Eric Lanlard Cake Boy

Last Saturday morning I met up with Eleanor, Amy, Tania and Lulu for a long overdue cake date.  I’ve only recently heard about Master Pâtissier Eric Lanlard and his Cake Boy boutique tucked away in a quiet residential area at Battersea Reach. Not only has Eric been twice crowned ‘Continental Pâtissier of the year’  at the British Baking Awards, he has four TV series and a stack of books to his name and is a regular speaker at some of the best food events.

I was delighted when Eleanor suggested we visit Eric’s café ‘Cake Boy’, after appearing on his TV show ‘Baking Mad’ which was filmed there last year. For the rest of us, this was our first visit to Cake Boy and it certainly won’t be our last. Situated just back from the river front and underneath Battersea’s trendy new apartments, Cake Boy doesn’t appear to be boutique café showcasing some of London’s most exquisite patisserie, but once inside I was pleasantly surprised by the stylish and warm interior.

A long marble counter displaying a vast selection of sweet and savoury pastries ran the length of the café with space either side for seating. At one end of the café is a handful of sofas and chairs whilst the other end plays home to a working kitchen used to host cookery classes and events. There was also a small area with a range of gifts on display such as hand cream and trendy kitchen utensils. We enjoyed a coffee at the kitchen worktop before retreating to the low sofa and table in front of the fire to enjoy our cakes.

We were all so indecisive on which cake to choose, one of the staff Mickey, helpfully suggested that we choose a selection to share between us, adding that we wouldn’t have to worry about trying to cut the delicate pastries as he would do this for us – genius! We each chose a cake resulting in an apple and cinnamon muffin, rhubarb crumble tart, mille feuille and a red velvet cupcake. These were equally cut and beautifully displayed on a glitter marble slab. Not only that, Mickey provided us with complementary champagne as a thank you for our tweets – apparently you can spot a group of bloggers a mile off (just look out for the camera!).

Both my coffee and cakes tasted great and were of good quality. The apple and cinnamon muffin was huge and made the perfect breakfast. The muffin was fresh and was filled with chunky apple sauce which made the bottom lovely and moist. The top was sprinkled with cinnamon crumble which gave it a hard finish – lovely! The rhubarb tart was my least favourite but that was because of the sharpness of the rhubarb and my own personal taste. The base of the tart was softer than I had anticipated but this wasn’t a bad thing as the crumble topping balanced out the texture. I’ve been a little disappointed with the cupcakes I’ve had recently, but I have to say Cake Boy’s red velvet was very fresh and not at all sickly like some I have previously tried. This may be because I only had a quarter but I would like to return to try another. Last but not least was the mille feuille which was light and delicate just like it should be. It was notably infused with alcohol which made it stand out from that served in other London cafés such a BB Bakery in Covent Garden. The berries and ‘Cake Boy‘ chocolate disc provided attractive decoration.  I couldn’t quite determine my favourite and they were all equally as delicious!

All in all, I really enjoyed our cake date at Eric Lanlard’s Cake Boy café. The coffee and cakes were of a high standard and on par with other top-class patisseries, such as those found in Paris. The service and presentation was excellent, as were the selection of cakes and savoury options available. The atmosphere was relaxed and I would have happily spent the whole afternoon enjoying few more slices of cake. Thanks for having us Cake Boy!