Let them eat cake
Why London’s fashion folk are going crazy for cupcakes
WORDS | STEPHANIE HIRSH – MILLER
PICTURE | PETER CASSIDY (C) RYLAND PETERS & SMALL
WE’VE GIVEN UP ALCOHOL AND CIGARETTES (AGAIN), we’re shaking our booties on the Power Plate and our newly honed bodies are temples to abstinence – well, almost. We never said we were perfect. However, with bars off limits – for January at least – fashionistas still need a cool place to unwind and take the weight off their Louboutins. Where better than the capital’s new wave of bakeries? Perfectly tailored to their savvy fan base with late-night openings, mini versions of favourite treats and even wheat-free alternatives for the truly temperate, they’re tapping into the trend for 2010. And just like the latest handbag, they’re the perfect guilty pleasure.
THE ORIGINAL
Hummingbird Bakery
Hummingbird opened on Portobello Road back in 2004 and fast became synonymous with that all-American butter-cream frosting. Its new Soho venue stays open until 9pm and features a private consultation booth for bespoke orders – think your own personal patisserie shopper.
Who’s behind it?
Owner Tarek Malouf worked on ABC’s London news desk before making a break for cake.
Signatures
The cult Red Velvet cupcake – a deep red vanilla and cocoa-infused cake with a cream-cheese frosting; regular £1.85, minis £1.15.
Celebrity following
Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson. Hummingbird has made a birthday cake for R&B star Rihanna and fed guests at Mariah Carey’s recent album launch.
What else?
Now there’s a Hummingbird cookbook for DIYers. Hummingbird Soho, 155a Wardour Street, W1F, www.hummingbirdbakery.com
PRETTY AS A PICTURE
Primrose Bakery
Having opened in Primrose Hill back in 2006, the pastel-perfect favourite of North London’s elite launched a second branch in Covent Garden at the end of last year.
Who’s behind it?
Co-owners Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas met at their children’s nursery school.
Signatures
The banana and chocolate cupcakes are always the first to go but rose and ginger is the gourmet choice; regular, £1.85, minis £1.25.
Celebrity following
Jude Law and Kate Moss.
What else?
Super-healthy fruit salad with yoghurt and granola, £3.40. 42 Tavistock Street, WC2, +44 (0)20 7836 3638, www.primrosebakery.org.uk
CULTURE VULTURES
Peyton & Byrne
The stylish new red and chrome Espresso Bar in the British Library has a cosmopolitan take on the bakery trend, serving up churros, the delicious doughnut sticks consumed in Spain and Latin America.
Who’s behind it?
Restaurateur Oliver Peyton, who made his name with restaurants in museums and galleries from the ICA to the Wallace Collection.
Signatures
Churros – lightly dusted with sugar and cinnamon spice, accompanied with hot chocolate or praline dips, £1.90
Celebrity following
Luvvies Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman.
What else?
Gourmet coffee using only the finest single-estate beans and five rotating expresso blends. Try Ethiopian Mocha Djimmah, £1.50.
The British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1, +44 (0)20 7412 5528, www.peytonandbyrne.com
ARTISAN BAKERY
Cocomaya
Launched at the end of last year in Connaught Street by the team behind the eponymous chocolate emporium.
Who’s behind it?
Agent Provocateur founder Serena Rees, designer Walid Al Damirji and Joel Bernstein, formerly of Liberty, have put their considerable fashion nous to work.
Signatures
Devil’s Food cake, £4.70, and Honey cake, £4.
Celebrity following
Elton John, Sam Taylor-Wood, Keira Knightley and Madonna.
What else?
Food intolerances are well catered for. 12 Connaught Street, W2, +44 (0)20 7706 2883, www.cocomaya.co.uk
VINTAGE TEA SHOP
Betty Blythe’s Fine Food Pantry
With staff dressed in vintage 1930s’ uniforms and tea served from mismatched china, Betty’s harks back to that quintessentially British institution of afternoon tea.
Who’s behind it?
Founder Lulu Gwynne is never without her trademark red lipstick and reckons tarts will make a comeback this year – jam and custard ones that is!
Signatures
Scones with clotted cream and jam, £2.20, and Oreo cookie cupcakes, £2.40.
Celebrity following
Singer Lily Allen recently bought an entire box of the Oreo cakes.
What else?
Homemade Scotch eggs, pork pies and sausage rolls as well as larder staples sourced from cottage industries. 73 Blythe Road, Brook Green, W14, +44 (0)20 7602 1177, www.bettyblythe.co.uk
PATISSERIE PRINCESS
MyChelle’s Baketique
Launched in December at the eco-friendly Rafayel Hotel on Battersea’s Left Bank. Brightly coloured stools and vibrant chandeliers provide the perfect setting for cakes so beautifully decorated you don’t know whether to eat or wear them.
Who’s behind it?
Michelle Husserl, 26, hails from NYC via a year at London’s Cordon Bleu cookery school. A one-time personal shopper at Barneys department store, she derives inspiration from each season’s fashion collections.
Signatures
Ice-cream-inspired cupcake cones, £2.65, and ‘loaded’ cupcakes, their centres oozing with deliciousness: peanut butter and jelly, £2.
Celebrity following
Give the girl a chance, she’s fresh off the plane. But Vincent Simone from Strictly Come Dancing is a convert already.
What else?
Instead of ordering a full-blown cupcake, the figure conscious can opt for a shot glass filled with sugar frosting, 90p. MyChelle’s Baketique, Rafayel Hotel, Falcon Wharf Building, 34 Lombard Road, SW11, +44 (0)207 801 3630, www.baketique.com
