"This sugar den of California cool and handwritten blackboard menu charm is along on a quiet residential street near London Fields. And Violet Cakes’ little suntrap terrace is ideal for discussing the minutiae of your life with someone you love, while sipping on a latte and eating cupcakes." - rianne shlebak, sinead cranna
"Violet Cakes is a California-cool bakery in London Fields that’s doing their bit to ensure that a toastie loneliness epidemic never makes the news. Their signature spicy kimchi and blue cheese toastie is fried to perfection and importantly, it comes with its own little pot of pickle friends to hang out with. The bread falls on the very crispy, crunchy side of toasted, but should you fancy a fluffy reprieve, we always condone an order of the soft, subtly boozy banana buttermilk bread." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, heidi lauth beasley, sinead cranna, daisy meager
"Violet Cakes announced their mince pie drop on Instagram with no less than eight exclamation marks. We can get behind that kind of excitement. The Hackney bakery fills their buttery pastry with candied clementines, mandarin, grapefruit, and winter spices. Forget a light dusting of icing sugar, these pies have been out in a blizzard." - sinead cranna
"So nice they named it twice, the Chocolate Chocolate Cupcake from Hackney bakery Violet might not have the grandeur of a tiered slice but we couldn’t not include it. The sponge manages to be both moist and light and airy, with a dark chocolate edge. The slight bitterness balances out the mousse-like, creamy chocolate buttercream and sprinkling of crystallised violet petals. The fact that it’s not always on the counter and we wish it was in slice form means that, although one of the best in London, it ranks last. Know that we found the chocolate cupcake with salted caramel buttercream overly sweet too." - rianne shlebak, daisy meager
"Walking into Violet Cakes is like stepping into the Pinterest of one of those effortless, classy people who somehow know how to arrange flowers, pull off hot pink, and make an egg yolk cookie so gorgeous and gooey that you start to suspect chocolate chip witchcraft. You’ll find this sugar den of sun-washed California cool and handwritten blackboard charm on a quiet residential street near London Fields. The sweet treats here lean towards frothy American-style cupcakes and brownies so rich they could probably get an unlimited overdraft, but you shouldn’t overlook the savoury options. The kimchi and blue cheese toastie is spicy, fried to crisp perfection, and comes with a jolly little pot of pickles. There’s also a little suntrap terrace that’s ideal for discussing the minutiae of your life with someone you love, while eating a sprinkle-topped cookie you’ll also love. video credit: Emily Hai photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch video credit: Emily Hai photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Pause Unmute Food Rundown Chocolate Cupcake Small in size but rich enough to make Miss Trunchball proud, this cupcake is a must-order. Egg Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookie Egg yolk might actually be the most important component of cookie creation. The evidence: this cookie. It’s gooey at the centre, crisp at its edges, and the butteriness of the egg yolk counteracts the dark chocolate and salty finish to create the perfect bite. PlayMute video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley California Cookie While we stand bravely on the frontlines of ‘more grown-up foods should involve sprinkles’ debate, this cookie is already running the campaign for us. Beyond the smile-inducing sprinkles, it has a subtle strawberry milkshake flavour with a hint of vanilla. photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Banana Buttermilk Bread If you ask the servers at Violet what to order, they’ll point you towards this banana bread. Listen to them. The buttermilk and dash of booze takes this bakery classic from ‘that thing you order when you want to convince yourself you’re being healthy’ to an indulgent slab of butter-sponsored brilliance. Kimchi & Blue Cheese Toastie All of the sweet little cakes here will lull you into a false sense of a sugar euphoria and then along comes this sharp, spicy toastie. Thanks to the hefty portion of kimchi, it’s a genuine tear-jerker, in the best fried and butter-slicked way possible. It also comes with a little pot of pickles and we think that’s classy. photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley" - Heidi Lauth Beasley