The Renshaw Birthday Cake Challenge

Recently I was contacted by Renshaw Baking to take part in their new Birthday Cake Challenge - to create and decorate a birthday cake using Renshaw products. Renshaw have a brilliant range of colours available now, you can see them for yourselves over at their online store.

For the challenge, I personally chose to use their white ready to roll icing, simply because I like to colour the fondant myself to get the exact shade for my designs. One of the designs I had planned needed shades of the same colour too, so this was a better option. I use Sugarflair gel-based colours, and they colour white fondant really easily, simply by kneading the colour through the paste, you need very little to get the desired colour, and the gels don't alter the consistency of the fondant.

Renshaw also sent me some of their new Flower and Modelling Paste, a stiffer more mailable paste that is perfect for creating delicate sugar flowers. It is also great to use with silicone moulds, as it holds it's shape when taken out of the mould, and sets nice and hard too.

To demonstrate the versatility of these products, I created two cakes using them. The first was a fun Tropical Beach Cake, based specifically on a Goan Beach, and the second a pretty floral 30th Birthday Cake.

Tropical Goan Beach Cake

This cake was so much fun to make! The recipient loves tropical beach holidays, and in particular holidays in Goa. One of the special requests from her daughter was to include a cow, as Goa is quite renowned for it's 'Beach Cows'!

I used the fondant to cover the cake and create the ombre effect waves around the edges. I also used fondant to model the cow. The modelling paste helped to create the stiffer bark and leaves of the palm tree, and the smaller details, including using a silicone mould to create the shells that decorated the edges of the cake. A little light muscavado sugar to act as sand, and voila! Tropical Beach fun!

Pretty Floral 30th Birthday Cake

The joy of this design was in the simplicity, and the Flower and Modelling Paste is a great staple for creating thinner more delicate petals for flowers. Like fondant, it can be coloured with gels to any shade, and by adding petal dust you can get a really pretty petal-like effect. We based the colour pallet on the hydrangea-type flowers that adorn the centre of the 30. I really like this design, and can see it adapted for different ages, flowers and colour pallets - the possibilities are endless!

The Pantry Door Update - 11th June

... This **** Just Got Real... 

That's pretty much the thought that has occupied my mind the last two weeks, as I've juggled work, sales targets, housework, baking cakes, decorating cakes, not to mention all those little day to day things that pop up. It has suddenly occurred to me (forgive me I can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes) that I am now running a business. Yikes! A business no less that is taking off at something of a pace, and I'm am equal parts thrilled and terrified. Ok, maybe more on the side of thrilled, however I am very aware that my customers are no longer just my friends, but people I have never met before. Anxiety about letting people down is creeping in, and I have had to give myself a few stern talkings-to lately, as has Gary. 

May 2014 brought in 18 orders, against a forecasted 6 - June looks set to equal that, despite being on holiday for 10 days of the month. Last week I delivered my first 5 tier wedding cake, amongst several other projects, and after a hard week, seeing the bride and groom cut the cake (I was invited to the evening party) reaffirmed all the hard work, and cemented that fact that wedding cakes is where I wanted to be. I think I really needed that. 

We have some fun cakes lined up this week before we hit the sun and sand of Majorca, here's a recap of what's been happening the last few weeks...

30th Birthday and 2nd Birthday Cupcakes

Birthday Boy Cupcakes

Defibrillator Cake - for an Office party 

Elvis Cake

Frozen Cake - all characters were handmade

Marmite Jar Cake

Mickey Mouse Cake

Peppa Pig and Friends Cake

Pigs In Mud Cake

Vintage Styled Cake

Wakeboarding Cake - the only direction I was given was the photo on the left...

And last but by no means least - here are a few snaps of the wedding cake delivered to the Sandpiper Hotel on Saturday....

There were 100 vanilla cupcakes, marbled to match the colour and pattern on the bridesmaid dresses. Both the frosting and the cake inside had the marble effect

The 5 Tier Wedding Cake

The toppers were handmade, to represent the bride and groom in their day jobs, him with his overalls, and her with marigolds and an apron

The second to top tier had an monogrammed panel with the bride and grooms initials

The inside of the cake was also marbled to match the bridesmaid dresses

The Pantry Door Update - 26th May

Just a quick post from me tonight to share the latest goings-on from our kitchen - it's been a really busy week, so lots to share, and I'm in the middle of prepping toppers and flowers for the next two weeks to get a jump on orders. Here's what we've done recently...

Cookie Monster Cake

F.R.I.E.N.D.S Themed Cupcakes

More F.R.I.E.N.D.S Themed Cupcakes

Minion Cake

Minion Cupcakes

Monster High Cake with Clawdeen Wolf

New York New York Cake

Tatty Teddy Christening Cake

Vintage Style Mini Cupcakes - 72 in total!

Hope you have all had a lovely Bank Holiday! x

The Pantry Door Sunday Update - 11th May

Well! That was a busy two weeks! Cakes, weddings, visitors, bank holidays, and a whole lot of day job too! The biggest news this weekend however is this - on Friday, the local council came out to assess my home kitchen for running the business, and I am pleased to say not only did we pass the inspection, but were awarded the full 5 stars! Phew, that's another hurdle overcome!

I must say, this is one of the reasons that I put off setting up for so long - having been told by so many people I can't do this or I can't have that - there were so many reasons given to me as why my beautiful kitchen would not be suitable. And they were all wrong. In truth, the local environmental health team are more concerned with your procedures for managing hygiene, and CBC have been great from my first enquiry, offering both advice and reassurance throughout. If anyone else is in a similar position and not sure about taking the next step, my advice is pick up the phone, and talk to the experts - you'll be surprised how supportive they can be. 

So now everything is 100% in place, the council, the tax man, and the customers! Here's the fun bit, this is what we have been making in the kitchen these past two weeks... 

iPhone Cake - complete with apps and the birthday girl taking a 'selfie'

Damask Print 50th Birthday Cupcakes

Metallic Gold and Ivory Wedding Cake with Gold Edged Sugar Roses

Mixed Cupcakes for a Mechanic

Dirty Dancing Movie Reel Cake - with Edible Pictures

Dairy Free 'In The Night Garden' Cake

Star Trek 'Enterprise in the Galaxy' Cake

Subaru Cake

The Pantry Door Update - April 20th 2014

The Pantry Door is officially open for business! Orders are coming in, cakes are going out. So far our customers have been incredibly positive about both the look and even more importantly about the taste of our cakes. We have surpassed our forecast for April, and already have more orders in for May and June than anticipated. I am so excited about this venture, and have decided to share the work we do each week with a little description of the cakes leaving our doors. (This is the first 2 weeks...)

Mechanic and Rally Car Cake

The cake was for a friend's husband. We discussed a few ideas based on his love of rugby, formula one and rallying, but in the end decided on something a little more personal. The little Peugeot 205 is his own rally car, the fact that he is fixing it rather than driving it was an in-joke! 

Superheroes Cake

This cake was for a little boy who loves all things superhero. We managed to incorporate seven different superheroes into the design; Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk and Captain America. His Mum messaged me the day after the party to say her little boy thought eating the cake had given him superpowers! 

Orchid Pot Cake

I made this cake last weekend for my Mum's birthday. I really enjoy making cakes as gifts for people, as it gives me the chance to try new skills and push the boundaries. I made a series of sugar orchid flowers and buds, forming them together to make the typical stem of an orchid plant, and bedded it in a small carrot cake covered to look like a flowerpot. The double take from my Mum and Grandparents was worth the hard work on this one! 

Japanese Sushimi Cake

Making food look like other food is all a little bit Heston, but I think it really worked in this replica of the birthday girl's favourite dish from her favourite restaurant! The salmon and squid sushimi pieces were modelled from white modelling chocolate (I make the modelling chocolate myself, and will share the recipe and method one day soon) whilst the wasabi was actually a thickened buttercream. 

iPhone Cake

I found out after I had made this cake, that the birthday girl had asked for an iPhone for her birthday, and would be getting this cake instead. Personally, I think a chocolate cake version is the far better option anyway! 

Honda CBR Motorbike Cake

This cake tested everything I've learned to date about cake sculpting and 3-D cakes. The very nature of the shape and dynamics of a motorbike defy the weight and balance of a cake, and I have not yet made the move into making bespoke boards and hidden support structures for cake, but I think I figured out a way to do this, and I can honestly say this is 100% edible, with no support structure at all...

Chesterfield F.C Football Shirt Cake

Last but not least, a football shirt cake for my home town team. The puma and CFC logo are hand piped from royal icing, and the club itself re-tweeted a picture of the cake sent in by the birthday boy! 

As you can see it's been a busy couple of weeks! Next week is quieter, but I will have a Mini Cooper and an Oreo themed cake to share with you all! 

Happy Sunday! x

What I've Been Up To Lately...

I've been a little absent from my keyboard for the last few weeks, so I thought I'd write a little post to show you what I've been up to lately. As you know, cake decorating is kind of my baby. I have a business idea and plan in the back of my mind, and I'm hopeful that within the next 18 months to 2 years I will be in a position to get the wheels in motion. 

I've always known that it's going to take a little while to get a professional cake business off the ground. The main issue I have at the moment is that we live in a rented property that's not ideal to run a business from. Rather then forcing the issue, my plan is to spend a couple of years building a portfolio of designs, getting plenty of practice, and learning from my mistakes, whilst at the same time saving towards our own place that will of course be cake business perfect! 

It's a solid plan - each cake teaches me a few new lessons in how to (or not to) do things. My rule is that I will make cakes for friends and family, at the cost of ingredients. I get to develop my skills and portfolio, they get a cake. The hard part now seems to be being strong enough to stay firmly on the right path. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and it would be very easy to get carried away on people's enthusiasm, however until I am ready to deal with Environmental Health and the Tax Man I have to keep things strictly to friends and family. 

Anyway, here is a little round up of the projects that have kept me away from my blog the last few weeks...

This little fella had a back story. The recipient of the cake is apparently very proud of his lawn, but has to battle with the kid's rabbit who likes to run around eating the flower beds! 

I made this cake right in the middle of the big heatwave, and learned a very important lesson - fondant melts quickly in the heat, and buttercream melts even quicker! Getting the grass stripes to stay put whilst I positioned the next was nigh on impossible, but we got there in the end. In the absence of an air conditioned kitchen, I very much learned that when it's hot, do cake decorating in the middle of the night! 

Next up was this remake of the classic Sex Pistols album cover 'Never Mind The Bo****ks'. A few changes in wording to make it kid friendly, and we have a birthday cake for an old school punk fan! 

This was a last minute creation for a friend who lives a great distance away, and came about 2 months after her birthday, hence the belated message! Wicked the Musical has a lot of significance for her so it was nice to work the theme into this cake. We went for an overall theme of Elphaba, the wicked witch, but added a little sparkle with stars and pink glitter to capture a little of the essence of Glinda! 

This Hello Kitty cake was one of my favourites to make, maybe something to do with my inner ballerina princess? Re-creating such a recognisable character was a little daunting as there is no real room for error, and children are of course the most discerning of judges, so some careful planning and stencilling was needed to make sure that Kitty came out just right! 

I loved everything about making this Skittles cake, including all the extra Skittles that just had to be eaten (I may have been slightly buzzing on e-numbers by the end). My facebook page went wild for this design when I posted it - by far one of the most popular to date I think! 

This weekend I've made a serious amount of cakes, seven to be exact! Four were little samplers for my brother's oldest friends for their wedding next year. This was the first of the other three, a simple white chocolate and strawberry cake for my friend's birthday (her favourite) after which we went for Chinese food and beers! I decorated this one with some simple fondant roses in bright colours and a little gift tag. 

Peppa Pig was a last minute request from my brother for a kids party he was going to with his girlfriend. As I reside in a kid free house I don't have much knowledge of Peppa and her friends if I'm honest, but trusty google led the way on this one, and I had a message telling me she was a big hit!

And last but by no means least, this Sheffield United cake has just been picked up by an old friend for her partner's birthday this week. 

So there we are! Another eight cakes to add to my growing picture gallery, and hopefully you can see why I have had to neglect you all recently! I promise however that there is a recipe coming soon for an epic Amaretto Cheesecake that will make all things right again! Happy Sunday one and all, I'm off to find some wine! xx