The Cardiffian tested the sweet treats from five city centre bakeries to see which would come out on top
AS the capital prepares for St David’s Day the question arises: where should you go to get the best Welsh cakes?
We went to five different bakeries and bought some supermarket bought ones from Lidl to compare them all.
5. The Bread Stall
Location: Cardiff Market
Cost: 59p per cake
Rating: 6.5/10
A slightly doughy and bland Welsh cake from the bread stall in Cardiff Market was a less enticing option.
They were a good size and had a very reasonable price tag but were not as thick as they could have been.
Student and Welsh cake fan George Ratcliffe said they were quite doughy and sweet but had less fruit in them than he would like.
4.Pettigrew Bakeries
Location: Castle Arcade
Cost: £1 per cake
Rating: 6.5/10
These dense Welsh cakes have a great size and thickness but fall a bit short on texture.
They have a crispy outer layer but are too dense, in George’s view. They need a bit more of a crumbliness about them.
They had a good number of raisins, but they are a little salty. George said it was too dense and quite expensive at £1 per cake.
3. Brodie’s Coffee
Location: Gorsedd Gardens
Cost: £1 per cake
Rating: 7/10
This unassuming coffee hut near the Welsh National Museum serves great coffee but what about its Welsh Cakes?
These were very fluffy on the inside but lacked the crispiness on their outer layer.
They were very sweet from the amount of sugar on the outside and had less raisins in them.
George said they were good flavour but also quite expensive at £1 per cake.
2. Fabulous Welsh Cakes
Location: Castle Arcade
Cost: 60p per cake
Rating: 8/10
These small but mighty Welsh cakes have a strong fruity flavour and a very crispy outside.
George rated these as his favourite because they were not too crumbly, had a good raisin spread and melt in your mouth.
However, I felt that they were too small to be rated the highest, even though they were flavour wise very good.
Fabulous Welsh Cakes also do other flavours of blueberry, cherry with coconut and milk chocolate and hazelnut.
I had to try the milk chocolate and hazelnut, and it did not disappoint.
It was still quite a traditional Welsh ake as it was a subtle taste of chocolate and nuts.
1. Cardiff Bakestones
Location: Cardiff Market
Cost: 50p per traditional cake and 90p for a filled cake
Rating: 9.5/10
A crispy outer layer and a soft, crumbly inside makes the traditional Welsh cakes from Bakestones our favourite.
They are a good size and have a good level of salt compared to the dusting of sugar on top.
A second opinion from fellow student Hannah Walton-Hughes made this the front runner.
She said they were thick but very tasty, with a good balance of chewiness and density.
Bakestones also have lots of different varieties of Welsh cakes such as, jam-filled, Biscoff, chocolate chip or coconut.
We tried the jam and Biscoff. The Biscoff seemed a good alternative for people who aren’t a big fan of fruit, but the jam made it overly sweet.
You do have to get down early to get these Welsh cakes though, because the queue can be very long!
Lidl – Rowan Hill Bakery
Location: Lidl
Cost: 16p per cake
Rating: 3/10
To give a comparison to these freshly made cakes, we thought it would be a good idea to taste some supermarket Welsh Cakes.
The Rowan Hill Welsh Cakes were very thin and very soft all the way through.
They had a lot of fruit in them but tasted very strongly of flour.
These just could not compete with the freshly baked Welsh Cakes and prove that bakeries do it best.
