Artisan Cheesecakes

 

Tucked away in Bruntsfield in Edinburgh is a wonderous place called Artisan Cheesecakes. A teeny tiny cafe absolutely devoted to cheesecake. I don't want to be dramatic or anything, but visiting might chage your life. There's so many cheesecake options you just won't know what to do with yourself. Luckily when Ben and I visited on Sunday the man behind the counter was absolutely lovely, chatting away as we uhmd and ahhd over what to take away with us. 

The cheesecakes are in quite industrial fridges, which is a shame because the rest of the shop is so cute, but I suppose needs must, and those cheesecakes definitely deserve appropriate sheltering from the heat that's currently engulfing the city. 

Eventually we went for one classic and one that was, well, a little bit out there. Creamy vanilla cheesecake with rice krispy cake on top of a chocolate biscuit base, studded with homemade marshamllow and drizzled in chocolate ganache. It was unlike any cheesecake I've ever seen, but it was also absolutely delicious. You can sit in, if you can squeeze in somewhere, but I think taking it away and sitting to relax in the Meadows which surround the shop is a much better option. You can get the cheesecake in little plastic boxes, which is very handy for this!

  

 

  

Our second, classic choice was raspberry and white chocolate, and if I'm honest I think for me the classic had the edge. We bought a minature whole cheesecake, rather than a slice of this one because it was just too cute not to, and it too came in its own little box which saw it safely transported home because we couldn't squeeze the two in whilst we sat on the grass.

I will undoubtedly be returing to Artisan Cheesecakes, as I hear rumour they have over 170 different flavours on a rotating basis. So it would be rude not to give a couple more of them a go.

If a cheesecake craving hits you, you can find the shop at 104 Bruntsfield Place, or their original shop out in Bathgate, 87 South Bridge St.

Lochs and Life Updates

It's been a while since I've written anything about anything other than food, so I thought I'd share a few pictures of today's day out and share a little life update.

On Tuesday this week I handed in my last big piece of work of the semester and, excitingly, of my masters! (other than the small issue of a 12,000 word dissertation, but that is next weeks problem). I have a big list of things I want to do - reply to emails, do some editing, read some blogs, bring the Easter baking ideas I've been dreaming of into the real world, clear out the mess that is my wardrobe... some of these things are more exciting than others!

But on Wednesday morning when the sunshine was tempting me out of the front door I decided that the to do list could wait until Thursday and Friday, and five of use headed for the hills and went for a wander around Loch Leven. It's only half an hour North of Edinburgh and it's absolutely beautiful. Sadly it was very late in the day before we arrived, so we didn't manage the whole 21km lap of the lake, but we'll definitely be back another day to complete the walk. The small part of the path we explored was peppered with hidden doors and secret pools so I can only try and imagine the rest of it.

I will be honest though, there was more tempting me out into the great outdoors than just the sunshine. For almost five years I've been living a very luxurious lifestyle, it has to be said. Yes there's been countless hours spent in the library, more bowls of lentils than I care to remember and that one time I sat on the floor of the lab and cried because there was seawater pouring everywhere and I didn't know how to stop it, but overall the student lifestyle is undeniably wonderful. Even as a science student your time is relatively flexible, and when the sun shines you can drop your plans and run to the nearest loch to explore.

However, I am very pleased to be able to say I have been offered a full time, "grown up" job. And whilst it's more than I ever could have hoped for, before graduation and within an organisation whose work combines so many of my passions I can't believe my luck, it does mean I'll have to wait until the weekends to head for the hills in the future.

So I'm trying to make the most of my last couple of weeks. Last weekend explored some more of Newcastle, I'm off to Amsterdam with Ben later this week, and then I'm going to spend a bit more time in the nooks and crannies of Edinburgh. It's been a long time since I visited Amsterdam so if you have any recommendations about what to do and where to eat I'd love to hear them.

And now I'm going to end this excessive amount of text now and leave you with some more pictures of a lovely day out. I hope the sun is showing its face where you are and that you're enjoying it too.

Nobody Likes You When You're 23

Yesterday I turned 23. I baked myself a pink ombre layer cake and covered it in sprinkles - because who doesn't want pink and sprinkles on their birthday? Nobody, that's who. I sat in bed and sleepily opened presents and then wandered down to the West End to tuck into some sushi from Sushiya - somewhere I highly recommend if you get that sort of craving whilst in Edinburgh. 

I decorated my flat with paper pompoms and filled it with tasty treats for all of my friends. In return, they topped my cake with candles and sang to me. Some of them went to the enormous effort of making me a cake too, and I will be forever grateful for the effort - they are not kitchen types usually! They also put up with my project for the evening, which was snapping a photo of everyone with the Polaroid camera Ben got me for Christmas that I hadn't had chance to use yet. I now have a pleasing pile of polaroids waiting to find a home. It's such a change to have physical photographs.

 

It was a wonderful evening after a really lovely day, and I really wanted to write a quick post about it to give me a chance to reflect on how lucky I am. (I'm fairly sure despite the warning from Blink-182 my friends do still like me now I'm 23.) Do you sometimes find that when you sit down to blog about something it gives you reflection time that you wouldn't otherwise take? 

Clerk's Bar

The idea of one day living in Edinburgh has always been the dream for me. Some people want to climb Everest, others want a different pair of shoes for every day of the week - I just wanted Edinburgh. I never had a rational explanation for it, the closest I could get is that my Dad's never ending, as yet unexplained fascination with the city rubbed off on me.

When moving suddenly and quite unexpectedly became a reality, I was both completely overexcited and completely terrified. Terror that it wouldn't live up to my expectations, excitement that, well, it would! One of the things that most excited me was the prospect of some really good food (shocker). Not to put down the Frozen North, but after four years in a pretty small city, I was well versed in all of the affordable yet delicious options out there.

So far, I've struck lucky with eating out, very lucky. One of the first places I stumbled into was Clerk's Bar. It specialises in slow cooked meat and craft beers, and I've been back three times. In three weeks. The food is that good (their Monday night quiz is a good one too!)

On my first trip I basically fell through the door after climbing Arthur's Seat on just a bowl of weetabix. Spoilt for choice by the menu, I was pleased that there was a good variety of food ordered by the table, and I got to have a little nose at each thing.

First up, a burger, which comes with onion rings and salad anyway, but a hungry climber also topped it with cheese, bacon and pulled pork. Personally I think I would have died from the sheer volume of meat if I'd have eaten it, but it got a big thumbs up from the person who had to actually eat it, and that's all that matters!

I opted for a small portion of ribs and some sweet potato fries, and I'm not sure which bit was better. There was heaps of meat on the ribs and it fell off the bone as soon as you started to pick them up. The sauce was tangy and, happily, not overwhelming. The fries were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and there's a high chance that I could happily live off them for the foreseeable future if I had to.

Although the both the pulled pork (below) and chicken burritos hit the spot after our energetic afternoon, it has since been concluded (after rigorous taste testing) that actually, the beef is the one to go for.

With it's cool decor, mouthwatering food and a beer collection that gets the boys very excited, I'm not surprised Clerk's is packed out every time I go in. It's got a fantastic atmosphere. But, really, top marks go to the staff, who are possibly some of the nicest I've ever encountered.

You can find all of this goodness at: 

74-78 South Clerk Street

Edinburgh

Hello

I know. It's been nearly a month. There's tumble weeds that have taken over my blog. 

Since we last spoke, I have moved to Edinburgh.

I have become an expert in building IKEA furniture, painting walls* and living with just a microwave and a temperamental sink.

I have fought a long hard battle with EE, and finally got my little flat connected after three weeks offline.

I have started a Masters and applied for all the part time jobs.

I have become so lost that at one point I had to ring someone, describe my surroundings and get them to direct me based on them.

I climbed a big hill. Yes, that one up there!

I have made some great friends and found myself a flatmate - who thought I was normal until she helped me unpack my kitchen stuff. My six boxes of kitchen stuff.

It's been more than a little bit challenging; an enormous adjustment from the Frozen North. But now that I have an oven and a basic understanding of how to get from A to B, I'm feeling better, and I'm ready to start sharing again. I'm excited to start sharing again! And I'm definitely excited to start catching up with my endless, unread bloglovin' feed.

But for now, I leave you with some more pictures from my afternoon up Arthur's Seat.

*Except not because I accidentally painted the living room wall lilac. Colour charts are not my friend.

Edinburgh Christmas Market

I'm jumping on the bandwagon here. But that's okay, it's a beautiful Christmassy bandwagon with twinkling lights and tasty treats. It's a post about my trip to a Christmas Market - the Edinburgh Market. I've read so many posts with such jealousy, and we'd had this trip planned for such a long time. I've gone for a photo edit - sometimes pictures say so much more than words.