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| I’m wearing: Leather jacket – Zara T-shirt – T by Alexander Wang (on sale in the Coggles Outlet here) Jeans – J Brand (amazing bargain in TK Maxx) Plimsolls – Office |
Like most of the country, I’ve been gripped by Bake Off fever. Every year it rolls around and every year I watch avidly, take notes, and update Pinterest boards. I love to bake and have tried to expand my repetoire from the standard Viccy Sponge for a while now, often imposing my experiments on my willing colleagues. I need to improve on pastry, and I’ve never given bread a go, but I’m damn keen and will keep practicing.
The Cake and Bake Show at Earl’s Court is a baker’s dream. Full of food stalls, free samples and demonstration kitchens, it’s ideal for amateur and professional bakers alike to wander around and get inspired.
There were, of course, examples of truly mind-blowing edible works of art. Cakes to make your jaw drop from the intricacies and accurate creations made from flour and sugar, including a terrifying portrayal of Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. My favourite was the Lego cake – something I’d love to have a go at in the future, although I imagine it takes a lot more patience then I’d ever have. Decorating a cake is always the biggest challenge for me as I am not artistic at all. I can bake something that tastes good, but it might not look appealing on the plate!
As we walked around the stalls it was extremely hard not to buy everything I found. Do I really need something that makes my icing look like fine lace? Is it essential that I buy those Christmas cupcake cases? Luckily, good sense prevailed, but I did still get some great bargains including Blackforest flavoured icing sugar from Sugar and Crumbs (and I’ll be buying some of their Salted Caramel flavour online too), a selection of natural flavourings from Neilsen-Massey, and two incredible knives. I know the latter sounds thoroughly boring, but I tried the Magic Knife out at their stand and was so impressed that I snapped up their two-for-£30 deal. I’m gradually replacing my kitchenware with higher quality products (next on my list: saucepans!), so this was the first step, and my boyfriend has been singing their praises every mealtime since.
The most exciting part of the day though was spotting contestants from this series of The Great British Bake Off. I literally yelped and ran when I saw Iain and Richard; my two favourites. They were bombarded with fans so I didn’t get to have a photo with them, but it was really fun just to see them.
I’m normally skeptical of these types of events as I worried that it would be too much of a trade show for professional bakers. But this was much more fun and laid back, even though it was extremely busy. For a wannabe Lorraine Pascale like me, it was a lot of fun. We got our tickets from Wowcher for only £7 each, so it goes to show that searching around for a bargain is totally worth the effort!