All the dishes are made for the 'gram and beautifully decorated.
Your Girl Can Bake is the UK's first dine-in-car dessert shop, a hybrid between a drive-thru and a dine-in experience, where you never have to leave your car.
The idea is, you pull up your car and experience desserts like pancakes and waffles laden in thick sauce, washed down with giant freakshakes, mocktails and a whole host of fizzy drinks.
Image: Your Girl Can Bake
Set up in the height of the pandemic, owner of Your Girl Can Bake, Ikraa Riaz, started by selling homemade desserts on Instagram.
Like all the best lockdown success stories, Ikraa found success selling online and decided to pursue her dream of opening a dessert store and now operates from Ardwick in Manchester, which is a one hour drive from Leeds city centre.
Reimagining the dining experience in a world scarred by the pandemic, the concept keeps ahold of the intimacy of gathering and eating in small groups, but still provides the same service and food quality as a dine-in restaurant. It's certainly a far cry from the tight curbs and echoey tannoys of McDonalds drive-thru.
Image: Your Girl Can Bake
Whilst lockdown restrictions may have been the instigator for the dine-in-car idea, it's a concept that's continued to prove popular ever since.
The concept has drawn in influencers, who have taken to Instagram and TikTok to share their experiences, and there's plenty of positive reviews to choose from.
Reaching over a million views on a single TikTok video is the type of viral content any small business only dreams of: but it appears that the visual appeal of these tasty treats has kept customers continuing to visit Your Girl Can Bake long after its five minutes of fame on the social media channel.
And for good reason too. The menu includes mouthwatering Nutella-filled French toast sticks, cookie dough, fudge cakes and fondues in takeaway trays- just incase you can't finish it all in one sitting.
If that's not enough, there's those old school funfetti cakes (the ones you loved at school), giant bags of fizzy sweets, loaded brownies, mini dutch pancakes and cakesicles to try out.
Image: Your Girl Can Bake
There's even savoury dishes to balance the dining experience with loaded nachos, samosa chaat, samosas and kebabs all on offer.
To quench your thirst, there's berry-flavoured Fanta amongst other familiar and exotic soft drinks or mocktails that include a rainbow disco light ice cube for a late-night party experience.
If we're honest, it's the Easter collection that we're most excited about, even if it is only February. The Easter Madness Cookie Dough is half an easter egg loaded with cookie dough, melted chocolate and loaded with your favourite springtime treats like mini eggs and malteaster bunnies.
You wouldn't believe there's a team of three behind this incredible concept.
For more information, or to book yourself a place at the UK's first dine-in-car dessert experience, you can find Your Girl Can Bake on Instagram. Please note bookings need to be made in advance to give time for preparation.
Feature Image- Your Girl Can Bake
Eats
Inside the new Italian bottega bringing a taste of Italy to Ilkley
A new family-run Italian deli and coffee house has opened in Ben Rhydding, bringing a little taste of Italy to the outskirts of Ilkley.
Rizia's Bottega, on Bolling Road, officially opened at the end of August following a soft launch, serving authentic schiacciata sandwiches, colourful salads, and light Sicilian breakfasts.
The new neighbourhood spot comes from the team behind Ilkley favourite Emporio Italia and has been created as somewhere locals can pop in for their morning coffee, sit down for a bite to eat, or pick up some high-quality Italian treats to enjoy at home.
The idea for the bottega was inspired by founder Fabrizia Wagstaff-Pignanelli's own childhood memories of Italy and the role her local bottega played in everyday life.
She said: "The idea for Rizia's Bottega was brought to life whilst me and my family were watching our family videos and sharing memories of how we would spend our days in our local bottega in San Giovanni.
Inside Rizia's BottegaThe menu at Rizia’s BottegaRizia’s Bottega is now open in Ben RhyddingCredit: The Hoot Leeds
"The Bottega was the heart of our little town, where you would pop in for a quick coffee but unknowingly spend hours catching up with old friends and leave with freshly baked bread, pasta and all the weekly essentials."
That sense of community is central to Rizia's Bottega, which aims to recreate the friendliness and relaxed pace of a traditional Italian neighbourhood shop.
Rather than simply being a deli or coffee shop, the idea is to create a space where people can meet friends, enjoy good food and coffee, and take their time.
Schiacciata sandwichesBreakfast and coffeeCredit: The Hoot Leeds
Fabrizia said: "Rizia's Bottega is a reflection of the values that have shaped me growing up in the world of hospitality and what I have been taught in the many years I have worked in my family's restaurant.
"Furthermore the ideals ingrained in me through my Italian upbringing, such as the art of experiencing life at a slower pace, the importance of community and making sure everyone is well fed."
Inside, visitors can expect a deli-style offering packed with Italian products and ingredients, alongside freshly prepared food and bakes.
There are sandwiches and other bites to eat, including a spicy La Calabrese sandwich with both spicy and fennel sausage, plus sweet Romano peppers and nduja lemon butter.
Italian provisions at Rizia's Bottega. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
Other fillings you'll find on the menu include burratta and black pepper porchetta, avocado and olive tapenade, and mortadella with pistachio cream.
The shelves are also stocked with Italian provisions and goodies to take home, from olives and oils to pasta and cookbooks.
The family hopes the bottega will become a familiar part of life in the local community, reflecting the welcoming atmosphere they remember from Italy.
"You can think of the Bottega as your neighbourhood space to meet up with friends, enjoy a great coffee, share a bite to eat or pop in to pick up some high-quality Italian provisions," Fabrizia said.
Rizia's Bottega is now open on Bolling Road in Ben Rhydding, offering a relaxed slice of Italian life just outside Ilkley.
It's open Tuesday to Friday, 7.45am–4pm; Saturday, 8.30am–4pm; and Sunday, 10am–2pm.
The independent Leeds cafe speaking up after massive coffee chain opens opposite
Daisy Jackson
An independent bakery and coffee shop in Leeds has spoken out after a huge chain opened its doors opposite her cafe.
Savannah Roqaa, owner of The Savvy Baker, has said that she's on a mission to overtake the sales of Blank Street, the massive matcha chain that opened just metres away within weeks of her new site.
She said that while her brand is best-known for its baked goods, they also specialise in high-quality matcha - something Sav says wasn't in good supply in Leeds at the time she opened.
And now she's publicly spoken out about her mission to tempt people away from the big chain and into her independent business.
In a video shared online, Sav has been inviting customers leaving Blank Street to swap their matcha for one of hers, free of charge.
She then remakes the white chocolate matcha herself, but using quality Callebaut white chocolate, melting real chocolate into the drink.
The customer in the video says: "You can tell, it's way sweeter and like actually white chocolate tasting. And the matcha is greener, which is better."
Sav from The Savvy Baker has spoken of her mission to overtake Blank StreetMatcha from The Savvy Baker in Leeds
Sav said: "So when we signed the lease on literally the biggest risk ever, which is this huge shop in Leeds city centre, we had absolutely no idea that Blank Street were opening their biggest store in the entire world across the road.
"They are a global brand that is obviously very very popular, and we just wanted to try and at least match their sales."
She said that she's heard Blank Street sells 5,000 drinks every single week and is hoping to increase sales at The Savvy Baker enough to match.
Sav said: "Last week we sold 890 drinks. We've converted one, so that is 4,109 more people to convert...
"But we have a lot more tricks up our sleeve, so follow along to see if we can do it. And we would massively appreciate any support that you can give us."
Sophie Smith -
16th February 2022 
