Halloween

A strange time of year filled with fun but with a sinister background. I'm going to focus on the cake side of things but maybe that's not much better... A soul cake is a small round cake  traditionally made for All Saints Day or All Souls' Day to celebrate the dead.

Bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits and, it is said, an ill-fated lottery began. If you were unfortunate enough to select the burnt cake you wouldn't see it through the night... human sacrifices are said to have been made to ensure good crops the following year.

However, there is an alternative... while soulers (mainly children and the poor) went around the village singing and saying prayers for the dead. It is said that each cake eaten would save a soul from Purgatory. Perhaps this was the beginning trick-or-treating. I prefer this idea. Whatever the truth is be careful what you eat this week! 

Thor

I love local delicacies and this is one very close to home for us, the Derbyshire Tharf (Thor) Cake. It is based on treacle and oats with a spicy mix of ginger and seems to be a regional version of Parkin but heavier. Parkin for those that haven't tried it is a lot more of a sponge cake by comparison, although equally yummy. I find Tharf gorgeous as it isn't as sweet and is deliciously filling, a real winter indulgence.

It's the perfect cake for bonfire night and as such it's our cake of the week this week.

So Cake Club, let me know what you think!





Don't forget you can join our Cake Club for yourself here. Something different each week, using seasonal ingredients and recipes!

The Great Cake Mystery

Now I know that book reviews aren't really something I usually do but I couldn't resist this one, The Great Cake Mystery by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm not going to give away the story apart from to say that a young girl called Precious becomes a detective in this first book of the series when cake goes missing! This really is a delightful book, which I read with my children. Our six year old has declared it an absolute hit, asking if we can get more books about Precious. I think the fact that she lives in Botswana and she smiles all the time adds to the appeal. This book is a fabulous introduction to bigger books. The chapters are short but still give you a piece of the story, so keep the concentration levels in smaller children (our youngest is only four and she loved it!). It's a simple story, which is easily followed and I did a little recap each night, where the children told me what had happened the night before. The best part was this was Mummy's book, Daddy wasn't allowed to read it! If I'm honest I was also at the point that some of their books were so well read I could read them from memory, which gets a bit tedious after a while. I'm looking forward to this next stage of reading with the kids now, think we may try Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill!

So grab yourself a copy and snuggle up with the kids for a great bedtime story.

WOHOOO It's our birthday!

It's Friday and that means cake club surprises... what can I say it's our birthday too, 3 years this month, so it had to be something special! Chocolate Dipped Cake Balls all round it is! These delicious bites of cake mixed with buttercream and then dipped in chocolate are gorgeous we hope you all enjoy them. 

And to show that we love you all you can grab a box now for the same price as a slice for this week only at £4.95. Don't take our word for it, try them yourself!

sorry offer now ended

Thank you

Cup Cake Classes

We do get asked a lot about whether we do cup cake classes and the answer is "yes!". We are sorry that there isn't a section on our website as yet where you can book yours but just drop us and email and we will get you booked in. The most popular class we do is for children, minimum age is 5 but we will happily come and show them what to do so they can make their own party cakes! We do also run adult classes too, just ask.

Simply email Abi with your requirements and she will organise everything for you.

Peppermint Chilli Chocolate Cake

Before you pull a face you should try it. The chocolate we use is from South Devon Chilli Farm and is one of the nicest I've ever had. Hot and cold at the same time (if that's possible). None of our cakes are designed to blow your head off and there is something slightly addictive about this. So for National Chocolate Week we thought we would send you a firm favourite. Happy Cake Club everyone!

National Poetry Day

Last Thursday was National Poetry Day, I love poetry and have enjoyed reading through the winners of this years Foyle Young Poets award. I thought I would share this with you as I feel the simple language is evocative of many childhoods. It has an underlying sadness to it mixed with nostalgia and love, amazing. 

Baking by Phoebe Boswall

Smells of baking remind me of you.

Your red apron, my small striped one with the torn pocket.
Your soft stretched skin, fingers kneading dough
into a ball. My fat floury hands
grasped for your amber necklace,
Quick, Phoebe, the oven!

You played with flavours,
made little blobs of buttery dough on the tray
Your warm kitchen, my safe haven.

You taught me your language:
bicarbonate of soda, self-raising flour, vanilla extract,
millilitres of milk, grams of sugar:
caster, muscovado, granulated.

Now your apron hangs empty on the peg.
I wear it from time to time; mine with the torn pocket
doesn't fit anymore.

If you would like to win a copy of 101 Poems for Children by Carol Ann Duffy you can enter the competition here

Raspberry Blondie

Hope you are all looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Our Cake Club will be enjoying our Raspberry Blondie this week. A scrumptious caramel taste with bursts of fresh raspberries to tickle the taste buds. If you fancy a slice yourself you should join our club, something different every week. We like to play with new flavours and use seasonal products so come and grab a slice, your first month is free!

Happy Friday everyone.