Lily Vanilli: Queen of Cakes

Oozing with caramel, glittering fruits, shards of chocolate and strewn with edible flowers. Lily’s creations throw you straight into cake heaven…

 

Tucked away in a courtyard off East London’s Columbia Road is where you will find Lily Vanilli also known as Lily Jones. Most of the week, Lily spends her time cooking up a storm for a huge mix of clients with a huge mix of briefs. Elton John, Lulu Guinness and Nigella Lawson sit amongst the vast array of Lily’s feasting fans and clients. Jones’ impressive portfolio also include her pieces featured in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Another Magazine and many more of our favourite publications as well as exhibiting in the V & A.

For the rest of us, the day to visit is Sunday, when you can amble around the hustle and bustle of Columbia Road’s famous flower market and pop in to see Lily herself serving up her culinary delights.

Lily Vanilli’s Bakewell Tarts

Ingredients

• 1 batch of Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Mixed Berry Coulis

1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium-sized pan bring to the boil over a gentle heat, stirring continuously. Reduce to a simmer and heat for 15 minutes, or until thickened.
2. Allow to cool, then transfer the coulis to a liquidiser or use a hand blender to puree. Finally pass it through a sieve, pushing as much of the pulp as possible and discarding any seeds.

Frangipane

1. Beat the butter and sugar together for about 3 minutes.
2. Beat in the ground almonds, and then add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions. Finally beat in the flour and the citrus zest.

How to put it together…

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan assisted/ gas mark 6.
2. Roll out pastry to about 3mm thickness and cut rounds to fit your prepared tray, allowing extra to cover the sides – approximately 10cm rounds for a standard cupcake tray. Press these carefully into the cavities and refrigerate for around 30 minutes. Line, weigh down with baking beans and blind bake for around 10-15 minutes, or until starting to brown. Remove from oven, brush all over with the egg wash and bake for another 2 minutes to seal. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. Spoon 2 teaspoons of the coulis into the cooked pastry cases, pipe or spoon frangipane on top to fill, then sprinkle with the untoasted almonds and return to the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the frangipane on top is golden brown. Try to avoid opening the oven before 15 minutes have passed, as the delicate structure of the frangipane means they have a tendency to sink. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Pipe each tart with a dab of buttercream, then top with a fresh cherry and some toasted flaked almonds.

Find this and other perfect pastry recipes in Lily Vanilli’s Sweet Tooth or go and taste the real thing in The Bakery. 

Go to: http://lilyvanilli.com/

DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at [email protected]
Inspiration/Image Credits: Lily Vanilli