I used to find it pretty easy to find vegan cake in Manchester city centre, but at our Easter visit I was really struggling to find a spot for a hot drink and vegan cake after 4pm on a Saturday. Happy Cow pointed us towards the cafe in Waterstones in the Arndale, and it really exceeded our expectations – it was fantastic!

We ordered at the counter and found ourselves a table. They had a range of clearly labelled vegan baked goods at the counter (we didn’t look at the savoury sandwich options). Dr HH and I ordered two cakes to share: a sticky toffee biscoff slice, and a chocolate fudge cake.

The sticky toffee biscoff slice had a perfect gingery, biscoff, and toffee taste. It could have been stickier, but it was still a nice moist bake (much better than it looks in that regard). The topping was sweet and balanced it nicely. It was really delicious.

The chocolate fudge cake was a triple layer cake. The icing was really decadent. The edge was crusted in cacao nibs which gave a great bit of texture. The sponge was a tiny bit dry, presumably just because it was the last slice – it was a nice chocolatey rich sponge. When I picture a chocolate cake in my mind, this is what I see. This is a proper cake!

It was quite a busy spot with lots of book shoppers sitting and reading at the tables, so I suppose each table is occupied for quite a while. For me, it’s worth waiting a little while for a table if necessary if you’re in the mood for a cake. I’ll definitely be back for another visit – and not just because there aren’t so many alternatives these days!