Generally, I don’t stop for cake. I don’t object, but I don’t drink coffee I don’t have time for leisurely trips to the cafe – if my family caught me sitting around chatting and laughing at cake on a Sunday morning, I would pay dearly. Well, here’s the guilt, too: I’m 51 and I’m worried about all the sugar and fat going straight to my butt. For this ride, though, I’m going to stop and have my cake and eat it – because this ride is all about cake. My plan was to link together places in the North West of England famous for their cakes, stopping at each place to try their namesake specialties, forming a 215km route from Bakewell to Chorley and back.
This was not an adventure I was prepared to take on alone. I called my old friend Chris Morse to join me. He’s strong, never slow to ride, and provides great moral support once you run out of energy. But he was just over five feet tall and couldn’t hide behind it. The idea for this adventure, the spark that lit the fuse, or the candles on the cake, was Bakewell, a town not far from me that is world-famous for its puddings and pies. I’m wondering what other local towns have cakes named after them – could I connect them together and make a big cake themed ride?
The first one is easy: Eccles—everyone has heard of that cake. A few miles further down the road is Chorley, which also has cakes. Now we start scraping buckets or cake tins, but obviously Manchester pie is a thing. Bingo, this will work, although Manchester adds the challenge of sprawling city roads.
(Image credit: Andy Jones for Future)
Before we set off we had a light breakfast at the Lime Lounge cafe in Bakewell so we could eat a few slices of the sickly sweet Bakewell pie. Firstly, Bakewell pie is different from Bakewell pudding. First up was pudding, which originated in the early 1800s and consisted of a flaky pastry base, a layer of jam and an egg and almond paste filling on top. Pie, on the other hand, was not introduced until the 20th century and consists of a shortcrust pastry shell filled with jam and frangipani and topped with almonds and icing sugar. We chose to start with egg tarts as we wanted to get a pudding from the original pudding shop which didn’t open until 9am so had to wait until the end.
The Bakewell Tart, with its thick icing and incredibly sweet filling, wasn’t ideal before the ride, but maybe The huge sugar craze This was exactly what we needed to traverse the steep slopes at the top of the mountain. The first 60 kilometers from Bakewell to Failsworth are the quietest, with steep climbs on empty roads. This is the most direct route, and also the most difficult, passing through Tideswell, Dove Halls, Chapel-en-le-Fries, Charlesworth and Stalybridge before entering the suburbs of Manchester.
rigorous research
The coffee shop stops were not chosen at random, far from it. We did our research to make sure we sampled the best, most authentic cakes in the land at every stop. For a true Manchester pie, my initial research led me to Robinsons Artisan Bakers in Falesworth. But upon further digging, it turned out that Robinsons closed its doors late last year after 160 years in business. Thankfully, though, the location has been acquired by another family bakery, Martin’s, which still sells traditional pies based on the same Robinson recipe.
The Manchester tart has a shortcrust pastry shell smeared with raspberry jam, covered with a custard filling and topped with grated coconut and fresh raspberries. Some variations also add a layer of bananas underneath the custard, but since bananas were not widely available in Britain when this pie was invented in the late 1800s, traditionalists resented the addition of the fruit.
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(Image credit: Andy Jones for Future)
I called ahead earlier this week to make sure there would be pie when we arrived. Wow, they are a revelation. Suddenly I felt a pang of regret because I’d never had one of these before – raspberry, coconut, fresh custard, so good. They are also rocket fuel. My legs had been heavy so far, but the magic of Manchester pasties completely rejuvenated them. Back on the road I felt empowered to explore the northern edge of this great city.
There’s no sugar-coating this part of the journey: it’s pretty grim in places. I suppose we could have added 20km to the route and headed back into the countryside but we were just on busy city roads through Middleton and Bury before we ended up back in open land heading to the next cafe in Chorley . We cycled north out of Bury, through Chapeltown and onto Belmont, into open landscapes under clear blue skies. Resurfacing work forced us to take a detour south to Bolton and then back north, adding 10 miles to the journey. Our destination in Chorley was Handley’s Bakery and they assured me they would serve 100% authentic Chorley cakes.
(Image credit: Andy Jones for Future)
Thanks to the detour we took, we made it in time. It was reminiscent of post-Soviet Russia, where the shelves were empty and everything was sold out. But luckily, at the bottom of an empty counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, we spotted what we wanted—the last two pieces of jolly cake. Known locally as “fly tart”, Jolly cake is made of firm puff pastry and filled with a luscious filling of crushed currants (“fly”). Traditionally they are slathered with butter and a slice of Lancashire cheese, but we didn’t have time to add either. Instead, we rip off the wrapping paper and get stuck inside. marvelous. The pastry was smooth and the filling was sweet, I could have eaten 10 if there were any left.
Our next stop, Eccles, wasn’t too far away, so we got back on the bikes and headed off. Provenance was once again our guiding principle when choosing a venue. Although Eccles cakes are available around the world, there is only one bakery in town that still makes them. I can only find one place to buy these authentic Eccles homemade cakes, ironically it’s not in Eccles but in the neighboring borough of Monton.
So, under the late summer sunshine on a Friday afternoon, we walked 160 kilometers to Wandering Palate, an elegant little bar and shop. As the locals welcomed the weekend with chilled white wine, we hunted for Eccles cakes – again, the last pack in the shop.
Find the difference
The locals were understandably confused as we sat stinking among them, trying our best to explain our mission. Eccles cake – known locally as “squashed fly cake” and not to be confused with “fly tart” – is made of flaky sugar-coated pastry filled with soft currants and other fruits. The invention of Eccles cake is credited to Elizabeth Raffald, and it was first sold commercially by James Birch in his shop in the small town of Lancaster in 1793. It has remained popular ever since. The similarities between an Eccles cake and a Jolly cake are hard to miss, and it may be difficult for the uninitiated to tell the difference. But there’s one difference: Jolly cake has a hard outer layer, while Eccles cake consists of a thin layer of pastry coated with sugar. Chorley is fuller and has a more varied filling, including different candied fruits rather than just currants.
(Image credit: Andy Jones for Future)
We shook off the joy of our “wandering taste buds” and the temptation of a tall glass of ice-cold Pinot Grigio and hit the road again. Although we expected the 20 kilometers out of Manchester to be grim, to our surprise it was not to be. The roads in this “posh” part of town are wide and lined with bars and street restaurants, and many have good cycling infrastructure. We merry-go-rounded through Didsbury and Cheadle, past footballers’ wives drinking aperitifs, then through Hazelgrove and Disley, back to the top of Whaley Bridge.
Our legs were starting to feel it now, and ahead lay a long five-mile hill, the 2011 venue National Hill Climb Competition. The gradient was so steady that the winner used a time trial bike with aero bars, but even so it hurt the legs today. At the top of the hill is Buxton, home to the famous water source, and given that our topic today is consuming products named after towns, it would be rude not to take a sip.
Buxton Spring has been a source of drinking water since Roman times and is protected by an Act of Parliament 500 years ago. Rainwater filtered through the limestone takes a long time to reappear and is thought to be 5,000 years old when water pours from the spring at a rate of one million liters a day. But currently rock minerals are not enough. Our food intake was limited to quick-release cake carbs and we were starving, so we broke Buxton’s rule and snuck in Greggs’ pasta salad. The cut-off time for the end of the ride is 6pm as that is the closing time of the famous Old Bakewell Pudding Shop. Now, if we just rode, without all the decorations, cake, photos, entertainment, this would be an easy goal. But alas, we were way behind schedule and it took a huge effort to finish before the pudding shop announced the time. Mostly downhill from here, we followed bloodline But can only climb the remaining two the climb, Because our legs are toast. The clock ticked past 6pm and we knew our quest would end in failure.
(Image credit: Andy Jones for Future)
We pulled into Bakewell and found the famous shop closed, the display of exquisite pies in the window a cruel temptation. There was nothing we could do but press our hungry faces against the glass. But then our photographer Andy showed up with a special gift. Thankfully he persevered and got to the shop in time to buy us two puddings, allowing us to complete the all-important taste test.
Bakewell pudding slips on like manna from the gods, but frankly any sweet baked good will taste delicious after eight hours of stomping. What a wonderful concept for a day out, even though the roads are often ugly – but sometimes you have to suffer for your art, and even your cake. Now it’s time for my Paul Hollywood turn: which one is the best? In my opinion, Manchester pie must occupy the most important place – it is an extraordinary pastry. So good, in fact, that I might consider stopping in again for cake one day.
Taste test
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cake
Taster’s Notes
jersey pocket test
Fraction
Bakewell Pudding
Easier to digest than the egg tart of the same name. Lighter, sweeter, stickier…all around better.
Sturdy enough for travel, but no more than that. Portability rating: 3/5
8
Eccles cake
The pastries are perfect. The texture, the sugar coating, the lightness – a delight.
Too many flakes, too much sugar, and it makes a mess. Portability rating: 1/5
9
jolly cake
Pastries to die for; full of sublimity. So easy and so delicious. A nearly perfect little cake.
No need for plastic packaging. Neat, sturdy and very environmentally friendly. Portability rating: 5/5
10
Manchester tart
This tart is a delicious addition to any Parisian café and deserves to be more famous. Very sticky, though.
The back pocket guarantees the end of the world. Not traveling. Portability rating: 0/5
10
Bakewell tart
Morbidly sweet. Too dense and heavy. (Disadvantaged as our breakfast cake.)
Compact and sturdy. Can survive for quite some time before collapsing. Portability rating: 4/5
7
riding
(Image source: Komoot)
Starting point: Bakewell Tart Lime Lounge Coffee House 2 Bridge St, Bakewell, DE45 1DS
First stop: Manchester Tart Martin’s Family Bakery Ashton Rd E, Failsworth, Manchester, M35 9PW
Second stop: Handley’s Bakery 210 Pall Mall, Chorley, PR7 2LH
