Cake News, TV and Events (1 Viewer)

I'm pleased to announce that the lovelies from the BSG North are hosting quite a few events over the next year, so I thought I would give you a sneak peek of what's coming up and where the events will be held. If you've ever attended any of the meetings, you'll know that the ladies who run them have a wealth of experience, have a passion for imparting their knowledge and can give you many hints and tips along the way. So if this sounds interesting to you, then be sure to check out the upcoming events. March 2023 Date: Friday 17 March - Sunday 19 March 2023 Event: Northern Skills School Venue: The Crooklands Hotel in Milnthorpe. Description: Ann Parker will be showing/making one of her stunning floral displays and Debbie Cox will...

Step right up, all you cake-and-bake lovers, because yes, you've guessed it, the leading Cake Baking and Decorating show is back. Not only that but this year, they have a brand new Bake International section to go along with it! Whoop, whoop! So if you fancy getting your cake on, then make sure you head to the NEC in Birmingham between 4 - 6 November. To give you a little insight into the event, Cake artists such as Emma Jayne, Karen Portaleo, Javier Azocar and Molly Coppini will be running some of the workshops across the weekend and Bake stars such as Chigs and Freya from GBBO, Jane Dunn from Jane's Patisserie, and Yolanda Gampp from How to Cake will be there too. As you can imagine, the event will be jam-packed with...

We were back at our BSG meeting over the weekend, and this time we made the Dinosaur that Julie Rogerson had taught us how to make at our previous meeting. I had the pleasure of sitting with Frances, Marion and Evelyn, who have a wealth of knowledge between them, and we chatted about things they had created over the past 40/50+ years. Nicola ran the meeting and was great fun showing us step-by-step how to recreate the dinosaur. Luckily I'd already made one for my daughter's birthday cake, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover that this time, we got to make it in green, yellow and purple instead of orange. We had lots of fun creating the dinosaur, and each and every one of them has its own personality. This is the one I made...

So we're now back after the summer break, and what a wonderful way to return to the BSG meetings than with a demo from Julie Rogerson! Julie has been making models for over ten years and has numerous accreditations under her belt. As well as being a fabulous tutor, she has also written her own book too. I was lucky enough to meet her at our last BSG meeting, where she came to give us a demo. These are just a few of the models that she makes, and she has a website online where you can go and learn from her. https://julierogerson.com/ She is a lovely lady who has patience and understanding and is happy to answer any questions you may have. We had so much fun watching her make this cute baby dinosaur and hope she returns again...

Yeah! I'm pleased to announce that GBBO will be back on our screens this evening at 8 pm sharp on Channel 4! (Albeit a few weeks later than usual, but who cares!) Paul, Prue, Matt and Noel are also back by popular demand, along with a host of new contestants. This year we have a bilingual student, a nuclear scientist, a supermarket cashier, a music teacher and an architectural assistant, to name but a few. So grab your brew put your feet up, and let the baking commence! On your marks, get set, bake! 👩‍🍳 Cake News, TV and Events

So I've been back to another meeting with the BSG, and this month we've had the opportunity to sit and watch a demonstration on how to make Spider Chrysanthemums with Lesley Dalton. The flower above was a replica of the Spider Chrysanthemums she showed us how to make on the day. Lesley was very helpful, took us step-by-step on how to make the flowers, and gave us advice and insight into her techniques along the way. Not only did she show us how to make them from start to finish, but she also encouraged us to make them in varying stages of bloom. For example, starting from just a bud straight through to a full flower. It was a very interesting and eventful meeting and one that I may have a go at, at some point. Below is a finished...

If you love to bake and fancy your hand at a baking competition, why not apply for the upcoming Magnolia Network Holiday Baking Competition. I mean, come on, who doesn't love Chip and Joanna! You'll have to be quick, though, because entries need to be submitted by the end of July! Oh, and there's not just one competition; there's two. For full details on how to apply, please follow the link below. Good luck and happy baking! 👩‍🍳 Apply: Now Casting: Magnolia's Silos Baking Competition | Joe Town Media

As any Jaffa Cake lover, you'll be pleased to hear that Frances Quinn has once again broken the largest Jaffa Cake record! This time the British Bake Off Winner paired up with Will McMath and the McVitie's team to beat her own world record, which she set in 2017. This year's Jaffa Cake weighed in at a whopping 80kg and took 11 hours to make. It's the equivalent of 6557 standard Jaffa Cakes and took 160 eggs, 15 kilograms of jelly and 8kg of dark chocolate to make the cake which was a massive 175cm in diameter! The Jaffa Cake was recreated to help celebrate 15 years of BGT and was given out to guests and crew at the semi-finals. Well done, Frances and McVitie's, for your new World Record!

We had the pleasure of receiving a demonstration by the lovely Pat Smith this month at our BSG meeting who was showing us how to make Edible Gladioli sprays like the one below. Pat took the time to carefully show us each stage of making the flowers and explained what tools we would need and the techniques we should use to recreate them in their various stages of bloom. It was amazing to see how realistic the flowers turned out and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It was a lovely afternoon, especially hearing about how Pat had set up her own group many years ago and how many ladies ventured far and wide to learn new skills. It's amazing to hear how traditions are still being passed on to the next generation and how many women...

So here we are back at our April BSG Meeting, and it didn't disappoint! This month we let our creativity do the talking and recreated this lovely Easter Lamb that Judith had prepared for us and demonstrated how to do. Not only is she cute, but she's made using a creme egg, so she was doubly keeping with the Easter theme. Firstly I was a tad worried because I didn't bring an egg with me, but Sheila, who I sat with, gave me her spare. I didn't actually need it, though, in the end, as Judith had plenty to go around. We had so much fun doing the different stages of this, and even though we didn't all get to finish them, I think you'll agree we've all put our individual spin on them. It was such a fun and informative workshop, and I'd...

So I was off again to the BSG March Meeting, and this time we had the lovely Jackie Buckley showing us how to make some Filigree Flowers. Now, in all honesty, this is something I haven't come across yet and looking at how intricate it is, it's probably something I would have previously passed on. However, now that we're back out in the world, I'm all about embracing new things, and this is definitely one of them. Jackie was extremely informative and helpful throughout the workshop and mentioned that it was nice to be out and about again. She was also eager to show us how easy it was to make the flowers and how robust they really are. Throughout the workshop, she put us at ease, showing us the techniques we needed to recreate the...

So as you know, I've started to venture back out into the world, and I've managed to have another wonderful meeting with my sugarcraft ladies. This month's meeting was Valentine's inspired, and we weren't disappointed. We had three demonstrations in total by Judith, Mo and Nicola, ranging in levels from easy to difficult and even giving us the chance to get a little hands-on too. Our first demonstration was provided by Judith, who runs the meetings. She demonstrated how to re-create these adorable cats entwined on a branch. The detailing on the face is a little intricate, which is why I thought they were painted on! Imagine my surprise when I found out all the shapes were made from modelling paste. The next demo we looked at was by...

So the gloves are off in the fight over caterpillar rights at the minute. M&S have had Colin the Caterpillar grace their shelves since the '90s and have increased the range over the years to include Connie the Caterpillar, Colin Faces and many more sumptuous products. However, hot on the heels of Colin now appears to be Cuthbert from Aldi. Obviously, due to the extreme similarities, M&S were unhappy by the move and issued proceedings against Aldi, who'd already removed the product from the market. M&S concerns were how alike the products were and how Aldi was infringing on their trademark, which they themselves use a lot for charity. However, in a swift turn of events, Aldi is now bringing back a special edition Cuthbert Cake and...