A Great Gatsby Cake to make Leo proud!

Not a happy Leo! He's seen our Great Gatsby photo shoot with Sarah Vivienne and realised his researchers seriously let him down on the cake front.......he looks MAD!!

Next time Leo, make sure you tell them that this is how it's done!

The flowers and piping on the cakes were inspired by the gorgeous detailing on the Claire Pettibone dresses

Visit Sarahs blog to see the whole shoot

A Little Birdie Themed Wedding

I received a lovely thank you letter from the newly named Mrs Norfolk this morning.

Sometimes I get a bride who was such a pleasure to work with that I just wish could get married all over again....am I wrong for thinking such thoughts? I don't mean it in a bad way, I'm sure they'll have a long and beautiful marriage, but I'd love for them to be able to celebrate it all over again so that I can work with them to make some more beautiful cakes!

Arabella Carter Johnson captured their wedding, and here's a few of the beautiful pictures from their day. We made for them a croque en bouch that they ate for their dessert, then a wedding cake that was served for the evening guests.....both incorporating birds to match their gorgeous theme.

http://www.acjwp.com/

Vintage Birdcage Wedding Cakes

One of my favourite trends for this year is the vintage bird cage theme, and I love incorporating it to produce a vintage bird cage wedding cake. 

My personal favourite is my most recent Peacock bird cage cake, which we used a little artistic licence to change the peacock colour to pink instead of the usual turquoise! It was taken to a wedding at the beautiful Holdenby House in Leicestershire.

Quote from an article written about Peggy Porshen - my idol and the woman who has single handedly transformed the cake industry from an out-dated pensioners hobby to a worldwide baking trend for all ages! I considered a cake making career when I was only 16, but being young and influential it wasn't really the trendy career to pursue!

"I asked Peggy about setting up your own business and she said that a reality check is one of the most important things to do! It may appear a bed of roses making cakes all day, but it’s hard work and you have to be careful with your pricing too. She recommended that you take into account your time and ingredients and charge it by three times your costs. Furthermore, Peggy commented that she had wished she’d studied some sort of business course as it is a business, not just having fun in the kitchen. Many cake makers don’t charge enough and really don’t make money from their cakes"

Couldn't have said it better myself!

You can read the whole article here
http://www.thediaryofacakemaker.com/peggy-porschen-question-and-answer-session/

Hot on Peggys heels, were Choccywoccydoodah, who have carved their own individual niche into the world of chocolate wedding cakes. Here's my tribute to them with one of my favourite designs of theirs.

Sneaky Peak at My Burghley Show Display

It's a busy week here preparing for Burghley wedding show this Sunday, where I'll be showcasing 6 of my cakes - 3 of them brand new! 

Here's a sneaky peak to one of them, inspired by this gorgeous ruffle dress. 

The middle tier is layers of the luxurious sugar ruffles and the other 2 tiers have a sumptious silky satin finish to the icing. I've then finished it with a touch of black ribbon to cordite with the belt on the dress

Unfortunately I don't know the actual designer that made this dress. Does anybody actually know of a local bridal shop that has a dress like this???

http://www.couture-cakes.co.uk/Portfolio/Iced-Wedding-Cakes/roseruffletieredweddingcak.html

If you're coming to see us (or our cakes!) at Burghley show this Sunday, I highly recommend you come in the afternoon - as the morning get's really busy - and to book tickets, because they can only let a limited number of people through the door!

Work of the Devil

Introducing one of my latest creations. Many of you may know it as a 'croquembouche', but I'm renaming it as 'The Work of the Devil'.

Who would have thought that such innocent looking caramel could wreak so much havoc. I swear we have been cleaning those stubborn pieces of caramel from every last crevice in the kitchen since Saturday.

Who's silly idea was it to make an actual pedestal cake stand from solid nougatine anyway? Oh yea, mine. But I wasn't quite expecting it to be the hottest day of the year... these THINGS really don't get on well with hot weather!

Awwww, look at that, suddenly it was all worth while! ;)