When Harry and Meghan chose a small Hackney bakery to make their wedding cake, it catapulted Claire Ptak into the global spotlight.
The Royals sweetly referred to Violet Bakery as 'a London-based culinary gem' and said her lemon elderflower cake, decorated with flowers, incorporated 'the bright flavours of spring'.
The couple also asked Ptak to make daughter Lilibet's first birthday cake, a version of the wedding cake iced with pink strawberry buttercream.
Anyone wanting to try a slice is welcome to the April 6 launch party of Ptak's fifth book Love is a Pink Cake (Vintage Publishing) where she will serve up bubbles and bakes from the 75 recipes.
Like Megan Markle, Ptak is a native of California and started baking as a child "taught by my mom and grandma". She later trained under Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, before moving to London and working at Moro and St John.
She muses: "I have always looked for a way to adapt the approach I grew up with, finding a marriage of two worlds: pairing English ingredients with a Californian sensibility. Maybe that is part of the reason Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose me to make their wedding cake."
What began as a stall on Broadway Market, became Violet Bakery in 2010 when Ptak opened "a little bit of California in east London".
Named after a Warhol print, Love is a Pink Cake is subtitled 'Irresistible Bakes for Morning, Noon, and Night,' and has been praised by none other than British cooking royalty Nigella Lawson.
An ode to Ptak's upbringing in Northern California and current life in East London, it reflects upon baking with the seasons, and the gesture of baking for loved ones. Recipes often feature a 'west coast twist' and include Chocolate Violet Babka Buns, Tahini Halva Brownies, Raspberry Loganberry Roulade with Mascarpone and Brown Sugar, snickerdoodles, coconut pudding cake and of course 'that cake'.
Ptak writes of the joy of cooking for loved ones like six-year-old daughter Frances. Her mantras are: "Use the best possible ingredients," "make flavour more important than form," and "bake for those you love."
"We bake for love," she says. "Whether it’s for ourselves, to show love for a child, friend or partner or to celebrate a rite of passage, there is no denying the incredible effect cakes can have. After nearly two decades of running my own business, it still never ceases to amaze me how much impact the gesture of baking a cake for someone can make."
Tahini Halva Brownies (Makes 12)
250g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter
250g (9oz) dark chocolate
4 eggs
250g (11⁄4 cups) golden caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
140g (1 cup) fine spelt flour
50g (1⁄2 cup) cocoa powder
150g (51⁄2oz) tahini paste
225g (8oz) vanilla or marbled chocolate
halva, broken into 2cm (3⁄4in) pieces
3⁄4 tsp sea salt flakes
Baker’s tip: Remember that both brownies and cookies continue to bake while they cool down. It is always a good idea to err on the side of caution and remove the baked goods just before you think they are done to avoid overbaking and to keep that lovely gooey texture.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/350°F/ gas mark 4. Butter and line a 20×30cm (8×12in) cake tin with baking paper.
Put the butter and chocolate into a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir occasionally until the mixture has melted completely.
Set aside to cool slightly.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until combined, taking care not to overwhisk; the idea is not to add too much air. Stir the eggs into the cooled chocolate mixture with the vanilla extract, then sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold all together.
Pour into your prepared tin. Drizzle the tahini over the top of the brownie mixture. Dot with halva pieces, then gently run a knife across the surface to marble it. Sprinkle with sea salt, then bake for 25 minutes. The brownies should be just set but still wobbly.
Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into rectangles.
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