It is simply a puff pastry topped with jam, icing and coconut which was a popular treat in the 1950s and 60s when it sometimes came with pink icing.
As well as the London Cheesecake, people also get confused with the macaroon which is made with coconut and very different to the Macaron.
There are not many places that sell the London Cheesecake so you can only find them at some East London bakeries, Aldi and Greggs in the south east because it is regional.
Unfortunately, I did not make it to Percy Ingles to get their version of the London Cheesecake before the first lockdown earlier in 2020 and sadly they closed forever.
Ironically, there is another lockdown and I went into Greggs because of the Festive Bake and discovered the London Cheesecake.
Either it is very popular or it is new to this branch because I have not seen the London Cheesecake in this area ever but I do remember seeing them at Greggs in East London.
Without hesitation, I got the London Cheesecake and it was the last one.
As soon as I got home, I devoured the London Cheesecake and it was really decadent because of the light layers of puff pasty and sweet icing and coarse coconut shreds.
There was some jam too but it was not evenly spread so the middle part of the London Cheesecake was quite sweet.
Let's hope we don't see any more shop and restaurant closures after the second lockdown.
Review of Greggs Festive Bake:
https://supersupergirl-food.blogspot.com/2019/11/review-greggs-festive-bake.htmlAfter trying Greggs, I got someone to get me the London Cheesecake from Aldi because there isn't an Aldi nearby.
Sadly, the pastry was thick and dense, it looked like it had not risen properly.
Apart from the bad pastry the jam and coconut was delicious and extremely comforting.
Peacock's London Cheesecake is utterly delicious. These cakes were beloved of my childhood in the 60s but I haven't seen them in decades in West London. Only 2 weeks back my sister found them in Aldi and now we're making special trips to purchase them. I therefore have to disagree with your review. Those that we've eaten todate have been fresh, succulent and well risen. They could not be improved upon and take me straight back to my childhood. Well done Peacock and Aldi. Keep up the excellent work. And thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update, I hope to post a new photo of the Peacock ones and looks like I probably got a bad one out the batch.
DeleteThe Aldi one is so dry and hard it's horrible
ReplyDeleteFor those struggling with the thickness of the Peacock's pastry -- might I suggest keeping the latter ones in a cupboard in an airtight container (e.g. Tupperware) for a day or so. It "sweats" sugar syrup into the pastry to become softer / flattened / sweeter. Not as good as Gregg's, IMHO, but very much improved!
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm fairly new to London and my husband loves the London cheesecake. Can anyone tell me where they got theirs (branch or location of the Aldi/greggs), please? Thank you!
ReplyDelete