Macabella Doughnut (The Tandem Bakery)

And so we come to the end of Doughnut week, and I thought I'd be save the best until last. Unfortunately it's one that's not so easy to get hold of, but I promise you it's worth the effort....

Hereford, as I've mentioned many a time on here, is sleepy and very rural. It's technically a city due to the Cathedral, but it's more like a large town and until fairly recently even had the cattle market in its centre (no-one apart from farmers went to town on a Wednesday). Hereford hit the headlines during the 2007 recession for having one of the emptiest high streets in the country; yet fast forward a decade and we're fortunate to have both a new retail marketplace and (more excitingly) a thriving hubbub of independent food outlets. 

Whilst The Beefy Boys have gained interest from far and wide for their burger fame, it's of course a far sweeter Hereford hotspot that has gained my interest (and loyalty). Heather opened the The Tandem Bakery in September 2015 and it has since become a veritable Mecca for fresh delicious drool-inducing homemade cakes, brownies, baguettes, quiches, and salads using high quality locally sourced ingredients wherever possible (just take a look at their Instagram if you want a better idea). The team are always welcoming and make the effort for their customers, meaning that I am only one in the army of Tandem regulars.

But if you make the trip to Hereford, try to do so on a Wednesday - Doughnut day. 

Every Wednesday the Tandem produce two flavours of fresh doughnuts, which I now pester poor Heather about early on a Wednesday morning... You see, if I don't reserve some before (yes, Bert and my sister often put their requests in too) then I'm out of luck by the time I reach the bakery mid-afternoon. You better be quick when it comes to Tandem doughnuts, they don't hang around.

At £2.20 each the Tandem doughnuts are exactly the same price as a Krispy Kreme, however they are handmade and clock in at about 2.5 times the size (no exaggeration). Last week I was kindly sent some jars of Macabella to experiment with, and so I offered a jar to Heather -putting in a special request to the Tandem for a Belgian chocolate and macadamia doughnut, because I'm cheeky like that! 

Christ alive. Just look at those beauties! Filled with a combination of Macabella and whipped cream, and topped with more spread and chopped Macadamias...
I hope you're salivating by now, because I am at the memory. 

The outside edges were slightly crisp from the frying, whilst the dough itself was so soft that it almost fell apart in my mouth. Plenty of lip smacking was a necessity here due to the generous caster sugar coating, but that's surely the mark of a good doughnut? 

As for that filling, it was every bit as decadent as expected. Heather herself described it as 'adult angel delight' and I think the description hits the nail on the head. If I was to be picky I'd have liked a touch more chocolate in the spread:cream ratio, but I'm splitting hairs here. 

I thought I'd be sick of the sight of doughnuts by now, when in reality I'm looking forward to Wednesday already -particularly as a little birdie has let slip that pb&j might be on the cards... I hope you've got your calendars out and are scheduling a Wednesday trip to Hereford, but please don't nab the last doughnut from me! 

10/10