Aeroplane Cake

I was approached to design a cake for a 60th Birthday celebration. The Birthday boy has worked for British Airways at Heathrow Airport for over 30 years and his Daughter asked me if it would be possible to include a Boeing 747 on the cake.

Here at Restoration Cake, we are not afraid of a challenge!

We decided to make a simple Chocolate Mud Cake - which is probably my favourite cake in my recipe book - cover it in sky blue icing and fluffy clouds, and crown the whole thing off with a plane made of fondant icing.


This is me, attaching a red ribbon around the sky blue basic cake.

We had shaped the body of the plane, as well as the wings and tail fins, the night before in white fondant icing, which was now firm enough to handle and paint.


Windows and doors painted on and tail fin and body branded in BA red and blue.

Then comes the scary bit... putting the plane together on the cake. If the model breaks at this stage, you end up with a real plane-crash of a Birthday cake!


Thankfully, there is a certain amount of artistic license that can be taken in cake design - while the plane's wing is rigid and attached to the body of the plane, it is also supported from beneath by the engines and a strategically positioned cloud!


When we shaped the body, small ridges were made to hold the wings and tail fins secure. Before the pieces are inserted, a small amount of royal icing is applied as a glue. Ever made a model aeroplane? Thankfully, my partner in crime has made many and all his boyhood hobbycrafting came in most useful for this job!


Checking everything is in-line!


Sealing the tail fin into the body with royal icing, which is smoothed into a seamless join with a paintbrush.

So at this point, we stood back and admired our work.







I am off now to order the entire DVD set of Ace of Cakes for Chris, who has discovered a real talent for edible model-making! Watch this space for more awesome creations from Restoration Cake!

Cx

Sunday Lovin'

What a week it has been! I have met with some truly fabulous ladies, all of whom are playing a part in helping me to get Restoration Cake off the ground.

I started the week in the offices of Fiona Humberstone at Flourish, discussing all things branding and web design. I came away with a lot to think about and loads of ideas. Plus, I cannot wait to buy a Pritt Stick and start making a mood board!

Then I had a lunch meeting with the lovely Sarah Murray of Perfect Wedding Magazine. We gossiped about weddings and cakes and wedding cakes in particular! I even received a thank you message from Sarah to thank me for the golden mini-red-velvet-cake that I gave her - which made it all the way back to the office in Bristol without being devoured on the train!

Yesterday, I had lunch with Tiffany Grant-Riley and Annabel Beeforth of Grant-Riley Weddings and Love My Dress (respectively) to meet and deliver a box of Baby Shower themed cupcakes for a photoshoot. Tiffany and Annabel are both gorgeous and both pregnant (positively blooming!) The shoot will be made up of a group of lovely ladies, all of whom are working in the wedding industry, and all of whom are pregnant or raising a child. When Tiffany approached me to supply some cupcakes for this shoot, I jumped at the chance to get involved. Though my current parenting experience is limited to spoiling my two kitten-babies, Sid and Nancy, I feel very strongly that women in business should stick together and support each other.

This week, I am proud to say that I have been featured on Rock 'n' Roll Bride. I noticed a tweet that Kat Williams had posted saying how excited she was about her forthcoming re-brand and I offered to make a celebration cake for the occasion. Thankfully, Kat was happy to accept a cake! The new look Rock 'n' Roll Bride went live this week and Restoration Cake was lucky enough to share a little of the Rock 'n' Roll spotlight!

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2010/07/things-are-looking-a-bit-sparkly-new-around-here/

As if this was not enough for one week, I am thrilled to tell you that I have been featured on Rock 'n' Roll Bride once more today!

A few weeks ago, I was photographed by the gorgeous Miss Lex of Rockabetty Studios. Lex came to my place - along with Miss Ellen, her fabulous make-up artist - and they papped me as a 1950's pin-up girl! The experience was amazing! I really felt like a star. You can see other examples of Rockabetty Studios work at their Flickr page and I will blog a link to their website as soon as it goes live. What I will say in the meantime is that Rockabetty Studios are available for hire and their standard package includes a home visit, champagne, make-up and hair-styling, costumes, and a set of photoshop-finished pics.

Both Miss Lex and I have been leaking my finished photos on Twitter and these caught Kat's eye. Today, my Rockabetty photos have been featured as Kat's Sunday Kind of Love post.

So for those of you who have not yet visited Rock 'n' Roll Bride and fallen into Kat's wonderful world of weddings with a difference, I attach the following link, where you will be able to see the full set of photos that I did with Rockabetty as Miss Charlotte! I know that one visit will leave you as hooked on Kat's world as I am.

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2010/07/a-sunday-kind-of-love-restoration-cake/

Cx


A little something to whet your appetite!

Restoration by Rockabetty - Behind the Scenes

As promised, here is a little treat to offer a little half-time entertainment.

This short film is behind the scenes footage from the shoot that I did with Rockabetty Studios.

Sneak peaks of the finished pics have already been up on Twitter (follow me, if you are not already) and the full photo set will be posted very soon.

Enjoy and giggle at my posing techniques!

Oh, and I should give a special mention to Chris White, who filmed this footage and puts up with all my posing on a daily basis! MWAH!

Cx

Restoration Goes Rococo

So I preface this post with yet another apology for neglecting my blogging duties - hear me out though, because I have an awesome excuse... I have been stupidly busy. OK, so this is nothing new but I have been putting some serious hours into getting myself in a position to start running Restoration Cake full-time. Yes, this would mean leaving the dayjob and putting all my faith into this enterprise.

Thankfully, I have faith. I have faith by the bucketload. What I am trying to get sorted is the financial side, which is like doing a really hard maths class with a head full of air and vanilla essence. My attention span has suffered and the 140 character limit on Twitter has been about all I can handle!

This post was meant to come to you a few weeks ago after I spent a Saturday morning at Rococo Chocolates’ School of Chocolate in Motcomb Street.

A small be perfectly formed group of 5 ladies gathered together to learn the art of tempering Chocolate with Rococo’s ‘Prof du Choc’, Laurent Couchaux.

Who knew that melting chocolate was such a science? Without wishing to bore you – because this all fascinates me – chocolate is made up of 6 individual crystals, each with a different melting point, which means that the process of melting chocolate correctly (tempering) has to be done in stages. When this process is followed correctly, chocolate can be melted and re-set many times without losing its texture.

To explain the pictures below, I should give you a potted guide to the process of tempering (which is super precise and has to be done with a thermometer and everything – making me feel like a proper scientist!): the chocolate is heated to a high temperature, then stirred until the temperature reduces. The whole bowl of melted chocolate is then poured out onto a marble slab and almost paddled to reduce the temperature still further.





The chocolate then goes back into the bowl and a small quantity of hot melted chocolate is added to the mix, which is then stirred to reach the magical working temperature. It is a lengthy process but you have to work fast to avoid missing the important temperatures!



Then the fun bit… we were given a piping bag, the famous Rococo fish moulds, and a sheet of acetate.



I made 8 yummy fish, some dark chocolate and rose wafers (like really thin chocolate buttons), some chocolate buttons (because I am an overgrown 6 year old at heart), some random shapes, and I even managed to write my name in chocolate! Oh and I had a bash at the Restoration crown too!



My goodness, chocolate is a lot messier than icing! I think I will save my tempering for special occasions only.

I am now desperate to go hunting for some cherub moulds and a good thermometer! How stunning would white chocolate cherubs look on a chocolate Wedding cake? Oh, the possibilities are endless when you learn a new craft.

You can find the Rococo School of Chocolate course guide here: http://rococochocolates.com/chocolate-school.html My 3 hour class cost £100 and included all materials, a chocolate tasting, and all my lovely chocolates to take home! I cannot recommend this enough.

Cx

Harry's 1st Birthday Party

My favourite part of this job is when I hear back from a customer after the event telling me that they enjoyed their cake.

What I love even more is to receive a photograph of the cake 'in action'. Every now and then, I have a customer who is happy for me to share their picture with you all.

It is my absolute pleasure and privilege to present to you, Harry the dog.


"Doesn't Harry look proud!" Harry's Daddy



Look at him licking his lips! Awwwww!

The Birthday party was a huge success and much fun was had by the dogs and humans too.

Yes, my work here is done.

Cx

Bow-Wow-Wow

The crowds of people gathered around my dayjob office on Friday. I love it when a cake gets people so excited!

The brief was as follows: a chocolate cake was required to feed the human guests at Harry the dog's 1st Birthday Party. Harry's Daddy had already ordered a special dog cake online - a cake made from various dog treats, designed to look like a cake - so I thought how fun it would be to give the humans a cake designed to look like dog food! How very topsy-turvey!



Harry's real-life dog bowl is red with little white bones on it, so I designed the cake to match this. How confused he must have been.



My absolute favourite detail on this cake is the dog crunchies in the bowl. Sadly, I cannot take credit for this as it was my Mr who suggested using breakfast cereal to top the cake. Not only was this the perfect aesthetic, but I have enjoyed two bowls of chocolate cereal this weekend as a result!

Tasty...

Cx

An Epic In The Making

It would seem that my attempt to explain to you all what the Restoration really means to me, as we approach its 350th anniversary, is taking a great deal more out of me than I had anticipated.

This coupled with the Wedding Cake that I am working on for this weekend and the dayjob too has resulted in a slight delay. It is an epic. I apologise in advance.

Cx



Remove the diadem and take off the crown; this shall not be the same; exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more until he come whose right it is...

Love Is In The Air

The new Wedding Cake gallery will be coming very soon. The most stylish girl I know came over on the first gloriously sunny Saturday of this year and set up some beautiful shots, snapping away with her camera and turning my garden into a pretty little tea party.

Of course, we all made time for a little taster of the new flavours.





New to the menu are Coffee & Baileys (a moist coffee cupcake, topped with Baileys ButterCream) and Lemon (a light lemon cupcake, topped with zesty Lemon Curd Buttercream). The fabulous news is that both of these flavours are available Dairy Free… after many hours of pretending to be Heston Blumenthal in my kitchen, I have perfected Dairy Free Irish Cream ButterCream frosting. I was thrilled with the result and slightly pissed by the end of the tasting *hic*. Oh and both flavours are available in cake form too, which is what we are chowing down on in the pics.

I have yet to decide upon suitably Restoration specific names for these newbies but there are a few ideas in the pipeline and the victors will be announced via Tweet.

If you are not yet following me on Twitter, I would urge you to come and find me in time for the big announcement, which will be made from the beach in Brighton on Oak Apple Day, Saturday 29th May 2010.

Cx

P.S. I am @restorationcake though you could have probably figured that one out!

It's Been A Long Time...

Oddsfish, you must have all forgotten about me!

I cannot even begin to tell you how busy I have been of late... somewhere between working 9 to 5 and then from 5 to 9* again, I have neglected my blogging duties.

So while I think of something clever and inspiring to say, I shall leave you with a little piece of nonsense that inspired a Christmas cake for a much beloved friend.

This is the MacArthur Park Christmas cake.



MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down...
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!

*um... more like 11 or 12!

{you inspire me} The Fabric of My Life

I spent Mothering Sunday on a historical adventure around the city of Ely with my Mother. Along with visiting the more recognisable sites of Ely Cathedral and Oliver Cromwell (boo hiss)’s House, we also wandered the back-streets where my Mother grew up and ambled down Memory Lane.

Well, we ambled and we trespassed a little bit too… seeing that my Great-Grandmother’s house was sold and empty, Mum and I peered into the front window and she described the dark little front room that was only used on Sundays and smart occasions. Our curiosity awakened, we tried the gate leading to the back of the house and found that (with a little shove) it was open. We crept (for by now, we were in full ‘meddling kids’ mode) along the back passage and found that the garden was un-gated too… except for a small trellised fence which opened easily (again, with a little bit of a shove) just enough for us to squeeze in. We peered in through the back window at what was once my Great-Grandmother’s kitchen and pantry. A tiny house that was once a home to my Family. A tiny house that, despite being empty, still holds vivid memories for my Mother.

All this naughtiness and mischief had left us quite in need of refreshment so we went to visit Peacocks Tearoom on the banks of the River Great Ouse. Given that I am partial to a nice Darjeeling and am always in the market for a piece of cake, this was certain to be a hit with me. However, please allow me to recommend it most highly to you, should you ever find yourself in East Anglia!

www.peacockstearoom.co.uk

The delightful management at Peacocks Tearoom assure guests that crockery is often mismatched and that, should a guest find themselves with a matching cup and saucer, they will happily ensure that one or the other is replaced. All this kookiness was fascinating to me. I loved all the crazy clutter on show though I accept that I would not be able to exist for long in such disorder without some blood pressure issues.

I was overcome by the urge to take pictures of everything… it was all so pretty. It was as if I had been possessed by the spirit of the most stylish girl I know. How many afternoon teas she photographed during our week away in Cornwall last year is anybody’s guess. These pictures are inspired by her.





















If you are now in the mood to marvel at pictures of lovely things, I would recommend that you wander over to www.fabricofmylife.co.uk if you have not done so already. Kate’s blog is a daily source of inspiration and delight and the little ray of sunshine that we all need on a Monday afternoon! She writes beautifully and is entirely fabulous.

And here I rest my case.

C

Post script – Memories are so very precious. Please remember this charity www.alzheimers.org.uk

Whistlin' While I Work

So here they are, the pictures from Restoration Cake's very first 100% dairy-free wedding.

White sugar roses hung out to dry.



Pink sugar gerberas drying (yes, that is a bath sponge... very useful in sugarcraft!).



Dusts for enriching the colours of the flowers.



Roses resting after dusting.



This is me, arranging and re-arranging cupcakes at the venue.





My heart stops for a moment every time I do this! One slip and... my heart skipped just thinking about it!



The finished product was a 6" Red Velvet cutting cake atop 100 Vanilla and Red Velvet cupcakes decorated in our Pretty Pleas style.








All that remains now is for me to wish EJ and Anne-Marie every happiness in their life together.

Hope you enjoyed the cake!

C

Everybody's Starry Eyed

I have been a busy little bee over the last couple of weeks, both in my dayjob (which seems to have been stupidly hectic of late) and with all things Restoration Cake.

Honestly, I just want to make cake and be fabulous. C'est tout. Not much to ask.

My most recent creation looks to be quite humble at first glance. A royal blue iced chocolate cake (non-dairy, I must add) covered with a sprinkling of silver stars.



However, if you know your constellations (I must confess that I do not) you will see that this seemingly random sprinkling is in fact an acurate map of the Monoceros constellation and its surroundings.



Yes, it was painstaking but I was so chuffed with my efforts that I sent the map, complete with the tiny holes I had made with my scribe, to my customer with the cake!

C

While The Cats Are Away…

… the mice will go to The Designer Wedding Show.

Conspicuous by our lack of diamond rings and big days to plan, the most stylish girl I know and I attended this year’s Designer Wedding Show in Battersea Park. The mission was strictly fact-finding and networking, though we would have had to be made of stone to have not made time in our itinerary for dreaming and (frankly) plotting a little in the absence of our respective beaus.

The whole event was an inspiration. There was beauty at every turn. Fabulous vintage inspired gowns of antique lace and appliqué. Jewellery and accessories either sourced from vintage stores or recreated to appear antique. Intricate wedding stationary, so beautiful that I went out the next day and bought myself a calligraphy set to improve my penmanship. We actually saw a scribe… and a Silhouette Artist; these wonderful crafts, that do not really exist any longer in our day to day lives, are thriving in the Wedding industry.

Even more inspiring to me was the overwhelming power of the female in the room. Fiancés had in the most part been left at home and women flocked to the show with their girlfriends and Mothers. Again, I would have to be pretty cold not to be moved at the sight of a Mother helping her Daughter try on a veil.

Even the stories that we heard that day told of the power of women to create things of beauty. We met one woman, who told us that she was one of a collective, who began her craft in her 50s after her husband “did the runner”. She explained to us how she and her group of friends had focused their energies on creating beautiful and frivolous trinkets.

I was thrilled to have my silhouette cut by Alison Russell who learnt her craft from her Grandmother. Alison now offers a service by which wedding guests can pose for 2-3 minutes as her scissors glide deftly around a small sheet of black paper and the resulting silhouette is mounted in a card and given as a Wedding favour.

www.alison-russell.co.uk

And here is mine.



I have big plans for this little beauty…

So as I work on the final designs for our next Restoration Cake photoshoot, which will be dedicated to Wedding Cakes and all things romantic, I send this belated Valentine to my Mother and my Grandmother who taught me to bake and be fabulous. Great big love to all my Sisters (you know who you are) and all you amazing ladies out there.

C

Probably the Best Way to Spend a Friday Night In...

...Fashioning beautiful fondant roses, with a glass of red wine.

As promised, here are the pictures of the Birthday Cake I was working on for last night. It was a 6" Chocolate Mud Cake (i.e. there is a little bit of coffee in the mix which makes the chocolate feel richer) with a Vanilla Buttercream filling, decorated with black and white fondant roses. Tres chic, non?

It went down well... yum.

Wishing you all a fabulous week.

C