Previously a pastry cook and pastry chef for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, Claire Ptak has been running her Dalston bakery and cafe for six years now. What started as a tiny cupcake stand on Broadway market has now become a neighbourhood favourite. Laid-back and distinctly Californian (with salted ice-coffee on the menu), Violet Bakery London is a pretty two-storey building, with a tucked-in backyard and a few outdoor tables, overlooking a red brick Victorian school.

Ptak ”“ who has also written two successful books ”“ bakes with organic ingredients (resulting in a selection of gluten- and dairy-free pastries) and uses seasonality as her inspiration. Her signature Violet salad features rocket, radishes, olives, eggs, almonds, plum chutney and Lancashire Poacher cheese, and sits alongside quiches and Parma ham and mozzarella toasties. Whoopie pies, coconut macaroons, Victoria sponge cakes, brownies, lemon drizzle cakes, and ginger loafs fly the flag for the sweet selections. Everything is baked in-store; the biggest problem is making a decision.

http://www.violetcakes.com/

Violet Bakery London
47 Wilton Way, London E8 3ED, United Kingdom
+44 20 7275 8360

Anna is our London-based food contributor. She also writes about food for Conde Nast Traveller and worked as Editor in Chief for Vogue.ru in Moscow for five years before moving to London. Anna is studying more about her passions, wine and hospitality. Follow her on Twitter (@_frostanna) and Instagram (@frostanna and @greytable).

(All images from Violet Bakery London)

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