London’s Best Cakes

From devilishly dark chocolate cakes to light vanilla sponges, endless layers of frosting to no frosting at all, familiar favourites – carrot cake, red velvet cake – to the most innovative creations, London’s cake scene has it all. Try a parsnip cake, a marble cake with caramelised halva or forget about the cake and just take spoonfuls of Ottolenghi’s heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth, maple icing.  

Apple cake with maple icing: Ottolenghi

Apple and vanilla cake with soft apple pieces, juicy sultanas, a liberal amount of maple cream cheese icing – mildly sweet, immensely creamy – plus a light dusting of powdered sugar to finish. There’s olive oil in the cake too, which gives it the perfect moisture.

Multiple locations

Lemon bundt cake: Chestnut Bakery

Mini lemon bundt cake with golden-brown, slightly crisp edges and an exceptionally soft interior, it’s full of super sharp lemon flavour from the icing to the sponge.  

17-21 Elizabeth St, London SW1W 9RP

Orange & almond cake: Sable D’or

Flourless almond cake – full of zest and juice from oranges – with dark chocolate and a sprinkling of almond flakes, it’s bitter on top but unbelievably zingy at the base.

Multiple locations

Halva marble cake: 11 Coffee & Co

Vanilla cake with swirls of caramelised halva – a sweet, fudgy, lightly spiced sesame paste – layers of mascarpone cream, cocoa powder and a walnut crumble topping. A slice with a real hit of savoury, it’s slightly bitter and super nutty. 

11 Queen’s Parade, London W5 3HU or 321 Upper Richmond Rd, London SW14 8QR

Strawberry shortcake: Kova Patisserie

Strawberry shortcake comprised of Japanese chiffon cake – very airy, as soft as a cloud – vanilla whipped cream and fresh strawberries, it’s not too sweet and incredibly light.

Multiple locations

Parsnip cake: Soderberg Bakery

Parsnip cake full of grated parsnip, candied orange peel and vanilla, plus one single layer of cream cheese frosting and chopped almonds on top. It’s wholesome and moist like carrot cake, but sweeter, a little citrusy and far more interesting. 

36 Berwick St, London W1F 8RR   

Red velvet cake: Flavourtown Bakery

Three layers of red velvet sponge – perfectly moist thanks to buttermilk, rich with a hint of Valrhona cocoa – and vanilla cream cheese frosting, it’s sweet and chocolatey with a truly satisfying tang. 

771 Fulham Rd, London SW6 5HA or 3 The Quadrant, Richmond TW9 1BP

Vanilla berry cake: Lily Vanilli

Vanilla sponge with silky Swiss meringue buttercream and a handful of fresh berries, it’s tender but as soft as a pillow, buttery – without being sickly – and just the right amount of sweet.

18 Ezra St, London E2 7RH

Brown butter cake: Flor

Gluten-free almond cake with a crisp, crackly, caramelised outer shell and a buttery, syrupy-sweet, super fudgy inside. Flor’s brown butter cake is tiny but so very satisfying.

1 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL

Tiramisu cake: Signorelli

Vanilla sponge with layers of Signorelli’s signature coffee brew, mascarpone frosting – tangy and just a tad sweet – plus a generous dusting of cocoa powder on top.

7 Victory Parade, London E20 1FS or 15 Endeavour Square, London E20 1JN

Banana cake: Petersham Nurseries

Spiced banana cake with chopped walnuts, chewy apricot pieces and cream cheese frosting, it’s full of banana flavour, super dense but not at all dry.

27 King St, London WC2E 9DS or Church Lane, London TW10 7AB

Gluten-free chocolate cake: Lily Vanilli

Deep, dark, super decadent chocolate cake with a fine frosting of silky-smooth, milk chocolate buttercream, it’s bitter and grown-up but in a very pleasant way.

18 Ezra St, London E2 7RH

Russian honey cake: Apple Blue Patisserie

Layers of honey browned butter sponge with dulce de leche, whipped cream and Biscoff crumbs, it’s heavy and rich in flavour but so light and spongy in texture.   

212 Balham High Rd, London SW12 9BS

Tres leches cake: L’ETO

Soft, cloud-like, melt-in-your-mouth vanilla sponge soaked in three types of milk – evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream – with a layer of equally light whipped cream on top.

Multiple locations

Carrot cake: Meringue Girls

Carrot cake with dessicated coconut, orange zest, finely chopped walnuts and the usual spices, plus a clever addition of blow-torched, lime-infused, dreamy-tasting mascarpone icing. It’s squidgy and moist, wholesome but refreshing and still – trust me on this – the best carrot cake in London.

1 Broadway Market, London E8 4TS. Saturdays only.

Apple pie cake: Cutter & Squidge

Vanilla sponge with apple jam, cinnamon buttercream – custardy, sweet, perfectly spiced – crispy white chocolate pearls, biscuit crumbs and an apple crisp to finish. It has all the flavours of a traditional apple pie, but it’s lighter and wonderfully soft.

20 Brewer St, London W1F 0SJ. Currently online only.

Chocolate salted caramel cake: Flavourtown Bakery

Black velvet cake – the darkest, deepest, moistest sponge – with a mousse-like, Belgian chocolate buttercream, pockets of sticky salted caramel sauce and a dark chocolate truffle on top. This is pure decadence from start to finish.

771 Fulham Rd, London SW6 5HA or 3 The Quadrant, Richmond TW9 1BP

Tiramisu cake: Cake Hole

Vanilla cake with coffee chocolate – rich but not too strong – and two hugely generous layers of light, mega fluffy mascarpone, plus cocoa powder to finish.

London farmers’ markets

Lemon blueberry cake: Luminary Bakery

Lemon sponge with fresh blueberries, lemon buttercream and a chunky, lemon-infused crumble on top, it’s tangy and super lemony but also a little buttery and sweet.

71-73 Allen Rd, London N16 8RY or 47 Chalk Farm Rd, London NW1 8AJ

This list does not include the incredible cakes from Crumbs & Doiles as the Soho shop currently isn’t selling the slices.