I tried some of the best pastries of my life at Ems & Co. in Crieff

The English language is packed with superlatives, but the one I keep coming back to today is ‘best’.

While I hate to rely on a word that’s chronically overused in food writing, to say the pastries and cakes produced by Emily Black and her team at Ems & Co. Pastry Shop in Crieff were anything but some of the best I’ve ever tasted would be a lie.

From afar, the shop doesn’t look like a place that serves some of Scotland’s best bakes. In fact, it looks relatively unremarkable.

It is a small space that sits on the corner where King Street meets Addison Terrace. Importantly, both street-facing walls boast huge windows.

A view of Ems and Co. from King Street — The shop sits on the corner between King Street and Addison Terrace. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

“It was an art gallery that closed down,” Emily explains. “We just kept walking past the empty shop.”

One day, her partner Andrew suggested that this spot would make the perfect location for Ems & Co.

Now, an incredible selection of cakes, pastries and other bakes sit smartly in the King Street window. A long counter – often packed with happy customers – occupies the other.

How did Ems & Co. start?

Ems & Co. opened in Crieff this March. That said, Emily herself has been working in hospitality for many years.

Her first professional cooking experience came while she was studying her undergraduate science degree. She worked in a café and deli during this time, and the pull of the kitchen steadily increased.

The window display at Ems & Co. — Just some of the shop’s bakes on display in the window. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

“I went on placement at uni and thought: ‘I really don’t like being a scientist,’ so then I decided to become a chef,” she tells me.

She secured positions at The Gannet in Glasgow, Chez Roux restaurant at Cromlix and The Latymer, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Surrey.

These experiences culminated in her opening Ems & Co. in Dingwall during 2020.

A cake being held by Emily Black. — All of the cakes are incredibly striking. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

“It was a full on 70-seater café,” Emily tells me.

While running this café she fell in love with her now-partner, Andrew. She decided to shut down her café-bakery and move to Crieff.

Once again, she worked at Cromlix – this time as head pastry chef – but the plan was to relaunch Ems & Co. in the area.

The inside of Ems & Co. in Crieff. — This bakery-café is much smaller than Emily’s old premises. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

“The idea was to make it a much smaller, simpler operation. I wanted to make it so Andrew and I can focus on making good food that we can then sell at a reasonable price point.

Some astounding sweet treats

“Our skillset lies in making things that taste really good in products that are baked – hopefully – to a nice standard,” Emily tells me.

“We make everything every day. The idea being that everything we sell is fresh. That’s the point of what we’re doing; we have a lot of selection and it’s fresh.”

A window facing counter at Ems & Co. — The space has a few tables that customers can sit at. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

There is so much selection that customers who come into the shop are often left umming and ahing for several minutes.

To make choosing even more complicated, a lot of Emily’s flavour combinations are quite innovative.

“We try to give people something they wouldn’t often get in other cafes or bakeries in Scotland,” Emily says as she plates up five bakes for me to try.

The bakery's cinnamon bun, served on a plate. — The bakery’s cinnamon bun contains cardamom. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

The cinnamon bun is the first one I try. It has a lovely, light texture and is packed with cinnamon and cardamom. This bake is an absolute steal at £3.20.

Emily developed 30 recipes before she was happy with the bun. Similar attention to detail is present in the other bakes I try.

A slice of the pistachio praline and blueberry cake. — I thoroughly enjoyed the pistachio praline and blueberry cake. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

The pistachio praline and blueberry cake (£4.25) sees fresh blueberries included in the pistachio filling.

These fresh berries cut through the cake’s sweetness while mahleb – a spice made from cherry stones – adds a lovely, complex flavour.

A slice of the salted caramel tart served on a plate. — The salted caramel tart carried a strong flavour. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

The salted caramel tart (£4) boasts the perfect jiggle when shook. The filling tastes just as good as it looks; intense notes of deeply toasted caramel continue to develop in my mouth long after I’ve eaten a forkful.

A mango and mascarpone stuffed croissant is so good that I almost start laughing after taking my first bite.

The mascarpone and mango stuffed croissant after being cut in half. — Stuffed croissants are just one of the bakes that set Ems & Co. apart. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

It is intensely fruity without becoming overly sweet. At £4.75, I firmly believe it is the most joyful thing anyone could buy for less than a fiver.

A £3 orange blossom and almond cake with candied kumquat is the perfect end to the sweet side of my experience.

A range of savoury bakes at Ems & Co.

“On the savoury side, we tend to switch it up quite a lot,” Emily says.

The team creates everything from pork and black pudding sausage rolls to Turkish flatbreads.

Emily Black making miniature flatbreads. — Emily making miniature flatbreads for an event she is catering. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

I tuck into a sobrasada and smoked Spanish cheese pain Suisse (£5.50).

The pastry itself boasts some incredible lamination and is coated with an inspired black treacle, smoked paprika and agave glaze.

The savoury pain Suisse. — The savoury pain Suisse boasted some fantastic lamination. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

The glaze, I am told, is Andrew’s invention. He came up with it to mimic a type of honey the couple tasted while holidaying in Spain.

It offsets the pastry’s intense and spicy filling perfectly.

The pain Suisse after being cut in half. — The filling was nothing to be sniffed at either. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

The final thing I try is the most expensive – a £7 braised beef shin and potato gratin pie.

Upon cutting it open, it is clear just how much work has gone into making it.

The beef shin and potato gratin pie after being cut in half. — The beef shin and potato gratin pie is a feat of engineering. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

Inside sits a perfect tower of potato gratin and beside it, beef that holds an impressive depth of flavour. Suffice to say, I have never eaten anything like it.

A small and efficient team

All of the pastries and cakes made in Ems & Co. contain numerous components.

Given how time consuming they must be to make, I am astounded that the only people working in the kitchen are Emily and Andrew.

One dedicated front of house staff member completes their team.

Strawberry and cream bakes ready for the oven. — Thanks to the open kitchen, customers get a sneak peek at all kinds of bakes. Image: Jacob Smith/DC Thomson

When I asked if her background in science has anything to do with her efficiency, Emily says: “It allows you to be able to produce a lot of stuff in a short time frame because you know how and when to make things.

“If you want to make 30 things, you need to be able to order and process them in the right way.”