Interview with Eric Lanlard, Cupcake Decorating and Afternoon Tea at Cake Boy with Red Letter Days

For those of you who have missed it on my social channels – I’m a Blogger Ambassador for Red Letter Days in 2017. This means throughout  I’ll be working with my fellow ambassadors and having a taster of some of the experiences Red Letter Days have to offer. Last Friday I was invited to take part in my first Red Letter Days experience – Cupcake Decorating and Afternoon Tea with Eric Lanlard at Cake Boy in Battersea.

Who is Eric Lanlard?

If you’re not aware of Eric Lanlard he’s a Master Pâtissier and has earned himself an international reputation for superlative baked creations for an impressive set of A-list clientele. After training in France, Eric moved to London where, aged 22, he became head pastry chef for Albert and Michel Roux. He stayed there for five years before launching his own business, Cake Boy: a destination café, cake emporium and cookery school based in London. Eric’s skills and talent have turned him into a ‘much in demand’ baking global ambassador. He’s created cakes for the likes of Madonna, Claudia Schiffer, Liz Hurley and Elton John.

Before we were joined by some fellow bloggers, myself and Louise interviewed Eric on camera to find out more about this baking genius. It was lots of fun hearing the fascinating stories he has, and picking up a few hints and tips. Here’s the interview in full (My shirt comes from Superdry if you like it!) –

Before the Cupcake Decorating experience, we were given the chance to sit and relax, and try some of his cakes. This man can rustle up a pudding – let me tell you!

Cupcake Decorating with Cake Boy

With the other bloggers in the building, we settled down to a Cupcake Decorating masterclass with Cake Boy. This started with an introduction to crafting cake toppers with sugar paste in moulds. Then removing them to decorate with edible paints and glitter. Eric took his time and gave lots of tips as he went, pointing out where mistakes might happen. We were all set to work to make six toppers of our own, ready for decoration.

I struggled with this – it was a lot harder than I expected. I think I improved with each one I made, and by the last one, I had more confidence. Eric was around to answer questions and offer guidance as we went.

Mine weren’t great –

We were given copious amounts of paint and glitter to decorate the toppers with. I’m not great with fiddly painting, and I’m more liberal than a drag queen with glitter, so I stuck to the bare minimum. This didn’t really help me either, the poor teddy bears look like they had had their throats slit.

Stay Frosty

After we’d all made our toppers, we needed iced cupcakes to place them on. From the Cake Boy Kitchen there came 6 cakes each, all cooled and ready for a damned good icing. Eric showed us three different patterns to try – I filmed the first one.

As with the cake topper making, Eric made it look easy. Although I found myself slightly better with the icing – only slightly..

Sure – my cakes didn’t look brilliant, but I had fun making them and I felt like I gained some knowledge and experience in cupcake decorating. If you want to improve your skills, and learn from one of the best – I’d heartily recommend Cupcake Decorating with Eric Lanlard at Cake Boy. Eric is a warm and lovely man and pleasure to work with.

Time for Tea

After being surrounded by food, it was time to try something Cake Boy is famous for – Afternoon Tea. Our working area was quickly cleared up, and the most incredible Afternoon Tea was laid out. It was a feast to the eyes and a treat to the mouth, all washed down with a fantastic glass of champagne. I’ve seen some pretty Afternoon Tea in my time, but this was insane. The flavours were as vibrant as the presentation.

The 1837 Black Tea from TWG was recommended to us as well – it’s only available at Cake Boy and Harrods in the UK. It’s possibly one of the best cups of Tea I’ve had. I’m gutted I didn’t pick some up before I went home! If you’re not interested in Cupcake Decorating you can book an Afternoon Tea independently of the Cupcake Decorating classes with Red Letter Days.  It’s incredibly good, I’d recommend it to any one!

After our Afternoon Tea, it was time to bid Cake Boy au revoir and head home!

Thanks so much to Eric and the Cake Boy team for their incredible hospitality, and of course, Red Letter Days for organising the event.