The £5.50 cake people say is ‘perfect’ — but there are rules for buying it

With thousands of cafés, restaurants, and bakeries, there’s so much food to be eaten in London.

And yet, there’s always one dish that seems to be capturing the most attention, one that people will queue for hours to get their hands on.

Right now, the item stirring up a social media frenzy is a chocolate and whipped salted caramel cake.

The decadent treat was created by Edd Kimber, known online as @theboywhobakes, with the recipe featuring in his new cookbook, Chocolate Baking.

To celebrate the book’s launch, Populations Bakery at Corner Shop 180 started selling a version of the cake in March, and it proved an instant hit.

The tempting treat is made with 72% Madagascan chocolate from Pump Street, as well as Marris Widgeon stoneground high-extraction flour from Bruern Farms, and cultured butter by The Estate Dairy.

Because of the use of such high-quality ingredients, a slice doesn’t come cheap, costing £5.50.

But the price certainly hasn’t put anyone off.

When the cake first launched, slices sold out within an hour of being put on the counter. By the end of the month, it was gone in less than 10 minutes.

‘I didn’t see the hype coming,’ George, the founder and head baker at Populations Bakery, tells Metro. 

‘I’ve always operated under a supply of all things being equally popular, and I’ve not experienced one thing being sought after so much.’

Keeping up with increased demand proved tricky during the busy Easter period, so George ultimately decided to remove the cake from the menu for a little while.

‘We’re a small independent business, and everything is made by hand in carefully considered quantities,’ he explained.

‘We want to do Edd’s recipe justice, so it’s been necessary to take the cake off the menu for now, and we’ll bring it back when we are more prepared for it.’

Many sympathised that the team was doing everything they could, but it’s safe to say some didn’t handle the loss of the cake very well.

‘A few people who missed out have gotten rather upset and taken it out on our staff,’ George adds.

But there’s good news for those who have been missing out, as it’s making a major comeback; however, this time, there are rules for buying a slice.

How to buy London’s most viral chocolate cake

The chocolate cake returns to Populations Bakery on April 17, but customers will only be able to purchase a limited number of slices at once.

The chocolate cake will also only be available at certain times of the day.

In a post on Instagram, George said: ‘We are still getting many messages daily about it, and now we are out of the Easter weeds, we’ve decided to bring it back.

‘Available every day from Friday 17, on the counter at Corner Shop 180. It’ll be available from 3 pm on weekdays, and 12 noon on weekends.

‘Limited to two slices per customer and available until sold out.’

The baker continued to say that with every purchase of the cake, they are also offering a 10% discount on Edd’s book.

‘Sorry for the wait and hope you enjoy it as much as I do,’ he added.

What do customers say about the cake?

Foodies have travelled from all over London and further afield in a bid to try this chocolate treat.

Those who nabbed some have hailed it ‘the greatest cake in London’, ‘the perfect chocolate cake’, ‘the hottest cake in the city’, ‘a masterpiece’, ‘amazing’, ‘epic’, and ‘elite’.

With praise like this, it’s no surprise it’s been flying off the counter.

A version of this story was first published on March 20, 2026.

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