London seems to have gone cupcake crazy in the past few years, with boutique bakeries setting up shop all across the capital. Many just sell cupcakes, but some are also cafes and boutique bakeries where you can grab some lunch and a drink. Macaroons are the current trend, but cupcakes have stood the test of time and look set to stay put. We take a look at the best cupcake bakeries in London.
The Soho branch of this successful mini-chain of Hummingbird Bakery is a busy spot, there are also branches in Notting Hill, South Ken, Spitalfield,s and Islington. Most customers come here for the colourful frosted cupcakes, which are displayed in long glass cabinets, alongside whoopee pies, tiered American cakes, and varieties of brownies. The most famous has to be the raspberry cheesecake brownie with a dense chocolate brownie base topped with a baked cream cheese layer and finished off with whipped raspberry cream. It also has an excellent ‘Made Without’ range where you can get all sorts of cupcakes without gluten.
London’s first entirely vegan bakery, Ms Cupcake doesn’t let a little thing like no butter, eggs, milk, cheese, or honey stand in their way. Their motto is ‘everybody deserves great cake. It is our job to create indulgent and decadent cakes for you regardless of what you can, and cannot eat.’ Make sure you head on down to the Brixton shop to stock up on her creative results. Everything they make is always 100% vegan and they also make lots of products without wheat or gluten as well so whatever your food intolerance, Ms Cupcake is likely to have something for you.
Lola’s Cupcakes began back in 2006, when two friends, Victoria Jossel and Romy Lewis, started things the good old fashioned way. Now with four locations across London, Lola’s Cupcakes are definitely making a name for themselves. All produce is baked fresh on the day and the shops only use natural ingredients. A must is the strawberry cupcake, which contains real strawberries mixed with melted white chocolate. If you are lactose intolerant, you’re still welcome – following on from the success of their gluten-free cupcakes, Lola’s have teamed up with Lactofree, the UK’s only lactose-free dairy range.
Located in West Hampstead, hidden away from the main streets, is the gorgeous bakery Bake a Boo. The proudly kitsch tea room and ‘party parlour’ serves delicate cakes, biscuits and fizz. This charming venue serves a scrumptious range of ‘specialty cakes’ which are made so that those with allergies such as common allergens of wheat, gluten, and dairy are able to enjoy a bite to eat. Boo’s Afternoon tea, as featured in The Times, consists of finger sandwiches, scones, and many more delicious delights served all weekend.
The proprietor of Violet, Claire Ptak, worked for three years as a pastry cook and bought her creations to Broadway Market in 2005, before opening her very own cafe Violet in trendy Whilton Way, Hackney, in 2010. All of the cakes are baked with organic flour, sugar, milk, and eggs and many of the other ingredients are organic as well, like the Madagascan vanilla pods and pure cane molasses. The signature cupcake here is the candied violet cupcake. The mini bite-sized cupcakes are perfect for a spontaneous treat or if you are busy and want to take something on the go.
As they attempt to redesign cupcake-making for the better, this little cafe with its own mini-chain of establishments is now producing some of London’s best homemade cupcakes. Bea’s of Bloomsbury use fresh produce and the finest ingredients in the attempt to ‘redefine the concept of takeout as quality, indulgence and style.’ They now have branches in Watling Street near St Paul’s and Cowcross Street in Farringdon, but this original in Bloomsbury is the best. Their motto – ‘life is short. Eat cake’ says it all.
As you walk through the door of Primrose Bakery and breathe in the vanilla sugar, you instantly fall in love with the place. Now with two venues, one in Primrose Hill and one in Covent Garden, this little bakery is clearly making a name for itself. Each day, both bakeries have serve carrot, chocolate, chocolate with vanilla, red velvet, salted caramel, vanilla, and gluten free vanilla cupcakes, and they also have specials each week including cookies and cream, Toblerone, and banoffee Malteaser to name a few.
