When you think of traditional British bakes, time-honored desserts made with simple ingredients and passed down through generations. Also known as British pastries, these treats aren’t just food—they’re part of daily life, Sunday rituals, and tea-time comfort. Think buttery scones with clotted cream, dense fruit loaves wrapped in parchment, and the ever-reliable Victoria sponge layered with jam and whipped cream. These aren’t fancy desserts from a five-star hotel kitchen. They’re the kind your grandma made, or the kind you find in a corner bakery in Kentish Town, still warm from the oven.
What makes these bakes special isn’t the sugar or the fancy tools—it’s the patience. A proper scone, a lightly sweetened, flaky quick bread served with tea isn’t made with a food processor. It’s cut by hand, chilled just right, and baked until the edges crisp but the center stays soft. Then there’s the Victoria sponge, a two-layer cake named after Queen Victoria, filled with jam and just enough cream to make it feel like a celebration. It doesn’t need frosting. It doesn’t need sprinkles. It just needs to be eaten the day it’s made. And let’s not forget sticky toffee pudding, a moist date cake drowned in warm toffee sauce, often served with vanilla custard. It’s the dessert you order when you want to feel wrapped in a blanket after a long day.
These bakes live in London’s quiet corners—not the tourist traps on Oxford Street, but the family-run bakeries in Peckham, the old-school tea rooms in Notting Hill, and the markets where the same dough has been kneaded for decades. You won’t find them on Instagram influencers’ feeds unless they’re accidentally caught in the background of someone’s afternoon tea. But if you know where to look, you’ll find them: the ones with the chipped plates, the handwritten signs, and the baker who remembers your name and how you take your tea.
What you’ll find below isn’t a list of recipes you can copy-paste. It’s a collection of real stories—about the people who keep these bakes alive, the places where they’re still made the old way, and the moments when a simple slice of cake became something more. Whether you’re a local who misses the taste of home or a visitor curious about what British tea time really means, these posts will show you the truth behind the crust and the cream.
Discover London’s hidden baking gems - from parkin to stargazy pie - recipes passed down through generations and still baked in homes across the city. These are the desserts that define real British comfort.
