Delicately Vibrant

 

We first met Liz and Lee last year when they fell in love with our Lily of the Valley cake. Their colours were a very vibrant green which Liz wanted as part of her cake but she also loved the delicate design of this little stunner. While the original is a slightly paler green...

 

 

Liz and Lee's cake was a little further down our Berisfords colour chart, a mixture of Emerald and Meadow. Although this is a vibrantly floral green, the delicate flowers, thin bridal white ribbon with simple spots above it really give the whole cake back it's delicateness while staying true to Liz and Lee's colour scheme.

 

This morning I came in to a lovely email from Liz...

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank you much . Our cake was absolutely delicious .. Lee and I are enjoying the top layer all to ourselves !!

All our guests made lovely complement about  our cake , we told everyone where it was made   Including the hotel staff.
We will definitely recommend you !'
May you continue to make fabulous cakes !"

 

We are so glad that you loved the cake as much as we loved making it!! And I'm so very glad that you got to keep the top tier all for yourself, well Delicious Chocolate orange... I would've too!!

Subtle sparkle and sweeping roses

As long as these handmade roses take to make, they are well worth every second and every last individual painstakingly made and applied petal. Instead of ribbon around the base of the tiers Dawn chose a string of beads which was less intrusive on the design of roses and delicate flowers that cascaded down from the top tier to the bottom.

 

 

We often work on cakes that have designs in a different shade to the base colour itself but sometimes the rich ivory tones, especially the deep middle of the roses which lessens as it reaches the outer petals, just looks so stunning against a colour similar to itself.

 

 

 

We just love the giant roses which seem to sweep as they reach the outer layers and the pretty little clusters of flowers nestled among them, finished with a subtle scattering of sparkle to catch the light.

 

 

Hand tied

Often I come across a wedding that just inspires me so much that I have to go crazy and take many pictures of and then write all about it because it is simply beautiful. (Or maybe it's the exact wedding that I'd have!!)

I met Karly and Andy earlier this year when they told me all about their wedding plans and their desire to have a naked cake- dressed with fresh fruit to compliment their stunningly rustic wedding in a tepee overlooking the welsh hills and the Dee Estuary.

 

Their Uncle had made the cake table and stand which was just gorgeous in real life and we think the cake looked perfectly at home sitting on!

The couple had decorated the tepee themselves, we love the strips of fabric in different designs that were tied around each of the chairs, delicate bunting and pretty lighting that hung around each of the poles.

 

 

For their wedding breakfast, each guest had their very own picnic basket made just for them (I'd love to know what was in the amazing chest at the end of the table!)

 

If it became a little hot inside after the fire pit was lit, and you'd had enough roasting marshmallows, there were homemade seats out on the lawn where you could just enjoy the view.

 

Delicious cordials and mixers sat on another homemade table using large barrels. Alongside the cordials were jugs full of  delicate gypsophila and under the table sat lawn games.

 

The stand of flowers is actually their table plan! Each pot of lightly scented fresh herbs was a table and in each pot sat the flower identities, or... each persons name!

 

A last little look before I left and very happily the sun that had been absent all morning finally arrived!  What a stunning wedding and many thanks to the gorgeous bride and groom for letting us make your cake!

We love it when a plan comes together

Kirsty came in to see us with a very clear idea of the cake that she had in mind, a three tier cake iced in turquoise with a large white bow tumbling down as if each tier was a box and the ribbon bound them all together. This was such a pleasure to make, everything from the locket on an icing chain which we painted in silver and hung from the ribbons after imprinting Kirsty and John's initials on to the surface.

 

 

As with all jewellery boxes there needs to be a gorgeous bit of sparkle in there... And this is no exception; although the sparkle is underneath the cake not inside. Check out the eye wateringly sparkly cake stand from Sapphire Bespoke events(!) We also love the very sparkly Mr and Mrs which lovely Vicky had dressed the table with.

 

This gorgeous table plan from Dragonfly Couture Stationery complimented everything wonderfully; just look at that luscious white ribbon trimming the table names and the rich writing finished with even more sparkle!

The favours were small turquoise boxes with white accents. This gorgeous wedding was a perfect coming together of details which made the entire event a luxury jewelled feast for the eyes- and taste buds!!

 

 

 



Imitation (with a twist!) is the sincerest form of flattery...

We make a lot of cakes and a lot of the time a cake may be based upon the dress, invitations or just complemented by the colour of the ribbons that we use to dress the cake. This week was an unusual one as every one of the three beauties we made this week was based on a cake that we currently have on display in our showroom. It was such a treat to have three cakes that were so closely related to the aging beauties that I see here every day.

First is the lovely and eye catching black and white flowers cake which Nicki fell in love with when she first walked in to the store, their theme was blossom and she wanted shades of burgundy and a little sparkle just like the original.  Nicki and Iain chose a mixture of Vanilla with strawberry preserve and buttercream, Carrot cake with orange cream and red velvet with cream cheese centre! Utterly delicious.

 







                    

  

 

Second this week is our lovely lace cake, lace panels hand with intricate hand cut out details, these are placed and stuck on to the cake and then details are piped over which lifts it off the page and to life. The ivory icing works so well with deep purple or 'blackberry' ribbon; the rich tones work so incredibly well together and the piping gives even more depth.

 

 

 

 

Aaand last but by no means least, the very lovely Sarah who chose our 'cascading roses' cake with peacock coloured roses and flowers to be the amazing contrast to the stunning white roses which sat on an ivory background.

Such a fantastic week of cake. What will next week bring?!

 

 

 

A delicate lacy subject

 

Do I have to choose one of the wedding cakes from your portfolio?

The cakes in our portfolio of designs are mostly there for inspiration although you can pick a cake directly from our work if there’s a cake that is just perfect for you.  Often we take parts of one cake and mix it with another; a little more sparkle here, a little more colour there… A great example is our Lace cake which can be made to compliment your lace dress, with the slightest twinkle to add a little extra depth when the light catches it. Or maybe you prefer more sparkle and your dress and stationery reflect this so you’d love your cake to match?

 

 Above is a close up of one of our stunning lace designs with only a little shimmer on the panels themselves.

 

 On the left is a similar lace design with the odd sparkling gem, this cake was sat on a gorgeous wood table in the window so when the sun shone, the sparkle was beautiful.

The cake on the right is the most sparkly and has lace design on every single tier!! We also changed the depth of the tiers as the original idea was to have different depths for a completely different style of cake, although we have made the cake more uniform with the same sized tiers throughout on a number of occasions. We have also made this cake with the lace overlaid on to very pale pink and very pale blue to compliment invitations which were based on a Wedgewood design. All these tiny changes make for a more personalised cake that is perfect for you and your special day while still sticking close by the design that you fell in love with originally.

 



Northwest Wedding Awards!!

We have amazing news! We have been nominated in the best wedding cake category for the Northwest wedding awards. I can't tell you how happy we would all be here to receive a vote from you. To make it super easy, there is a link to vote Here !!

And to say a thank you in advance...

 

These images of our cakes were taken by the lovely Matt from Maccam who you can find here... photography.http://maccam.co.uk/portrait-photography/

Thanks Matt, a great job done and afternoon had!

A cake of contrasts

A delightful pretty and summery cake with sumptuous swags of icing topped with a cute cake topper. Set against a heavy backdrop of ornate woodwork and dark jade green the swags work beautifully well and the lemon ribbon along with the pastel coloured chrysanthemums give a delicateness to this cake which is curiously, the overpowering feature. 



Chocolate feast for the eyes and tastebuds

Here's a little snap of our newest addition that I must admit smells absolutely divine!! I love the preciseness of the chocolate panels with the rougher look of the fans, hearts and roses. And inside? How about some delicious chocolate orange cake with orange truffle cream centre..?? Don't mind if I do!!

 

And this little cake is a little bit naughty but still a little good for you... Just look at that delicious bright fresh fruit and I love the contrast of the fresh green leaves and again I think that the preciseness of the chocolate cigarellos around the outside finishes the cake off perfectly.

 

Another fresh fruit and chocolate cake with a rougher textured finish. The lady also asked for a savoury treat for her sister so we made a very tasty quiche! Can't describe how tempting this smelled in the store and in the van when delivering!

 

A variation of the wedding cake from above with the precise chocolate panels around the outside and a mixture of hearts, roses, fans and butterflies on top to finish.

 

Another chocolate wedding cake of a different style. Larger wrapped panels of dark and white chocolate finished with fans, hearts and roses.

Perfectly iced cakes need a great base

 

I remember when I first started working at this cake shop with no real experience of how to put a cake together. After being shown for the first time, I practised. And practised, and after a few weeks I was a dab hand. The thing is you see, no matter how good your basic cake icing skills are, they are only as good as the thing that they are icing, in my opinion.

 

 

I lay out the cake filling ingredients; picking only the very best preserves and real butter in the buttercream, which is so creamy and rich and when the gorgeous vanilla is added to the mix I could almost eat it with a spoon!

 

When you think of a cartoon piece of cake, it's usually the jam that's on the bottom and the cream on the top- inside the cake. So that's what we do and that's what I was always taught, and it looks so delicious on cutting a slice!

 

So I usually do this slightly differently but for the purposes of the picture it was easier to show this way. I keep the cream layer as flat as possible and spread it out. Placing the top piece of cake over this, I then coat the entire outside of the cake; this allows the icing to stick better to the base.

 

 

And above is the finished article! A perfectly flat base ready for icing.

 

Carrot cake using deliciously fresh oranges in the buttercream to compliment the delicate notes of citrus inside the cake.

 

And the perfectly flat base, ready for icing.

 

Lastly our truly decadent chocolate cake with truly lovely chocolate Baileys ganache ready to be put together.

 

I remember 6 years ago we had a really lovely girl who came over to help us out for three months, which was excellent. My station in the kitchen was first and foremost the decorator and the icer of cakes and so used to having perfectly flat cakes was I that it was a shock when someone new who was as fresh as I had once been was passing me the cakes that she had been filling. It is always worth sending back- or redoing the work if you haven't got an entirely perfect cake base to begin with. She learned fast by the way and took her newfound skills back to Ireland after completing a few cakes completely by herself (!) under my amazing previous boss' and my tutelage. Her gorgeous handbag that she took home for her Mum's Birthday particularly sticks in my mind and still makes me feel slightly proud! :)

If you'd like any information on our cake decorating for beginners courses, please contact me for more information.

 

Jen :)

 

 

Cakes are like buses...

Please forgive me for the time between our last post and this one. A lot has happened and a lot of cakes have been made! I think with the wait, it is only fair to post more than one... So here goes!

 

 

What can I say?! I am a very proud little cake nerd. This cake was purely for fun and it will stay on display in the showroom and one day people will just stop noticing this little blue box of cake. And there it will sit on our shelf and fade in the sun. 

 

A close up of our applique lace work, the gorgeous bride had sparkle in her dress so we added some sparkle into the flower centres, we think it looked so very pretty.

 

Eat yourself healthy with this indulgent chocolate and fruit cake. We cannot promise that the inside (or actually the outside) is completely healthy but it is very tasty!!

 

Gorgeous little cherry blossom cake for Katie's 9th Birthday. We love the perfect contrast between the shades of pink and blue which works so well.

 

Victoria's winter wedding was stunningly frosty. This beautiful little cake had hand piped snowflakes painted with sparkle which glistened like real snow in the light. Just perfect and I will put a full post about this stunner later on... (or checkout Facebook where you can see the Bride and Groom cutting the cake!)

 

The little golf bag and golf clubs are the crowning glory of this cake however Charlie wasn't happy at all as apparently golfers do not like it when it is suggested that they cannot play golf; as is evident by golf balls all over the green. Sorry Charlie, they were from the last player. Your ball was in the hole. :)

 

Two weeks ago we got a call from a lovely lady who wanted a next day treat for her sister's Birthday! So we put together this sumptuous chocolate cake, covered with chocolate ganache swirls and piled on the fresh fruit. She also asked for something savoury, so we made a ridiculously tasty quiche.  That was a hard delivery as the smell was amazing, fruit, chocolate, bacon... I was in heaven and so tempted to take a sneaky slice. But I didn't.

 

I went back to school to learn how to make this. School on YouTube that is. I had completely forgotten how to use an abacus. There are different ways of making Tom's age, and in fact, there is an easier way than the one that I used but aesthetically we thought it worked this way, and luckily so did Tom's friend. But, my question is... how old is Tom?!