The Wow Factor

More and more brides come to me asking for something 'simple'... and I'm making an educated guess in thinking it has more to do with the economic climate than personal taste. However, as somebody who is creative I would much rather design a cake with wow factor than recreate a lack lustre chainstore/supermarket design and unless there is some painstaking and particularly time consuming detail the price is not going to shoot up astronomically.

Cake design is very hard to price, it's an expensive product to create if you use the best ingredients, and it's very time consuming, so cake designers generally price the raw ingredients, the utilities/overheads, and then decide how long the cake will take to create and charge an hourly fee. Once I have this price, I'm my own worst enemy in agreeing to do all sorts of extras to give the client the cake of their dreams to the detriment of my profit margin. However, I would much, much rather do this and deliver a cake which goes beyond expectations than give the client a cake that nobody remembers.

So I was incredibly excited by this evening's phonecall asking me to recreate my logo cake above for a 17th Birthday, the client was emphatic that she wanted a cake with real wow factor, something her daughter and her friends can oooh and ahhh over and that everyone will remember. I love it when my clients are really enthusiastic about their cakes and want something really special and different, there is nothing I love better than working on these kind of cakes.

So I guess what I'm saying is be demanding, test me see what you can get for your money Give me your ideas and your budget and see what I can do. I would much rather create the cake of your dreams that the one you assume you can afford.

Jemima's Baptism

I loved making this cake and recreating Jemima Puddleduck from the much loved Beatrix Potter's Tales as a gift to baby Jemima on her baptism. Photos are from her Daddy Mark of http://www.markskeetphotography.co.uk/.

Pre-School Fair

On Saturday it was a local pre-school's summer fair and I was asked to provide a cupcake stall. It was great fun, from planning the cupcake cases and boxes to spending a lovely afternoon at the fair. This was the first time I'd done a stall like this and it definitely will not be the last. It has really spurred me on too, in the pursuit of my own cupcake cafe one day.

I have posted some pictures above to give an idea of the stall. We had the following flavours for sale and I'm glad to say that the table was empty by the end of the fair :-):

Vanilla with vanilla buttercream

Carrot with cinnamon buttercream

Chocolate with peanut butter buttercream

White Chocolate with Raspberry Coulis and Vanilla Buttercream

Chocolate with Chocolate buttercream

Thanks to Kate for all her help, writing labels, icing cupcakes and helping at the fair, you're a star! Photos are courtesy of Jo Bilham who is actually a make up artist but her photography rocks too. Check out her blog at http://www.makeupmummy.blogspot.com/.

Ruby Red

A little while ago I signed up to test Ruby Red Cosmetics, I love Ruby Red so it seemed like a bit of a no brainer... well I've had my first lot of samples and I'm so excited :-)

It's been a stressful few weeks and I seem to be meeting myself coming back so my skin has definitely been suffering, so I was over the moon that the first products I get to test are a new cleanser and moisuriser.

The cleanser is a 'Natural Oil Face Cleanser' and is suitable for all types of skin. It removes dirt and makeup from your skin without stripping the natural oils away. It contains gorgeous ingredients such as Jojoba oil, shea butter, lavender, clary sage... need I go on? The aroma itself is delicious and instantly relaxing thanks to the last two ingredients above. You spread the cleanser on your face and massage in. Then take off with a warm, damp flannel. My skin felt really deeply cleansed but without the squeaky dryness you get with normal cleansers it was left amazingly soft.

The moisturiser for want of a better word is a 'Natural Face Oil', which plumps up the skin and can be used under another moisturiser or on its own. It contains a nourishing blend of Wheatgerm, Safflower, Evening Primrose and Clary sage to name a few of the ingredients. Again I found this really relaxing to use and felt instantly calmed. Even my 6 year old commented how nice I smelt when she had a hug!

I can't wait until these products are available to buy as I've nearly used up all my samples and my skin is not going to be happy at going back to basics until I can get hold of some more!

Other Ruby Red products that I can recommend from personal use are:

Natural Solid Perfume - Frangipani and Orange Blossom... Jo Whiley raves about these and I know why, gorgeous feminine sents that last.

Organic Honey and Vanilla Lip Balm - this is bliss for lips, I love it. Mine goes everywhere with me :-)

Liz and Peter McDonald Wedding Photos

Way back in April... that already seems like several years ago... I created a wedding cake for Liz and Peter. We drew inspiration from Liz's bridal gown and the entire three tiers was covered with hand cut lace detail. They also opted for a bride and groom to top the cake and reflect their outfits on the day.

Liz has kindly sent me the photo above showing the happy couple cutting the cake. I have also included on of their group shots, which shows my little sis :-) She's the one standing next to her boyfriend Alex, who is the guy behind the vicar! Congratulations Liz and Peter, hope you are enjoying married life :-) xxxx

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, love them or hate them?

I LOVE THEM :-) But appreciate they are a bit of a marmite kinda thing. However, my partner in crime and fellow Reese's addict Donna suggested a cupcake version today and, feeling inspired I just had to have a tinker and see if I could pull it off.

The peanut butter buttercream, was an instant success, I just mixed peanut butter (smooth) with vanilla buttercream 1:2 parts and it's amazing I could eat it by the spoonful.

For the cupcakes I thought it would warrant a really chocolately sponge quite dense and toothsome, so I went for the chocolate part of the Hummingbird's blackbottom cupcakes, which are made with oil rather than butter and are really dense.

I topped the buttercream swirls with crushed peanut m&ms (didn't have any reese's pieces this was a spur of the moment thing) and the other half with crushed cupcake mixture, both work well and I'm not sure which I prefer, might just have to mix them both together? The gorgeous little cupcake toppers I can't take credit for they were a lovely surprise from my friend Jayne which arrived in yesterday's post.

I wish the blog had a tasting application, but you'll have to take my word for it... they are pretty damn good. I think the cupcake mixture could do with being slightly sweeter (it's quite a dark chocolate effect) but the texture works really well with the peanut butter buttercream. They are definitely on the list for the summer fair on the 3rd July. Any other suggestions most appreciated so far I'm thinking:

Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Strawberries and Cream

White Chocolate and Raspberry coulis

Melting Marshmallows

Ruby Red

I'm a huge fan of Ruby Red Organic potions and lotions: Check this offer out while it lasts:
http://www.rubyredcosmetics.co.uk/bliss.php

3 bath soaks for £22.50!