Visiting Violet

I've been a fan of Violet cakes since I first tried them over two years ago at Covent Garden Market and as soon as I heard they had a cafe opening I've been thinking of ways to get there. On Saturday we finally made it - after a long walk from The View Tube at Pudding Mill Lane - it's quite a walk and we certainly earned our cupcake (although someone couldn't stop at one!).

First impressions when walking in is that it is a quaint little shop, with seating inside for about 6 people, with some tables outside, and if its busy there are a couple of benches nearby. Its in a quiet street off the main Dalston to Hackney route so you can sit outside and enjoy some peace and cake. As well as cakes they stock sourdough bread and some fruit and veg. We got there quite late in the day but thankfully they still had some delish looking cupcakes left.

Manny opted for the last Valrhona - of course and said it was amazing. He certainly wolfed it down as I didn't get a chance to sneak a bit. Oink oink.

I couldn't resist the coconut milk cupcake and I chose incredibly well. It was incredibly moist and flavoursome - the taste of coconut was lovely. And it went fabulously with my mug of breakfast tea. Sometimes you just can't beat a cup of tea and cake.

Manny spent the whole time we were in there drooling over the afternoon tea scones that were on display and just couldn't resist having one. And who can blame him - this is sheer food pornography. I had a little smidgen (I wasn't going to but can't resist clotted cream ever!) and it was absolutely divine.

We couldn't resist taking a couple of cakes home for pudding on Saturday night. Manny got a Devil's Food and I got a raspberry. Manny's devils food was really nice and tasty, however my raspberry one was just ok. The frosting was delicious but the cake was a little bit lacking in flavour.

However this doesn't make me change my mind and I still say Violet make some of the nicest cupcakes you will ever try. Definitely in my top five.

Manny summed it up - as we were leaving, my foot hadn't even stepped outside when he asked "when are we coming back?"

Oh and if you're interested in baking some Violet style cakes, owner Claire Ptak's The Whoopie Pie book comes out next month and if the recipes are as good as the cover looks it'll be a stunner.