Last week I joined a group of hungry food bloggers in the Hotel Cafe Royal penthouse suite for an afternoon of patisserie tasting… it’s a hard life!

Inspired by the month of love, pastry chef Sarah Barber has created six beautiful and luxurious cakes:

• Raspberry lychee & rose tart
• Wild strawberry & Champagne doughnut
• Milk chocolate & lemon verbena candy cane
• Salted caramel tart with chocolate brownie
• Mango & passionfruit dome, lime marshmallow
• Dark chocolate praline cake

Whilst admiring the panoramic views of London, we tasted each cake, washed down with champagne and cups of tea. My favourite was the raspberry tart, which had a lovely flavour and texture. A hint of exotic lychee and floral rose gave a unique freshness to the patisserie that was topped with plump raspberries and decorated white chocolate discs. For chocolate fans I recommend trying the rich Salted caramel tart, which consists of layers of delicious brownie and mousse, and concealed in the centre are tiny golden balls of popping candy.

All the special cakes are available in the hotel cafe until 19th February. More information on the Cafe Royal website here.