Cake News, TV and Events (1 Viewer)

This month's BSG branch meeting was all about the mini dems' whoop whoop. As I've said before, this is one of my favourite meetings, as we learn many different skills and techniques in one go. The great thing is all the demonstrators have individual skill sets, so there's always something to learn or discover. Each topper is a shape, so once you've got that down, the rest of the piece is down to personal touches. Nicola made this fabulous Kawaii-themed Bacon on Toast with tomato ketchup. This fun and friendly design would be a hit with multiple generations and foodies and isn't that time-consuming either. Nicola showed us how each piece was made and how to enhance and texture each one. The additional splodges of ketchup make it for...

It was demo time at this month's BSG meeting, and I was thrilled to discover that this time, Judith had landed on making Mr Potato Head. Not only is he made from delectable chocolatey goodness, but he's immensely cute, too, so much so I couldn't even begin to devour him after we made him. This was Judith's version of Mr Potato Head, and after a step-by-step demo, we were tasked to make our own. It was a very fun meeting, catching up with the ladies and learning a few new skills! Especially the shoe laces, I opted for velcro straps in the demo (lol) but pushed myself a little and ended up with some shoe laces in the end. Unlike Hannah, who made her own laces with bows but then went rogue and made an alien topper, and then Nicola, who...

As a lovely start to the New Year, we were given a demonstration on how to make this Hanky Fairy by Mo. Mo's inspiration was taken from the Handkerchief Fairy cards that are currently on the market, and she tweaked them into edible 2D & 3D creations, as shown on the above cake. The skirt of the topper is a play on the hanky design on the below cards. We watched as she demonstrated how to make the fairy step by step and gave us alternatives of how to make patterns and how to adapt the fairy to our own tastes. It was an enjoyable way to start the year, and more techniques were mastered on the day. I was even lucky enough to take the Fairy home. Angelica now takes pride of place on my side. Mo was a brilliant instructor, sharing...

It was great to be back at the BSG meeting, seeing as we've had to miss a few lately. Christmas is one of my favourites, as we have a buffet, a Christmas demo and an abundance of creativity! During the workshop, Mo taught us how to make these irresistibly charming gonks; although she refers to them as gnomes, we still like to call them "gonks." What makes them so delightful is their timeless appeal and the fact that they can be adapted to any season, event or theme. Even a simple addition of plaits/braids transforms them into adorable female versions. Crafted from Walnut Whips, these gonks double as delightful edible decorations and are a perfect Christmas cake topper or easily placed on a small cake board to give as a gift. Here...

I've recently been informed about an exciting upcoming workshop taking place on Sunday, 19 November 2023, by Robert Whitten. Robert is a highly talented and captivating member from the North East and will be demonstrating how to create a stunning witch (similar to the attached photos below). Luckily for you, there are still places on the event, so hurry before they all go. Everyone is welcome so if you fancy an afternoon of creativity, please find full details below. Date: Sunday, 19 November 2023 Event: BSG - Wonderful Witch Workshop Time: 10 am – 4 pm Venue: Pannal Village Hall, Station Road, Pannal, Harrogate, HG3 1JG Cost: £48 for BSG Members - £60 for Non-Members - Refreshments will be provided...

Roll up, roll up, exciting news here folks! The release date for the upcoming season of our beloved GBBO has finally been announced. Following a highly anticipated wait, cryptic adverts and scouring the web to discover more. It has now officially been confirmed the Great British Bake Off will be back on our screens next Tuesday, 26 September at 8 pm. Whoop, whoop! But there's more exciting news to share! With Matt Lucas departing the show, he has now made way for the lovely and hilarious Alison Hammond to join Noel, Paul, and, of course, the delightful Prue inside the tent. Filled with shenanigans, mishaps, epic bake fails and more, we can't wait to see what's in store with this year's contestants. Here's an overview: Abbi -...

As the summer break has finally come to an end, we have now resumed our BSG meetings. During this month's meeting, we had the privilege of enjoying a delightful fairy model presentation by the exceptionally talented Lisa Courtney-Rigby. Lisa has a diverse range of skills and talents, including contributions to Saracino, her creations for Cake International and her numerous magazine features, which all keep her in high demand. We were lucky enough to see her in action, thanks to Nicola and Judith, and in all fairness, she was amazing! Not only did she walk us through the fairy model step by step; but she also shared hints and tips throughout the process. I found that learning from Lisa has inspired me and given me the tools and...

There was a slight change of plans again for this month's meeting. Rather than the Froggy Teapot presentation originally planned, we were treated to Sandra showcasing her wedding-themed modelling skills but with a bit of a twist. So, instead of demonstrating conventional bride and groom toppers, Sandra opted for a fun and unique idea to top a wedding cake using mouse figurines instead. Sandra's approach to modelling really resonates with me, as it's all about converting shapes into physical attributes. As she progressed with the modelling, she suggested that the figurines could be customised/personalised to resemble people or adapted with our own creative flair. My idea for the bridal design is you could position the arms under...

This month's meeting was initially a demonstration of Royal Icing with Judy Banks; however, unfortunately, the snowy weather prevented that. So instead of no meeting, Judith kindly stepped in and provided a fascinating demo on Jelly painting. Now you may be wondering what exactly jelly painting is. Well, contrary to what the name suggests, it's not the art of dipping your paintbrush in a bowl of jelly and painting with it. No, it is, in fact, a cake-decorating technique where you paint fondant and then give it an added sheen to elevate the design. Now there are a couple of ways to make the 'jelly' or 'paint'. 1. You can either paint the fondant background in an edible coloured paint mixture and then add the sheen over the top. 2...

This month we're back at the BSG meeting, and Feb's is one of my favourites as it's Mini Dems week. This time the lovely Lesley, Marion and Pam offered their teaching skills showing us how to make multiple things with modelling paste, sugarpaste and royal icing. To start us off, Lesley gave us a fabulous demonstration on how to make these dogs, just in time for Valentine's Day. After much discussion between her, Lucy and myself, we decided that the head part could also be used as a seal, a dinosaur but last but not least, the dog! We then moved over to Marion, who then showed us how to make Spirelli Art using Royal Icing and a Sugarpaste Disc cut with a pastry cutter. They were beautiful patterns, and Lucy came up with the great...

Thanks to Nicola and Judith, we're back on with the meetings again this year, and luckily they asked Neil McGrath to start us off with an array of chocolatey treats. This chocolate tulip mousse dessert was just one of the products that Neil showed us how to re-create, and we also got to taste test a few items too. The tulip was made from white and dark chocolate, mousse, a dusting of cocoa powder and a white chocolate transfer disc. Neil demonstrated how to make white chocolate hearts with transfer sheets. This was the finished article and in keeping with a Valentine's day treat. He then made some Florentine chocolate bark with nuts and dried fruits. These were then cut into discs which can be used as gifts, a decorative...

So this was our final meeting of the year, and it didn't disappoint as Judith had our creative juices flowing by teaching us how to do some Iris Folding. Now, if like me, you've never heard of it, let alone done any, it's generally used for cards and crafts. However, for this meeting, we were taught how to re-create the design using modelling paste instead. Judith explained that the reason we used modelling paste was that in order to recreate the technique, the paste needed to be nearly as thin as actual paper. So after a bit of a slow start and working on what colour formation we were working to we finally got cracking. I sat with Nicola, Marion and Frances. We had such fun trying to remember which colour to use and how we were...