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 Club: A Slice Of Summer & More!

The summer sun has arrived and before the Cake Club took it’s annual summer break, we indulged in an afternoon of cakes (yay!)

Following my latest cake decorating class, I wanted to practice my new icing skills and practice it certainly was! I also wanted to bake a new and different flavour cake and after some summery thoughts, I decided I wanted to incorporate strawberries. This lead me to think about what went well with strawberries…and basil sprung to mind! Strawberries and basil cake it would be (recipe to follow in a separate post I promise)!

Everyone made a terrific effort in their cake ideas, and as well as my strawberries and basil cake there was a choice of chocolate ganache cake, coconut cake, disaronno cheesecake, cupcakes and scones (with jam and clotted cream). We all enjoyed the offerings and I think everyone likes the idea of not knowing what will be on offer at each (home) Cake Club.

Once again we weren’t without topics of conversation and as the next Cake Club won’t be until the Autumn there will be a lot to discuss by October 😉

Cake Club: Cheesecake Battles!

Okay so I’m a week late, but it doesn’t change what a delightful Cake Club it was…

Once again the spread was plentiful and appetising. Everyone made an effort to bring something different and decadent to the table. This time I decided to opt for a cheesecake! So I thought a Chocolate and Baileys cheesecake (far right) would be well received by the ladies – recipe to follow in another post! It was one of the easiest cheesecakes to make and was very tasty – a definite crowd pleaser. However I wasn’t the only person to bring a cheesecake along – novice baker Tracy (her words not mine!) also delivered an Oreo Cookie cheesecake – which got just a lot of Mmmm’s.

There was also Carrot Cake, Banana Cake, Cherry and Almond cake, Lemon and Strawberry cake, Pineapple Cake and Banoffee tarts – the choice was again overwhelming, even for me! However the supreme winner this time was Tracy and her Oreo Cheesecake. I also kept my promise and delivered the last winner’s (Julie) chosen Malteaser cake. This time the prize for Tracy is that we’ll be treating her to a cake at our next “Restaurant” Cake Club. Well done Tracy – can’t wait to taste your next creation! 😉

Hello Spring…Goodbye Winter’s Treasures (Cakes)!

Despite the cold days and dark nights, winter brought many pleasures in the cake / dessert form…

As I am never one to miss out on a good dessert, this has still been one of the niceties that I have enjoyed during the winter months. And as well as baking A LOT more in recent months, I have enjoyed my fair share of sweet cuisine made by others. Here’s a few of the favourites which have included cupcakes from Buttercup Cake Shop, cookie dough cake from Bella Italia Restaurant, Levi Roots’ ginger and pecan brownies, salted caramel and chocolate torte and chilli chocolate brownies from The Manor House.

You can probably see there’s a theme of chocolate in a lot of the tasty treats that I’ve had, and I would say that chocolate is definitely an attraction for me, but then I expect a lot from that dessert because of it! Now that we’re having warmer days and nights, my sweet palate will only get intensify – it will now be that time of year when cheesecakes and eton messes will make a grand appearance – hooray!! 🙂   

Easter Mini Eggs Cake

Easter feels like weeks ago…

As we were invited to a friend’s for dinner over the Easter period, I debated on whether we should take the usual bottle or some flowers etc. Then I thought why not bake a cake (in keeping with my home-baking theme!) And since it’s Easter – let the mini eggs roll!! I decided to make a golden syrup sponge with vanilla frosting. It turned out to be a favourite with the kiddies and was lovely with a cuppa! 🙂

Easter Mini Egg Recipe

Ingredients:

• 150g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 150g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 200g golden syrup
• vanilla frosting
• 3 bags of mini eggs
• 1 malteaser bunny

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 and vanilla extract to the butter mixture.
4. Add the flour and baking powder and fold together gently.
5. Add 150g of the golden syrup.
6. Pour into the prepared cake tin and swirl in the remaining syrup.
7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before icing and decorating with mini eggs etc.

It was a lovely Easter and this cake was a winner!!

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!

Mother’s Day Special: Milk Tray Cake

Who doesn’t love the idea curling up with some yummy chocolates…

As Mother’s Day was approaching I wanted to create a “wow” cake for my lovely Mum. My first thoughts were chocolates and but I didn’t want it to be just any ordinary chocolate cake. After some thought and research I decided that this indulgent cake should have as many chocolates as I could possibly fit on it!

I opted for a nutella sponge which gave the cake a slight hazelnut flavour and the chocolate buttons supported my mission of “chocolate overload”.  

She was surprised and delighted by the Milk Tray chocolate cake!