Crumbs! Meghan books Californian f lower-power cake maker for wedding
BoHeMIAn, trendy and without a morsel of dried fruit in sight – Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding cake certainly breaks royal tradition.
As Kensington Palace revealed yesterday on Twitter, on May 19 the royal couple will be tucking into an organic lemon and elderflower sponge which incorporates buttercream, fresh flowers and ‘the bright flavours of spring’.
And the honour of making it has fallen to California-born Claire Ptak, 43, who started her business on a market stall in Hackney, east London, and now runs a small cafe, The Violet Bakery, in the area.
Miss Ptak, who juggles her business with bringing up two-year-old daughter Frances, first met the royal-to-be when Miss Markle interviewed her for her now defunct lifestyle website, The Tig.
They clearly became firm friends, as Miss Markle, 36, even features in the publicity for Miss Ptak’s 2015 The Violet Bakery Cookbook. The star’s endorsement reads: ‘Pastry chef Claire Ptak has hit the nail on the head with her London bakery serving up delightful treats that have garnered a cult following (in that ever so civilised British way) in the UK and beyond.’
Yesterday, Miss Ptak wrote on her Instagram account: ‘Kinda excited to announce this one! Violet has been chosen to make the wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. They both share so many of the same values regarding food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and of course, flavour!’
Her rustic baking style is a marked difference from Kate and William’s traditional wedding cake, which was an eight-tiered iced fruitcake decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers.
How many tiers the next royal bride and groom will have on their cake remains to be seen, but what seems certain is that they are breaking with formal tradition.
And the fact they are eschewing fruitcake does raise another question – the top tier of a wedding cake is traditionally saved for the christening of a couple’s first child. In fact, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (with great foresight) kept three tiers of theirs.
Unlike a rich fruitcake, which needs to be made well in advance and will keep long after, a sponge cake will have to be crafted shortly before the big day – and is much more ephemeral.
But while it seems Miss Ptak is not a stickler for tradition, she is strident about using ethical, healthy ingredients. Her recipes often use wholegrain flours, less refined sugar and seasonal fruit.
The daughter of two actors, Miss Ptak grew up in Inverness, California, in a ranching community.
Always baking in her spare time, she became pastry chef at the legendary restaurant Chez Panisse before following her now-husband back to the UK in 2005.
She immersed herself in British cookbooks, and developed a career as a food stylist – nigella Lawson, Yotam ottolenghi and Jamie oliver are among the chefs she has worked with.
In 2010, she opened a bakery and cafe named Violet – her favourite flower and a name she liked because it was ‘old-fashioned’.
Last night it emerged, however, that the bakery was given a two out of five star rating in a food standards inspection. In Decemsaying: ber 2017, Hackney Council found issues with the hygienic handling of food, as well as the cleanliness and condition of the building.
Miss Ptak said in a statement she was confident her premises would regain their five-star rating, ‘As ever, levels of hygiene across our business remain of utmost importance to us.’
Prices at the bakery for special orders range from £30 for a sixinch chocolate marshmallow cake to £225 for a 15-inch vanilla cake serving 50 to 60 people.
A section of the menu dedicated to weddings – no prices given – says: ‘We recommend either our vanilla, chocolate, carrot, lemon or coconut cream cake finished with super deluxe satiny Swiss meringue buttercream icing.
‘The cake can then be decorated with a crown of icing pearls on top and along the base and fresh flowers. We work with a local florist to match the flowers to your event.’ Miss Markle is known to be a fan of peonies, which will be in bloom at the time of her Windsor wedding, and Miss Ptak has used peonies on her stylish wedding cakes in the past.
Inspiration for the flavour may come from close to home. Harry’s father, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall were presented with two lemon and Cornish elderflower sponge cakes on a visit to Porthleven in Cornwall last summer.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady told the Mail that he was slightly sad that the couple were not including a traditional fruitcake in their plans, but said the sponge sounded ‘delightful’.
He said: ‘This really has got Meghan written all over it, hasn’t it? While it would be nice to see a traditional fruitcake as well, this sounds delightful and will make a really refreshing change.
‘This American princess, Meghan, is coming in and doing things in a new, fresh and modern way, and Harry will love her for it.’