Cafe Kringlen [Mimi's Cake Tour]

Bakery: Cafe Kringlen
Address: Hovedvagtsstræde 2, Helsingør
Website: n/a
Style: Danish
Price: $

I had the amazing idea to take up my last full day in Denmark by going north to Sweden. ;D It doesn't sound so nice written that way, but I was tired of the big city feeling I got in Copenhagen (it was more the swarms of tourists than anything else) and longed to see some other part of Denmark. So I did the Helsingør-Helsingborg combo: one town in Denmark and one city in Sweden. And heck, I couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of beefing up my Google cake map by adding these two random bakeries! And yes, I did get two bakeries (and there were more in Helsingborg, but they seemed so expensive at the time.. oh ho ho! how naive I was!) on either side as well. Otherwise, this wouldn't be here, of course. ;)

First stop: Cafe Kringlen. This simple cafe across the street from the train station and about half a block away from the main shopping street seems to be the town's only place for baked goods (with the exception of the slightly overpriced "French" bakery selling croissants and brownies (no comment)), at least in the city centre. Or, it was when I was wandering around and exploring. It's in Lonely Planet as *the* destination for pastries in Helsingør, though this in itself doesn't mean it's a quintessential conditori as the sign indicates. When I was there, at any rate, business with pastries was slow. The focus seemed to be on their lunch specials and the selection of pastries in the single glass case is a tad pathetic. No prices or descriptions given, though, at 12kr, the spandauer were well-priced, even if they only had the cream variety.

Nonetheless, I got my cream pastry and found it alright. It wasn't the greatest and it wasn't a disaster, but I found it to be not as crunchy as I had hoped. I don't think keeping them in the fridge (they might have also been in saran wrap) is the greatest idea. Actually, considering that I ate it within two hours of purchase (most purchases are eaten the morning after), it wasn't exactly fresh. The custard filling was quite tasty, though, having just eaten one from the DPH (yes, I'll end up forming the fan club, I swear), it just... could not compare.

No offence to the Danes (especially as I do love their baked goods ^.^), but in the battle of the Helsing's, the Swedish side came out on top in terms of baked goods. Of course, the third Helsing- (that is, Helsingfors, a.k.a. Helsinki) is still in possession of the highest rating. ;)

Rating: **1/2