Never Say Goodbye To Cake…

I have pondered and thought about whether I should write this for some time…

When I began this blog, I never had any idea what direction it would go in, but I just found the whole cake / bake phenomenon so interesting (and yummy), and I could always appreciate a good cake! My love of cake stemmed from childhood, but my true joy of baking has really come into play in my adult years. So I began this blog to chart my cake journey chronicles, and it has opened my eyes and mind to more than I ever expected.

However instead of my enthusiasm and interest in cakes dwindling – it has only got bigger, and my desire to get better at baking has only increased. So now I’m at a stage where there is so much going on life-wise and cake-wise, and whilst I would like to continue writing this blog, I’m very aware that I lack the hours and energy to maintain an up to date record of all my cake delights and findings. So I’m going to continue my cake quest through other social media: instagram (@Reas_Bakes) and Facebook (Rea’s Bakes facebook page).

Thank you for reading my ramblings over the years, and I hope you have enjoyed seeing samples of my cake escapades!

Love & Eat Cake!

I’m Telling Everyone To Say It With Cake

So I’m finally taking the plunge (more like a dip) and offering my cake making services to friends and family…

As many loved ones keep saying that I should let more people taste my creations, I have agreed to start making cakes that others (outside of the inner circle) can also enjoy! I am offering the selection above, plus any other new flavours that I bake-up in the coming weeks. I am also happy to create new flavours with any interested parties!!

So I’m basically telling everyone that whatever the occassion (birthdays, congratulations or good luck) – Say It With Cake (By Andrea) 😉

A Choccywoccydoodah Birthday!!

So this weekend was my birthday -woohoo! And I wanted to do something different (from any other birthday)…

Initially I was going to go on a “Cake Crawl”, but after a visit to the world famous Choccywoccydoodah where the very friendly and charming staff gave me a tour of their “Secret Garden Room”, I couldn’t resist having my birthday there! So off to Choccywoccydoodah we went…

And they did not disappoint, from the moment that my guests and myself arrived, we were treated to the most amazing chocolate and cake bonanza you could ever imagine! The dedicated room was decorated channeling the “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” vision including toy rabbits and sheep and had masses of artificial flowers and greenery – so you felt like you were in a magical outdoors. Even more enticing was the long tables laden down in all of the chocolate and sweet treats – honeycomb, chocolate brownies, blondies, chocolate plumpies, jelly beans, nougat, tiffin, biscuits, chocolate buttons, marshmallows plus endless flavours of chocolate cakes!

I don’t think any of my guests were prepared for the magnitude of chocotastic offerings that were on offer and there were points during the party that they couldn’t believe that there was even more to come including my very own (and very big) ice cream cake! Everyone was also treated to strawberry champagne ice cream shakes, tea, coffee and other soft drinks – we wanted for nothing! Our host – Annette was very nice and accommodating and my guests spoke highly of her too.

I loved the idea of this place and seeing it in reality was truly awesome -thank you for a great time Choccywoccydoodah! 🙂

Birthday Cake Challenge: Ferrero Rocher Cake & New Name!

It was my lovely Sister In-Law’s birthday this weekend, so I put on my apron, got out my baking tins and had fun with her favourite chocolate!

I created a chocolate and hazelnut cake complete with Ferrero Rochers (of course) 😉 She has assured me that it tastes of “pure indulgence” – so it was a success. Here’s the recipe for those that want to sample the same indulgence. This cake also fits in nicely with the blog’s new and improved name…“Say It With Cakes”!

Ferrero Rocher Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 200g butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 150g plain flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 75g crushed hazelnuts (plus more to decorate)
• chocolate frosting
• 1 box of 16 x ferrero rochers                                                                 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C / Gas 3. Grease a 6″ cake tin
2. In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla extract to the butter mixture.
4. Add the flour, cocoa and baking powder .
5. Fold in the crushed hazelnuts.
6. Pour into the prepared cake tin.
7. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before icing and decorating with ferrero rochers and hazelnuts. Enjoy!

Cake News: Tenants Contracts Landlord To Give Them Birthday Cakes

This is a very amusing news story  and it relates to cake…

The Mail Online reported this week that some imaginative tenants were sent a rental agreement contract to sign by their landlord – but instead of a locked PDF, the property-owner sent an editable Word document. In turn the opportunistic pair added an extra clause to the contract – the provision of birthday cakes on both of their respective birthdays – which the landlord then unwittingly signed.

The tenants even stipulated that the birthday cakes must not be vanilla flavour – haha!

See a copy of the contract here that has spread like wild-fire online.

It’s a reminder to us all that we should read anything before we sign it. Let’s hope that the landlord knows a good baker!