Hanwell, London

classes: Cake Decorating

5.0 (2)

98% recommend

Welcome to my world of cake delights. I am Philippa, lover of all things cake, edible design and owner of this little slice of heaven!

How I came to making cakes for a living is a long and tangled tale. I started off wanting to be a classical singer. When the college I wanted to go to said my voice was too young to start training, I switched my attention to the law. I just could not think of anything else to do, so I went to university. As in most things in life, once you get onto a track, it is very difficult to veer from it.

I worked as a lawyer for many years, initially in employment law, and then in regulation. Unlike many people who make dramatic changes in their lives, I really enjoyed being a lawyer - employment law especially - but in both disciplines there was drama and fascinating humanity.

I initially started baking as a bit of stress relief. At the end of a long day mediating disputes, it was calming and almost meditative. That led to taking a couple of baking classes at the Leith School of Cooking. I usually gave the results of my baking adventures to my family, or my colleagues or neighbours, but as my enthusiasm grew and my baking became more prolific, there was a limit to how much cake they were able to eat!

In the middle of 2017, I decided that I would establish something a little more permanent, setting up ‘Let ‘em Eat Cake’ as a market stall at Dickens Yard in Ealing Broadway and FoxW7.

I made my first proper stacked cake for my father’s birthday in January 2018. It was a lime cake filled with lime mascarpone cream, passionfruit curd, and decorated with a passionfruit and lime infused American buttercream. It was my first successful attempt at making a layer cake and I was enamoured with the process.

As with many people, the pandemic was a catalyst to making significant life changes. Being at home every day, spending time at my turn table making cakes and absolutely loving every aspect of the creative process, I decided that it was time to leave the job that I had not been enjoying for some years. So here I am.

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