Discover the recipes behind the bakery that made Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding cake.

The Violet Bakery is a cake shop and cafe in Hackney, east London. The baking is done with simple ingredients including wholegrain flours, less refined sugars and the natural sweetness and muted colours of seasonal fruits. Everything is made in an open kitchen for people to see. Famed for its exquisite baked goods, Violet has become a destination.

Owner Claire Ptak uses her Californian sensibility to devise recipes that are both nourishing and indulgent. With real thought about taste and using the purest ingredients, she has created the most flavoursome iterations of classic cakes, as well as new treats for modern palates.

Over 100 recipes include Cinnamon Buns, Mozzarella, Rosemary and New Potato Tarts, Butterscotch Blondies and Loganberry-vanilla Birthday Cake.


This book is about making baking worth it: simple to cook and satisfying to eat.