miss b loves........Great Cake Places London 2012

As someone who is always on the look-out for amazing tea shops, pâtisseries and cafés, I knew that that 'Great Cake Places London 2012' was a book I had to have on my shelf! Complete with mouth-watering pictures of the most wonderful cakes, this very pretty book introduces a huge selection of London's best and exceptional cake shops and cafés. 

Just my kind of book...I thoroughly enjoyed reading the sections about the history of cakes, cupcakes and wedding cakes and  afternoon tea etiquette. I love the stylish pastel pink cover too! The venues are arranged in five categories: Cupcakes and Bakery, Coffee & Cake, Afternoon Tea, Wedding Cakes and Chocolates & Sweets.....

For each cake place there is a review and a detailed description of the venue and the sweet offerings, as well as a cake rating (cupcakes instead of stars - very cute!) and an overall rating. There are other useful pieces of  information such as price guides, opening hours, signature cake and various icons (mother and baby friendly, soya available, Wi-Fi etc.)

For those who would like to produce some of the sweet treats at home, there are even recipes at the back of the book from some of the pastry chefs.


It's so reassuring to know that every venue featured in Great Cake Places has been visited and rated by their expert team.
The Cake Rating (number of cupcakes out of five) is not only about the taste but also visual appeal, innovation, skill involved and whether the cake is made in-house.
The Overall Rating (number of stars out of five) is about the all important ‘wow factor’ including atmosphere, design, customer service and displays.

Even if you're not planning  a trip to London in the near future, I think it's worth buying for the snippets of information, gorgeous photography and recipes. However, I shall be making a return visit (maybe more than one!) in 2012 and these are my top three cake venues to try........... 

• Cake Boy (for Valrhona Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Torte)
• Ella's Bakehouse (for mini Cherry Crumble) 
• The Sanderson (for the Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea - you can  read all about it here at Cupcake Crazy Gem's blog)

and all those other wonderful cake places will just have to wait for my future trips............

miss b recommends:

•  buying this book for a cake-loving, sweet-toothed friend (and one for yourself, of course!)
•  visiting the Great Cake Places website (you can become a member for £4.25 a year)

I ordered my copy direct from the Great Cake Places website  (Allegra Publications) Also available from Amazon.