Oh my bloggness how I've neglected you!!!
Things have been plodding on at a somewhat steadier pace of late, though not entirely through choice. I've been feeling a bit under the weather of late so have had to cut back on a few of the plans I'd had, while keeping up with the essentials. I'm delighted to be continuing my relationship with York Theatre Royal with my cupcakes continuing to be stocked in the cafe there. They currently feature
The Hare & The Tortoise for the production by
Tutti Fruitti Productions.
The cakes are vanilla sponge with chocolate buttercream. The Hare features chocolate flavoured ears and fudge nose, and the Tortoise has a multicoloured buttercream and sugar shell! I had such fun designing these, in collaboration with the catering team at the theatre. The cakes can be bought individually or as part of the children's lunch bags.
The other activity undertaken over the last few weeks were the creation of mini cupcakes which were given away as part of the
York Food Festival last week. They were given away with purchases of the
York Evening Press.
It was strange to be doing promotional items for myself! The favours were individually packaged in clear boxes, and featured a 10% discount voucher packed in the base of the box, and decorated with branded stickers. These favours start at £1.50 each depending on the amount of packaging or decoration required.
The other activity is slightly less cakey, but no less exciting. I'm due to launch my new website in the next few weeks and cannot wait! As soon as it goes live you will be the first to know!!
Finally, and returning to the theatre connection for a moment, I wanted to share with you a cake which I loved making. This three tier cake was for the young cast party of
Peter Pan at York Theatre Royal. We wanted to create a magical Pan-themed cake, but avoiding anything too Disney-esque, as the cast were aged between 10 and 19 years old. The programme design instantly sprang to mind, and so we decided to use this to create the cake. Having the three tiers meant that the flying silhouettes would be perfectly placed. I used a mixture of blue fondant icing to create a marbled covering for the cake. I then used various lustres to create light and shimmer across the sky. The silhouettes were traced using greaseproof paper and painted using black food colouring. The design went all around the cake, with me inventing the London skyline slightly around the back!
I loved creating this cake. It was great to approach things in a different way, and painting cakes was a revelation!
If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake! Well, that was what should have happened, but the idea to bake a half-term cake for my parents who visited this week only occurred to me hours before they were due to set off!
I greased a roasting tin (and in hindsight should have lined it too but was in a lazy mood this afternoon!) 
I baked it in the oven for approximately 35 minutes at 160*C until golden brown on top and smelling delicious!! 
I was asked by my partner in Afternoon Tea crime, (Yorkshire Teas), if I could make mini chocolate eclairs. "Yes!" was my immediate response, hastily followed but lots of reference to books and the internet to work out whether I actually could! I've been keen to develop my skills further, and there's nothing like a deadline to get you working! I opted for a traditional recipe from the Be-Ro which has straightforward instructions and I always tend to opt for the more traditional recipes.
