If I Had A Cake Shop It Would Look Like This

We were doing a food shop this weekend when, whilst in the bakery section, Lily saw some fondant covered 'character themed' birthday cakes. She let out a shrill and dragged me over to them saying how much she'd like one for her birthday. My reply was 'Your birthday is not until March and I will NEVER 'buy' a cake, I will always make your birthday cakes'. What ever was she thinking.

But it's true, as a keen baker of cakes, I tend not to buy them. However that has recently changed since discovering a 'proper' cake eatery on my doorstep; Treacle & Co. It isn't somewhere I hang out regularly, it's a place for a treat every now and again. I've been a few times now and it never fails to disappoint.

The cakes are simply amazing. They look too perfect; too pretty to eat. The display of cakes that you are met with when entering the cafe can be difficult for those who find decisive thinking a challenge. Lavender victoria sponge with vanilla buttercream and fresh berries, a rich chocolate beetroot cake, banana & whisky loaf cake with pistachios and chocolate chips, treacle tart with clotted cream and raspberries, very gooey salt caramel tart; they all sound so tempting don't you think? I ought to add they they also do a breakfast and lunch menu too, but for me it's tea and cake every time.

I can't praise the food enough. But it's the decor that's completely and utterly spot on too.  Even the staff that work there look the part; like models out of the latest Cath Kidston brochure. I love the old 'Birds Eye' tiles they've used on the walls, the animal table lights and the pretty window displays that always catch my eye when I walk by. Cake's are served on pretty vintage plates with dainty cake forks and the menu's written on old blackboards. Piles of cookbooks line the shelves as do a number of specialist teas that you can buy to take home. Plus there is always a pile of daily newspapers to browse through and they have highchairs and the odd kid's picture book for any young diners.

On the occasions that I have been in, I have taken either Lily or Arthur and they have loved it. Lily is old enough to appreciate all the decorative touches too. She'll always end our time at the cafe with a trip to their WC. Really? you may be thinking. But this loo has been beautifully wallpapered with the black and white pages of a vintage animal encyclopedia and Lily loves to pick out her favourite animals. It's all part of the experience for her. 

This little cafe offers a bit of sugar-coated escapism. Maybe it is just me, but as I step into this cafe I feel like I am stepping into another world, Mr Benn style. It's vintage, it's retro, it's nostalgic, it's warm and cosying. It's done so well, it feels sincere, not at all staged. It really does prove that a treat of tea and cake once in a while is good for the soul. Very good indeed.

My Top Five Cakes

Last week I was very busy with cakes. Yes, I know I was going to move on from the cake business thing, but every now and again I'm asked so nicely to bake a cake that I just can't say no. I do love to bake cakes particularly those that are central to happy times, celebrations and milestones. They might only be a bit of home-baked sugar-sweet sponge but they make people so happy and on occasion quite delirious.

It was my good friend Celia who commissioned me to make five cakes for her mother's 80th birthday party. The big bash took place over the weekend in London. The venue was the local church hall and the menu was tea and cake. Yes, literally. No faffing around with sandwiches and alike, but straight into the cake course. Now that's my kind of party! What I liked best about this commission was that I was left to my own devises creatively. The selection that I finally settled on consisted of the following; Courgette Cake (with a Lime Cream Cheese Frosting and Pistachio Nuts); Chocolate & Guinness Cake (with White Chocolate Frosting); Orange & Almond Cake topped with Almonds; Chocolate Brownies; Lemon & Thyme Shortbread Biscuits served with Seasonal Berries and Creme Fraiche.

I chose these five cakes for their variety and interest, but also because I have now made each of them so many times I believe that I have them down to a tee. A few people have been asking lately if I ever share my recipes. 'Of course' is my answer. They're not really mine at all. Some are old recipes that exist on dog-eared magazine tear outs, some are from much-loved recipe books and some are borrowed with a couple of my own tweaks thrown in. But they have become part of my baking repertoire and thus I have great affection to them all. So over this week I am going to post these very five cake recipes, starting with the Courgette Cake, which was taken from the cake bible itself How To Be A Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. Keep these recipes to hand then should a bout of baking come over you in the very near future you'll be well prepared to fully embrace it.
 

Courgette Cake (with a Lime Cream Cheese Frosting and Pistachio Nuts)

2-3 courgettes
2 large eggs
125ml vegetable oil
150g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
lemon curd for the filling
200g cream cheese
100g icing sugar, sieved
I lime
2 – 3 tbsp chopped pistachio nuts


1. Preheat your oven to 180C/ gas mark 4 and grease and line 2 x 21cm sandwich tins.

2. Wipe your courgettes with a piece of kitchen towel and then peel on the coarse side of a grater. Once you have your pile of grated courgette, take a handful at a time and squeeze over the sink to remove excess water, placing the drained courgette in a bowl ready for adding to the mixture in step 4.

3. Put the eggs, oil, and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Next sieve in the flour, bicarb and baking powder and continue to beat until well combined.

4. Now add your grated courgette and stir briefly until the mixture is flecked emerald green.

5. Divide the mixture equally between the two tins and bake in the oven for approx 30mins. The sponges are ready when slightly browned and firm to the touch. Once cooked place the tins onto a rack to cool for 10mins before turning out to cool completely.

6. Once the sponges are completely cool, you are ready to fill and ice. For the filling simply spread generously with some lemon curd. To make the frosting beat the cream cheese together with the sieved icing sugar. When your cream cheese and icing sugar are combined add a squeeze of lime for a delicious zing.

7. Smear the top of your cake thickly with the frosting. If you want to firm the icing up at all, place the cake in the fridge. Alternatively you can pop the icing in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to firm up slightly before spreading on top of your cake.

8. Just before serving sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and place a coordinating flower in the centre as a finishing touch. The inclusion of the flower is very much my little piece of creative freedom, but is by no means a necessity.

* Please note that this recipe is for a 2 layer cake. However this weekend I made a 3 layer version by adding half the ingredients again to fill a third cake tin.

Bread & Stuff ...

In our house, with the odd exception such as Christmas Day, we tend to eat our dinner in the evening as our last meal of the day. It was much like that for me as a child too, but I distinctly remember having 'tea' some days, probably at the weekend or during school holidays. I refer to 'tea' as the meal one would have at the end of the day if the main meal had been taken at lunchtime.

The 'tea' that remains clearest in my memory was 'Bread & Stuff'. It was a simple but comforting fayre that could be put together in a jiffy. You'd need to sit and serve this at a dining table. In the centre goes your loaf of bread (white unsliced bought from the bakers), then add all your savoury options to the table, Cheddar Cheese, Pickle, Pickled Onions, Marmite, Peanut Butter and Fish Paste (yes fish paste, but remember I'm going back some 30 years). Next your sweet options - all flavours of Jam, Golden Syrup, Treacle, Chocolate Spread and (set) Honey. The rules were simple - you start savoury and end sweet. 

Occasionally I will present a table of Bread & Stuff to my children and they embrace it fully. I am very lucky though, as I can take my Bread & Stuff 'Tea' to another level courtesy of my local baker, Sugardough in Hove. Sugardough is the most adorable little shop just moments away from the seafront. The shop is small, but perfectly formed. It is charming with its traditional yet relaxed interior. Racks of artisan breads and pastries; too-pretty-to-eat dainty cakes sitting on vintage cake stands; tarts and pies seduce all my senses making me want to 'move in' for the morning. The bread is baked daily on the premises (except for Monday's when they are closed), which is a rarity these days. It's wrapped in paper and is nearly always 'still warm'. The staff are welcoming and friendly - they always, without fail, get the door for me as I struggle to maneuver my buggy out of the shop. I favour a crusty Sourdough for my Bread & Stuff 'Tea' and theirs is hard to beat. 

I also adore their individual custard tarts. They make for the perfect self-indulgent treat with a good cup of coffee. I've also found them a very effective baby-sitting currency for my sister-in-law, who like me, appreciates my exceptionally good local baker.

Sugardough can be found at 12 Victoria Terrace, Kingway, Hove, BN3 2WB. Tel. 01273 727227