Vegan Review: ExtraVeganza Bakery

I was excited to see a new vegan home ‘bakery’ opening up just in time for quarantine, offering free delivery delivery with their stunning bakes around Oxford. ExtraVeganza Bakery have launched during a tricky time, but perhaps also a great time because while we’re all staying home what better to treat ourselves with than a batch of cupcakes or a comforting loaf cake? I was so grateful when Rebecca got in touch with me to offer me some samples of her cupcakes, including a couple of new flavours she’s been working on, and couldn’t wait to share my thoughts.

Lotus Biscoff

This was the first cupcake I tried, and I wished I hadn’t scoffed it down so quickly, because it ended up being my favourite of the lot. Where have biscoff cupcakes been all my life? If I had to pick one bake to eat for the rest of my days, this would genuinely be it. The cupcake was soft and nicely baked, so sweet and decadent and that beautiful biscoff flavour was intense. Best eaten fresh while the biscuit crumble topping still adds a crunch. There was also a generous teaspoon full of biscoff spread as a surprise in the middle of the cupcake. Pure heaven.

Peanut butter and banana

I was so impressed with how well that peanut butter flavour translated throughout every element of the cake, especially as it’s one of my favourite foods. The base was a warming spiced banana muffin, again nicely baked. The muffin itself wasn’t too sweet, which was good with such a sweet icing on top, and the ratio of cake to icing was perfect. You got a hint of saltiness from an oozy peanut butter surprise at the centre of the cupcake, as well as the PB whipped through the icing – the whole thing reminded us of the flavour of Reeses Pieces in cake form. A sprinkling of crushed peanuts on top added a nice crunch to finish off the cake.

Chocolate

The chocolate cake was a bit different in texture, a lot more crumbly than the previous two. I just about got away with eating the others without a side plate, but there was no chance of that with this one, you’d be finding cake crumbs everywhere. It was a lovely chocolate cake, again the icing to cake ratio spot on. The flavour was really rich, dark chocolate, not quite as sweet as the previous two, and if you’re a chocaholic, this one will definitely satisfy you.

Salted Caramel

Another incredibly sweet cupcake, and I loved it. It just tasted so indulgent. You could really get the salt which I love – I’m not about ‘salted caramel’ with an almost undetectable pinch of salt, I want it to cut through, and it did. That sweet and salty combination is the best. The deep caramel tones of the light and fluffy sponge were delicious when paired with the sugary sweet icing. Jamie said it was almost too sweet for him, but I had to disagree! You be the judge of whether your sweet tooth can handle it 😉

Chocolate orange

I loved the classic flavour combination of orange and chocolate in this, and they really were balanced perfectly. The cupcake was perhaps a tiny bit overbaked or needed a little more moisture in the mix as it almost fell apart after I cut the cake in half for Jamie and I to share. Still, grab yourself a plate and a spoon and tuck in because the taste was wonderful, and maybe you could even add to the indulgence with some ice cream or Alpro vanilla custard too (or am I going mad)?

Victoria sponge

The last cupcake left to try was the victoria sponge, and Rebecca has nailed those classic flavours. The light vanilla sponge cake was beautiful, this is a simple and well executed cake. The piped vanilla icing rose with strawberry jam running through it looked so enticing, and with a sweet jam filling in the cake at the centre, you couldn’t really improve anything about this cupcake, it’s such a crowd pleaser.

All six of the cupcakes were beautifully decorated, with flavours balanced perfectly, and a real joy to eat. We polished them off far too quickly and I’m already looking forward to having an occasion to order some more. My only question for Rebecca is why is the price point so low?! At 6 cupcakes for £10, or 12 for £15, they are an absolute steal, and I know people would be prepared to pay more. You can even purchase them in lower quantities, which when delivery is free, seems almost unfair on the bakery. Anyway, my advice to those considering ordering, is don’t go for lower quantity, because you’ll only regret it when you peer into the empty cake box and wish you’d ordered more! They also cater for gluten-free and other dietary requirements which is good to see. Have you placed an order with ExtraVeganza Bakery?

I’m really happy to partner with ExtraVeganza Bakery who have offered a generous 10% off your first order to readers of Vegan Eats Oxford. Just quote ‘VeganEatsOxford‘ when you get in touch with them.

Let me know if you order in the comments or tag me on insta @VeganEatsOxford 🙂

These cakes were complimentary but the review is an honest account of our thoughts.