Once bitten forever smitten - Weddings & Civil Partnerships

How true my byline is - we all want to be forever smitten and your big day is the way to tell the world you  believe it will be so. Wedding cakes are so special I have decided to put Deli Cakes on the web and www.weddingdelicakes.co.uk is now the place for Brides and Grooms to feast on some delicious pictures before booking a Design and Taste meeting.

Don't forget I can make you the most sumptuous cupcakes so the option of a cupcake tower won't compromise the taste or style of your reception - in fact it's an ideal way to be flexible and have lots of cake. Three tier cakes are around £400 depending on filling and design and cupcakes start from £2.20 each. 

Tell your soon to be married friends about the new site www.weddingdelicakes.co.uk and be assured of sumptuous cake at the reception. 

best wishes, Janet

Once bitten forever smitten - Children's Cakes

What were your birthday cakes like? Can you remember the excitement of the lights dimming, the swell of voices singing "Happy Birthday to You" the candle covered cake being proffered, the huge intake of breath, all leading to the moment when you blew out the candles in one long wwhfff and made a wish.
Children's cakes should be exciting and continue the party themesuch as the Hungry Catterpillar as you can get plates, paper plates, napkins, a tablecloth and invitations all to match.

The great thing about a big cake and cupcakes is that the big cake can have candles in it and be the focus for singing Happy Birthday and you can give a cupcake to everyone to take home in a party bag, so maybe choose fondant topped ones rather than buttercream!

The Hungry Catterpillar cake is ideal as you can have as long a caterpillar as you need to get the right amount of cake.

best wishes, Janet

Once bitten forever smitten - Food Additives

Should you be worried?

Are E numbers in food bad for you and your family – well that depends on which ones you eat, how much and how often. First some facts and then some practical pointers. E numbers are allocated to all products that can be added to food – so even the red food colouring made from beetroot juice has a number E162 and acetic acid is E260 but its only the Latin name for vinegar! Both these ingredients are likely to be used in cakes but especially in this Red Velvet cake. 

• No kids or elderly relatives you cook for regularly – then don’t worry – the really bad additives are banned. If you feel unwell after eating certain foods check the label next time for additives (some people are sensitive to gum derived additives, colours and preservatives leading to upset stomach’s headaches, increased chance of asthma and hyper activity in children) Use this link to check http://curezone.com/foods/enumbers.asp 

• Children under 3 will have had food additives if they've eaten processed food. In youngsters even natural additives like salt should be had in moderation so the best thing is to restrict processed foods and look for ‘no artificial additive’ labels. Obviously sweets are high in sugar and brightly coloured foods will probably have more enumbers so make sweets a treat and look for natural colourings such as fruit and vegetable purees.
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  Older children may already have a taste for processed foods. Try to introduce some home made foods  to reduce additives and remember if its highly coloured and not a fruit or vegetable its bound to be full of enumbers. Don’t panic just make a few changes and give kids a different treat like Toffee Apples or Frozen Chocolate Bananas instead of a whole bar of chocolate.  (freeze bananas in skin – when required, skin banana and place on non stick paper, pour over melted chocolate. Ready to eat when set.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Best wishes, 

  Janet 01732 843518

Once bitten forever smitten - Fathers Day

Get ready its nearly Father's Day so what are you going to do for your Dad this year - not another themed gift from the chain stores, he's worth more than that. Men and cake fall into two categories - if they have a sweet tooth they will scoff a sponge cake faster than you can say happy fathers day and if they are more traditional they love a rich fruit cake.

These are two designs of cake I have previously given to my own Dad, he loved them both and the great thing was all the family got to share his present.

best wishes, Janet

Once bitten forever smitten - Towers create impact

Have you ever thought of having a cupcake tower for your birthday, anniversary or engagement party? Stunning and versatile a cupcake towers provides the perfect centrepiece for a buffet table without the formality or expense of a stacked cake. This Butterfly and Buttercream tower is pictured on my kitchen table - but it still looks fantastic

I also made some chocolate versions with rich chocolate fudge icing and ivory fondant butterflies

 best wishes, Janet  

Once bitten forever smitten - double deckers for impact

Based on a 4 tier wedding cake design this scaled down double decker will still have fantastic impact and the benefit of two cakes is that you can have more than one delicious flavour.

This cake has a lemon sponge filled with lemon curd and a Limoncello buttercream (a bit alcoholic but its for adults only) the top tier is a traditional victoria sponge with raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream, so something for everyone.

This cake was made for my lovely sister Linda ( she is a gardener hernce the flower theme) and I did get a slice when it was nearly a week old and it was still luscious and moist. 

best wishes Janet

Once bitten forever smitten - How many calories in a cake?

Are you interested in the calories in your cake or do you just love to be transported to cake heaven by the softest sponge and sublime vanilla buttercream? Last week a question was posed to me on twitter - how do I work out the calories in a cake - I cannot explain in 140 characters so scroll down and all will be revealed

If you wanted to make a small sponge cake at home you would use 2 eggs, 100g sugar, 100g flour, 100g sugar and 100g butter. Sugar and flour are 100% carbohydrate which has 4 calories a gram, butter is 80% fat and fat has 9 calories a gram, (the other 20% is mostly water). Eggs are a fantastic source of protein containing all the essential amino acids but there is 5g of fat in an average yolk, with 6.5g of protein in a whole raw egg (the rest of the weight is water).

Once again to quote Jennifer - now for the science bit:

200g carbs x 4cals = 800 cals

80g fat x 9cals = 720 cals 

10g fat x 9 cals = 90 cals

13g protein x 4 cals =52 cals

Grand total = 1662

So if you divide the cake into 10 portions its166 calories per slice. For all true cake lovers that may be a bit too small and what about the filling I hear you shout at the screen. Well as an example and to make your mouth water here is another picture of a birthday cake I made this week - pure perfection - and with a strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream filling its .....

366 calories for a 90g portion

this is a picture of the cake for "Maureen" it travelled all the way to Glasgow with my best friend - her daughter - hope you guys had a great birthday weekend.

best wishes. Janet