Fabulous baker boy

Master patissier Eric Lanlard baked Madonna’s wedding cake and has cooked for the former French president. Vicky Smith visits his SW18 cake lounge

Above: Eric Lanlard

Baking has become big business – elaborate wedding cakes are now a key feature of many a couple’s special day, with hundreds of pounds being splurged on intricate tiered creations. Someone who understands our sweet-toothed love affair with sponge better than most is Eric Lanlard, pastry chef to the stars and proud owner of Battersea’s glossiest new patisserie, Cake Boy.

Located in the prestigious Battersea Reach development, the gloriously decadent ‘cake lounge’ was opened by Eric in May last year as an extension of his baking company Savoir Design. It was the logical next step for someone who has been producing the finest sweet treats for nearly 20 years. “I always wanted to be a pastry chef – my family have said that even as a kid it was my dream. I remember getting frustrated not being able to buy the right glaze for an apple tart, trying to make it myself, and my parents coming home to a pile of unfinished products.”

Looking at the impressive display of croissants and cakes (including a perfectly glazed apple tart) adorning the counter in front of us at Cake Boy, its clear to see that this didn’t remain a problem for too long.

As soon as he was 18, Eric started a patisserie apprenticeship and a year later left France for Luxembourg to train further. By this time he had won prizes for his cookery, and when called up for National Service was asked to work as the personal chef to the captain of the flagship of the French Navy. It was on board ship that he cooked for the first of many well-known faces

“One of our guests of honour was President Mitterand – I ended up cooking for him in a tiny kitchen on board surrounded by minders who seemed to know everything about me. It was a great experience!”

It was after serving his country that Eric first came to south London, moving to Battersea to train with the Roux Brothers at their kitchen on Wandsworth Road. He has stayed close-by ever since, living in Putney for nine years and currently residing in Battersea, and has developed an enthusiasm for south west London, particularly its eating and drinking establishments, that ensures he will stay around for a while yet: “I love Iniquity on Northcote Road and there’s some great places to eat on St John’s Hill. When we were doing Cake Boy we celebrated with fish and chips from Fish Club, and I’m also in the Freemasons Arms once a week.” Eric’s appreciation of the area made it the obvious location for Cake Boy, although he admits opening in such a new development was a bit of a risk “It’s going to be a slow journey and we know that, but when the development is finished it will become a destination – we got it right to be the first ones in!” And the risky location doesn’t appear to have had any bearing on custom – people are queuing up for lunch, and Eric’s cookery classes and wine tastings have also been a huge success.

The stunning produce will ensure people come back time and again but the place itself is just as enticing as the goodies it sells. Black ceilings chosen by Eric promote a cosy feel, which, combined with bright pink sinks, stylish wallpaper and an ultra-modern fireplace, make Cake Boy feel like the boutique of bakeries.

We are treated to a glimpse of some of Eric’s more ostentatious creations on our visit, including cakes commissioned to resemble Louis Vuitton cases, high-heeled shoes and even a perfect sugar-coated replica of Rome’s Coliseum, so precious to the client it was transported by Eric and one of his chefs from the kitchen in Battersea all the way to the south of France on its own plane seat.

After creating the perfect matrimonial centrepieces for the likes of Elizabeth Hurley and Madonna, Eric certainly knows how to produce something spectacular for a big event, and was even asked to bake the Queen Mother’s 101st birthday cake – a traditional affair with a couple of corgis included for good measure , which couldn’t fail to be given the royal seal of approval by the lady herself.

With such praise, sampling a Cake Boy creation is a bit of a must, and for someone who claims to not have a sweet tooth (“You won’t see me snacking on cakes – I love working with them, but not the eating!”), Eric manages to achieve nothing short of patisserie perfection with his creations. From muffins bursting with chocolate, nuts and berries, to tantalising tarts and glimmering gateaux’s adorned with fruit, whatever you’re preference when it comes to cake, Eric Lanlard is most certainly your boy.

Cake Boy is open Monday-Friday 8am-9pm and Saturday 9am-6.30pm.

Unit 2, Kingfisher House, Juniper Drive SW18

(020 7978 5555; www.cake-boy.com)