London's best loaf cakes

A good loaf cake should be reassuring, and make you dream of warm kitchens and home comforts. Here are five brilliant ones to get you through the afternoon

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Give us a swirl: Honey & Co combines chocolate, cinnamon and hazelnut (Picture: Patricia Niven)

Victoria Stewart19 May 2014

Swirly cake, Honey & Co

Made using a kind of babka dough, this is a beast — and one of the best combinations of chocolate, cinnamon and hazelnut in London I’ve ever had. Tear ’n’ share it.

Honey & Co, 25a Warren Street, W1, £3.60/slice or £25/whole, honeyandco.co.uk

Vegetable cake, Lily Vanilli

Gluten-free AND delicious — finally! This one is stunning, made with sweet potato, beetroot, parsnip, and topped with coconut, pecans and edible flowers.

Lily Vanilli, 6 The Courtyard, Ezra Street, E2, £3/slice, open Sundays, lilyvanilli.com

Organic elderflower and marmalade cake, Daylesford Organic

Sticky on the outside, with a pleasantly light and tangy sponge.

Daylesford Farm Shop, 44b Pimlico Road, SW1, £7.49, daylesford.com

Carrot Cake, Mount Street Deli

Moist cake, a hint of cinnamon and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts, plus suitably decadent icing.

Mount Street Deli, 100 Mount Street, W1, £2.95/slice, £28/loaf, themountstreetdeli.co.uk

Battenberg, Melrose and Morgan

Everyone pretends not to like this marzipan-y nostalgia cake — but I loved this exclusive version made for the pop-up at Selfridges.

Melrose and Morgan at Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, W1, £6.50/whole, melroseandmorgan.com