ONE of my earliest memories is being perched on a step ladder in my grandma’s kitchen lovingly mixing a big bowl of cake batter.

Armed with a wooden spoon, I remember watching carefully as my grandma – a trained baker – weighed out the ingredients on her old-fashioned tin scales, eagerly awaiting my cue to step forth to the mixing bowl, which I would duly lick clean afterwards.

We spent every Saturday morning baking together throughout my childhood; gingerbread men one week, chocolate log the next. And as I grew older I began to appreciate the art of making ‘proper’ cakes and biscuits – and discovered how they should really taste.

But when I want to go out for such treats I head to Chesters by the River, near Ambleside.

This charming cafe, at Skelwith Bridge, is a honeypot for sweet-toothed tourists and locals who know a good cake when they see one.

Lunch offerings are restaurant standard, and while the menu is not extensive it is imaginative, quietly championing local produce.

Such is the popularity of Chesters that our late Sunday afternoon visit meant our first choice of ham hock terrine had sold out, so instead we grazed on baked buffalo mozzarella and parma ham, tomato, olive and rocket salad (£8.75).

A large ball of the mellow cheese arrived wrapped in crispy slices of parma ham atop a pile of peppery rocket leaves.

Deliciously sweet homemade semi-dried tomatoes brought alive the mozzarella, with small spoonfuls of finely diced black olives adding a good salty kick. For the price, I thought a wedge of the eatery’s homemade bread would have been included, but its absence, although a shame, meant more room for pudding.

I would challenge anyone to resist Chesters’ baked offerings, not least because they sit so seductively on shelves behind the counter where they cleverly invite you to make your order.

There are usually around 10 varieties of cakes and traybakes on offer, priced around £3, some recipes of which have not been changed since the eatery opened in 1985.

A hearty chunk of tiffin was my companion’s choice – hailing the chocolatey traybake a triumph packed with biscuit pieces and juicy raisins.

I opted for the timeless classic carrot cake, which I always consider a good test of cake-making skills. Lightly spiced and brimming with walnuts, carrots and raisins, the large slice of moist sponge was a delicious success, although I had hoped for the cream cheese icing that is synonymous with carrot cake instead of the plain icing I got.