London: Tea Time in Wonderland

Lily Vanilli is a sweet girl. Litterally. Her passion for baking cakes, especially cupcakes and brownies to die for is just contagious. Well, sort of: you just feel like sitting down and devour them! Bonus points for those decorated with pomegranate, passionfruit, walnut… as this bring a new texture and makes the treat even yummier. Usually, one stops at one cupcake but those are pretty addictive and you just need to have two straight away…

Look in her twinkling eyes -  she is one of a kind. She does sell her classical treats at Harrods (go early if you want to have some, most will be gone by lunch time) but also creates entire worlds. Just check out her eerie creations on Amazon with her latest book A zombie ate my cupcake (you can see the first pages)! She also regularly joins The Mad Artists Party for cakes just… out of this world!

Come and sit down with her:

Chocoralie: I can still remember the first of your cakes I tried – topped with pomegranate, it looked like a jewel! How did you switch from a “normal life” to “cupcake heaven maker”?
Lily : Very gradually! I still have a totally normal life, I just do a LOT more baking (every day).

Chocoralie: Such a success that even Elton John, Downing st, the Saatchi gallery, Courvoisier and so many big names ordered some… What do you do after such a request? Jump around in joy? Panick like mad?
Lily: I start thinking about menu ideas, flavours and designs. That’s what I get really excited about – the cakes.

Chocoralie: Which is the craziest order you have received?
Lily: I get lots of orders for crazy sculptures, human hearts, severed heads, roadkill birds…

Chocoralie: Are you a cupcakaholic too or do you just enjoy making them?
Lily: I eat a LOT of cakes. Also brownies…

Soft ginger spice cupcake, light cream cheese and cocoa frosting , spiced gingerbread flowers, dusted with coconut or snowflake sprinkles.

Chocoralie: Who do you try your new recipes on?
Lily : Whoever is around/ friends/ other chefs/bakers/passers by.

Chocoralie: What is the wildest combination you have tried so far?
Lily : I did a mushroom and cognac cake that’s really good… I’m always experimenting… things like avocado, lavender. I just bought a wild selection of salts to experiment with – I’m working on a dulce de leche cupcake with Hawaiian Black salt.

Chocoralie: You are more than a cupcake baker, more of a creator. We loved your fab book A zombie ate my cupcake with eerie creations… What’s the next plan?
Lily : I’m starting on the next book very soon… It’s going to be much more grown up in the recipes and not just cakes this time, but still very beautiful & a little dark. I want to make cookbooks that people enjoy reading even if they’re not baking from them… I am also working on some new projects with the Mad Artists Tea Party and with my new team of ‘gentlemen bakers’ – Shay Ola & David Wright.

You will find Lily’s cupcakes @ Harrods.
Check out her website for news and her blog for her latest creations!

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