Not only do I take great pleasure in making cakes for special occasions, due to the fact that it is such a simple way to bring a smile to people's faces, I love the turning of the months and seasons, especially Spring.

 

I attended a lovely wedding yesterday. Sadly an aunt of the bride was chosen to make the cake for the special day (those pesky relatives!) but I did sing in our band The People's String Foundation. The reception was held in a huge marquee which was decked out with classic kitsch, pastel china and delicate spring flowers. The family of both bride and groom had helped to prepare everything which made the whole day feel extra special. The place names were made from fired clay done in the oven at home. The napkins were all personalised and the flowers picked from local gardens and donated by should I say, the willing owners of the gardens.

 

 

After a feast prepared by not only extended family but friends too, we had cups of tea in hotch potch china cups and oodles of naughty puds piled high with cream and fruit: messy and glorious.

 

 

 

The whole event was perfect and definitely a simple and pretty theme to chose for a wedding. Even if you do not have that many talented friends and family to muck in for the occasion, there are plenty of wedding companies that provide these sorts of services. It is a very popular back drop for a Spring wedding and is easy to get just right. All I would suggest is that you give yourself plenty of time to think about all the little details as that is what made it such a perfect day.

 

The Cake Lady

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't quite believe the continuous sunshine we have been blessed with over the last week or so. I feel however, that our luck must change at some point soon as let us all remember, this is Britain.

 

This clement weather has allowed plenty of walks on the beach, reading sessions in the sun and a lovely trip to my egg man's farm near St Agnes. I was lucky enough to visit when there were week old piglets, ten day old puppies and day old chickens! I held one of the little fluff balls and, due to the fact I was listening to lunch time radio 2 previous to my visit, called it Jeremy. After discovering that Jeremy really was a boy and that Chris and Kay did not want another Cockerel, they have faced the facts that he now needs to be re-homed as opposed to eaten. Well, you can't eat an animal with a name...

 

I have had some uber cake commissions of late, having to complete a myriad of wedding cupcakes and a sugarcraft based 80th birthday cake for the same morning. I was very pleased with the sugarcraft flowers as they really conveyed the feeling of late spring that the customer had asked for. And although sugarcraft flowers especially roses, do take some time, it is always worth it when you assemble it all and see the look on the face of the birthday girl! And this morning I finished off a classic wedding cake which I have just uploaded the pictures of onto both my website and my FaceBook page. The cake itself was chocolate fudge torte and is very, very naughty. I love this design because it looks so spectacular but is really quite simple to make. Although the ingredients are rather expensive.

 

Rather excitingly Beth's Bakes and The People's String Foundation will be venturing to Glastonbury next wednesday to sing songs, dance and be merry.

 

We will be playing on the Avalon stage and Croissant-Neuf stages on the weekend and other sporadic little performances throughout the rest of the festival. The bassoon will be coming out and I urge any of you chaps that will be frequenting the muddy fields of Pilton, we wander our way and come and bop along to our chilled out, epic, funk, jazz, gypsy-blues (and anything else you can chuck in to describe the indescribable!).

 

So if you do try and get in contact then any response will not reach you until the following week as I will be covered in mud with a bemused smile slapped across my face wearing a curious hat that can only be worn at festivals amongst strangers for certain moral and social reasons...

 

On my return I will pop up some pictures.

 

The Cake Lady

 

 

 

It is lovely to be back in Bath! I am not saying that it was hellish being based in Cornwall but I'm from these parts and therefore feel I am very much home. However, there is so much stress and upheaval involved in moving, mentally and physically.

 

 

First of all there is the basic act of packing. As we have moved only to a temporary base before moving into Bath city at the beginning of next year, there is that essential need to mark boxes with not only 'bedroom' or 'garage' or 'cd's'. It now must become 'Bedroom stuff needed for next three months', 'Cd's I am not fussed about for the next three months' and so on and so forth. Unfortunately this has not been executed as smoothly as I would have hoped and it is always that little bit harder when you are attempting to do it for your partner also; it never goes well. Therefore many last minute visits have been paid to the garage to attempt to find that all important dvd, a useful cook book or toothbrush charger.

 

Even though I did manage to throw away 17 black bin bags of clutter (being careful to recycle what I could of course), there is always more than you think: a train ticket you kept from your anniversary trip to London, a keyring from the first musical you saw when you were nine, a scrumpled slip from a lucky cracker at the local chinese that said something nice. I am pleased to say that I kept most of these things!

 

So now the move has been made, all addresses have been successfully altered (hopefully), clutter has found its rightful corner and PJ's are firmly beneath my pillow, it has been time to crack on with the baking, writing and all things glorious.

 

I am pleased to see that even though minimal advertising has been acquired, I have managed to gain a constant trickle of willing customers who wish to sample my wares, and may I add, have been jolly pleased with what they have received. I am hoping to increase this number, especially more so on the wedding side of things. I am finding the trend for cup cakes is continuing which excites me. Although some traditional cake makers which probably get a bit fidgety when asked to create a cupcake tower, I think they are rather fun! With each sponge treat, you can make it as individual as you would like. I love the fact you can add so many small details which although may not be noticable when standing back and admiring from a far, definitely bring something more special to the overall effect. I have created my own fare share of three-tier delights with different twists, some more classic than others. I rather like also the move towards macaroons of varying delightful colours. Although this may be slightly odd/tricky to have as your main cake, just as cupcakes on each table are a nice touch, a lovely vintage cake stand covered in crunchy and colourful sweet treats such as macaroons would be welcome.

 

 

And speaking of colourful and crunchy, this autumn has been the prettiest, dreamiest and most magical I have experienced for a while. Not long ago I managed to work out how to over ride the auto focus feature on my camera phone and ever since have been taking pictures of very small things. It is best to mention that although the term 'camera phone' sounds a little crass and maybe something a teen would film an image of a squashed pigeon on the road with, mine is rather grand with its 12.1 megapixies. Therefore my album is now crammed full with pictures of tiny berries, ladybirds, small flowers and varying sized particles of dust most probably.

 

We are very lucky to live right next door to a National Trust garden in which the autumn colours could not be captured more perfectly. Even though October was curiously warm and the crispness of the grass and lung burn of the cold air was sorely missed, it did not stop us from donning our wellies, unnecessarily thick coats and stuffing leaves down each others necks in a daft attempt to recreate blissful childhood (or just because we are silly big kids with a ponchant for mischief).

 

This week however, the wind has changed direction, the swallows have most certainly bogged off to warmer climbs, which indicates it is my time to do the same. I will be popping off to Egpyt for sun, sun, sun! I am very excited about this little excursion as a week in the sun, with a cocktail and a good book will do me the world of good and rejuvinate my broken body for the rest of the winter and the challenges ahead. Although I would normally shrink back at the prospect of a package holiday where the culture is seemingly sucked out at the first, replaced by a over-bearing Thomas Cook holiday representative, I firmly believe everyone needs to give it a go before they knock it completely. A lovely lady called Jennie from Howard Travel in Trowbridge sorted it all out for us so that not a bead of sweat was created in the organising of the holiday, only from the 34'c sunshine beaming down and the effort of lifting an 'all-inclusive' glass of some curious Egypt cocktail to my lips; hazzah!

 

The Cake Lady