- Searches for ‘Lambeth Cake’ on Waitrose.com are up 75% year to date
- Waitrose own Lambeth inspired celebration cake is available online now, taking over 7 hours to make and decorate entirely by hand
- Waitrose is the only supermarket to offer this style of highly detailed, vintage inspired cake with added personalisation
With over 114k results for #retrocake on Instagram, and a 225k search popularity on TikTok for ‘Lambeth Cake’, this mesmerising and highly skilled cake-content is capturing the attention of social media fans everywhere. The term ‘Lambeth Cake' derives from a particular style of elaborate English cake decorating, once popular in the 1930s and rich in eccentricity, flamboyance and flair. Today it has taken on a whole new direction with both classic cream piped designs and those which show daring and bold colour combinations, some of which cost upwards of £150 per cake.
Emilie Wolfman, Waitrose Trend Innovation Manager added, “The retro aesthetic and lavish appeal of the Lambeth cake is so eye-catching, it's no wonder social media fans and cake lovers alike are being drawn to its mesmerising cake decorating content. The concentration, skill and end results are incredibly impressive, leaving fans wanting to elevate their own celebrations with something different, something that packs a serious WOW factor. Luckily for Waitrose customers, they can now get that same highly decorated, skilled cake creation at the click of a button, and have the option to personalise it too, perhaps with a retro glace cherry to complete the look.”
Working with renowned cake maker Fiona Cairns since 1993, there’s no better team to put the art in artisan, when it comes to British cakes. Each cake made by the Fiona Cairns team is decorated and piped by hand, pouring love, dedication and skill into this most show-stopping of cake styles. It’s not just the outside that counts of course, slice inside to find three layers of soft golden sponge, sicilian lemon buttercream and two generous layers of Tiptree raspberry jam. Light, zingy and perfectly suited to any celebration, from birthdays to anniversaries and even small weddings or engagement parties, with each cake serving between 32-34 people and priced at £65.
With each cake taking over 7 hours to make and decorate, a steady hand and a keen eye is required, which is where Chandra Lalit, cake technologist and expert decorator comes into her own. Chandra has been part of the Fiona Cairns team for over 11 years and is one the key decorators assigned to the Lambeth-style Waitrose cake orders, due to her attention to detail and skill.
Chandra adds; “The piping on this particular cake is incredibly intricate, and it’s taken a little while (and a lot of patience!) to master the steadiness and control it needs. What I love most about decorating cakes like this, is how much joy and beauty they bring. There’s something magical about seeing a plain sponge turn into an elegant centrepiece. It’s not just decoration, it’s storytelling in icing. Knowing that the cake is for a very special occasion and will be enjoyed by many, that’s a real moment of pride for me.”
Simona Cohen-Vida, Waitrose Product Developer commented; “We are so excited to be launching a Lambeth inspired cake of our own, having seen the increasing demand for retro-inspired celebration cakes. This cake has been nearly a year in the making and took three rounds of design alterations and experimentation, to get the piping exactly as we envisioned. We’re over the moon with the finished product and hope that customers will be as blown away by the quality, taste and value as we are.”
This cake is one of 8 new and exciting launches to the celebration cake section of the website this month, with an injection of newness to reinvigorate the range, customers can find something to suit every occasion and style.
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Fiona Cairns commented; “We’ve worked together with Waitrose for many decades, and understand that these cakes must be more than just beautiful. For us, every cake should be special and made with care and attention to detail. From concept to flavour development, design sketches to final decoration, we work closely with Waitrose to ensure the end result is new and exciting. It’s about bringing something extraordinary to the everyday.”
All Waitrose celebration cakes can be found on the ‘Entertaining’ section of Waitrose.com
