Most Popular Cake?

I frequently am asked if there is a particular cake which I have requests for time and time again. Unsurprisingly, I think, chocolate cakes are very popular and I am often given the remit of 'chocolate, chocolate & more chocolate'.

In these instances I usually suggest this design of cake. It is eminently adaptable and so can be individualised to each client depending upon their budget and degree of 'chocolateyness' required. The ultimate is to use Belgian chocolate cigarillos around the edge of the cake and this has become a popular choice for wedding cakes; but for occasions with smaller budgets, there are plenty of alternatives available which still give a stunning looking cake. It is also a good design option for cakes for men, who obviously don't want anything frilly & fussy! 

In the picture above the client chose chocolate fingers and crushed flake, but I have seen many different chocolate snack bars used for the edging and it is always effective. The version of this cake that I have done with the biggest 'wow factor' has to be this three tier birthday cake:   

 

The lines on the cafe-curls really add to the impact of the design and are a nice contrast to the concentric circles created by the chocolate balls used for the topping. The chocolate sponges were filled with chocolate ganache to give a really luxurious edge to the mouth-feel of the cake - yum yum! 

A New Year - Looking Forwards & Reflections

I can hardly believe that the last time I posted something to my sadly neglected blog it was last September. The time has flown by since then. There are never enough ours in the day and I have to admit to maintaining my facebook page (canterburycakes) in priority to my poor little blog, but my new year's resolution is to split my time evenly between them both...all good intentions!


2012 promises to be an exciting year on the cake front, as I have (slightly) more time to dedicate to learning the craft since finishing full-time work (although looking after the little people in the house is a full-time job in itself!). I have a workshop booked with the amazingly talented Lorraine McKay (which I am SO excited about), tickets booked for the Cake International show which is taking place in London and a place reserved on the British Sugarcraft Guild's skills school. I am also hoping to fit in a second professional diploma course in either royal icing or sugarpaste to compliment the one that I did last year in sugar flowers. So, hopefully I should have plenty to report back here.


2011 was an amazing year on the cake front. Given that the official start date of my business was 1st September I have had an amazing response and been kept quite busy. I have even had to turn work down because I just couldn't fit it in, which I really didn't imagine would happen so soon. I have worked on some extremely enjoyable projects which have allowed me to explore my creativity while honing my skills (often working out of my comfort zone - the best way to improve one's skills I find!). So, for my next few posts I will look back at, and share with you, some of my favourite cakes of 2011.


Lets start with this one

A good friend of mine, and her twin sister, celebrated their 40th birthday at the end of the year. I offered to make them a birthday cake as my gift to them and I was given free reign on the design. Earlier in the year I had made this cake inspired by the style of Cath Kidston:

and I really liked the idea of doing a similar cake but (hopefully) improved with the benefit of all I had learnt during the course of the year. The flowers were a joy to make and I think they finished the cake off perfectly.