Best baking classes in London

In response to this baking renaissance, a number of cake-making classes have sprung up in the capital, teaching Londoners how to bake and decorate the perfect sweet treat, from basic but delicious buttercream-iced cupcakes to more adventurous desserts.

Fancy whipping up a Ritz Torte or a triple-layered Belgian chocolate cake with home-made chocolate cigarillos?

Then dust off that whisk, grab your pinny and re-acquaint yourself with your baking powder, as we bring you the best baking classes in town...

Cookie Girl
Xanthe Milton is Cookie Girl , the Nigella Lawson of the cake world. Curvaceous, attractive and frequently spotted carrying a basket of cookies around west London, she started off selling her cookies in Portobello Market. Now she has a cookbook in the pipeline and has branched out into cake-making classes. She offers one-to-one cookie tutorials at her home in Notting Hill, with a choice of two or three cake recipes thrown in, including a basic sponge, a more adventurous vanilla sponge cake, chocolate devil's food cake, or red velvet or hummingbird cupcakes (the last two use recipes adapted from the famous Magnolia Bakery in New York). Classes cost £310 for a six-hour day, or £170 for a half-day lasting three hours. For something more social, Cookie Girl hosts two-hour cake-decorating parties, held at the Drawing Room in Portobello Road, which cost £45 and include a glass of champagne. Popular with hen parties are her Cocktail And Cupcake parties, also at the Drawing Room, which cost £80 per person for two hours.
Drawing Room, 269 Portobello Road, W11 (020 8740 4301, cookiegirl. co.uk). Next classes 13 and 27 May

Outsider Tart
Americans David Muniz and David Lesniak opened their bakery two years ago to supply US-style cupcakes, muffins and pies to the UK. They've just launched a cake-baking class in Soho. Their next masterclass is due to take place on 17 May, from midday to 4pm. The class will begin with the two Davids cooking scones, then participants get to choose between three cakes they can make: layer cake, pie or tea cake. The students will make their cake under the guidance of the two sweet-toothed cooks, tasting the scones as they go; the cakes are then cooked and taken home. The classes cost £75 per person.
56-57 Frith Street, W1 (020 7096 1609)

Cakes4Fun
This Putney-based cake-baking school runs classes on Tuesdays and Saturdays, offering full and half-day lessons. All classes start at 10am, with half-days (£70) finishing at 2pm and full days (£90) at 4pm. There is a range of recipes to learn, from mastering the ubiquitous cupcakes to rustling up something more complicated, such as a three-tier Belgian chocolate cake with home-made chocolate cigarillos. Should you want to, you can also learn how to make an exact cake replica of your Louis Vuitton or Chanel handbag, or, more usefully, learn how to make your own wedding c ake - how about a Madagascan vanilla sponge with vanilla butter cream and raspberry jam alternated with a chocolate ganache sponge It's all about learning the basics, then, once you've got the knack, creating a cake that looks like you've spent hundreds of pounds on it. Crunch-tastic!
100 Lower Richmond Road, SW15 (020 8785 9039, cakes4fun.co.uk)

The Roving Chef
If you would prefer to learn the art of baking from the comfort of your own kitchen, Hayley Edwards - also known as the Roving Chef - will come to your home and teach you how to whip up a range of traditional British desserts. Edwards, who worked as the PA to Marco Pierre White for seven years, now cooks full-time, offering students the chance to learn how to make delicious desserts, including lemon drizzle cake, coffee and walnut cake, fairy cakes, Victoria sponges and lemon meringues. She charges £25 an hour for a minimum of two hours. Mostly she teaches individuals - the average home's kitchen can't accommodate big groups - but it is possible for two or more people to be taught and share the cost. you won't catch the Roving Chef teaching faddish desserts - she prefers the old-fashioned favourites, such as ginger cake.
0776 890 1550, rovingchef.net

Giuliana's Kitchen
Giuluana Ormo, author of Afternoon Tea At Home Made Simple, runs classes for dessert enthusiasts on Wednesdays, from 10am until 1.30pm, at a cost of £60. She follows a tried-and-tested format that never fails to impress: after pupils arrive at her home, Giuliana and her class make florentine biscuits. While the biccies are cooling they have a cup of tea, then they make a Victorian sponge cake. While that's baking they coat the florentines in chocolate on one side and make a sherry trif le. Then it's a light lunch with the trif le for dessert. Alternatively, Giuliana runs another class where you can learn how to make a lemon curd, cheese scones and a Ritz Torte. or if you prefer, join her Afternoon Tea class, which covers scones, shortbreads and dainty sandwiches. Before you know it, you'll be hosting your very own afternoon tea parties.
020 7586 3016, afternoontealessons.com