cherry darlings bakehouse.

Gluten free and vegan? I am intrigued.  Cherry Darlings Bakehouse is a new bakery that has popped up in Forestville near the tram station.  Despite being such a tiny store, they're already making a few waves among the food community and are earning rave review from both vegan and non-vegan eaters alike.  The opportunity came for me to go have a look to see what the fuss was all about when my stomach was craving for some cake one afternoon.

The smell of freshly baked goods hits you full on as you walk through the door.  On offer were a range of savoury pies, a huge selection of sweets and a fridge full of colorful soft drinks.  One of the main reasons why I had come down to the baker was because I had read about a red velvet chocolate cream cheese brownie on their Facebook page and luckily for me, I got the last one!  Since it's a bit of a drive I also got a few more treats to take home and eat by myse- err...share with my dad.

Cookies & Cream Cheesecake: $8.00

A slightly hefty price tag for an okay-tasting piece of cake.  Since it's vegan, I'm not too sure what they used for their filling but it didn't have much flavour to it.  It had a tartness to it which was interesting, but not quite the rich creaminess I'm used to from cheesecakes.  The base tasted of coconut and was really crumbly. 

Red Velvet Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownie: $4.00

My brownie! It was a mixed bag - sometimes it tasted really good, other times I felt like it was a bit dry and didn't taste like anything.  It had chocolate chips throughout the brownie which really brought out the chocolate element, and I could taste the sourness of the cream cheese although I would have preferred it to be stronger.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake: $4.00

When you first bite into the chocolate cupcake alone, it's an underwhelming experience. But when you put the peanut butter icing and the cupcake together, it's like *angels singing*.  The peanut butter flavour is pretty intense in that icing and I love the fact that it's not too rich and not too sweet.  

Triple Choc Brownie: $4.00

Wow.  This is hands down one of the best brownies I have ever eaten, and that's saying something. So luxuriously moist, so extremely rich and not so sweet that you need to stop at one.  There are no words.

I had high expectations and although they weren't quite met, I'm still pretty impressed.  The sweets still tasted pretty spot on despite the lack of animal products and you almost feel like you're doing the world a favour just by eating them!