MY LONDON | KATH DICKERSON OF KATH'S CAKES
Words by Fiona Symington. Photos courtesy of Kath's Cakes.
MAY 2013.
MAY 2013.
Kath Dickerson talks about her memories of childhood baking, her favourite recipes, and what makes London such an exciting food city.
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“WHAT I love most about cakes is the warmth and comfort that comes from baking. That and putting the cherry on top.” For Kath of Kath's Cakes, these are the joys of her self-described girlie passion. From her small Clapham flat, she regularly whips up all things sweet - cupcakes, layer cakes, for local cafes, weddings and birthdays having turned a once-hobby into a business.
Growing up with a baking mother and memories of her pâtissier grandfather, cakes were simply a way of life. But a desire for more led her to pursue her baking dream professionally four years ago, going part-time from work and regularly attending markets at Balham and Venn Street, Clapham Common.
Her approach to baking is a simple one – fresh ingredients, a decorative flair, and a lot of love. “There aren’t many people who don’t like cake. Baking is about nostalgia and memories of childhood. It makes people happy. One of my best compliments was from an elderly Scottish woman who said that she hadn’t tasted ginger cake like her grandmother’s until she tasted mine.”
But her baking is also about thinking locally, knowing and supporting local food producers. She buys her eggs ten minutes from her home – 200 at a time. It is also about community, like handing out left-over cupcakes during the clean-up after the London riots.
Today she is focussed on events using social media such as Twitter and Facebook. In April, she hosted Pip-Up Pop-Up with Today’s Design Specials. This two-day event brought together 20 emerging artists and designers as well as Kath’s cakes. “People came in off the street. We drew chalk arrows all the way from Brixton market and people came just to see what was at the end of the arrows.” More events are planned with a bigger line-up of artists and more things sweet including breakfast, with the next one scheduled for June/ July.
With dreams of a book and a café sometime in the future, she says this is what is great about London – “It’s forever changing. There is always something totally new going on and there’s a real enthusiasm, especially for baking.”
Growing up with a baking mother and memories of her pâtissier grandfather, cakes were simply a way of life. But a desire for more led her to pursue her baking dream professionally four years ago, going part-time from work and regularly attending markets at Balham and Venn Street, Clapham Common.
Her approach to baking is a simple one – fresh ingredients, a decorative flair, and a lot of love. “There aren’t many people who don’t like cake. Baking is about nostalgia and memories of childhood. It makes people happy. One of my best compliments was from an elderly Scottish woman who said that she hadn’t tasted ginger cake like her grandmother’s until she tasted mine.”
But her baking is also about thinking locally, knowing and supporting local food producers. She buys her eggs ten minutes from her home – 200 at a time. It is also about community, like handing out left-over cupcakes during the clean-up after the London riots.
Today she is focussed on events using social media such as Twitter and Facebook. In April, she hosted Pip-Up Pop-Up with Today’s Design Specials. This two-day event brought together 20 emerging artists and designers as well as Kath’s cakes. “People came in off the street. We drew chalk arrows all the way from Brixton market and people came just to see what was at the end of the arrows.” More events are planned with a bigger line-up of artists and more things sweet including breakfast, with the next one scheduled for June/ July.
With dreams of a book and a café sometime in the future, she says this is what is great about London – “It’s forever changing. There is always something totally new going on and there’s a real enthusiasm, especially for baking.”
EARLY BAKING MEMORIES
My granddad was a trained pâtissier and worked in a bakery in Chiswick, London. He passed his skills onto my Mum; so it’s definitely in my genes. She still has his cake tins and cutters. It was a big thing in my household. I always baked with my Mum and we still do.
MY FAVOURITE BAKE
Black Forest cupcakes. It’s a basic chocolate sponge but you have lovely moist cherries inside. So it’s that wonderful surprise of the cherries and a white fluffy vanilla icing, with cherries and chocolate on top.
I’M CURRENTLY BAKING
I’m experimenting with some new flavours - Indian Chai with cardamom and white chocolate icing. I might do a Thai one with lemongrass and sweet basil. Vegetables are a new passion to bake with like sweet potato.
COOKBOOK I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
Nigella Lawson’s How to be a domestic goddess. It is probably a bit clichéd but some of my now classic recipes come from it – lemon and lime syrup sponge and my all-time absolute favourite, sticky ginger cake with lemon icing.
MY UK FOOD HERO
I’d have to say Nigella, but I’m also a big fan of Cookie Girl. I’ve been following her for years. Similar look to Nigella – all fifties curves. She went from selling cakes door to door, to having a stall on Portobello Road to now supplying Selfridges. She even has her own book. So she’s an inspiration to me.
MY LONDON LARDER
In it, you’d find lots of Thai pastes and Indian curry powders. I grew up in an area of London that had great Indian restaurants and I’ve travelled a lot. So my larder looks like a trip around the world. That’s what I love about London is the variety - you don’t need to go very far to find really good Indian, Caribbean, and Thai ingredients.
FAVOURITE MARKET
Venn Street market in Clapham Common; you get lots of lovely British producers there.
MY GO-TO IN LONDON
My favourite places tend to be in areas of London that you wouldn’t go to except for the food. At the moment I really like Spicy Basil in Kilburn. It’s a really simple Thai restaurant. It’s cheap and the food is incredibly fresh.
LONDON FOOD SCENE
It’s forever changing. There is always something totally new going on and there’s a real enthusiasm, especially for baking. There is a real Britishness to it. It’s all about comfort.
You can find Kath’s cakes at Royal College of Art, Papillon and Bertie and Boo. This weekend she is at 'The Fabulous Feast' on St John's Hill (Saturday 18th May 2013) and hosting her first cupcake decorating class. Her next Pin-Up Pop-Up is planned for June/July 2013.
You can follow Kath and her cakes on www.kathscakes.com and twitter@kathscakes
