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All this talk of showstoppers, sponge and spun sugar has got us in the mood for a spot of baking. Luckily London is full of brilliant bakeries, cake shops and cookery schools that offer classes for everyone from the kitchen novice to the culinary creative.
Fancy trying your hand at some French pastry-making or uncovering the secret to the perfect loaf of bread? Pop your apron on and walk this way.
Biscuiteers Icing Lates
There’s no risk of a soggy bottom at Biscuiteers Baking Company. Mainly because they’ll be providing the biscuits for you ready-baked. All you need to do is grab some icing, create a showstopping design and voila! If you opt for one of their Icing Lates, which are held on the first Thursday of each month at Biscuiteers on Northcote Road, you even get a glass of prosecco to get those creative juices flowing. Mel and Sue would definitely approve.
Tickets £42 per person.
Taste of Le Cordon Bleu Pâtisserie Workshop
Follow in Mary Berry’s dainty footsteps – the queen of baking attended the French Cordon Bleu school in her twenties – and study at one of the world’s best culinary schools. A day-long pâtisserie workshop (£230 per person) will ensure you master chocolate fondant, genoise sponge and crème patissiere, leaving you with the sort of skills that'd make Paul Hollywood weep (in a good way).
Edd Kimber’s Afternoon Tea at Leith’s School of Food and Wine
Master the art of the Great British afternoon tea with the help of an actual Bake Off winner. Edd Kimber, who triumphed in the first series back in 2010, is on hand at this Leiths School of Food and Wine class to give you a genuine GBBO experience, teaching you how to bake the perfect scone and master the tricky Bake Off staple Paris-Brest. Tickets £155 per person.
Peggy Porschen Confectionary Masterclass
Got a seriously sweet tooth? Peggy Porschen is the place for you. As well as selling some of the prettiest cakes in the capital, the Belgravia shrine to all things sugary offers classes on baking and decorating. A Confectionary Masterclass day (£175) with their cake-making masters will teach you how to create English toffees, mini doughnuts and meringue kisses.
Bread Making Class at E5 Bakehouse
E5 Bakehouse
Learn artisanal bread lingo at E5 Bakehouse's bread-making class (£125 per person). The East London bakery offers yeast novices the chance to tame wild sourdough and turn it into pain de campagne, ciabatta, bagels and a 66 percent rye loaf. You also get to take a sourdough 'mother' home with you afterwards, you lucky thing. And you can return for an advanced class once you've honed your skills.
Primrose Bakery Cupcake Decorating
If you're more interested in style than substance, this Primrose Bakery course should be right up your street. Of course, the cupcakes themselves are delish, but you'll only be trying your hand at the aesthetics – palette knives, piping bags and the like.
Tickets £45 per person.
Bread Ahead Doughnut Workshop
You need absolutely no baking skills to take this three-hour course (£80 per person) but at the end of it you'll be the proud parent of a box full of 'custard grenades.' Once Bread Ahead's expert bakers reveal how to turn a handful of simple ingredients into their indulgent trademark doughnuts, there'll be no stopping you.
Konditor & Cook All About Sponge class
You'll be creating sponge cake with confidence after a half-day (£80 per person) spent with Konditor & Cook's bakers. Their All About Sponge course caters to both newbies and those with more experience in the kitchen. All will leave with a lemon drizzle cake, a dairy- and wheat-free almond St Clement cake and a mini Curly Whirly cake with vanilla bean frosting. Yum.
Can't be bothered to bake? Head to one of London's best bakeries