Its a glorious Winter's sunny day, we are at Castle Howard. The air is crisp, its bright, the colours and shadows are sharp. After a ramble around the landscaped estate grounds with its follies and bridges going absolutely nowhere in particular, we queued for much a needed lunch. The logistics and layout of The Courtyard Cafe leaves much to be desired, it is not a joy for anyone. It is as if whoever designed it wilfully ignored the most outstanding flaws in their own floor plan.
No matter how busy the cafe is you will have to queue to be seated. Those who are incoming queue inside the entrance way where the outgoing are also trying to do their best to exit. Because the cafe's toilets are outside in the courtyard, people are understandably forever quickly nipping out for a pee or a poo, then back in again. All this accompanied by politely embarrassed side shuffling and 'sorry, can I just get by'. Folk, all very like us, who after a grand morning pretending to promenade, end up behaving like standing figures in an automaton mechanical clock, moving stiffly in - then out - then in, the same door. In the Summer, when the waiting staff also have to come in and out to serve tables outside, the situation must be totally exasperating. The staff cope kindly and stoically with a situation not of their making.
Our lunch was a fine but simple fair, but also unremarkable, so I can't put my finger now on quite what it was. Something vaguely in the region of Jacket Potato Beans & Cheese, perhaps. It seemed to be all over rather quickly, as my gaze quickly wandered covetously over to the lovelies on the baroque cake stands. I spotted what looked suspiciously like a carrot cake, so I sent Hubby out on an advance recky for confirmation. Yes it was. As you can see from the photo I uncharacteristically started eating the cake before I'd taken the traditional pristine 'cake on arrival' photo. Which I guess must say something, if only that I was overcome by the volition of a gluttonous impulse.
The outstanding flaws of this cake were mostly in its visual appearance. Whoever divided this cake horizontally made a complete mess of it. I mean just look at it, have you ever seen a cake with such an uneven horizontal division? The bottom looks like its a recently installed damp course.
However,if one was to put that to one side, the texture was good. Its colour did perhaps veer a little too near to pale ginger, rather than a rusty sienna. Just saying! You got a strong whiff of spice infused carrot when it was placed before you. So, Oh, my hopes were then somewhat perked, if not arisen. This was looking really very promising, with a handsome suggestion of fruit and nuts scattered across its rough cut flanks.
A moderately sized piece of cake, the texture held together well once it slid onto your palate. You had time to savour this before it broke down through mastication into stomach ready cake slurry. The balance of its ingredients was well measured. The proportions of its ingredients were nobly considered, but not over-imposing. Though it wasn't stunningly carroty in its flavour, it was certainly not an absent whim. This cake had some characteristic weighty heft to it, whilst remaining quietly airy. The frosting was aiming to affect a rugged and rustic look, unfortunately it had the demeanour of a bit of badly mixed plaster, but it did taste fine, not too sweet nor artificial.
It was, all things considered, a very pleasant cake to eat. Straddling a broad flavour spectrum with ease whilst settling nowhere strongly. Not as spectacularly palladian-baroque as Castle Howard itself, but I'll say again, a nicely balanced cake.
CARROT CAKE SCORE - 6/8
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