Those of you who know me will already be aware of this, but to me cake is pretty much the exact opposite of what kryptonite is to Superman. If you buy me cake I will be your friend. I'd be more comfortable spending £30,000 on a magnificent dream wedding cake and getting married in the loading bay of a Tesco Metro than having a swish location with hundreds of guests. If I almost drowned I wouldn't need a lifeguard to resuscitate me, I'd need a cupcake. Well... maybe not, but you get the idea. Aaanyway... Over the past few years I've been slowly sampling all the cupcake goodness that London has to offer. There was one weekend last summer when I sampled three places in one weekend. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Done. Don't judge me.
So in an attempt to put my useless knowledge on cake to good use, I’ve compiled a list for anyone in the market for a London-based cupcake (or five). Here’s a run-down of the places I’ve visited and a bit about them, starting with worst and ending in the best. Aaaaaaand GO!
Primrose Bakery www.primrosebakery.org.uk
This is a place I'd often been told about (apparently people like Kate Moss like it), so when I found a discarded £5 note on the floor of an ice cream parlour in Covent Garden one day, I celebrated by skipping off to the legendary bakery.
Admittedly it was nearing the end of the day and there wasn't too much on offer, but I picked out the best three and raced home, pretty smug and excited about my technically free treats! Only it wasn’t a treat. It was probably one of the biggest food-related disappointments of my life. Dry sponge combined with icing that had that ‘I've-been-sitting-on-the-counter-since-9am’ vibe about it. Not good.
That being said, they weren’t the worst cupcakes I'd ever eaten*. But still, I’m glad I didn't spend my own hard-earned cash on them. Maybe I was just unlucky. Who knows. But if you’re aiming to try them out I’d recommend going earlier in the day rather than later!
*FYI – I didn’t eat all three, the other two were donated to hungry flatmates.
Candy Cakes www.candycakes.com
I think it was the brightly coloured promise of food-colouring related hyperactivity that attracted me to this place. Their window looks like it’s part of Willy Wonka's magical kingdom and, I’m not being funny but, who could resist something like that?!
To be honest, I can’t offer too much about them. The cake is good and the icing could be better, but it’s the sweets on the top that are the best bit! Fortunately Cyber Candy is just down the road so it’s a win-win situation.
Ms Cupcake www.mscupcake.co.uk
I came across this little gem several months ago whilst helping out on a friend’s stall at the Backyard Market on Brick Lane. Having spent a large part of the day sitting around and slowly slipping into a hypothermic state, I went off in search of food and ended up at this stall in the Old Truman Brewery.
Although I was a little wary at first about buying something vegan, my body was telling my brain that this is what I needed to eat in order to carry on and so I eventually opted for a chocolate cake with strawberry frosting. To my amazement, it was pretty damn good. If I hadn’t have known it was vegan I would have never noticed the difference. To this day I still don’t understand what was in it ingredients-wise but I guess it’s all irrelevant really. Cake: good. Icing: good. If you’re in the vicinity go and treat yourself!
Hummingbird Bakery hummingbirdbakery.com
Another of the famous cupcake bakeries in London but unlike Primrose, this does not disappoint! There’s always a steady stream of people going in and out (a good sign!) and you emerge carrying your cake in a little white box with a metal handle. I know the packaging doesn’t matter in the slightest but, in this case, its simplicity appealed to mine.
They have a whole range of cupcakes smothered with fluffy butter cream and cream cheese frostings, as well as various brownies and whoopie pies. It’s a real testament to your own self-control going into that place and coming out with only one item. Perfect for indulging.
Bea's of Bloomsbury www.beasofbloomsbury.com
I visited this place after it was recommended to me by a friend. Rather than opting for just a regular cupcake, my partner in crime and I went all out by ordering the full-on afternoon tea. Sandwiches, scones, meringues, brownies, cupcakes and some questionable pink squidgy stuff which I concluded was a sweet imitation of a human lung. It all comes piled onto a snazzy tiered stand (see the photo below), the tea flows and the good times roll. The perfect way to spend a drizzly, grey afternoon off work in the City.
Fortnum & Mason www.fortnumandmason.com
Not necessarily the first place you'd think of when it comes to cupcakes, but definitely boasting one of the best bakeries in London. I LOVE this shop even though I can’t afford 98% of its stock. It’s one of my happy places and my dream is to one day buy one of their hampers.
The day I sampled their cupcakes I had initially gone in to show my friend the amazing wedding cakes they have on sale (not because I’m itching to get married – I couldn’t be further from it!). Somehow, only a few minutes later, there we were standing at the cake counter discussing whether it was reasonable or not to spend £1.20 on a mini cupcake. Clearly there was no argument. We bought two cupcakes and have never looked back. They may have been expensive, but it’s all relevant – quality not quantity right? They were pretty amazing. Next time I plan to get a full sized one!
Lola's www.lolas-kitchen.co.uk
This is my go-to cupcake place. If I could move in I would. There must be plenty of room under the counter for me to sleep but apparently that’s against health a safety regulations so, alas, the dream will never become reality.
They have all the flavours you could wish for, mini cupcakes, themed cupcakes, etc. You can even order a full cake-sized cupcake which comes with a bunch of smaller cupcakes piled on the top for things such as birthdays, parties or slow Sunday afternoons. Magical. My personal favourites are the Blueberry, Red Velvet and Oreo cupcakes – with them you simply can’t go wrong!
I also love that Lola’s make good use of Twitter - they regularly tweet a question offering a free cupcake to the first six people who come into the store with the correct answer. Brilliant marketing + free cake. What’s not cool about that? One day I will be in the vicinity, I will know the answer and I will be one of the first six. I shall have my cake and I shall eat it.
Right. That’s enough about cupcakes for today. Hopefully the next post will be about something slightly more interesting and less pointless.
Love it as always joey. xx
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