Cake and Bake Show!

It's been AGES since I've blogged without giving you a recipe so please forgive me for this one! I've had a fab day out at the Earl's Court Cake and Bake Show in London today, tired feet now and propped up in bed with all my pregnancy pillows!! It's the first cake show I've been too so wasn't sure what to expect but it didn't disappoint. There was LOADS of stalls, celebrity chefs, workshops and demonstrations. We got the goody bag when we arrived (who doesn't love a goody bag?!) then hit the 'marketplace'. Nearly every stall was giving away tasters, especially good for cheese and bread (Tom's Fudge place take note- if it's less than half the size of my fingernail on my little finger I can't taste it!) and there was so much variety. Marmite brownies were scrummy, may have to make some of these!!

We decided to do a full circuit before coming back to buy pecan and honey biscuits from PS. Love Biscuits, amazing tomato and smoked garlic cheese and caramelised onion and Rioja cheese from the Cheshire Cheese Company, Oreo cake pops and a box of delights from the Little Round Cake Company. I am really taken with these cakes, if you haven't heard of them before (which to be fair neither had I) they make something called a 'tweener' which is a small cake filled and topped and easily enough for 2 or 3 to share. They had such yummy looking flavours too and we were not disappointed with the one we tucked into when we got home! 

http://www.thelittleroundcakecompany.co.uk/cakes/tweeners.html

I'm going to be on the look out for some tweener tins to make my own! Lunch was courtesy of an Italian bakery; bruschetta topped with spicy chilli paste, it was to die for!!

We took a well needed rest to watch Rosemary Shrager bake hot chocolate cakes with caramel sauce which also looked yummy. She was hilarious and took no prisoners! The sound guy had to keep turning her down as she only seemed to shout, but her recipe looked great and I am going to have to make my own caramel sauce soon as it looked really easy to do; just sugar, water and cream!

Next on the agenda was all the cake making accessories and I had to be restrained here. I bought some gorgeous little pink, blue and white buttons for decorating cakes and a cocoa butter transfer sheet which is always something I've fancied trying. If you're not sure what this is I will attempt to enlighten you, and will do a more detailed description when I've actually used it. It is a design made from cocoa butter printed on acetate that you apply to either melted chocolate or fondant icing and when it is cooled you peel it off and the design is left on your baking. Here's a couple of examples from google images to explain it a bit better:

Something else I was delighted with, although I have no idea what I am going to use it for yet, was my new GIANT Bonne Maman glass jar! I'm sure my husband will wonder what on earth it is for but I LOVE it! I may use it for storage in the kitchen or just make a giant amount of jam.
I'm sure I have many other goodies too but am shattered now! Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for a lovely day Mum! Will post again soon with new recipes and ideas.
Much love, 
Yummy Mummy
xxx