The Best Desserts In London Right Now

Sakurado is a Japanese patisserie spot that’s home to the best mochi in London. These palm-sized, beautiful blobs are handmade daily and everything from the glutinous shell to the creative, cream-rich fillings have convinced us that our Little Moons habit was simply nibble training for these elite chewers. We like the fresh zesty mango one best, but whoever decided to cover tiramisu in their perfect rice pastry deserves a raise. There isn’t much seating in the Noughties-boutique-look Shaftesbury Avenue cafe, but it’s ideal for a late-night mochi moment after dinner nearby. 

Le Choux’s counter is a recipe for panic buying. You’ll see the namesake choux lined up uniformly on the Ladbroke Grove bakery’s counter, as well as indulgent cakes and trays of cookies fresh out of the oven, their wafts of butter clouding your judgement. Our advice? Focus on the airy, yet firm choux in flavours like passion fruit that tastes like a Solero in a bun, or monthly specials like apple crumble that delivers the comfort of the warming autumn dessert in two small bites. If you’re a cookie fan, get the well-balanced milk chocolate and sea salt one.

No dough is safe from birthday cake flavouring and no baked good is above having an entire Kinder Bueno shoved into it. So it’s nice to find simple and outstanding cookies like the ones at Juliet’s Quality Foods in Tooting. Not too fat, but not too thin, these cookies have the perfect crust and soft chew. The anzac is our favourite. It’s a cookie with notions of health (oats) but loaded with butter, coconut, and golden syrup. The dark chocolate with gooey marshmallow is also a not-too-sweet masterclass.

Aguamiel is a Mexican churrería in London, and we see the staff here more than our own family. A short walk from Covent Garden, this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spot is ideal for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Churros are fried to order, dusted in cinnamon, and dunked into pink and red sauce cups—the dulce de leche and condensed milk are our favourites. Get the horchata cold brew or the warming cinnamon hot chocolate number too. 

This Greek yoghurt spot in Covent Garden is all about thick, creamy yoghurt (chilled, not frozen) topped with anything from granola to melted chocolate—and it’s one of our favourite spots for something sweet in the area. Our go-to is the ‘rich & creamy’ yoghurt base topped with strawberries, melted chocolate, and chopped hazelnut. They’ve got a couple of tables inside, but when the weather’s nice, walk to Covent Garden’s piazza and perch somewhere there.   

This excellent little bakery-cum-cake-haven is in the middle of a Tottenham industrial estate, where the only influencer present is the neighbouring mechanic’s sassy one-eyed cat. Don’t be put off by the sound of any reversing trucks—the cakes at Prestige Patisserie are hyperbole-inducing works of dulce de leche art. Order the signature medovik cake and the lip-smackingly zesty passion fruit tart, sit in the rustic garden, and have a sincere conversation about mascarpone with the Bake Off: The Professionals husband and wife team who run this place. 

The croissant bread and butter pudding rings in our mind like a siren anytime we’re in the vicinity of this tiny Notting Hill bakery. A slice of the dense, doughy loaf is the kind of sweet brick that could easily be shared—but why share when you can save half for later? That should be your game plan at Kuro Bakery. Stand in the queue, talk loudly about ordering the pain au chocolat to throw everyone else off, and pray that no one takes the last slice of pudding before you order. 

In our former lives we were part of Soho’s Paris commune and we sat in Maison Bertaux all day consuming vast quantities of choux pastry as one of our many lovers compared our eyes to the Seine at night. Is this entirely factual? No. Has Maison Bertaux been a sugary Soho constant since 1871? Yes. The epic hand-piped éclairs come in nostalgic paper cases, the paris-brest is deliriously rich and nutty, and there’s a sweet little tea room that’s perfect for people who love Nancy Meyers interiors.

On sunny afternoons, people spill out of Bennys onto Broadway Market with a scoop of gelato. But you should look past the tempting ice cream display, and order soğuk baklava from the small takeaway dessert spot instead. The chilled baklava is moist (almost soggy, in the best way) and sweet—it’s drenched in a milk-based syrup after baking, rather than a more traditional sugar and honey one. The moreish squares, with layers of filo and chopped walnuts, and a dusting of cocoa powder on top, is what we return for, rain or shine.

Open until 11:30pm nightly, Antepliler Künefe on Harringay’s Green Lanes specialises in künefe. This cheesy pastry bathing in sugar syrup is deservedly the star of its own show. The crispy edges of wiry kataifi pastry (crunchy from the heat of the copper pan that the pud is cooked in) are the best bites. But be aware that even for the greatest of gluttons, this sweet treat feels like a two-person job. Those looking to bounce off the walls of this snug, low-tabled, small-stooled Turkish restaurant can also add a scoop of ice cream or clotted cream on top.

Most of the general public would argue that the Natural History Museum should take the top spot for South Kensington’s most iconic landmark. We’re going to go out on a limb and say that it’s actually Kova’s matcha whole mille crêpes. Both are stunning feats of architecture, but this Japanese cafe’s signature mille crêpe has layers the dinosaurs simply can’t compete with. If matcha isn’t your thing, rest assured that everything from the sea salt cheese lava cake to the soufflé cheesecake here is also a winner.

Konditor is the kind of nostalgic cake shop that’s been around since 1993 and is still a go-to for homemade-tasting bakes. Their signature cake is the Curly Whirly—a dark chocolate sponge with vanilla frosting—but our favourite is the vegan chocolate raspberry velvet cake. The unbelievably moist chocolate sponge has layers of tangy raspberry compote to counteract the richness of the cake—this tastes like a raspberry Mini Roll for grown-ups. Their weekday-only Gray’s Inn shop is our favourite because it has a couple of outdoor tables where you can perch with your cake.

This takeaway gelato spot in Soho has a double pistachio flavour that’s so moreish we wouldn’t be surprised if it was laced with something stronger than the layer of pistachio cream. Every cone and cup here is topped with an additional baby cone, filled with melted chocolate—you know, in case double pistachio and white chocolate gelato isn’t indulgent enough. Pop in for a post-dinner dessert and just know that once you get a taste of their exciting flavours, you’ll be finding excuses to come back for more. 

This Chinatown spot isn’t the only place doing soft serve in London. But it is one of the only places we’ve found that does excellent soft serve with brown sugar tapioca. And it’s a big yes from us. There are four soft serve flavours—vanilla, black sesame, rose lychee, and matcha—which you can choose to have in a taiyaki, a Japanese fish-shaped waffle cone, or in a cup. Either way, it’s great. Our go-to order is the Oreo with tapioca or ‘The Little Mermaid’ with lychee rose.

Doughnuts have always been a constant in our lives. Covered in chocolate, filled with cream, or even just those mini ones from Sainsbury’s. But the doughnuts at the Wandsworth outpost of this bakery are by far some of the best. They change on a regular basis, with flavours like passion fruit or tiramisu. But something you can find on most days is their excellent raspberry jam doughnut. The dough is perfectly fluffy and generously filled with a tangy, tart raspberry jam. This might be the best jam doughnut in London.

If you spend even a minute on this Fulham cake shop’s Instagram page, then you might be tempted to get a Mars Bar brownie, or a chunky NY-style cookie in every flavour. Don’t do that, because the best things here are the cakes. Whether that’s the red velvet cupcake which is the best in London, or the Bad Ass Brownie flavour which is a mixture of chocolate cake and cheesecake that tastes even better than it sounds. The monster-size slices are equally as great and are perfect when you want a couple of flavours to share. 

The old fashioned chocolate cake from L’eto is a four-tier thing of beauty with chocolate cream and raspberry between each cake layer, which is then covered with chocolate glazing and crumbled dried raspberry. It’s moist, plus the fresh raspberries make the richness less overwhelming and add a nice tang. Perfect for anyone who’s been dreaming of that Matilda cake since they were six years-old. There’s plenty of seating in this flower-filled Soho spot, and aside from the moreish chocolate number, there’s a variety of cakes on display so you’ll always find something for everyone.