The Cake and Bake Show 2013

Last month I was very excited to go and visit the second Cake and Bake Show in Earls Court, London. I went on Saturday with a friend, and had the most fantastic day wandering around all of the exhibitions, stalls, classrooms and shops. There is no way I could record every amazing thing I saw in just one post, so expect a few over the coming weeks. I bought some beautiful mugs and a whole host of useful cake decorating goodies, but for now, I will share some of my favourite cakes from the show, enjoy!

Woodland Cakes and Cookies

Beautiful Handpainting

Burlesque

Vintage Gold

Modern Florals

White Lace

Lilac Floral

Art Deco

Vogue

Period Drama

Feathers and Pearls

Country Garden

A Weekend of Baking...Lemons, Lemons and more Lemons!

It seems like a long time since I have been in the kitchen as I have been on holiday, so I thought I'd share a few baking exploits centered around lovely lemons.

Since I made the Lemon cake for the 50th birthday, my mum has been keen on having her own slice, so for her birthday, I made another lemon cake and this time I decided to leave it plain with a simple filling of buttercream and lemon curd. Yet here is the surprise, I made the lemon curd entirely from scratch! I was a little nervous at first, having never made it before, but following a recipe from Delia Smith, I was delighted with the results! The curd was thick and creamy with tiny flecks of lemon rind, and best of all, a deliciously fresh and pungent lemony taste, just what you want from your very own homemade curd.

I baked the cake and it came out just as delicious as before, pricked all over with a skewer before pouring the lemon juice and sugar mixture over the top and allowing it to sink in. I would definitely recommend you leave it overnight to make sure that all of the liquid has been absorbed before you remove it from the tin.

I then filled the cake with a little vanilla buttercream and dollops of the fresh lemon curd, a perfect accompaniment to the rich and juicy lemon sponge.

Tip: When using a mixer, make sure you scrape the sides every few minutes to make sure you don't have any large buttery lumps. This will give your cake a stodgy and undercooked middle and quite a soggy bottom, and nobody wants that!

We also had a Macmillan Coffee Morning at work, and I decided to use my lemon curd agin, making Lemon Curd and Almond buttons (A shortbread style biscuit with a hidden centre of gooey lemon curd) and Lemon Curd and B
lueberry muffins (a rich and creamy muffin made with vanilla yoghurt and a dollop of lemon curd on top). I made both in the evening after work, and in my slightly tired state I forgot to take any photos, but suffice it to say, they were both absolutely delicious and raised some money for an excellent cause.