Cake Masters Magazine - December

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

B AKING ~ DECORATING ~ S H A R I N G

Cake International Special

Christmas Bauble Tutorial

Christmas Cake Feature

Cake Masters AWARDS 2012 1

From the Editor

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

B AKING ~ DECORATING ~ S H A R I N G

Cake Masters Christmas Issue 2012 has been a great year filled with some amazing cakey stories, competitions and events.

This issue is jam packed with the usual articles and tutorials to inspire you over the festive season.

I love pulling together the magazine every issue and especially love interacting with the online cake community.

There are so many of you lovely people out there, it has been an honor to meet and talk to so many of you over this past year.

Highlights for me have been the London Cake Crawl, Cake and Bake Show, filming at Cake International and our amazing entries into the vintage cupcake competition earlier this year. The biggest achievement for us at Cake Masters was the launch of this online magazine. The magazine was really supposed to be a quick newsletter each month, showcasing awesome cakes posted on our wall, but it has evolved into an amazing rather glamorous magazine, which we want to keep free and online so that it is accessible to all.

This issue is packed with great articles, photos of your cakes, tutorials and special features.

We have a feature on Cake International, where we have included some of the cakes on display and with profiles of the people who made the cakes. Not only can you marvel at amazing cakes entered, but also find out a little more about the person behind the cake. As an additional special feature, we have an exclusive short video of the highlights at Cake International too - see if you can spot yourself Jď Š Another special in this issue is the Christmas Cake feature, where we have displayed some of the best designed cakes, sugar figures, cookies and cupcakes. Thank you to everyone who emailed in with their designs, we did our best to showcase as many as possible.

Another exciting feature are the Awards for 2012, I hope you join me in congratulating our winners.

Before I go, I just wanted to say a few thank yous.

Thanks to Michelle from Hat Trick Strategies, without your help we wouldn’t have this magazine!

Cake by Chantelle for being our fabulous cover for this issue hanks to Posey Furnish, who has for the second time now written us a great article A special thanks to Kathy Boynton who shared her gingerbread story with us Charmaine for the excellent tutorial and business article Zach, our new guy for helping out with our magazine Kamran for great video production services And LASTLY To ALL our contributors who make the magazine simply awesome!

Merry Christmas and nest wishes for 2013

Rosie x

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

From the Editor ~ Page 2 Cake International Feature ~ Page 4 Christmas Wish List ~ Page 12 Gingerbread Snow Globe ~ Page 14 Christmas Bauble Tutorial ~ Page 18 Christmas Cookie Tutorials ~ 23 Cake News ~ Page 24 Guest Columnist - Michaela Saunders ~ Page 25 Spotted ~ Page 26 Finishing Touches ~ Page 28 Cake Masters Awards 2012 ~ Page 30 Christmas Caking Around the World ~ Page 40 Beaconsfield High School Christmas Bake Off ~ Page 42 Business By Charmaine ~ Page 45 Christmas Cake Special ~ 47

The Making of the Gingerbread Snow Globe

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Cake International Feature 4

Christmas Cake Special 47 Cake Masters AWARDS 2012

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Feature @CAKE INTERNATIONAL We had an great time at Cake International this November at the Birmingham NEC. Cake International is the show of the year that people look forward to - it is a sugarcraft extravaganza all under one roof. The cakes entered this year were fantastic and we loved taking in all the detail. We have managed to pull together a feature on Cake International including interviews from competitors, as we always see the cake, but have no idea who the face behind the cake is. I hope you enjoy this feature as much as we loved putting it together!

Additionally on the day, we were running around with a camera crew and microphone interviewing you and the exhibitors as well as speaking to some competitors that entered cakes into various competitions.

Thanks to Kamran Yasin for producing an excellent video!

Watch NOW!

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Feature

The Pukka Cake Parlour Nick Smith *BEST IN SHOW* I really got into cake decorating by accident and should I say it found me. I began my career as a Chef working through various establishments. As I progressed through the levels I always had a soft spot for the pastry side of the kitchen without ever giving cake decorating a thought. Obviously as a Chef I was asked at times from family and friends if I could make a cake and of course I obliged but on a very simple scale. It wasn't until I landed a job in the west end of London that it was here it slowly began to become a passion and a labour of love. I was asked here to make a birthday cake for the owner of the company and this is where I immersed myself fully into the sugar world! I started to teach myself making my fair share of mistakes and I plucked up the courage one day to enter the novelty class at Hotel Olympia London 2010. After a stressful and challenging few weeks I delivered my entry and came back the following day to see what I had been awarded. Upon walking to my exhibit I thought I was awarded a bronze and I was already buzzing with excitement that I had achieved this, but on getting closer I saw those magical letters GOLD, I reckon I must have jumped ten foot in the air with the biggest shout and this lit the fire in me! From then I knew I wanted to be a cake designer so "The Pukka Cake Parlour" was born.

The Pukka Cake Parlour

I'm 41 years old and have 2 daughters aged 17 and 7. I started making cakes in May 2010 - the first one was for my nan’s 97th birthday - she'd always made mine growing up. I'd been telling her about how I'd been making fairy cakes with my youngest who was then 4, when she requested that I make her a birthday cake.It was the only cake of mine that she ever saw as she sadly passed away a month later. I will always be so happy that I made that cake for her!

In November 2011 I gave up my full time job as an account manager for a hospital linen services company and opened my own cake shop and cupcake cafe in January 2012.

Designa Cake Karen Bill *GOLD*

Designa Cake 5

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Feature

Vicki Louise Smith *SILVER* I’m an artist and have always been creative by exploring new medias to express art. Two years ago my partner’s birthday cake made by somebody else was a disaster, so I decided to have a go myself. It turned out that good that I carried on making cakes. I love the challenge of making something different, unique and realistic in an edible form.

It was difficult to get the cake to say as a whole cake without internal supports. I spoke to the judge afterwards and he said that if the cake wasn’t damaged I could have got higher.

This was my first time entering the show and I am excited to enter next year at Manchester and Birmingham

Vix Art The cake before the damage

Melys Cake Design Wayne Price *GOLD* I am 42 and from North Wales, Dad of 2 girls and married for 22 years.

Melys Cake Design is my trading name and the word 'Melys' is the Welsh word for 'Sweet'.

I currently work full time for a Structural Engineering Company and make the cakes evenings and weekends as a 'hobby' so lots of very late nights and NO spare time.

Melys Cake Design

I entered my Liverpool FC royal iced cake and it won a Gold which I was head over heels with on my first NEC competition entry!

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Feature Deborah Harwood *GOLD* I'm Deborah Harwood and I have been making cakes for about ten years. I don't currently have a business and a Facebook Page is coming after much pressure from my cake fans! Most of my work comes from word of mouth and I do many charity cakes to raise money. It's difficult to commit full time with cakes as my other passion is silversmithing.

I don't make your everyday cake and always like to create a story within my work therefore Handbag and Shoes were totally out of the question for my competition piece and a shop was a perfect choice.

This cake took me around 5 weeks, 3 of those making the handbags and shoes. In fact I got too carried away and had to stop! I had a few challenges, hoping that the window aperture wouldn't collapse as internal supports were not allowed. But the biggest challenge was the 3 hour journey to Birmingham praying it wouldn't collapse on the way! The relief was immense!

This was my first entry into Cake International and I'm so pleased with my achievements as it got me a Gold and 2nd in category. What on earth will I come up with for next year?!

Vix Art The cake before the damage

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Feature My Little Shop of Cakes Vanessa Mahy *GOLD* I have been baking and designing cakes for over 20 years. Completely self-taught, I initially specialised in Royal iced paintings, then over time I have expanded my knowledge and now I can put my hand to most styles, most recently making shoes and handbags! I love new challenges and that’s why I have started entering competitions, I always want to improve my skills and seeing other people’s fantastic cakes always sets me new goals.

All my cakes are bespoke, and I spend a lot of time working on each design before I even think about getting the icing out. I hope this is why people keep coming back to me, it’s that extra personal detail I give to each design to create a WOW cake! It’s also the taste, fluffy vanilla sponges, and rich chocolate cakes what more do you want in life.

It took most evenings and weekends over a 3 week period, it takes time as you have to do it stage by stage and let things dry fully – I had to be patient!

I have always been a bit of a tomboy and love the outdoor life, so a ‘his and hers’ boots seemed a good choice, and they are very ‘now’ at the moment. My boots are more likely to look like the guys than the floral pair!!

My Little Shop of Cakes

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Feature

The Clever Little Cupcake Company Amanda Mumbray *GOLD & SILVER*

I have been making cakes since my kids were very small, but only very amateur cakes for their birthdays, as most Mums do. I started seriously just over two years ago when I made cupcakes for my husband’s birthday and got a quip from him “they’re good, but not as good as a lady at work”. I was quite cross, but when I saw hers, I was amazed at the endless possibilities that cupcakes could offer, and how detailed I was prepared to go with them. A few months later, I started on the cake side and it has blossomed from there. I have had no formal training, apart from a modeling course at Slattery’s, making human figures.

The design inspiration for my entry at CI was a pair of rockabilly shoes I saw on line. I wanted to make something less traditional and more youthful. I based the handbag cake on a bag by Irregular Choice, but changed bits on it to match the shoes. I had a big gap on the board, so decided to make a set of sugar keys modelled on my own. The cake took about 6 hours to make, including the decorations. The shoes also took about 6 hours. It was my first carved cake, and I had a few sleepless nights about how I was going to do it, but it was pretty easy once I had made the templates. The biggest challenge was lifting the decorated cake on to the cake board!

The Clever Little Cupcake Company

It was first time visiting and entering Cake International, and I was absolutely delighted to have won Gold.

My daughter also entered. She was 9 at the time of the show (she has just turned 10 – yesterday!).

Her cake was a dummy, which she iced herself and made all the decorations for. She has been making a few bits and pieces from sugar for about a year, and is very creative. Her cake took about 4 hours. She won a silver medal.

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Feature

Nuthouse Bakery Laura Nolan *BRONZE & SILVER* Two years ago I walked away from my international career and spent the following 6 months prepping to set up my own cake business. In October 2011 I started making cakes and taught my first class and from there my business has grown. I entered my first competition in May this year, Telford British Sugar Craft Show and got a Bronze. This year I decided to enter Cake International and came home with 2 bronzes and a silver, I could not have been happier!

Nuthouse Bakery

Miss Abes e’Cakes Abigail Webb *SILVER*

I was born in Temple Cloud on the outskirts of Bristol, where I lived with my parents up to the age of 18. From there I moved to Doncaster to pursue my career in the Health & Safety environment, over the next 10 years I worked for 2 companies as their H&S and Environmental Officers. Baking has always been a strong passion of mine, whether it was helping alongside my mother or in my spare time to provide an arrangement of food for friends and family for special occasions. During my tenure as an H&S Officer I enrolled onto a course at Doncaster College during the summer of 2011, successfully completing with a distinction in Sugar Craft in my first year. I am now well into my second year and continually improving my skills each step of the way. I was recently made redundant unexpectedly from my employer; this has amplified my drive and determination to start my own business. The business is now in the early stages of development, with the ever-increasing demand for ‘Miss Abe’s Cakes’ customers keep coming back.

Miss Abe’s Cakes 10

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Feature

Lady B’ Bs Cupcakery June Brett *GOLD* I started my cake journey in May 2011 when I made my first cake for my daughter’s birthday. It went down really well and soon people at work started to ask me to make cupcakes. This is where my desire and passion for all things cake grew.

Very quickly I reached a point where I had to choose between work and my passion. I took the plunge and Lady B’s Cupcakery was born in December 1st 2011.

Lady B’s Cupcakery

I have had an incredible year and I cant wait to see what the next 12 months brings.

Cakes by Heather Heather Bicknell *BRONZE* I'm a mum of two, wife, part time accountant and cake artist. I started playing in the world of sugar after my son was born last year, just for my sisters wedding and then a few friends birthday cakes and then the obsession took over.

I'm dizzy, full of crazy ideas, very forgetful, but a really good friend :-) Cakes by Heather Jane

Kathryns n’Homemade Cakes Kathryn Matthews *SILVER* I was persuaded to enter by a fellow tweeter Julie Gibson (@icemaidencakes) and didn't really know what to expect. I have never entered a competition with my cakes before and am completely self taught, so had serious doubts about my abilities and if it would be worthy of a merit certificate.

As the results took so long to come out on the saturday, I initially thought I hadn't received anything for it and was a bit down in the dumps. My friend Julie texted me a picture and it was the longest few seconds ever as I waited for it to download!!!

I won a silver!!!!!! I have never been so shocked!

Kathryn’s Homemade Cakes 11

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Christmas

W!h L!t

From left to right: Prestige sharp top edger £7.99, Non Pareils - Christmas Assortment £1.50, The FULL Sugarflair gel food colouring set of 36 £52.75, Reindeer and Christmas pudding transfer sheet £2.99, Patterned Hearts Mould £6.95 High strength natural flavours - Citrus collection £24.00

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From left to right: Earlene Ruth by Silicone Plastique £13.99, Patchwork Robbin cutter £2.75 Cupcake Lace Mats £17.50, Springerle Cookie Mould £24.95, 32 piece flower making set with book £12.99, Batifolage Print Chocolate Transfer Sheet £2.99 13

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Feature Gingerbread Sn w Globe When we first saw this excellent gingerbread creation, we thought that it was a neon edible image of a church that had been stuck on the front of the snow globe. Upon closer examination, we were astounded to find that inside the hollow gingerbread snow globe was a gingerbread house!

Exclusive to Cake Masters readers, we caught up with Kathy Boynton the architect of this amazing gingerbread creation.

Q:Tell us a little bit about you I married my Junior High School sweetheart 40 years ago today, December 8th. We had two beautiful children, Sandy who is married to Bobby with two children of her own - Taylor 15, and Austin age 11.

Our late son Gary Joseph gave us a wonderful grandson Gary Tyler who is 13.

My family is my life and grandchildren are the icing on the cake.

My family and I moved to Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania from Baltimore, Maryland in 1990. Along with the move came a new job for me. After answering an ad in the newspaper for a cake decorating position at Klein's Family Market I got an interview with Mrs. Klein. I took pictures of my work to the interview and was hired on the spot.

Kathy with her husband Gary who is her biggest fan!

I was an electrical drafts person prior to our move to Pennsylvania. The only cake decorating experience I had was making cakes for my family and friends.

I'm still at that job and still love what I do. I am truly blessed to work for the Klein's.

They allow me to be creative and in turn I have very loyal customers. In fact I'm now making their grandchildren's specialty cakes. It is very rewarding to know your hard work is giving people joy. Time just flies when you're having fun.

My sister Bette and I took a 6 week cake decorating course together at The Cake Cottage in Fulerton, Maryland back in 1986. My initial intent behind taking that six week cake decorating course was to get good enough to make my own daughters wedding cake. That dream >>

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>> came true in 1994. It turned out to be an ten tier cake with a fountain that took eleven hours to construct.

Every tier was a different variety of cake.

Chelli was the only one who wasn't a cake decorator by trade. They all turned out gorgeous. We wowed this quaint little town with our talent that year. Great times and great memories.

Q: Where does your inspiration come from?

Pinterest is my new addiction.

I can surf till my hearts content and my eyes start burning.

That is where I'm always looking for inspiration and that is where I found a similar gingerbread globe that started my imagination running for my own version of a Christmas globe.

Follow Kathy on Pinterest

The wedding cake!

Q: Tell us about your relationship with Gingerbread Now gingerbread is a different story.

As much as I love cake decorating and its diversity, I love the challenge gingerbread gives me.

Everything is from scratch and from my own imagination, which can be dangerous a times!

Gingerbread to me denotes fond memories of when my Mom would take me to our local bakery as a child. I can still remember oogling over the decorated gingerbread people she would buy me one every once in awhile and would just admire them for hours.

It was in 1987 that a friend of mine invited me to a free gingerbread house demonstration at our local library. All I can say to that is that there have been gingerbread houses every year since! I've been in a few contests and won a few ribbons. I even badgered a few cake decorating co-workers of mine into joining me in a contest at the Fawn Grove Fire Station's Annual Craft Show one year. We all chose different themes on purpose to reduce the competitive edge and to make it more fun. Let me see now, we had a church, a barn, a bakery, a Hansel and Gretel house and the Little Old Lady that lived in a shoe house. The shoe house was my son's girlfriend, Chelli's ingenious idea.

Q: Tell us about the globe and how you made it My search started for 3-D round baking pans for the globe. The only thing my search came up with was Wilton's 3-D Sports Ball Pan Set. It was only 6" in diameter and I really wanted an 8" round globe but had to settle for the 6"pans. I greased the outside of the pans and draped my cookie dough over the top gingerly (no pun intended!). I then trimmed the dough a little above the bottom of the pans to leave room for it to spread while it baked. I then used a circle cookie cutter and cut a 1/2 circle from what would be the front of the globe. Once I determined how much height I had to work with inside I designed my miniature church.

fondant with a flower cutter I have from a Wilton flower making set I purchased years ago. I trimmed them down to size and after they were dry I drew on the colors of the stained glass with Wilton edible markers. The tiny trees around the church were made from green fondant stuffed up inside a #4 pastry tip. They turned out to be the perfect size that I needed. After they dried I wet them down and rolled them in Christmas colored nonpareils. The tiny stars atop the trees are also quins.

I always wanted to make a mini at gingerbread house village but could never come up with the perfect >>

I started with a small match box and built around it. It worked perfectly. My personal preference for shingles on a gingerbread house has always been Neco wafers.

To emulate those wafers for my miniature church I found that some egg shaped pastel quins, used as sprinkles on cupcakes, fit for the exact ratio for what I wanted for my church roof. The stained glass windows were cut from white 15

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>> format to display it. I think I achieved that with the globe this year.

Q: How did you assemble the snowglobe?

So at this point I had 2 half spheres with a circle cut out of the front. I iced the inside of both spheres with royal icing to preserve their roundness from the humidity factor and to make the globe sturdier. The 4" round flat interior base got iced underneath too for stability and to keep it from warping. Now the tricky part. How to cover the inside seam of the ball so it's not so evident there is it two half sphere when people pier in at the church. I wanted a finished looking background for the church. I learned a new trick this year from a webinar class I watched online. Sheila Miller uses a Dremel tool to sand down the edges of her gingerbread to make them fit perfectly. So I decided to try it and I loved the results! Even dried royal icing can be safely sanded with the Dremel tool. It is now my new favorite tool for gingerbread. The spheres fit together well but not perfect enough for me. I decided to add some snowflake wafers to the bottom half of the globe on the seam edge but I attached them higher than the sides so that when the top part of the globe was attached the seam

wouldn't be obvious to the naked eye. I then finished decorating the 4" inner base with the completed church and trees. I sanded off two openings on the base to allow the LED lights to shine through to illuminate the inside of the globe and make the church scene glow.

Next, I decorated the outside of the bottom sphere with the scroll work before I finished off the inside only because it was just easier to work with that way. After that all dried I glued the top sphere to the bottom with royal icing, the outer seam was then covered using a #16 star tip in a zig zag design and poinsettias and holly leaves made from gumpaste were used to adorn the globe. The outside platform the globe is resting on was made from gingerbread cookie dough draped over a small Corelle bowl and baked. It required support putting the completed globe on it so I filled the inner gap with stacked cookies iced with royal icing for stability. Ask me how I know to do this?...Yup, I had to make two.

“My first attempt caved it. The only good thing about that is you get to eat your mistakes!�

I like the look of scroll work on gingerbread. The final touch was my favorite candy, a Reesey cup on top with a stringed piece of gumpaste stuck in the top to make the globe resemble a Christmas ball.

Q: How long did it take?

A common question that is hard to determine. I did try to log my time spent this year but it's still only an estimate. Approximately 40hrs was spent from the designing, the mixing, the rolling, the assembling and the decorating. All a labor of love, sponsored by my employer Klein's ShopRite and donated to The Chesapeake Cancer Alliance for their annual fund raiser.

Q: Did you win a prize for your creation?

The globe didn't win any ribbons this year. I'm not sure why. But I got my thanks when the person who won the silent auction for my church globe came specifically to my store to tell me how much she and her grandaughter absolutely loved the house. It made my day and reminded me of what it is truly all about.

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Click here for info

www.cakemasters.co.uk

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www.cakeinternational.co.uk

Star Guests

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Christmas Bauble Tuto"al

Tutorial from Charmaine from By Charmaine

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Christmas Bauble Tutorial You will need: 2 mini ball halves (I use the Wilton Mini Ball pan and a Madeira cake recipe) 50g buttercream Sharp knife Pastry cutter 400g blue coloured fondant Spacers 2 smoothers Pearl and Ice Blue Luster Dust Small bowl and large brush for dusting

Step 1 Trim the ball halves using the top of the baking pan as a leveller. Stick the two halves together using some of your buttercream, use the remainder to crumb coat the entire ball and place in the fridge overnight.

Colour your fondant and wrap in cling-­‐ film, place in an airtight container or bag to stop it drying out.

Step 2 Once your crumb coating is hard use your spacers to roll out a circle of fondant 5mm thick, lay over the top of your ball.

Tutorial from Charmaine from By Charmaine

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Christmas Bauble Tutorial Step 3 Use the palms of your hands to smooth the fondant around the ball, use upward strokes to prevent gathering creases at the base. If you do get creases then gently lift the fondant *do not pull* and level out before smoothing back onto the cake.

Step 4 Gather the fondant at the base of your ball and use your pastry cutter to cut away the excess.

Step 5 Use the palms of your hands and then the 2 smoothers to remove any lumps, bumps and creases. The weight of the cake will create a flat bottom; help to prevent this by placing the ball on a soft, foam drying pad and moulding the very bottom edge under the ball with your fingertips.

Tutorial from Charmaine from By Charmaine

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Christmas Bauble Tutorial Step 6 Mix up some pearl and ice blue luster dust in a small bowl and use a large brush applicator (I use a clean make-­‐up brush) to apply all over the ball in circular movements.

To make the bauble cap you will need: Large marble size piece of white fondant.

Gold Luster dust Rejuvenator spirit Paint brush Large ball tool Edible glue and brush Palette knife (optional)

Step 7 Take a small piece of the fondant and roll into a sausage 1.5cm long, bend in the middle, level off the bottom ends and set aside to dry.

Roll the remaining fondant into a short, fat sausage and flatten both ends. Use the other end of your paintbrush or a palette knife to score lines around the outside of the sausage then press your ball tool into the top to make an indent. Glue the smaller bent piece into the indent to make the hanging piece. Mix a small amount of gold luster dust and rejuvenator spirit to make paint and use the brush to colour it all gold – leave to dry.

Tutorial from Charmaine from By Charmaine

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Christmas Bauble Tutorial Step 8 Roll out the florist paste on your board and cut 4 icicles, use the glue and brush to stick these into position on your bauble before they harden. Using a touch of glue position your white non-­‐ pareils around the icicles. Mix up a pearl luster paint using the rejuvenator spirit and paint the icicles to give them a shine.

Attached your dry bauble cap to the top of the cake.

Step 8 Step back and admire your finished creation!

Tutorial from Charmaine from By Charmaine

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Cookie Tutorials Tutorial from Glorious Treats

Tutorial from Bubble and Sweet

Tutorial from Sweetopia

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Cake News Request for help!

The Robbie Boyd Band on This Morning

I don't have a cake business as such, but have always been interested in making cake and eating them of course!

My son Liam, has Cystic Fibrosis. Although Liam has this disease, it has never stopped him doing anything.

He is married to Nicola and they have a lovely little boy William who will be 3 in January. Liam lives life to the full, he works full time, plays snooker every week, goes to football matches and in his spare time has done all the work in his own home mainly on his own, this includes, plumbing a new bathroom in, fitting a kitchen, tiling, laying floors and decorating. Liam always gives more than 100% in everything he does.

He has now decided it is his turn to raise much needed funds for Cystic Fibrosis. Along with a friend with CF, Liam is arranging a Charity Valentine's Ball on 9th Feb 2013 for Cystic Fibrosis. He is aiming to raise several thousands of pounds during this evening from sponsorships, auction prizes and raffle prizes.

My part - I have volunteered to make approximately 350 cupcakes as a thank you gift for everyone on the night. In order for me to do this, and in order that we spend as little as possible and raise as much money as possible, I am asking if there are any kind people out there that may be able to help with the donation of a few things. I need large cupcake cases (red/pink/silver - to keep in with valentine/CF colours), clear individual cupcake pods to present the cakes in and to enable people to take them home undamaged and also thin red ribbon to attach the gift tags to the pods, also any ingredients to make the vanilla/choc cupcakes. If anyone has any oddments or spare items they are willing to donate, that would be fantastic, it doesn't matter how many, any amount would be very much appreciated.

Deborah and her daughter Danielle

Some words from Robbie “We made our television debut playing 'I Won't Let You Go' live on ITV's This Morning just before we went on tour to Argentina, so that was an amazing week for us. It was really great to meet Holly and Phil, and we met Michael Parkinson too, which was awesome!

Apparently 1.3 million people were watching us perform, so for an unsigned band that was pretty incredible exposure! We

Gino with Clare’s cupcake!

My name is Deborah Harris from Lincoln, aged 49.

Married with 2 children, Liam aged 26 and Danielle aged 23. Grandma to 2 wonderful children - William and George.

Our lovely helper Clare from Miss Fitz Cakery has a brother in the awesome band “The Robbie Boyd Band”.

She got to make some cupcakes with the band’s logo on it and naturally they were taken with the band onto the set of This Morning! The fabulous Gino D’Acampo and Phillip Schofield ate her cakes and said how delicious the cakes were! Way to go Clare!

Liam is also looking for sponsorship for the evening, in the form of event sponsorship, individual table sponsorship, wine and photographer sponsorship. He is also looking for auction prizes and raffle prizes for the evening.

If anyone can help with any of the above requests, or requires any further info please contact me on 07904 868974 or email me at deborahharris100@hotmail.com Thanks!

Liam, wife Nicola, son William

Liam with his nephew George

Share your news with us! magazine@cakemasters.co.uk

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News

This was the chain of events whilst making cupcake toppers for my mum’s 80th.

7 year old Child: “Mummy, can I help?”

Me: (in my head) “You have GOT to be kidding” (out loud) “No that’s alright darling, I’m just about finished anyway…” (in my head) “Now s** off and leave me alone I’m probably going to be here all night”.

The first child leaves and the next arrives.

4 year old Child: “Playdoh! I want to do it” …(jumps up on a step stool and grabs the nearest cutter) Me: (in my head) “No No NO! Get out of it! …” (out loud) “Here you have this bit – over there” (in my head) “and don’t you DARE come near mine!”

The Exple)ves Of A Stressed Out Mum ~ Michaela Saunders Ok, I do cakes for people now and then, and I’ve got 4 kids, yes it’s my own fault, I know.

On both counts! Perhaps this piece should be called, “Just Say No!” And we tend to put kids and cakes together in the same head space automatically, mainly I guess because we’re usually making a cake for a kid. But in reality, they just don’t go together at all…well not in my house.

Let me explain.

Despite my best efforts to get cake work done during school hours, somehow time always beats me. “Get ahead” I always say. Get all the flowers, figures and other paraphernalia that goes on top, done and dusted in advance so it has time to dry out…right? Yeah. Right. But something always crops up and that usually means that they’re still “in progress”, and worst of all, on display, when the kids come in. Not good news.

At the crack of 4pm, they’re stampeding through the kitchen like migrating wildebeest, the fridge is opening and closing like the dunnie door in a high wind, there are drinks on the go, they’re stealing biscuits, the dinner’s cooking, the littlest is charging round on his car and in the midst of all this, I can’t help myself! The sane person would give up and pack up. But no, I have to try to get the decorations finished! Lunacy!

So you know what’s coming, my patience is tested to breaking point and what goes on in my head, most definitely cannot come out of my mouth. It’s a struggle sometimes!

(Five minutes of tense peace til littl’un gets bored and trots off.)

7 year old Child (back again): “Oooh that looks lovely”… (fingers go straight into what was perfect icing.)

Me: (in my head) “The next time you touch that I’m taking your finger off with my craft knife”… (out loud and through gritted teeth) “Please-­‐Don’t-­‐Touch!” (child leaves room on verge of tears at this point) (Distant snivelling….then the arrival of the next visitor).

11 year old Child (boy): “Mum, what are you doing?”

There are about 40 moulded flowers drying on the foam mat.

Me: (in my head) “I’m painting a bl***dy wall, what does it look like?” (out loud) “Flowers!?”

He sneezes over the whole lot, three times.

Me: (in my head) “F*** a doodle do! They’re going in the bin then, make that another 3 am finish” …(out loud) “OMG….GET OUUUUT!” (Yet again child runs from the room crying…oooh nasty mummy!)

I love my children more than anything in the world, but kids and cakes?….hmm!

It’s taken a bit of work to train them, but they know better now. Shame one of them is missing a finger on the right hand, but hey he didn’t want to play piano anyway. (Joking!)

Michaela Harris (Saunders) is a 40 something mother of 4, freelance broadcaster and cake maker. She’s spent the last 20+ years working as an announcer/presenter on BBC TV and Radio, as well as voicing trails, advertisements and corporate videos. Originally trained as a musician she plays piano and sings, currently appearing in a local choir, The College Singers. She launched her new venture Michaela’s Cakes at the beginning of the year. In her spare time(!) she loves to garden and has recently been dragged into a punishing fitness regime by her neighbour.

Favourite things: Thai food, fast cars and beautiful shoes, but she never has enough money for any of these anymore!

NB. Michaela’s children do still have all their fingers.

Connect on Facebook Website

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@

I noticed the other day, that the baking ingredient isle in my Tesco Extra is starting to look like something out of a sugarcraft shop! My local Tesco now stocks gel colours, lustre dusts, edible pens, and a fantastic new range of sprinkles - my favourite has to be the popping candy, you must check it out!

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www.sugaricing.com sales@sugaricing.com

BUY NOW

BUY NOW

www.centreattraction.co.uk centreattraction@hotmail.co.uk

www.patchworkcutters.co.uk www.foodieflavours.com 27

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

g n i h es s i Finouch T East of India Christmas Ribbon 3m x 1.5cm £2.99 per reel From Mollie and Fred

Merry Christmas Ribbon 4m x 2cm £2.79 From Lakeland

EDITOR’S PICK

Purple and Silvers Glitzy Ribbon Pack of 6 4m assorted widths £6.99 per reel From Lakeland Gold Ribbon 39 different Christmas designs, each reel at a bargain price!

3m x 6cm Prices vary £1.35-£1.89 From Country Baskets

Vintage Bauble Ribbon 3m x 6cm £2.99 per reel From Floristry Warehouse

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BU

YN OW

BU

YN OW

BU

YN OW

www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk

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ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

We at Cake Masters have been amazed by some of baking and caking talent out there and thought that we would end the year in style by awarding several people with awards for their awesomeness.

When deciding who was going to win an award, sometimes we found it difficult as there were a few cakes that came to mind, other categories it was easy to decide a clear winner.

The awards are our way of recognising great talent and we hope that you join us in congratulating the winners.

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Awards Cake Pop Award There was only one person that stands out from the crowd when it comes to cake pops...our winner is

Lou Lou P’s Delights Lou Lou P’s Delights

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Awards Novelty Cake Award A stand out cake of the year for me in terms of how realistic this cake is. This is one cake that went viral across the internet getting exposure and recognition from some key players in the cake industry.

North Star Cakes

North Star Cakes

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Awards Wedding Cake Award This was a really difficult category to choose a winner for. We wrestled between two other cakes before coming to our decision.

After much thought, we had to give the award to Rosie Cake-Diva.

Rosie Cake-Diva

Her cake is simply stunning!

Rosie Cake-Diva

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Awards Best Retailer Award There has been one leader out there in getting new and exciting products into the cake decorating market.

The Cake Decorating Company were the first to bring us the fantastic Mat, Cake Play Isomalt and stock great products like sugarveil, beautiful designer moulds and stencils too.

The Cake Decorating Company

The CakeDecorating Company

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Awards Cupcake Award A true master of vintage chic designs, the winner continues to WOW with beautiful cupcake collections fit for a King!

Carina’s Cupcakes

Carina’s Cupcakes

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Awards Creative Award There are some bonkers people out there that really test the boundaries of sugar.

However, we were blown away by the creative cakes made by our winner - not necessary on the outside...but on the inside!

One word - FANTASTIC!

Cakes and Cookies Cupcake Wrappers

Cakes and Cookies Cupcake Wrappers

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Awards Special Mention Award We wanted to give a special mention award to Niki Tompkinson from Sweet Creations. Her generosity and pure selfless qualities really stood out earlier this year.

Niki helped several brides by making wedding cakes for them with no payment after a company went bankrupt, and all was lost.

Sweet Creations

It is great to know there are some lovely people like you still about!

Sweet Creations

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Awards Personality Award Through Facebook and various blog providers we have been able to not only marvel at your cakes but to also get to know a fair few of you online.

Facebook has become a daily part of life and if feels like we meet many of you every day!

We felt that 4 people especially have made themselves known, not only for their cakes, but for their personalities too.

Here are our nominations:

Allison from Let’s Eat Cupcakes is lovely. We have had the opportunity to meet her several times and she is a bold, passionate, fiery character who is always smiling.

Her style is vintage shabby chic with twists that keep her designs current and fresh. Allison is a lovely individual who is selfless in helping others and does a lot of things without commercial gain.

Lesley from the Royal Bakery is an online celebrity in my eyes.

She has such a great sense of humor and not only does she create fantastic cakes, she also seems to be super at interacting with every single one of her fans.

Lesley has a thriving Facebook page which continues to grow from strength to strength.

Carina from Carina’s Cupcakes has had a phenomenal year.

She is a strong woman who drives forward with determination to achieve what is important to her.

Julie from Kiss Me Cake helps others with her YouTube tutorials for free. Julie interacts with all her fans and is on hand to help fellow cakers when in need.

Carina has expanded her business and stocks a variety of goodies for cake decorating.

Julie has a great YouTube personality and has posted 46 tutorials in the past 9 months.

Carina wows with her designs and naturally won gold at Cake International at the Birmingham NEC this year.

Julie’s youtube channel has had over 125,000 views!

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Awards Personality Award Our four nominations are winners in their own right, but we had to pick one.

This lady has an infectious personality and great sense of humour. It is a joy to follow her online and we hope to get to meet you one day, even though we think we already know you...that isn’t supposed to sound creepy!

The Royal Bakery

The personality award goes to Lesley Wright from the Royal Bakery - Congratulations!

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Feature Christmas Caking Around the World

By Posey Furnish ~ Cake Tails

Christmas cake; like the well-known brand of yeast spread says, you either love it or you hate it. And by Christmas cake, let's just be clear what we are talking about - this isn't the spongy, delicate confection that I bake most days for my CakeTails.

This isn't something remotely light, that you could happily eat 2 or 3 slices of and then go hit the gym. I mean PROPER Christmas Cake in the truest, British sense - that dense, dark bake, studded with a variety of dried fruits and nuts, layered up with marzipan and an unflavoured classic icing (either rolled or Royal), which if consumed too quickly or in too great a quantity leaves you feeling like you've consumed a year's worth of calories in 3 bites.

But whether you love it (I do though I didn't always) or hate it (like my friend who actually pales at the thought of having to eat it - "it's just so...full of...stuff"), one thing we British bakers, agree on - and celebrate - is the incredible history that is packed into making a Christmas cake. The current version emerged - like so many of our current Christmas traditions - in the Victorian era, but the tradition of a dark, fruity cake stretches back so much farther, to...the original Christmas treat: porridge.

ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS CAKE Porridge?

Yes, porridge. In the 13th and 14th century (and forgive me for eternally feeling excited about being part of a written history that spans more than a thousands of years. It comes from growing up in a country that has less than 500 years of its own cultural history!), folks treated themselves to plum porridge on Christmas Eve. Gradually, various spices, dried fruits and honey were added to make it a treat instead of a dietary staple.

In the 1500’s, the traditional recipe evolved further, replacing the oatmeal with cake-type ingredients, which was then boiled up into a pudding. However as leavening was introduced and families acquired wealth – as well as access to spices - through trade and travel, these cakes became a tasty way to showcase a family’s riches. There was also a practical element to the construction of these cakes, in that they needed to last without drying out or spoiling. And of course, many sources point to the addition of spices symbolising the spices in the Nativity story from the Bible.

But a minor point was that the cake was actually eaten on Epiphany, 6 January, for Twelfth Night, instead of Christmas day – that is, until the 1830s when the Victorians began to emphasise and celebrate Christmas more than Epiphany. Bakers quickly shifted their baking to produce the same Twelfth Night cakes earlier in the month, which they rebranded as Christmas cakes, decorated with sugar figures and intricate lattice work And nearly 200 years later, we still eat the same kind of cake, even though there is no “definitive” recipe. There are the standard ingredients – dried fruit (or “dried flies” as someone posted in a baking forum), nuts, booze, treacle, marzipan, and icing – but even within Great Britain and the Commonwealth, countries have their own tweaks to the “traditional” English version.

For example, Scottish folks’ Christmas cake is a lighter but boozier version known as the Whisky Dundee. Ditto Wales. And ditto Northern Ireland. Ireland – yes, I know my geography – they’re not part of Great Britain but they ARE our closest neighbours – does the same but with a distinctive >>

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Feature >> decorative style involving green and red citron/glace cherries to look like a holly wreath. South Africa, Sri Lanka, India – anywhere the British Empire was, a traditional Christmas cake still remains. Even Scandinavian countries enjoy similar versions of the English Christmas cake, with slight tweaks like dates added to the mix.

However – going back to what I said at the start – I came late to liking Christmas cake, and for that, I blame the scariest and ickiest cake of them all – American fruitcake. If you have never faced the horror of having to eat it (or even be in its presence), let me be honest. You ain’t missing anything. Imagine a Christmas cake reinterpreted as an alcoholic chewing gum. No, that’s still not conveying the true tasteless horror. Imagine a Christmas cake dehydrated and then rehydrated with whiskey. Lots of whiskey. And frozen and thawed a few times. And sat on. By an elephant.

My grandmother, rest her soul, was fiercely proud of her Scottish roots and dutifully made a fruitcake every year which nobody, not even my adoring grandfather, could bring himself to eat. In fact, for many years, my father and aunt passed one back and forth as a joke gift. An unfunny joke gift, that is.

So imagine my surprise when I moved here 15 years ago and discovered that Christmas cake was actually a) edible and b) delicious! Marzipan? Royal icing?

What’s not to like?

However, it got me thinking, is this what all of us who celebrate Christmas eat in December? Are we collectively munching our way through dried fruits and almonds around the globe? Or – simply put –

if you don’t like Christmas cakes, are there any options?

The good news for those of you anti-Christmas-Cakers is, yes.

In the Philippines Christmas cake can be a yellow pound soaked in brandy or rum, a palm sugar syrup and rosewater or orange flower water. In Poland they eat piernik, a chocolate-coated gingerbread loaf, or makowiec, a poppyseed-stuffed leavened bread. Poppyseeds feature heavily across Russia, the Ukraine and environs as filling for an Eccles cake-like treat.

Chocolate features elsewhere, too, in Sachertorte (Vienna) or Buche de Noel (France), which provide further opportunities for keen cake decorators to flex their creative muscle.

But for me, the biggest surprise was discovering Japanese Christmas cake. I have a strong affinity for Japanese culture; I adore the quirkier aspects of their art, fashion and entertainment in general. I was therefore delighted to find out that once again, yes, the Japanese have cornered the market in subverting the Western norm in terms of Christmas cake by serving a delicate layered sponge cake packed with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. So whilst the rest of the world is working to its way through the solid goodness of Ye Olde Christmas Cake, leave it to Japan to be carefully nibbling something light and frothy! (Some folks also apparently pre-order KFC up to two months ahead for their main meal, but let’s not get into that here.)

The bottom line is this – Christmas cake is an important part of British heritage. So many traditional cakes and baked treats are gradually

being lost as our culture evolves and homogenises other countries’ ways of eating. Whether or not you personally like to indulge in a thick slice, even if only to eat the marzipan or icing (like my stepdaughter does), it is an important part of our British cakemaking heritage, and one that deserves to be passed on to future generations. Unlike my grandmother’s fruitcake (sorry, Grammie King)!

Piernik from Poland

Japanese Christmas Cake

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Your Local events Be ac Hi g h ons Sc fiel ho d ol

Thought the Great British Bake Off was over?

Not for students at this school!

The ‘Great Beaconsfield High School Christmas Bake-­‐Off’ is a hugely popular annual event where students from the school parCcipate in entering their cakes to raise funds for the school. The compeCCon was organised by local chef and mum of a student at the school Jo Ollis, where there were over 137 cakes entered this year raising over £4,000 for the school.

The icing on the cake was having Mary Berry at the event to award the prizes to the students that won.

The next few pages will showcase some of the winning designs and also includes some words from the winners.

If you have a local event that you want to be shared in this magazine, we would love to hear from you! Email us at magazine@cakemasters.co.uk

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“I couldn’t decide what to do, so I looked for ideas on the Internet. I decided to do something with snowmen and the idea evolved along the way.

I really enjoyed making all the different facial expressions on the snowmen, making each one special.”

Gracie Overall winner Year 7-9

Mya & Priya Overall winner Year 10-13

“This summer we were hooked by the Olympics and were thinking about how Christmas would be celebrated around the World hence we created little scenes around the cake from various countries, with Santa delivering present.”

Holly & Megan Overall winner Year 9 “We wanted something different and so we created Santa’s Workshop. The idea just came together as we went along, making all the different parts using sweets and biscuits allowed us to get really creative.”

Angelica Overall winner Sixth Form “I wanted to do something original and that wouldn’t take to long to make.

The Advent calendar was a challenge but it was great working on it.”

“We wanted to be inventive and creative and have some lighthearted fun so together we came up with idea of cute mice nibbling away at our delicious cake.”

Annabelle, Caitlin, Mackenzie and Alia Overall winner Year 10-13

“I love the idea of making snowmen and wanted to make the cake colourful so decided to add the roses.”

Hannah

Overall winner Year 11 43

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

Other cakes entered into the competition

Winners with their prizes!

Below is Priya and Maya’s cake on display; Mary Berry and Gracie with her prize and competition organiser Jo Ollis

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Business We love to know about you and your business,and to hear how and where you have got to and how you did.

It is amazing how far people have got with their cake journeys in business and in this issue, Charmaine from By Charmaine tells us her story.

In 2010 I returned to work after the birth of my fourth child to find my job role changed from deputy manager to book-keeper and my hours reduced from 30 to 4.

Desperate to help my husband financially support our large family I took my interest in baking and started Charmaine’s Cupcakes in October 2010. No formal training or qualifications and very little experience apart from baking for family and friends meant I spent literally 100’s of hours trawling the internet and watching YouTube videos to learn the art of baking and decorating cupcakes whilst still undertaking the roles of Mum and wife!

In January 2011 I added Giant Cupcakes to our range and taught myself some sugar crafting skills, by now I had started to increase my client base and was getting more and more orders. I began attending local events and plucked up the courage to start taking wedding orders.

By June 2011 my confidence in my products had strengthened and I felt the need to increase my client base by finding a suitable method of shipping cupcakes by post – whilst contemplating this task I came up with the idea of deconstructing a cupcake and reconstructing it in a portable cup with an attached spoon – 2

days later the Cup-O-Cake was born! After a month of trials we trademarked it then showcased the unique product at a street festival where it was very well received, immediately afterwards I entered a competition with Virgin Media to take the Cup-O-Cake to their VIP Louder Lounge at the V Festival. I overcome my fear of public speaking and travelling on the underground and successfully pitched to a room full of executives winning the opportunity to be part of the festival.

Well the rest is history – since that amazing day in July I have re-branded our business to By Charmaine, been a finalist at the National Cupcake Championships in 2011 and 2012, had a full page article in the daily Mirror, met dozens of celebrities, journalists and VIP’s and even had a photograph with Rupert Grint in OK! Magazine.

We have provided our products and been guests for the Virgin Media Short Film Award ceremony, business festivals across the country, the press event for 2012 Britain’s Got Talent (Simon Cowell is much shorter in real life!) and a launch party for The Only Way Is Essex cast members Sam & Billie Faiers online boutique ‘Minnies’.

I’ve personally handed over a box of my cupcakes to the >>

Charmaine with Alexandra Burke

Sam Faiers with Cup-O-Cake

Charmaine with Rupert Grint

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Business >> inspirational Sir Richard Branson and received a kiss from the man himself! I’ve had my products in every major newspaper and magazine office in London due to a 5th Birthday press gift organised with Virgin Media, became a preferred supplier for them and was invited back to the VIP Louder Lounge this year to run a tea room for the guests which included Emma ‘Baby Spice’ Bunton, magician Dynamo and Kelly Brook, we even got to ‘party’ with members of One Direction on a tour bus and have a drink with Alexandra Burke in a ‘secret’ bar…….not a typical weekend!

The last major event we attended was in September where we once again met Richard Branson whilst serving up cakes and sweets at an event at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

I’ve had an amazing journey and learnt a great many things about cake making and decorating as well as working with corporate business and growing my own business by watching for new trends emerging and making my own mark in the cupcake market.

Harry Derbarge with Cup-O-Cake

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Ch"#mas Cake SPECIAL Showcasing your Christmas Cakes...

Beautifully finished Christmas Cupcakes.

There is a delicate nature to designs which portray true craftsmanship.

Carina’s Cupcakes 47

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

Shereen’s Cakes & Bakes Fun Christmas designs and loads of tutorials on her facebook page!

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Favourite design has to be the snowman, although the sleeping baby is just too cute!

Mon Cottage Cupcakes 49

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Love the foot prints in the snow!

Love is Cake

Cupcake designed by Ella Willow

Our front cover stars!

Snowmen cupcakes Cake by Chantelle 50

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

Mulled wine collection Another appearance from Shereen’s Cakes and Bakes

Penguin and Mr & Mrs Claus from Shereen’s Cakes and Bakes

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Christmas cupcake collection from Vicki’s Cuppa Cakes

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Beautiful traditional Christmas designs Flutter of Fondant

This design is so cute!

Love the sugar ice pieced designed

by Sarah Harris

Fun Rudolph design cupcake from Sift + Stir

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Gorgeous decorated cookies from Sweet Ambs

Royal iced snow globes Sugar Rush Cookies Flickr

Winter scenes from Small Things Iced Detailed royal iced embroidery cookies Julia M Usher Julia M. Usher, Author of Cookie Swap and Ul:mate Cookies 54

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Christmas figures Fancy Cakes by Linda

Christmas fun from Adore Cake

Christmas sugar fairy VP Cakes

We’re walking in the air!

Fifi’s Cakes Christmas figures Sweet from Zwolle

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Three tiered Christmas Awesomeness!

Let’s Eat Cupcakes

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Carol singing snowmen from Vanniny (Spain)

Toys at Christmas Caroline’s Cakes Middlesex

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Macaroons !

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

We were fooled by these ones- fake macaroons for decorations!

Pei Li Miniatures

Christmas macaroons Bento Bakery

This business has awesome designs for macaroons - love their Christmas offerings!

Crumbs

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Bauble Collection

ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2012

White on white classic bauble cake Bebalicious Cakes

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Christmas Baubles The Sweetest Tiers

Christmas Bauble Collection from hobby baker Brenda Brummitt-Bourne

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One of my favourites!

Elegant design in bold colours Couture Cakes by Rose

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Red green and gold Christmas bauble Bliss Pastry

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Beautiful colour combinations finished with snowflake stenciling From hobby baker Sue Wall (McIntyre)

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ISSUE 4 OCTOBER 2012

are you following our boards?

Cake Masters Boards 64