Plaza de Sant Cugat, 1
Barcelona
931 82 54 07
http://www.alsurcafe.com
I have learnt many things about myself over the last year, some more meaningful than others perhaps. I have had the pleasure of tucking my tablecloth in to many of Europe’s most palatable cities. I’ve had Macaron’s in Paris, Biscotti in Florence, I got strudelie in Slovenia and I’m partial to a fresh croissant, especially on Sundays. One thing I have learnt however is when it comes to afternoon tea, I am a cake kinda girl, and no posh pastry will beat a succulent piece of moist sponge.
Barcelona boasts 7,000 restaurants, not to mention the bakeries and patisseries. If you’ve got a feeling for an eclair, they’re sure to have it around the corner. Good ol’ British style sponge cake however? ain’t so easy to find. Which was why when I saw the cake selection at Cafe Alsur, I just had order one.
Located in the beautiful district of El Born, Cafe Alsur has ample outside seating and catches the sun just at the right time: afternoon tea time. The menu is pretty trendy in the sense that it features a lot of quinoa and green smoothies (none of which interested me as soon as I’d spotted the cake stand!)
At €4.90 a slice (£3.50) it is a little expensive. However, they don’t skimp with slices here and each piece is a generous slab of sponge. If I had known in advance I probably would have shared a piece with my friend, but there is no such thing as regretting cake and I don’t think I’m the type of person who shares cake anyway…
We ordered two pieces of red velvet, and in hindsight should of gone for a more refreshing drink and not a cafe bonbon (espresso and condensed milk) but whatever, I was so pleased with my sponge that I barely registered how full I was. Ooops.
I have been eating out and indulging a lot lately, last weekend I most certainly overate and probably consumed twice my daily allowance for four consecutive days. On Monday I did not restrict, I did not plan meals, I just ate and listened to my body, I craved fruits and vegetables and so that’s what I ate. Today I probably won’t want much for dinner, something light and fresh.
That’s how it works, cake is not a ‘reward’ or something you plan to eat and then worry about. Cake fits in to a healthy diet, and you should just trust that after a big slice of red velvet cake like this, you don’t have to deliberately restrict afterwards, your body knows when it’s hungry.
Happy Lows 