Baby Girl Christening

Going through some archived pictures - This is a Christening Cake from 2010 for a couple whose wedding cake I made a couple of years ago. I have to admit this cake seemed to take forever as there were loads of little bits - The topper includes building blocks, a teddy and an abacus type of toy - The first tier houses a rattle and stacking rings - all essential items for a baby. LIttle Olivia is absolutely gorgeous and Mum has said she has ordered a glass presentation box to house the sugar Olivia in - praise indeed.

A whole new meaning to Cup Cake!

I know I have said it a million times but I love this cake! One of my last cakes before going on maternity leave for a good chunk of 2011 (don't worry I still have loads of cakes to post and I'm sure the cakes my family get me doing are more than enough blog fodder!)

This cake is for the lady who was retiring from her job in Marks & Spencer as the bra-fitting expert. She was really nervous about the party that was being held for her as she had never had a party solely in her honour before. When we dropped the cake off, the room looked fabulous and it was lovely to see everyone getting stuck in helping her decorate it. I was talking to my sister-in-law's Mother-in-law (work that out if you can!) last night and she said she happened to be at the party and that everyone was talking about how fabulous the cake was (and she didn't even know it was one of mine) and that the party was a huge success.

Both tiers were vanilla sponge and the M&S label and the bra were edible with the addition of a couple of diamontes - because everyone's underwear should have bling. The only brief (get it?) I had was to to include a tape measure which was great as I had bought the tape measure ribbon years ago and was desperate for an excuse to use it...only one problem, I couldn't find the blasted thing for a week and a half! Luckily it turned up exactly where I thought it was going to be the day before the cake was due!

11 Pipers Piping

Yay its nearly Christmas! I love it - I'm constantly humming the Twelve Days of Christmas which reminded me of this winter wedding cake from a couple of weeks ago. I love the simple design of the ribbon with the blingy brooch but what really makes this cake special to me is the piping. I love white piping on the white cake and love doing it even more.

The bride was a delight to cater for and her feedback was lovely - They had a fabulous day which they really deserved. Congratulations to them!

Vrooooom!

What is it with me and vehicles? The brief for this order was either a Volkswagon Golf (Argh!!!) or something Formula 1 - neither of which particularly float my boat (oh god, another vehicle) but in the end we decided on F1.

Chris is a lad from our local church whose Nan/Gran/Mother (it's a St Helens thing!) knows my Mum - He has overcome the most horrendous health problems over the past few years but it is now looking great - I saw him on Sunday and he is MASSIVE (tall).

I'm having a phase of enjoying piping so tried to include some tiny details on the car - most of which don't show up on the pic - particularly as I took it on my phone! I love the effect on the board of the checks too!

Love Bakery - Book Review

I am on a mission to own AND USE 200 baking and cooking books by the time I am 40 which is just under 3 years years away (Argh!) These must be books that are useful and don't just sit on the shelf collecting dust. I am already up to at least 120 with just a couple that I need to get rid of as they are not that good.

The Love Bakery book is my latest acquisition and I LOVE it! There are hundreds of cupcake books on the market but this has loads of recipes that I will make. I have only owned the book for a week but have already made the Toffee Apple cupcakes and the Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with plenty more on my 'to bake' list. I attended a charity event last Friday for Halloween where I took loads of cupcakes and the Chocolate Orange Cupcakes were the first to sell out, so they will definately be made again! The recipes do not have loads of ingredients in them or even worse really obscure ingredients that will be impossible to find here in St Helens.

I enjoyed reading the introduction about how the bakery came about and it really struck a chord as it is similar to how my business has started. I paid £12.99 for this book in Chesters (The Coffee shop by the River in Ambleside - I will tell you more about this coffee shop another time) but last night I discovered the book is being sold by The Book People for £4.99 - so fill your boots!

All-in-all a great book and a recommended one for anyone interested in baking.

Christening Cakes - the return!

After a long absence from the blog, I am back with loads of new stuff to post. Millions (well nearly) of cakey and baking books to review (its a serious addiction of mine and all part of the plan to own and use 200 good baking/cook books by the time I'm 40). I have been really busy with weddings but sadly have been very lax with the photos. Still lots to post about though, so lets get on shall we?

I've included for this post 2 of my favourite and most popular christening cake designs - The girly one is just so girly without being too frilly for me - the little kitten is edible and is placed in an icing box (which is a pain to make but worth it in the end). The design comes from Marian Frost and I first saw it at the Sugarcraft exhibition at the NEC a couple of years ago - that exhibition is on this weekend but sadly I am not attending this year. There is a cake tweet-up happening there on the Saturday which sounds brill but will have to wait until next year for me - Have a great time guys!

The 'George' cake can be changed for a girl - in fact I've done a pink and lemon version which was lovely. I like the bold colours and of course the little baby can have blond hair and blue eyes and even freckles! The idea for this cake was given to me by George's Mum but sadly I cannot find who the original design belongs to - Please feel free to tell me if you know as I would love to credit them.

Coming soon Love Bakery - The review and Wedding Cake Madness - Some of the summer of fun!

I'm always on the lookout

Cath Kidston meets Peppa Pig

I cannot believe my daughter's birthday has come around again so quickly - This time she is the big 4 - although for months now she has been refusing to admit she is 4 and says she is '3 again!'. On her actual birthday we asked her how old she is now and she said 5! As they say here in St Helens - She is having us on!

I have wanted to do Cath Kidston colours for ages and what better excuse than your daughter's cake? All she said she wanted on it was Peppa Pig (again!) - as the weeks went on though she started adding more characters that she wanted - maybe next year...

I plan on doing more Cath Kidston inspired cakes as I think they can be suited to all manner of occasions - I even plan on doing the rose pattern painted on - will have to have a steady hand for that day!