We meet Fifi and Lola in London.
They are a quite mysterious and eccentric duo; the little I know about them it’s been word of mouth, so I’ve decided it was time to ask a few questions myself.
First off: who’s Fifi, who’s Lola? “I’m Fifi and she’s Lola”, they candidly tell me, as if these were their real names. Are they..? “Not really…”.
As I suspected. But the story is more fascinating; in fact, they’re not sisters – as many people have now come to think – “[they] met at university five years ago and have been together ever since”.
I’m curious about the strenghts and the worries about their relationship: are they not afraid that the pressure of working together could somehow ruin their friendship? “Not really. Living together whilst at university meant that we’re used to spending a lot of time together, not to mention studying design courses which are known to be stressfull even at the quietest of times. We have worked together for years, be it baking cakes, making clothes or cooking for hungry students in a tiny dark kitchen! Being friends means that we have similar views on business too, we tend to see eye to eye on most things”.
So here comes the business thing we’re interested in and yes, it’s exactly the baking they mentioned. Fifi and Lola, in fact, are getting more and more attention on them thanks to one little, but quite magical product: fairy cakes. Why fairy cakes? What do they find so special about them, so that they’ve chosen to “devote” themselves to this baking mission? “We find that with fairy cakes, there are no creative limits. There are so many recipes to be tried and tested, and so many variations to experiment with! This baking mission is never ending, as we know that people will always invest in something a little bit selfish, especially in a time of economic struggle. A fairy cake is an instant pleasure, something you can eat all to yourself and enjoy without guilt. We love talking about new recipes, and getting a brief from a client which can leave us frantically texting and emailing each other for days thinking of new cakes that fit the brief! We recently did a Jamaican Jerk Chicken party, and had so much fun coming up with ideas, almost more fun than actually baking the cakes!”
Where does inspiration come from? “We are inspired by all kinds of things, like style and fashion in London. We are surrounded by creative friends, and have worked in the creative industry for a couple of years, which means we see new design and art all the time. Bright colour and bold shapes attract our attention easily, illustration and textiles are also things we find exciting and inspiring. We also love to party, so music plays a big part in our lives. Baking is much more fun with some sweet reggae pumping from the system or some old school RnB and 90s hip hop busting out of the radio!”
These girls are fierce and I knew it all along: on their website (fifiandlola.com) they proudly declare that “[their] fairy cakes are the Brit response to the American cupcake”: how are they so different?! “Our cakes are deliciously different, and those who have tried them will tell you that they are moist, tasty and light. The American cupcake is one that typically is topped with a great swirl of sickly sweet frosting, and the cake gets lost beneath it and is often dry too. Our fairy cakes are slightly more delicate and less intimidating in size. We do love icing, but we feel that the cake underneath is also the star of the show. When a cake tastes delicious, the rest falls into place. Our fairy cakes are light and fluffy with icing that isn’t painfull to bite into, but a pleasure to indulge in!”
I think it’s now time to play a little game and test these ladies’ ability. I suggest they try to win over the palate of some influential people…
What cake would you create especially for…the Queen? “The Queen deserves something special, she is quite a lady! We think she would be partial to a twist on a traditional tea time treat, perhaps a marmalade sponge with fresh buttercream icing and a gold glittery crown on top, or a strawberry jam-filled donut cupcake topped with rocks of sugar!”
And now, let’s try and convince someone that would be ready to stand for the American cupcakes instead: what about Michelle Obama?! “Michelle is a lady of finesse and grace, but we suspect she loves to indulge in delicious delights behind the white house doors… a gooey chocolate cake topped with fresh raspberry cream icing and a little American flag poked into the top! or perhaps a stars and stripes marbled sponge, with blue red and white icing to match!”
Well, I think we’ve been officially tempted, and all that’s left to do is to find out what we should do in order to try one of these deliciousnesses ourselves. “You can either place an order with us by writing to fifiandlola@hotmail.com, or you can keep checking our website and twitter for events that we will be at. There are a few coming up in London in October/November, so keep checking in and come say hello!”.
We definitely will..!
You can find more about Fifi&Lola at twitter.com/fifiandlola, and facebook.com/fifiandlola
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