I love returning back to Ayrshire and finding out what new places have opened up. Before every visit I always do a little research – checking out popular places on TripAdvisor, reading up on new openings and so on.

I learned of La Petite Patisserie this way. It’s a recently opened cake shop tucked down Cow Wynd off Alloway Street in Ayr (look out for a board on the pavement guiding you into a courtyard).

Doing a little background reading I found out about the help they had received from Reddit users to enhance the business. I’m hugely fond of independent “dream-realising” outlets, plus the photos on their site looked delicious so I felt obliged to drag H and T down there for some mid-morning cake.

It is a compact little place but has a few seats so you can eat in or take away. As well as individual patisserie, there are slices of cake, cheesecake and whole cakes (which you can also order), plus pots of dessert sauces and mayonnaises to take home.

On the day of our visit there was complimentary ice-cream with eat-in cake, which was an excellent complement to the rich chocolate desserts H and I opted for. T had a slice of strawberry and white chocolate cake, whereas I had the luscious chocolate tart pictured top left and H had an intricate chocolate cherry confection.

The tart was delicious. Crisp pastry encasing a soft and melting chocolate centre. Yum. The others were equally happy with their treats, and the coffee was praised too.

The owners were lovely so please pop in if you can as I really want them to succeed!