I don’t often make bread, I like eating it that’s for sure! But proving and kneading hasn’t been big on my baking agenda. So I thought I would expand my horizons.
I have to say these little beauties were worth the effort! They were light and springy and zingy with spices and citrus. I would tell you how long they last when stored in an airtight container but my other half and I ate them all within 2 days… Opps!
Oh where to start?
I have been AWOL for a while now and that is down to many reasons. Some totally wonderful. some less so!
Alas buying a house, actually moving, working full time, going on holiday, hosting NYE’S and having unbelievable pain in my hands and waiting on a diagnosis.
All of the above has happened since October and Cakes and baking whilst they were still part of my life they took a back seat and I didn’t take many pictures.
So normal service shall resume soon- Yesterday I was thank goodness diagnosed with viral arthritis in both hands which is a thankful thing as it goes away.
I for a couple sad weeks thought my hands would never recover and only get worse and I would not be able to decorate cakes properly ever again this among many other things I would have missed out on was very worrying. So I am delighted its temporary and normal service can resume soon!
I make a lot of cake and most of the time I never get a slice. Now this is good for my waist line but sometimes a girl has got to eat!
In my boring day job in an office it is traditional for the team to buy a cake for birthdays but I said would you mind if I made one (well 2 it’s a big team and I wanted a chill evening so I did loaf cakes!)?
Everyone said ohhh yes please lol they tend to be my guinne pigs for new recipes so they get lots of my cakes to try!
So I made my all time favourite cake one I have loved since childhood and a family recipe (sans sprinkles!)
Lemon Drizzle Cake!!!! Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum!
Here it is all safe and sound on its way to the office! He he
Is it wrong to have cake for breakfast? 🙄🤔ðŸ¤
I love cake- as you may be able to tell! he he
I love trying out recipes and different designs and I do enjoy a good bag of sprinkles and when they match my display plate ohhh my!
This is a lovely little cake I made for a friends birthday, like me she loves colour and a bit of something quirky! So the outside is a party of colourful dots and swirling fruits against a background of creamy cream cheese frosting. Then when you cut into the cake a rich dark red velvet cake is revealed.
I adore red velvet cake, the texture is so luxurious and the hint of chocolate adds a divine taste to the soft smooth sponge.
I say have some fun with your cakes and let them speak to the personality of the person or persons they are celebrating!
Happy Birthday to my lovely friend Christina!!!!!
Ah it would seem Summer has ended and Autumn is well and trurly here! That makes me a little sad- I do love Autumn those crisp blue skies days with red and orange leaves skipping through the air!
But Summer was short and I will miss lazing around on a picnic blanket enjoying the warm sun and the smell of flowers.
So I thought I shall just have to bake a little sunshine! This is a Jamaican Fiery Ginger Cake and I have decorated it with beautiful little flowers like those you might find in a meadow.
It’s my taste of the Caribbean sun wrapped in an English summer meadow!
Some lovely 2 portion packages of yummy cake have winged thier way (well sat on my passenger seat) to the Secret Sausage Shop in Bishop’s Stortford.
Fancy a little treat but not the whole cake? Well we have got you covered!
Victoria sponge with lots of jam ✅
Decadent gooey Chocolate cake (GF) ✅
Farmhouse style Spiced Fruit cake ✅
Sweet and moist Lemon Drizzle Cake ✅
A little of what you like it’s good for you! Go on you know you want to!
The Secret Sausage Shop is at:
Unit I3 Peek Business Centre
Woodside
Bishop’s Stortford
Hertfordshire
CM23 5RG
Decadent, rich, a bit gooey and gloriously naughty!
We all deserve a bit of something naughty every now and then! This particular recipe became a family favourite from the very first time I made it and now it will be available at The Secret Sausage Shop!
How can you not love what’s in that that bowl?! This is how it starts! By gently steaming chocolate, butter, sugar and brandy over a simmering bowl of water- into a lovely silky molten bowl of yummy, the smell alone is so very intoxicating.
I love this because it’s such a yummy cake and regardless of if you can or can not consume gluten this is a total winner!
It works alone as a almost brownie like slice of cake and covered in fondant it goes up to another level!!! This one is all packaged up for a trip to The Secret Sausage Shop!
For those who can’t have nuts I do have other chocolate cake options but personally this one is my favourite chocolate cake of all time!
Ahhh I love the smell of a spiced fruit cake baking it reminds me of Christmas and yet it’s only September!
I am baking for my shop order and these lovelies are Spiced Fruit Cakes. An old family recipe for a light fruit cake that sings with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
It feels so homely and cosy in my kitchen right now and although I don’t drink tea it makes me want to!
If you fancy a slice then pop into the Secret Sausage Shop in Bishops Stortford and you can have a whole loaf!
This is a cake I made for a lovely ladie’s 50th this weekend.
I have to say my lovely client wanted to pick up the cake and did so with both tiers packed safety seperated for the journey.
Bless her she missed my instructions to have the bottom tier placed with the roses to the right. There is not supposed to be so many roses on the left, but she was happy so that’s the main thing!
She wanted a gold drip cake with rose adornments, to match her theme of golf decadence.
I recently posted about gold dust and what you can and can’t use on cakes that are to be eaten. (yes I know! Are all cakes not for eating? The answer is no many are for decorating competitions!)
For this I of course used edible gold dust, and it is not quite as workable as the non toxic variety! So if your giving it a go do bear with it, it works beautifully with a bit of patience.
It does indeed shine and glint as gold should!
I love making quirky cakes and a purple cow has to be up there on the quirky’o’meter!
Please excuse the tiny kitchen in the background and the cake box! The images were taken just before Daisy (as I nicknamed her) left the kitchen to head to the party venue! I am happily now in a brand new kitchen that is about 3 times larger!
The party was for 70 people so I needed to either go for a massive cow or create a setting for the cow. We decided since the cake was a surprise we would draw from the birthday girls childhood growing up in the countryside near farms- which is were her love for our bovine friends came from!
So a meadow for Daisy our purple cow to sit in was perfect! Now clearly purple isn’t a natural colour for cows- it was however a firm favorite colour of the Lady of the hour and so it was a must. This meant I could have some fun with the design and make a cute purple and red cow covered in hearts with a little purple wire tail and blue nose!
The grass is a mix of piped buttercream and green sugar crystals because life is better with a bit of sparkle! I then added piped red flowers to compliment Daisy’s hearts!
That’s the beauty of cakes, it doesn’t have to be true to life, you can be bold, be silly and have some fun with design and really make something personal.
I wonder what weird and wonderful creation I will get asked to make next?
Bespoke celebration cakes tailored to your imagination 