Eating fancy vegan, gluten free desserts is pretty much everything I want from life. That, and enough tea to sink a battleship, and I could be happy for eternity. So, when whatever algorithm is in charge of my social media started serving up images - beautiful, pink hued images - of Covent Garden's Cream Dream patisserie and cafe, I decided I'd stop by next time I was in the area.
There were lots of things that made me want to haul myself to Cream Dream, beyond the power of my socials' feeds. One, it's all vegan. Two, there's loads of gluten free choices. Three, it's Ukrainian owned and there's lots of Ukrainian food on the menu. Four, it's a really pretty little space (even if you're normally someone that doesn't vibe with wall-to-wall pink).
Since becoming a gluten dodger (not by choice), my chances to eat vegan patisserie have radically diminished (imagine there's some sad string music playing in the background here), so any visit to Cream Dream was going to involve hitting the pastry counter hard.
The prices might seem high, but when you see the artistry that goes into making the pastries, it doesn't feel like they're excessive.
Check out the snickers eclair and pear pecan with figs below:
The Snickers eclair is, as you'd guess, a patisserie take on the well known chocolate bar: an eclair filled with chocolate cream, salty peanut caramel, and crunchy caramelised organic peanuts, with a chocolate shell.
The pear-pecan with figs had two parts: the realistic pear on top, filled with pear mousse and figs, and finished with a quince and saffron glaze. Underneath, there's a chocolate tart with pecan praline cream and a earl grey biscuit.
Having been a relatively recent adopter of a gluten free diet, you can usually tell gluten free pastry because it's a bit more dense and heavy than the gluten version. So, if you're not used to that, the texture might be a bit new and different. But the flavours are just what you'd expect - absolutely delicious and thoroughly luxurious, as if you had any doubt! - and the cakes and tarts are just beyond beautiful to look at, not to mention incredibly fun.
Cream Dream's savoury dishes don't get as much attention on social media as they rightfully should, so let me show you the lunch I had before I got heavily involved in the cakes above.
This was my plate of varenyky:
Varenyky are, so Wikipedia tells me, traditional Ukranian dumplings made from unleavened dough and with either sweet or savoury fillings. These fellas were made potato and mushroom, and served with crispy onions and vegan sour cream. Cream Dream sell both gluten-containing and non-gluten versions, so everyone can get involved.
I've never eat varenyky before, but they felt like pierogi's more hulking cousins: great, comforting parcels that are meant to see you through the harshest of winters.
Mr Flicking the Vs went for a plate of poltava pumpkin soup. Soup normally prompts a shrug from me - it's fine, but it doesn't set my world alight, but this bowl was great. I absolutely would order this next time I visit, were it not for all the other exciting things that are on the menu. It's rammed full of Ukrainian classics made vegan - if you want to try a good sample of what's on offer, there's a Ukrainian set of borscht and bread, a choice of varenyky, cabbage rolls and uzvar, a drink made from stewed fruit. How good does that sound?
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