were told to try a piece of beetroot and chocolate cake? While it looked very chocolaty with chocolate sauce dripping over its edges, my initial reaction was a firm no. Why would anyone want to make anything that combines something as heavenly as chocolate with a vegetable?

Hesitantly I pick at a piece that has been cut up for sampling, more so to please Ellie, the hands and brains behind all the scrumptious baked goodies on offer at The English Cake Company at The Good Market in Battaramulla, reluctant to actually taste it – and I am left amazed. It is beyond simply good – there is no vegetable taste as I initially thought there would be; instead what it does have is a distinctive flavour coupled with a rich chocolaty blend and surprisingly I find myself reaching out for another piece.

This is just one of the many wonderfully delicious goodies that Ellie can make. Having set up a stall at The Good Market held every Thursday at the Diyatha Uyana in Battaramulla (land adjoining Waters Edge), the stall, manned by Ellie and her husband Yohan, is constantly busy with people stopping by for a sip of their iced tea or for a taste of the a scrumptious brownie.

Having started her baking business because she couldn’t find a good place to buy cakes that are fresh and not too sweet with no preservatives added after returning from England, she offers cakes that are unique and “typical Western/English cakes” as she herself puts it.

Baked the previous night or in the early hours of the day as she is a teacher by profession, the cakes are fresh, gooey and delightful in every possible way.

Most of the recipes are her own while some are her mother’s. “Her mother is a professional baker and confectioner,” Yohan explained, while Ellie cut up large chunks of brownies. “And she has always loved cake, which in turn makes her fussy when it comes to picking one. This is how The English Cake Company started.”

Having driven around Colombo unsuccessfully looking for a cake to her liking, it was one of their friends who directed them to The Good Market. “I don’t want my cakes to have colouring, additives, or flavours. We were told to come here because it has organic products,” Ellie said, “and we loved it. A few weeks later we were back, this time with a lot of cake we made; and within a few minutes our stall was swamped with people. The demand has always been good.”

It’s no wonder, really; if anyone is passing by I fully recommend a five-minute stopover to try the Victoria Sandwich, a piece of lemon and blueberry cake, or even the gourmet home-made yogurt. These are only a few of the items on offer. Every week, Ellie bakes something new for The Good Market, and adds it to the best seller of the previous week. “That way I encourage people to try different things,” she said.

An absolute must-try here is the Victoria Sandwich. A sandwich of butter sponge with butter cream filling and passion fruit curd, you will find that just one piece simply won’t be enough! Then there is the Strawberry and White Chocolate Gateaux – a strawberry sponge with strawberry puree and white chocolate icing in three layers with strawberry curd on top with strawberries. This is a cake that tastes as absolutely fabulous as it sounds.

At the stall, on to a side are the gooey centred strawberry cupcakes (made out of real strawberries) with meringue hats, next to which is a jar of typical English scones which can be enjoyed with or without homemade fruit curd. The latter is soft and fresh and can be eaten with toast, pancakes, or even be used in cake. Available in 200ml bottles, the flavours available individually are passion fruit, lemon, mango, and strawberry.

“Baking is something I have always enjoyed doing and I would only sell something I love. Therefore, everything that is here is guaranteed high quality,” Ellie said.

Introducing new gourmet yoghurt last Thursday, the couple remarked that the yoghurts are delicious, fresh and homemade real vanilla yoghurt with swirls of lemon, passion, strawberry, and mango coulis or with English fudge, white or dark chocolate cream. They come in little clay pots, tied with a piece of white cloth and rope – the presentation itself is alluring.

The chocolate brownies come in white chocolate chip, dark chocolate chip, English fudge or peanut butter and are definitely worthy of a mention. “We take pride in what we do; this is perhaps the reason for our success,” emphasised Ellie. The English Cake Company also undertakes orders. The menu includes the above along with plain, chocolate chip, or rainbow meringues, lemon and blueberry cake, lemon drizzle, white chocolate and raspberry baked cheesecake, New York cake, lemon and lime tart, banana cake, Dorset apple cake with cinnamon, sticky toffee cake, orange cake, and rhubarb and strawberry crumble among others.

Ellie also makes savouries, Yohan added, including quiche and gourmet pizzas.

Available every Thursday from 12 noon, Ellie and Yohan request everyone to come over and enjoy the gastronomic delights they offer while looking through the various other organic products available at The Good Market.

Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe