1 BAKING ~ DECORATING ~ SHARING ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013 !e ValentinSPECIAL FEATURE: SELL OUT BAKING SHOW HEADS TO MANCHESTER 5-7 APRIL 2013 Coection HEART IN A CUPCAKE TUTORIAL EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR CAKE MASTERS READERS SHOW TICKETS FOR £10 + CHANCE TO WIN AN IPAD MINI! Mary Berrys Mini Banoffee Pies Recipe y’
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Transcript
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BAKING ~ DECORATING ~ SHARINGISS
UE
7 FE
BRUA
RY 2
013
!e ValentinesSPECIAL FEATURE:
SELL OUT BAKING SHOW HEADS TO
MANCHESTER5-7 APRIL 2013
Collection
HEART IN A CUPCAKE TUTORIAL
EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR CAKE MASTERS
READERSSHOW TICKETS FOR
£10 + CHANCE TO
WIN AN IPAD MINI!
Mary Berrys Mini Banoffee Pies Recipe
y’
2
Fro
m t
he
Editor
ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
BAKING ~ DECORATING ~ SHARING
Welcome to the February issue of Cake Masters magazine where the theme is LOVE!
As February is the @me of the month where love seems to be in the air, we have a very special feature on Valen@nes cakes. This also @es in nicely with the announcement of our Valen@nes Professional and Hobby Baker compe@@on winners. It was very difficult to decide in the professional category, the standard was just so high! Thank you to everyone who entered, the designs this year were superb!
An extra special highlight of this edi@on of the magazine is a full briefing on what the Cake & Bake Show in Manchester has in store for us in April. We caught up with the organisers who told us all about the special features of the show -‐ there really are some great ones!
You all must enter the Cake Catwalk Compe@@on at the show, where your cake designs will go on an actual Catwalk! The other exci@ng feature is the gingerbread village where you are given a plot to design your own gingerbread house which will make up part of a huge village. The guys at the show have been extra nice and are offering £10 @ckets to the show in Manchester as well as being entered into a draw to win an iPAD mini EXCLUSIVE to Cake Masters fans and readers only.
We have tutorials, an excellent column this month, the Alterna@ve AZernoon Tea with Jen, an exclusive recipe from Mary Berry’s new book and much more.
I really hope you enjoy this edi@on of Cake Masters Magazine
Manchester Cake & Bake Show Overview ~ Page 4Tutorial: Heart in a Cupcake ~ Page 9Feature: Alternative Afternoon tea with Jen ~ Page 15Interview: The Chocolate Strawberry ~ Page 18Feature: Little Angel’s Cakes ~ Page 22Event: Hospice Bake Off for Young Women ~ Page 23Spotted: Ana Parzynch Cakes ~ Page 26Tutorial: Eiffel Tower Cupcake ~ Page 27Interview: Fat Cakes ~ Page 30Competition: Fairytale Cakes~ Page 36News ~ Page 37Guest Columnist:Hannah from Made with love by me ~ Page 38Competition: Floral Cupcakes ~ Page 39Feature: The Colour of Love ~ Page 40Interview: Mary Berry ~ Page 43Recipe: Mary Berry’s Mini Banoffee Pies ~ Page 44Winners: Valentines Competition ~ Page 46Feature: Valentines Special 48
Valentines Showcase
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
Show Feature
Cake & Bake Show heads to Manchester!
Following a sell out launch show in London last year, the cake and bake show is back this year for an extravagant show. We caught up with the organisers earlier this months to find out all about what to expect at the Manchester show There’s so much going on during this three day cake extravaganza, we’ve summarised a few of the highlights below:
WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE SHOW• See all your favourite celebrity bakers and cake stars
live on stage -‐ from Paul Hollywood to Mich Turner and Eric Lanlard
• Nowhere else can you see this many of the industry’s leading stars all in one place!
• Get inspired by and involved in one of the feature stands – including Lakeland, Squires Kitchen, Dr Oetker and Bakingmad.com
• Enjoy family fun for budding bakers – from gingerbread decora-ng with Billington’s to family bake offs with Paul Hollywood and interac-ve free sessions with Grainchain.com
• Learn new skills from the experts in live demo classes – from macaron masterclasses to cake pain-ng demos
• See all the leading sugarcraQ arRsts under one roof and book a session in the SugarcraQ Academy – learn direct from the likes of cake queen Mich Turner and royal icing expert Ceri Griffiths
• Taste your way around the country’s top arRsan bakers and cake makers – from cakes and breads to brownies and pies
• Source the latest tools of the trade from the country's top suppliers – from leading sugarcraO suppliers to bakeware specialists including all the latest innova-ons from Lakeland
BUY TICKETS NOW:SPECIAL TICKET PRICE OFFER
£10 + Entry into a prize drawn for an iPad Mini EXCLUSIVE to Cake Masters fans only
also available, which allows visitors the chance to guarantee a seat in the first few rows of the main stage demonstraRons, as well as gebng them fast track
entry into the show
BUY TICKETS NOW:
SPECIAL TICKET PRICE OFFER £10 + Entry into a prize drawn
Show FeatureBaking with Paul Hollywood & Grainchain.com Join Paul Hollywood as he judges a programme of live bake offs for families and schools on the Friday of the show! Other great family-‐focused free sessions will be hosted by Grainchain.com on Saturday & Sunday.
BUY TICKETS NOW:
SPECIAL TICKET PRICE OFFER £10 + Entry into a prize drawn
for an iPad Mini EXCLUSIVE to Cake Masters fans
only
Code Cakemasters10
The Exhibi<onOffering a one stop shop for those wishing to source all the latest tools of the trade from the country's top suppliers, with a host of fun, free interacRve features from leading brands in the industry including Neff, Dr Oetker, Squires Kitchen.
Lakeland Interv
iew Stage & Fe
ature
stand
Don't miss this
chance to quiz
your
favourite bakin
g stars on Lake
land’s
feature stand,
which will also f
eature live
demonstraRons sho
wcasing the lat
est
product innov
aRons for the b
aking
and cake decor
aRng market fr
om
the experts at
Lakeland!
MarketplaceTaste your way around the country’s top arRsan bakers and cake makers in The Cake & Bake Show Marketplace, where you will find market stalls showcasing enough freshly baked produce to saRsfy even the most insaRable food lover.
Wedding dress from Heavenly Brides
The Wedding Showcase
A team of leading sugar
craQ experts will be
working throughout t
he
show to create a stun
ning
display of wedding
themed sugar craQ.
Book Signings with WHSmithMeet the star speakers and buy signed copies of all the latest baking books on the WHSmith stand.
The ClassroomsThe Classrooms offer the chance to learn direct from the experts in a more focused sebng, with 30 minute demonstraRons held in enclosed classrooms, covering a wide range of subjects from sugarcraQ skills to macaron masterclasses. Pre booking required!
PLAN AHEAD – BOOK CLASSES & SUGARCRAFT SESSIONS NOW!
PHOTO: Gingerbread Willy Wonker creation from Wicked Goodies
*WIN*£150 cash PLUS a MASTERCLASS
with Master PaRssiere Eric Lanlard (worth £195)
GIANT GINGERBREAD VILLAGE
A giant, whacky wonderland inspired Gingerbread Village has to be one of our favourite features planned for the Manchester Cake & Bake Show!
As well as an impressive 7 foot high gingerbread house, commissioned especially for the event, there will be a display of biscuit buildings and village features created by gingerbread fanaRcs around the country who are being invited to display their designs as part of a compeRRon sponsored by Billington’s.
But this won’t be the usual fesRve themed display of gingerbread houses, as entrants are being asked to take inspiraRon from childhood memories of the edible creaRons in Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Hansel and Gretel to create unique candy clad construcRons!
CompeRtors are invited to enter their plans for individual ‘plots’ in the village online, from which the organisers will select the most promising entrants to come to the show to create the ‘village’. Judges will be looking for creaRvity and design and so the only real limitaRons are the size of the plot – 12 x 12 inches, with entrants free to create any structure from gingerbread -‐ not just houses, with landscaping and gardens etc encouraged.
Categories:
• Adults
• Juniors
Click here for full compeRRon guidelines
NEED INSPIRATION?To get you all fired up, take a look at these
There’s no denying cake is definitely ‘en vogue’ at the moment! So it seems fibng that the Cake & Bake Show’s official compeRRon for Manchester is themed ‘Cake on the Catwalk’ and will see compeRtor’s fashion themed creaRons given their own stage at the event in the form of a purpose built ‘cake catwalk’!
Sponsored by Stork, the compeRRon is open to non professionals and juniors (under 18), while the professional category is themed ‘vintage couture’.
Runway photo from Bravoe Runway Vintage couture from Heavenly Vintage Brides Cake sketches from Ana Parzych CakesCakes on the Catwalk Hey there, Cupcake!, The Clever Little Cupcake Company, Consumed By Cake, Cake Land by Nivia
*PRIZES*Win up to £250 in cash and £100’s of
Pyrex Bakeware, plus see your cake featured in delicious.magazine!
COMPETITION DETAILS
To enter, simply submit your plans online for a fashion inspired cake, selecRng either non professional or junior (under 18). The Professional category (defined as those people engaged in the commercial sale of bakery products or a baker/cake decorator employed by such a business) is themed ‘vintage couture’ and the judges will be looking for designs inspired by vintage styles, encompassing the romanRc charm which
epitomises the principles behind vintage couture design.
GUIDELINES
Refreshingly there are very few guidelines, as the organisers say they do not want to restrict entrant’s creaRvity…as long as it’s edible, with no dummy cakes used (but internal supports are permieed), and fits within a base area of 16 x16 inches, then your imaginaRon is the only limit!
CATEGORIES• Professional Category• Non Professional Category• Junior Category (under 18)
JUDGESThe judging panel will include Elizabeth Solaru of Cake Emporium, whose catwalk inspired cake creaRons are regularly featured in the press; Karen Barnes, editor of delicious. magazine, as well as experts from Stork’s baking team. CLICK HERE FOR FULL COMPETITION GUIDELINES
NEED INSPIRATION?
take a look at some of the catwalk inspired creaRons by Elizabeth
Ingredients 6oz Self Raising Flour4 oz Softened Butter1 tsp Baking Powder6oz Caster Sugar2 Large Eggs (Free Range)6 tbsp MilkFinely grated rind of a large unwaxed lemon + juice from one lemon (or to taste)
Method:Preheat oven to 180 C/gas mark 4.
Tip all cake ingredients into large mixing bowl and beat for 2-‐3 minutes; mixture will drop easily off spoon.
Spoon mixture into tin and smooth with back of spoon. I use
an oblong tin which measures 9″ x 8″, lined with baking parchment. You could also use a round tin.
Bake for 30-‐40 minutes until golden & firm to the touch.
Cool in tin & slice.
Step 1Make your cupcake batter using the Easy Peasy Lemon Squuezy Cake recipe. You can use any light coloured sponge recipe, although you should make sure it is a moist recipe and not too dry!
What you will need:
Light coloured
sponge Pink colou
ring
Small bowl
Small heart cutter
Muffin Cases
Baking tray
Step 2Once you have made your batter, separate a 1/3 of it into a small bowl. Cling film the remaining batter mix and leave to one side. Use food colouring or natural alternatives to dye the 1/3rd you have just separated to the colour of your choice. I’ve chosen pink for my hearts.
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
Step 3Grease the base/sides of a square, (any shape will do, i just preferred square for doing this) deep baking tray and pour in the coloured mixture to a depth of a couple of centimeters. Use your judgement here, you are looking for a risen depth that will fit into your cupcake cases, whilst leaving room for the non dyed batter as well.
Pop the baking tray into the oven at the temperature the recipe suggests. Take the cake out as soon as it is firm enough to handle being cut into. Try and avoid baking for the full suggested recipe time if you can. Keep testing it so that you can remove from the oven the second it is firm enough to cut.
Once firmed take the cake out of the oven and leave to cool completely. Popping it into the fridge will speed the process up.
Step 4Use a small heart shaped cutter to cut out shapes from the coloured cake. Pop in the fridge to cool, or even freeze for 30 minutes to help prevent overcooking when you re-‐bake them.
Step 5Place your cupcake cases into your muffin tin. Remove the clingfilm from your 2/3rd non dyed batter and spoon a dollop into the base of each case.
Take each heart and stand it vertically (point to the base) into the dollop of batter. Then spoon a dollop of batter on either side of the heart. Make sure your batter reaches roughly the half way mark of the cupcake, high enough to support the heart, but remembering that the batter will rise!
Remember you want the batter to rise OVER the top of your heart so add enough to achieve this. You can also add a dollop of batter over the top of the heart to help.
Travel ~ Taste ~ TryFeatureby Jennifer DeGuzman-RolfeJen’s Just Dessertswww.jensjustdesserts.co.uk
I'm sat here wriRng this aQer having enjoyed the most gorgeous aQernoon tea (AT) in a land far, far away... So HELLLLOOOO from my ValenRne's sweetheart (my lovely husband Mark -‐ pictured on the right) and me. I really can't wait to write about my special ValenRne's Day AT, as I have so much to share with you about the fabulous "ALTERNATIVE AFTERNOON TEAS" I have recently indulged in London. I'm dubbing them 'alternaRve ATs' because these parRcular opRons are not your run-‐of-‐the-‐mill finger sandwiches, scones and cakes, which are obviously wonderful in their own right, but why don’t you judge for yourself.
A"ernoon Tea wi# JenTHE ALTERNATIVE
So, my cakey pal Allison, from Lets Eat Cupcakes, recently celebrated her big 4-‐0 and I thought that the Madhaeer's Tea at the Sanderson Hotel in Soho would be the perfect giQ for her. From the moment we were shown to our table, we just knew it would be special. The whole experience was very "wonderland-‐y" -‐ from the
menus provided in vintage books, to the way the tea choices were presented in preey glass jars. Ooh and the teapots, teacups and saucers were just so whimsical in keeping with the 'Madhaeer' theme. The pièce de résistance was most definitely the presentaRon of the AT cake stand filled with gorgeous and magical-‐
looking goodies. The savoury opRons were plenRful, including a selecRon of ham and cheese scones; mini-‐quiches and sweets were seriously UH-‐MAZ-‐ING! We loved the 'drink me' poRon and the totally fun meringue mushrooms and carrots. The best thing was that everything really did taste as good as it looked!
Featureby Jennifer DeGuzman-RolfeJen’s Just Dessertswww.jensjustdesserts.co.uk
Just when we thought we couldn't eat any more... you know how some other AT places give you the opRon of selecRng from a cake trolley? Well, this 'Madhaeer' tea allowed for a selecRon from a JELLY CART! Of course, we had to sample these, so yes, we had a variety of different flavours including pineapple, banana and rhubarb -‐ again, just so different to your usual AT!! My favourites from this alternaRve, and slightly mad AT were the green tea
mousse and the mango/white chocolate cake. I was also pleasantly surprised by the yummy mini-‐quiches and the really light, refreshing rhubarb and custard tea. I'm already looking forward to my return visit here, as it's definitely somewhere I'll be coming back to again and again!
If you really want an alternaRve AT in London -‐ perhaps something for the special fella in your life -‐ then look no further than the Sanctum Soho Hotel. I say it's an AT for 'your fella' just because what they have to offer is called the'Gentleman's AQernoon Tea,' – I'm certainly no gentleman and I totally enjoyed it! Can you believe this special AT starts off with oysters!! So, how does this menu sound to you?Poached oyster with bloody mary relish / Seared steak with peppers and mushrooms on toasted sourdough / Mini smoked salmon, caviar and watercress bagel -‐ as
the first course. Lamb and potato hotpot / Mini Sanctum beef burger with mustard seed relish / Rabbit, panceea and leek pasty / Roast beef and horseradish stuffed Yorkshire pudding -‐ as the second course.And you do also get something sweet, as well: Twice baked chocolate fudge cake with Jack Daniels Ice Cream.Oh, did I menRon that you also get a lil' tankard of Jack Daniels, as well as a mini-‐cigar!? See what I mean? This AT is all served in private booths in the very cool but casual hotel restaurant. You don't
need to be a gent to enjoy this alternaRve AT, but just in case this doesn't float your boat, you do have the opRon of ordering a 'tradiRonal aQernoon tea,' (which was also delicious...!) but don't you get ever so slightly (or very) jealous when your dinner date orders' the beeer meal'! In this case, although the tradiRonal AT was enjoyable, the Gentleman's AT was just so much BETTER!! I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to treat a special man -‐ or yourself! -‐ to a really unique AT experience.
StrawberrySarah is one of those bakers where you can instantly recognise her cakes purely through the hand cut nature and designs of her decorations.
Cake Masters loves the cakes that Sarah creates and presents in a beautiful way - we are total fans of the rather amazing Chocolate Strawberry!
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Interview
Q: Tell us about you and your family
I’m 42 (which looks quite scary when it’s wriaen down) married with five year old twins. We live very happily in a sleepy village in The Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. I’ve always loved food and food presenta@on, so discovering cake decora@ng has opened up a whole new world to me.
Growing up, cooking and family meals were hugely important. Now I have my own family, we also live in the kitchen and our children love to cook and now decorate cakes too. At five years old, they think that I am capable of making any structure that they can imagine in cake and request more and more complex designs on a daily basis!
InterviewQ: What is your earliest memory of baking?
My earliest memory is baking with my Gran, who made everything by hand and baked on an almost con@nual basis. Her ‘signature dish’ was a cake that we called ‘Granny West’s Find The Jams’, but I think are really called ‘Maids of Honour’. Shortcrust pastry, jam in the boaom and sponge on top. Intensive training for me on this dish started at around four years old. If any of my family ever went abroad in the 1970s, they were packed off with an old Quality Street @n packed with “Find the Jams”, so that they had something to eat on the plane. They were so good that they were oZen handed out through cabin.
When she died, the whole family scaaered her ashes in Welsh waterfall and I (on my Dad's sugges@on) produced a large @n of “Find The Jams” for the occasion, which would have made her laugh a lot I think.
Q: What is your baking story, how did you get into baking?
Having stopped work in 2007 to bring up our long awaited twins, I had started to lose myself a bit and the thought of returning to work almost five years later was frankly terrifying.
Since we’ve had the children we have moved to an area which is incredible to live in, but work is thin on the ground. I thought I might be able to do something with
my love of cooking and signed up for a course preparing people to start their own business.
At the end of the 12 week course, I decided that I would set-‐up a small outside catering business. The fashion for cupcakes started me baking and the general catering disappeared. Within a year I had discovered all the extra decora@ng space you get with celebra@on cakes and now am a complete convert.
It's been a huge learning curve with long hours spent studying tutorials, experimen@ng with recipes and decora@on techniques. Talking to other cake makers had been a massive help. I have found the industry to be generally very generous with advice and encouragement.
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
InterviewQ: When did you decide to start the Chocolate Strawberry?
The business started a couple of months aZer I finished my business course start up course. I had to take my food hygiene exam first and I aaended a basic book-‐keeping course (not that you'd know it). I actually found that I was making excuses not to start it through nerves. Eventually my course tutor gave me a talking to and pointed out that all the prepara@on was great, but eventually I did actually have to cook something for somebody....I then started almost immediately supplying a local cafe with cakes and luckily was able to work every week of the first year of business. Why is your business called The Chocolate Strawberry?
I have an instantly forgeaable name myself, so I wanted an image that people could remember. The Chocolate Strawberry sounds delicious and creates an instant picture in your mind. Customers don't need to remember that my name is Sarah to recommend the business. I get a lot of compliments about the name, so I think I've made the right choice.
Q: What has been the most difficult cake you have made?
I think the most difficult cake to make was my 'Funny Liale Tortoise' cake because it was unlike anything that I had done before, but I enjoyed every minute. It wasn't actually that technically difficult, but I was so nervous that I might not be able to make it work. I really didn't want to create a 'cartoon' type animal. Q: What cake has meant the most to you?
The cake that meant the most was 'Our Story'. I made a wedding cake based on the story of how my husband and I met and married. We chose the colours and the wording together and the whole process was really enjoyable. What has been your best achievement to date?
The 'Our Story' cake was featured by Conde Nast's Bride magazine straight away. I don't think I've ever felt so proud of anything else I've done professionally. It's s@ll featured by Brides on-‐line now and s@ll brings in enquiries from all over the country. I have also had lots of cake makers asking for permission to reproduce the design, which is incredibly flaaering.
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Sarah with her husband >>
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
InterviewQ: Is there anyone you would like to say thanks to?
There are so many people that I need to say thank you to for suppor@ng me through the first two years. Firstly my husband -‐ it's a massive change to our lifestyle running a business from the house. At @mes it's been incredibly trying, messy and expensive,but we have now sorted out some sort of rou@ne and things run much more smoothly.
Our parents have also been a huge help offering everything they can from child-‐care to emo@onal support on the days that you find you aren't 'living the dream'.
Rosie at Cake Masters, who rang me at home to discuss my work within a few months of me star@ng to make cakes and who has supported me throughout.
Hundreds of other cake makers for advice and friendship, but one s@cks out more than any other for believing I could make it as a cake designer when I said I never would, is Lou at Cake-‐y-‐licious.
Lastly, i would like to thank Miranda Jenkins and The Dean Entrepreneurs scheme, without which there would be no business at all.
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
Feature
Little Angels cakes has been set up using cake makers and bakers across the UK to help make free cakes for children with life threatening conditions.
We caught up with Lucy Kelsall Founder of Little Angels’ Cakes to find out more...
Little Angels’ Cakes
Q: What inspired you to start Little Angels’ CakesLittle Angels’ Cakes started from a very simple idea. After gaining inspiration from Icing Smiles in the USA and searching for something similar in the UK.
At first I didn’t think many people would be interested and thought it would take months to get people on board, but after a few messages to other cakey people, it was clear that people wanted to be involved. After the death of my brother in law, it hit me just how important a little love and care can help someone with a life threatening illness, although my brother in law wasn’t a child, it was still heart breaking when he finally passed away after his battle with cancer. He loved it when I took him a box of cupcakes or sweet treats and always asked for more!
After seeing several posts about children with life threatening illnesses and the effect a cake or a gift could have on these children; I wondered if I could be able to help in some way. That’s when I read up
about Icing Smiles in the USA, I then knew I had to do this.
I have some very close cakey friends who were willing to help out - all had either wanted to do a similar thing or had a loved one with a life threatening illness. Q: How people can get involvedTo bake cakes for us you need to be registered with Environmental Health at your local Council. We still welcome hobby bakers to join in with our fund raising events, donation of ingredients and delivering of cakes. We also ask for all members of the public to help support us and spread the word. Q: Where did your first cake go?Our first cake was donated on the 2nd February 2013 for a little girl called Ava Scott. Ava Scott is a beautiful little girl who has recently been diagnosed as having a Ewing's Sarcoma, a cancerous tumor in her leg.
A cake was requested for her glitter ball fund raising event and as Ava loved Katie Perry, the theme had to be around that. The cake was
donated by Wendy Pitts from Angel Cakes of Warrington.
A special thanks to Nina Rogers, Melanie Lauven, Zoe Canies Leonard Kirstie Cracknell and all our sponsors for giving their time and resources to make this happen.
SIGN UP TO HELP OUT
Above: Ava receiving her cakeBelow: Ava with Gary Barlow
Those of us who love baking will understand the joy of having some“me time” and the sensory pleasures gained from creating something delicious. It is these things, and much more, for 5 young women who visit young adult’s hospice, Douglas House, in Oxford.
On 5 February, with some assistance, they took part in the
‘Douglas House Bake Off’ judged by professional cake maker and decorator, Tracey Mann and Alison Gomm from the event sponsors, Oxford based interna@onal economics consultancy Oxera.
The event was the inspira@on of keen baker Fleur Perry, 23, from Wiltshire, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy and visits Douglas House for respite care. Her condi@on means that it can be very difficult geqng together with friends to share in such an ac@vity, but coming to Douglas House, a modern, hotel-‐style building built specifically to
cater for the social, physical, emo@onal and medical needs of young adults with life-‐shortening condi@ons, gives her the opportunity to enjoy what a lot of us take for granted, whilst having her specialist medical needs looked aZer.
Above: Douglas House, Oxford Above: Event inspiration by Fleur Perry with helper Jackie
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
Event
Fleur, 22, is a vibrant young woman who lives in Swindon
with her parents. She has been visiRng Douglas House for
over 2 years and has a condiRon called Spinal Muscular
Atrophy (Type 2).
She has a passion for the sciences and holds 5 A-‐levels in
Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Ancient
History, with AS levels in Spanish and Earth Science and
GCSEs in Astronomy and LaRn -‐ and she hasn’t stopped
there! She is working towards a degree in natural sciences
with the Open University.
Fleur Perry
Fleur made smiling cupcakes, with a homemade jam smile inside when you cut it open.
Lizzie, 23 from Burnham, Slough, has been visiRng
Douglas House since 2011.
She loves baking and oQen baked with her Nanny. ‘As a
liele girl I used to make cherry and coconut rock cakes
with Nanny Joan. Sadly she died last September just 5
days before my grandpa so I am making them for the
Bake Off in memory of her.’
Gemma Orton, 27, is an arRst from Aeleborough in
Norfolk. She has been visiRng Douglas House for about
four years and has a condiRon called Spinal Muscular
Atrophy.
Gemma achieved a BA (Hons) in Design CraQs at
LowestoQ, an MA in TexRle Culture at Norwich University
College of the Arts and is a member of Aeleborough
‘CraQers’. Gemma is interested in art, fashion, theatre,
craQs and baking. ‘Baking is an opportunity to be
creaRve. It's great to start with a few ingredients, and at
the end you have a tasty treat. I loved seeing all the
various bakes and creaRons, and most importantly,
tasRng them!’ Gemma made her Eton Mess cupcakes for
the ‘Bake Off’.
GemmaOrton
Gemma made Eton Mess Cupcakes
Meet the Bakers
LizzieWaddingtonLizzie made cherry and coconut rock cakes in memory of her Nanny
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
Charlie, 18 has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 and lives
with her Mum, Dad and brother Adam in Northampton.
She has been coming to Helen and Douglas House since
she was 5 years old, recently making the transiRon to
Douglas House for young adults.
Charlie currently aeends college, studying acRng at level
2. She hopes to gain a merit at the end of the course so
she can progress to study musical theatre, one of her
passions, the other being baking.
Charlie Walter
Charlie made Tiramisu
Kerri, 26, from Hungerford, in Berkshire, has been visiRng Douglas House for 4 years and has a condiRon causing mulRple brain and spinal tumours.
She completed her GCSE’s in art and music and loves drawing and singing. With her art, she has specialised in making rugs and decoupage and is currently trying to start her own business selling her work.
Kerri’s entry was quite quirky. Her recipe, “Fish Cakes”, was a rather surprising entry for the cupcake/muffin category. But they were actually sweet cakes decorated to look like goldfish!
Kerri HunterKerry made cupcakes decorated to look like goldfish
All the girls were winners but a winner and runner up had to be chosen. Gemma won with her Eton Mess cupcakes and Kerri was runner up with her ‘fish cakes’. All the young women received a signed copy of Tracey’s latest book ‘Bake Me I’m Yours -‐ Chocolate’, vouchers from John Lewis and a giQ box of cosmeRcs donated by our wonderful supporters.
Kate Barklie from the Douglas House Care Team and organiser of the event said; ‘I really enjoy organising events that paRents can take part in with staff. The bake-‐off was a first for us and we did it on a grand scale with special aprons made for the contestants, bunRng donated from the
Oxford BunRng company, beauRful tea-‐sets loaned to us from our charity shops and 5 ovens sponsored by Oxera. As a team we love to make something happen that a guest has asked for and make it an amazing and special event for them.’
AQer a tour of both Helen House for children and Douglas House for young adults, Tracey Mann said; ‘I didn’t know what it would be like, but it was amazing – it really is such a posiRve environment. The guests are made to feel so welcome and all their needs are taken into account and they are treated as independent individuals. I have had a wonderful day.’
<<Tracy Mann with Kerri
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ISSUE 6 JANUARY 2013
SpottedAna Parzych Cakes
We love it when designers work to sketches and then create masterpieces out of sugar. Ana Parzych is a master of just that, and creates absolutely stunning cakes.
Step 4Thin out the bronze luster dust with vodka and brush onto the details.
Step 3Using the Royal Icing in piping bag with a #1 tip, pipe the outline and details on the tower. Let it dry (... again)
Step 5Thin out the bronze luster dust with vodka and brush onto the details.
Final stepPlace your decorated towers onto your cupcakes!
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
MEET
Mia From
Fat Cakes
Mia is an awesome baker and cake designer. Her cakes have the impact which wow people from across the globe and are designed and executed to a very high standard.
We interviewed Mia to find out more about the person behind the cake.
Interview
Q: Tell us about you and your family
I am 35, I live in a small busy house in Sussex on the south coast with my three young children Harry (he hates cake), Marshall (he wants to work for me one day) and Emalyn (she eats all the offcuts) my lazy cat and three chickens. They all drive me crazy, but they are my world! I have an allotment which is my escape place but haven't had the chance to get over there much since I became Fat Cakes, I feel like I've been permanently in the kitchen for the last 18 months!
InterviewQ: What is your earliest memory of baking
I loved baking rock cakes and scones as a child, but then didn't dabble with baking again un@l I had children of my own. Unhappy with the quality of supermarket cakes (I am a perfec@onist!) I started making my children's birthday cakes 8 years ago. They had many experimental buaercream extravaganzas! It wasn't un@l my daughter's first birthday in 2010 that I tried covering a cake with sugarpaste for the first @me and I have been hooked ever since.
Q: What is your baking story, how did you get into baking?
Baking for family soon turned into baking for friends and when friends of friends started to ask for cakes I thought that geqng some cards made might look beaer than scribbling my phone number on a scrap of paper, so I needed a name...this was the start of it all.I had some cards made, my Facebook page was born and I have just been trying to keep up with it all ever since! I have always been drawn to art and anything crea@ve and got a dis@nc@on in sculpture at art college. I then went on to do a degree in interior architecture
where I loved thinking three dimensionally and enjoyed playing with colour. I then had various customer service jobs for years just to pay the bills as I didn't know how to make a living from anything ar@s@c. To be honest I s@ll don't make a living from it but at least I am happy!
Q: When did you decide to start Fat Cakes?
This was in August 2011 so just 18 months ago. It more sort of happened to me rather than me actually making any decisions!
I had to leave my part @me job at Sainsbury’s due to a change in circumstances and have been making cakes full @me ever since. It’s as if it was meant to be. My sugarcraZ kit that started off just about filling a small toolbox has now spread into nearly every room of my house and con@nues to grow!
Q: Why is your business called Fat Cakes?
I spent a few days trying to think of names but found none that felt right -‐ none that really said what I wanted them to. I didn't want to limit myself to one style of cake so needed a name that would reflect this. Like when choosing a name for a new baby, I scanned TV credits, town names, street names, the dic@onary even cereal packets! I was about to give up when I finally asked my partner what he thought, “Fat Cakes” he said, “because they are fat and they are cakes” simple -‐ and so it came to be!
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
Interview
A selec@on of cakes made by Mia from Fat Cakes.
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
InterviewQ: What cake has meant the most to you?
I think Emalyn's first birthday cake and my Batman cake mean the most to me. The elephant made for my daughter was from one of Debbie Browns’ books, I am a big fan of her work, and this was the start of my love affair with cake decora@ng. The batman cake is the cake that made my facebook page really take off, and put me in touch with a lot of cake ar@sts. I made many online friends as my name started to get recognised by more people. Regarding my Batman cake, I am a big fan of the movies so really enjoyed making this cake-‐ I had looked forward to it for about 6 months so am so pleased that this has been my most shared cake to date.
Q: Which has been the most difficult cake you have made?
All of my cakes are difficult in their own way as I always push myself out of my comfort zone, trying something new with each and every one. probably the most technically difficult for me was R2D2. It was my first cake with internal structure, I had to buy a new drill bit for my sugarcraZ kit :) As the cake was for my son I felt I could experiment a bit more andit didn't maaer too much if it didn't work out as only we would see it.
<<< Harry, Marshall and Emalyn
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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2013
InterviewQ: What has been your best achievement to date?
Being asked to do this interview is probably my best achievement to date! I am happy that that the business has grown so well in such a short space of @me and that I have had to teach myself how to build a website, manage accounts, upload photos, keep up with admin (well try my best to) alongside managing family life. This is my biggest achievement and something I feel proud of.
Q: Is there anyone you would like to say thanks to?
I would really like to say thank you to all of my online friends in the cake world. Some I have met in real life, some I have yet to meet.
All of whom have helped me in our virtual office to get through the long night shiZs; helped with problems and have been there to bounce ideas off of; along with chaqng about family life and the various emo@onal states that go with working crea@vely from home! I would not be where I am today without them, they have all become very important to me.
Q: What are your future plans?
I have a lot of exci@ng orders to look forward to this year that I cannot wait to get started on. I hope to also find @me to enter one of the categories at Cake Interna@onal this year too and my all @me dream has been to have a go at a thread cakes entry.
I am currently in the process of seqng up to start doing cake decora@ng classes alongside some other crea@ve friends from different craZ areas so this is very exci@ng for me, I am really looking forward to the sociable side of this and a liale break from the kitchen!
Other than that I am just going with the flow and we'll see what happens...
Cake Masters has teamed up with Cake International to run a fantastic Fairytale Competition! The prizes for winners of the competition in both categories are as follows:
- Two VIP passes for the winner and a friend to Cake International LONDON – Saturday 13th April 2013- Fast Track Entry so you will be first through the door and avoid the queues- Free Show Guide- Chance to get a front row seat at the Bakery Theatre- VIP Lounge Access which includes light refreshments- The opportunity to mingle with the celebrities of the cake world in the VIP Lounge, including Marry Berry and Paul Hollywood!!
- There will be two categories in which you can enter a cake, Hobby Baker and Professional Baker.
- A hobby baker is defined as someone who has never sold a cake for money.The reason why we have this category is to ensure we include all abilities and not only those people who bake and decorate regularly.
- You can enter a cake of any size (including a maximum of 12 decorated cupcakes or 12 cake pops) or 12 iced biscuits.- There is only one entry per person and judging will be done by a panel of judges.
The cake must have a fairytale theme.
To enter please email us a good quality photo to [email protected] with:
- Your full name- Your category Hobby or Professional- Your facebook page name and website- Contact number- Optional – Tell us a bit about your entry and the inspiration behind the design
I wanted to thank you all for helping me break through the 40,000 likes barrier. Facebook advertising helped us up to the 20,000 likes mark, and then it just became too expensive. With changes to timeline and issues with reach, I decided to stop advertising with Facebook. To my absolute delight, our numbers have been growing in a strong organic manner and I want to thank you for not only helping me through the 40,000 LIKES milestone, but THANK YOU ALL for getting me through the 41,000 LIKES mark.
Claim to fame!As you know, Nina from Mon Cottage Cupcakes created a cake that was featured in the Yellow section of last month’s magazine.
Her cake was made for a charity that Merrill Osmond is associated to so was pictured holding the cake that Nina made.
Well, my claim to fame is the Merrill Osmond shared my magazine on his own Facebook page!
Thanks Nina for sharing your cake on Yellow Monday all those weeks ago- seeing Merrill’s post really made my day!
A cake that we posted last week has gone totally viral, with over 2,318 shares and over 100,000 people seeing the cake! Congratulations to Brownies Cakes Grimsby for creating such a great cake that so many people could relate to!
Guest ColumnistThis is war! (Somebody put the kettle on...)
It’s been dark for so long I’d swear the birds are trying to bring in the dawn, the radio is burbling away in soothing ‘mellow’ tones only suitable for night-time easy listening and midnight is some sort of fuzzy distant memory. Yet i am stood in the middle of a battle zone that 12 hours ago was my kitchen embroiled in what I can only describe as the fight for my life. Not with a intruder, a burglar, or a masked stranger...but with a cake.
Yes a cake! Who knew a cake - a seemingly harmless mix of simple (quality) ingredients, a double coating of buttercream and a dressing of ready to roll icing could be such a force of evil?! Evil I tell you!
The race is most definitely on with this 'fondant fiend' and yet like some stubborn, belligerent teenager it is point-blank refusing to behave. Worse than simply misbehaving this 'spiteful sponge' is kicking some serious butt!. It is beating me harder than my mixer on full speed and I’m losing!!
On paper this cake is going to work just fine. It makes sense, I had even checked out YouTube for the tutorial (!) so what could go wrong. It is destined to work, it is going to be brilliant. It is going to be a GREAT cake! More than that, I’ve been looking forward to making this cake for months.
So why is it at silly o'clock the night before the big family event where I am due to unveil this amazing, surprise creation, is it trying to kill me? What exactly did I do so wrong in this or a past life that the 'bake of doom' would hate me so much as to systematically take me apart like this?
Everything that can go wrong is going wrong, the simple bits have become some MENSA style intellectual challenge, the difficult bits have become Mission Impossible only I am not seeing Tom Cruise hanging from my ceiling trying to help!
I dig in and fight back. I am damned if I'm going to let Count Calorie win!
Just as I think I have avoided everything this 'mixture of madness' has pelted me with, side-stepped the clogged airbrush, dodged the slipping tiers, battled back from the brink of cracked fondant failure a thousand times over, taken on the cake of calamity and won, it goes and throws one last, brutal thing at me.
At 2am, in a final willful attempt of defiance, out of pure spite, it throws it’s head at me. It cruelly pitches forward, pulling its own head away from its body taking out the supporting board and dowels with it. I manage to catch the head as it falls by getting my hand under the board in time and set it down alongside it’s now decapitated body.
Then I stare at it in disbelief and the slow realisation of
resignation. I give in, this cake has beaten me. I'm done in, it’s too late, I’m too tired. I simply cannot fix it from here.
Or can I?A few hours later (after a short sleep) I wake with a gritted determination, and decide that I am in no way going to allow this evil edible to take me down. I put the kettle on and roll up my sleeves. I don my apron armour and tool up with cocktail sticks, scissors and a paintbrush. This mulit-tiered tower of terror may have won the battle, I am going to win the war though!
I set to it, I re-design, re-build, re-crumbcoat, re-fondant, re-texture and hand-paint feverishly for the next 3 hours then deliver on-time, unveil and present a cake that to everyone else is nothing more than the sweetest of sweet Christmas cats. I am the only one who knows that there is NOTHING sweet or innocent about this sugary charlatan! So a word of warning to my fellow cakers - not all cakes are as sweet as the ingredients would suggest, some seem almost human in their ability to bring us to our knees and yes, sometimes you have to walk away from the battle.
There is no need to give in though. Just take a break, grab a cup of tea, take a deep breath and come back swinging - ready to win the war!
The lovely people at the award winning Katy Sue Designs are giving away a set of 3 “Victorian Garden” Cupcake topper moulds as a prize for the winner of this competition.
All you need to do is send us a picture of your best floral cupcakes. One entry per person. Please send only one photo, with your full name, business name (if you have one); contact number and address to [email protected]
LoveRed is naturally the colour of love...did you notice how we missed the colour red in our of the 50 shades of cake issue in January? I would like to say that we reserved red cakes for the month of February...but no we didn’t! It is quite fitting that we will share red cakes in the month where love is in the air!
InterviewShe has sold over five million cookbooks, has nearly 60 years baking experience and is known for being the queen of all things baking. Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting out in the exciting world of home baking, Mary Berry is a name that you’ll be familiar with.
From the signature Lemon Drizzle Cake to the challenging Fraisier Cake, there is no doubt that Mary’s recipes are some of the best loved. Having learnt the art of baking from her mother, Mary quickly established herself as a leading cookery writer and broadcaster, specialising in Aga cookery, cakes and desserts. Q: What or who got you interested in baking?A wonderful home economics teacher called Miss Date, she was lovely and encouraged me in class
Q: What is your current signature dish?Lemon Drizzle cake
Q: If you weren’t a chef what would you be?A gardener
Q: Sweet tooth or savoury?Savoury
Q: What do you most enjoy about baking? I enjoy sharing the finished bake with family and friends
What are your top <ps for any aspiring baker? Follow a good recipe and weigh accurately. Use digital scales and weigh exactly as in the recipe. Use the correct sized @n and oven temperature, all these changes can affect the cake.
Cake baking and decora<ng has exploded in popularity recently -‐ what's your opinion on why this could be?
The Great Bri@sh Bake Off has inspired a new genera@on of bakers
Mary’s new book, At Home is available now to buy!
Visit Mary Berry at Cake International Event City Manchester 8-10 March
Everyone’s favourite dessert – these individual pies are Lucy’s recipe and are divine. Tins of ready-‐made caramel can be bought in any supermarket and save having to boil a can of condensed milk like we used to, to give it a caramel flavour.
SERVES 8
For the base40g (1½oz) buaer, melted75g (3oz) diges@ve biscuits, crushed
For the topping
50g (2oz) buaer50g (2oz) light muscovado sugar1 × 397g @n caramel4 small bananas200ml (7fl oz) double cream, lightly whipped25g (1oz) square of dark chocolate
1. You will need eight 7cm (2½-‐in) cooking rings, arranged on a baking sheet. To make the bases, mix the melted buaer with the crushed biscuits and s@r un@l combined. Spoon evenly between the rings and press down with the back of a spoon. Chill while you make the topping.
2. Melt the buaer in a saucepan then add the sugar and s@r un@l dissolved. Add the caramel and s@r un@l combined. Simmer for 1 minute then set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. Pour the sauce into the rings on top of the biscuit base and chill for about 1 hour or un@l the toffee has just set. Slice the banana and arrange on top, then spoon or pipe over the cream. Slide a fish slice under each ring and move to serving plates. Remove the rings and finely grate chocolate on top of each pie to garnish.