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 :)