Waking up from dreams of apocalypse and the thought of missing out on my glamping trip in September because of it, led me to remember that I have a caramel slice review to write from a previous camping trip.
My partner and I had recently moved to a new city, York, and have taken it upon ourselves to do as much sight seeing as possible in Yorkshire, a region that my girlfriend is from and a county that was on my border while growing up.
We’d headed out of the city and into the Yorkshire Dales, to what would be our first camping holiday together. This isn’t going to be one of those posts that tells you about all the misery we had and how much of a pain the entire experience was…because it was lovely. The weather was perfect; mostly sun with a sprinkling of rain. The campsite (Breaks Fold Farm) was simple, pleasant and not busy nor quiet and the staff were excellent, as were the commodities.
We spent our weekend exploring Brimham Rocks, Ripon and Harrogate and it was the latter where we had lunch and I had a caramel slice for desert.
My girlfriend is vegan and myself vegetarian, so we make it habit to seek out places that accommodate solely to our requirements. Fortunately these days that’s easy in most cities. Some places have one dedicated eatery, others have 10 or more, it’s quite wonderful.
It’s only been over the past year that I’ve stared eating more healthy and delving into new meals and dishes. Having been previously a meat and potatoes sort of eater, mushrooms and peas being my daily veg.
What’s lovely, is to go to a place that’s full of like minded people eating the same delicious, healthy meals as you. Though there’s a question to be asked as to whether caramel slices are all that healthy… But as you committed readers know, my lack in writing regularly has risen greatly since leaving university, some scary six years ago, so I’m not eating them much anymore.
Option (VE) is open Wednesday – Saturday, so we got lucky travelling on the Saturday, first to Harrogate before going to the camp site.
Me in my stupid, but very pretty, Caterpillar walking boots, clumping down quiet streets, trying to wear them in after a late purchase. My girlfriend by my side eager to turn the right corner to bring our rumbling stomachs to a satisfying cafe.
The cafe was lovely, simple, elegantly modern, offering an array of food options both vegetarian and vegan, as mentioned. They even did detergent refills in the back, to save on plastic waste. We both fancied burgers and I ordered a halloumi burger that came with chips, salad, cous cous, quinoa and rice. So much added extra that I didn’t know we’d get and that I thoroughly and eagerly wolfed down and I’m not much of cous cous fan.
I also got a homemade fruit smoothie, comprising mostly of orange, ginger and carrot. We had sat outside, since the weather was lovely, in the shade so we didn’t burn. A waitress brought my juice out to me and then rather embarrassingly splashed it over my leg and a spare chair. We all laughed and she apologised profusely. I hold nothing against her or the cafe for this, sh*t happens. The juice, might I add, was delightful.
After our meals, another very friendly waitress cleared our plates and asked if we’d like anything else and after having seen caramel slices on the menu, I was straight in there for one. My girlfriend got a raw vegan one too, which in a post at a later date I will look into raw slices and see what I can make out of them.
Having not brought a ruler, my slice roughly measured 4cm x 7cm x 2.5cm deep. As a picture framer who works with a tape measure daily, I ought to be pretty spot on with measurements (but I don’t think they are).
It smelt fantastic, the way a caramel slice should smell…like caramel of course. The first bite brought on really rich flavours, with a sugary texture, which isn’t always welcome. Caramel should be smooth and the flavour should work the senses not grittiness of sugar on the tongue. This said, their caramel was very likeable.
The layers broke with great form, no thick chocolate to create a spasm of oozing caramel, oh no, just pure bite through. No mess, no fuss, you know? But there was mess elsewhere. Classic base disruption, creating a cascade of oily shortbread falling in despair to the plate. If you’re new here, it’s worth knowing that I like a base that can hold it’s own. A few crumbles like a foot dislodging gravel on a cliff face, that’s fine, but not an avalanche. Sure you can sweep them up later, but it’s never a fun, nor a pretty sight. When it’s oily too, it gets messy, the oil doesn’t create a bond, it provides the opposite, it provides a slip and slide of shortbread.
The slice itself was very pretty to look at and the tones of each layer were appealing. The use of mixed chocolate on the top looks great and the sugary sprinkling is an added bonus.
Overall the slice was lovely, apart from it’s decidedly crumbly, oily base, flavour though has been some of the highest rated. Looking over my leader board for placement and comparisons, has me awarding it at 9.5 out of 10, a remarkable score based on flavour and styling. Improvements on the base, will push the score up.
As a brief disclaimer, its worth pointing out, that Option (VE) did not make the caramel slice, it’s made by a York company called White Rose Bakery, whose caramel slices I’ve had before from a cafe in York, so I did have some comparison to note to. This said, caramel slices are not easy things to bake and I have no judgement against cafes buying in, I’ve reviewed many a slice like this. The cafe and the slice alone, make up this review.
Three layers 