August saw me and the daughter on another trip to London. Our mission was to see the Van Gogh exhibition at Tate Britain. I won’t say too much about that since it’s now ended, but suffice to say you missed a treat.
After that we took the Number 87 bus from outside Tate Britain in search of another treat – the champagne-fuelled vegan afternoon tea from Cake Boy of Wandsworth. Cheers!
The gift experts at Red Letter Days had given me a choice of experiences on their site to review, so I decided to go for an afternoon tea with a difference.
SPECIAL OFFER – 10% OFF AT RED LETTER DAYS Use this link and code RLDOPPOSABLE10 This code is valid from 26th September to 28th October 2019.
To be honest, I was a little bit apprehensive about the prospect of vegan afternoon tea. My previous experiences of vegan cakes haven’t been great. So many of them seem to use a butter substitute which leaves a bitter aftertaste and frankly, isn’t that nice. But the Cake Boy vegan experience, oh my goodness it was something else.
At £40 per head, this vegan afternoon tea includes a glass of champagne; a selection of seasonal savoury treats and indulgent vegan desserts and a choice of tea or coffee served with soya, oat or almond milk.
The menu changes seasonally, and this is what was on offer when we visited in August 2019:
The sweets
- Avocado & Peruvian Chocolate Cup with Raspberries. I know what you’re thinking but no, it didn’t taste like avocado. The chocolate and raspberry led the way, with the avocado providing smoothness and, I guess, one of your five a day.
- Red velvet cake with vanilla bean paste frosting
- Bombay Dream Verrine – Crushed cardamom biscuit, mint & mango salsa, mango pearls and raspberry coulis.
- Classic Mont Blanc – egg-free meringue filled with whipped soya cream and topped with gilded marron glace
- Raspberry macaroon filled with rose petal cream
Savouries
- Buckwheat petit pain, with rocket, cheddar style cheese, sun blush tomato and basil
- Olive sourdough with Moroccan coriander hummus, sultanas and micro coriander
- Gluten free mini loaf with pistachio pesto, roasted red pepper and extra virgin olive oil pearls
All amazing, all delicious, beautifully presented with great service too. And to kick things off, we were sprayed with an edible Earl Grey perfume “to awaken the senses”. It did that alright.
You can see straight away that this isn’t your average afternoon tea offering of sandwiches, cakes and scones. My favourite touch was the little pearls of olive oil and mango coulis which burst with flavour on the tongue. I have no idea how they did that but I’m very glad they did.
Everything tasted incredibly fresh, and every single item was inventively created with imagination and skill.
Cake Boy is the home of Master Pâtissier Eric Lanlard. Vanity Fair magazine called him one of the best pâtissiers in the world and going on this evidence I think they could be right. It’s quite a fun and funky place to while away a few hours over afternoon tea, then take a stroll along the River Thames just a few steps away.
It was very quiet when we were in, but to be fair it was a Tuesday afternoon in August. I would expect it to be busier at the weekend. For us after a busy day walking around London we enjoyed the peace and quiet. And the food! Wow. What a special treat. Why can’t all vegan cake be like this?
Vegan Afternoon Tea details
This champagne vegan afternoon tea at Cake Boy costs £80 for two people and can be booked here at Red Letter Days.
SPECIAL OFFER – 10% OFF AT RED LETTER DAYS Use this link and code RLDOPPOSABLE10 This code is valid from 26th September to 28th October 2019.
Cake Boy is at Unit 2, Kingfisher House, Battersea Reach, Juniper Drive, Battersea, London SW18 1TX. Easiest way to get there I found was via the Number 87 bus which runs from Aldwych to Wandsworth.
*I was provided with a Red Letter Days voucher for this experience free of charge for the purposes of review.
*Contains affiliate links
I am visiting somewhere new every month this year. Check out my previous adventures here.