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Angelina cupcakes, artisan food expert, Barefoot Wine, BBC Good food Bakes & Cakes Show, Best Bakery London, Business Design Centre, cake catwalk, cake masterclass, Cake Masterclass magazine, Coole Swan, Eric Lanlard, Flavour SenseNation, halloween cake catwalk, halloween cakes, Helen Barker Benfield, Iced Jems, Irish liqour, john whaite, Katy Truss, la di da cupcake co., La di dah cake company, lexus, Little Round Cake Compnay, Marry Berry, Mary Berry Cake, meringue girls, paul hollywood, Peanut butter brownie bomb, Pink moscato, Primrose Bakery, pumpkin cake, Ruby Tandoh, seasonal ingredents, The Brownie Bar, Top bakery, zombie cake
Just when you think you can’t get enough of cake, BBC Good Food brought to life the Bakes & Cakes Show which gave cake lovers another opportunity to sample food, take part in masterclasses and stock up on lots of cake accessories before the festive season kicks in. Sponsored by Lexus and held at the Business Design Centre in Islington the Bakes and Cakes Show took place last weekend from Saturday to Monday. The Business Design Centre is a smaller more intimate version of Earls Court and proved a great place to hold events and exhibitions. Before attending on Saturday I had a look at the exhibitor list and the majority of exhibitors were the same from Cakes & Bakes and therefore I thought I wouldn’t see much I hadn’t seen before however I did come across some lovely new finds. There was also a cake catwalk upstairs and a Halloween themed cake display from individuals as young as 5 upwards. In addition to this there were talks and masterclasses throughout the day with Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry, John Whaite, Eric Lanlard and many more.
Stand out stalls for me were:
Every exhibition I have been too, the brownie bar has always been there and there is good reason for that too! The brownies are always extremely popular from peanut flavour to malteaser and oreo they are simply divine. The brownie that caught my eye this time was the peanut butter bomb which just looked so delicious. A crunchy centre of peanut butter, encased in a ball of chocolate brownie and cover in Belgian milk chocolate, how can you resist? In fact I went to have a bite of it and save the rest for later and couldn’t leave it alone. The white chocolate chips cookies with a brownie centre also looked appealing but I think it was best to stick to the one treat.
Being Irish and simply because it tastes like liquid Ice Cream, I have always loved Baileys however this new liquor might just be my new favourite. Using all natural ingredients, Coole Swan is made by blending the finest Single Malt lrish Whiskey with White Belgium Chocolate and Fresh Cream. It tastes similar to Baileys but is smother and slightly lighter. At £15 for 700ml and £20 for a litre bottle the price is very reasonable and as I purchased it at the show they threw in some recipe books and a melting chocolate spoon too. Definitely a good find for a present or even treat for yourself for after dinner.
I fell in love with Barefoot Wines when I discovered White Zinfandel however after a period of time I started to find the taste too sweet. Step forward their new flavours, pink moscato, a delicious bubbly rose wine and Ruby Moscato, which is infused with cherry and raspberry flavours. Priced reasonably ranging from £6 to £10 they’re a perfect option for a girl’s night in or before going out.
Iced Jems was a super popular stall and was so beautiful and colourful. Run by Jemma a baking enthusiast, the stall sold a variety of cake accessories from beautifully designed cake cases to cake moulds, ribbons and tins.
Upstairs, along with the cake catwalk was produce from the finalists from the search for London’s best bakery. I can’t think of a better job than scouring around, testing products and judging bakeries. Katy Truss, artisan food expert, Helen Barker Benfield and Tim Kinnaird were the lucky individuals who got to seek out and discover the best one.
As well as this there was a really interesting exhibition called Flavour SenseNation which is an interactive travelling exhibition produced by ActionDog CIC exploring the role our senses play in our perception and experience of flavour and foods. The exhibition tests your senses by designing food differently to what you would expect such as giving two sweets, one green and one red and asking you to say what flavour you think they would taste of and then trying and discovering that they are the opposite to what you think. The exhibition also explained why crisp packets are noisy and how the names of certain foods can be based on the shape of the product and be marketed in a particular way. It was also interesting to learn that at least 80% of our ability to taste comes from our ability to smell.
I thought I would probably stay for three hours max but somehow the day just flew by and before I knew it I had been there for 4 and a half. There can never be too many cake shows and exhibitions and with so many talented producers and food experts The Bakes & Cakes Show offered another opportunity to step into the world of baking and come away with new experiences, tips and lots of cake.
TEA and TAKES 