A Thread For All Uk Bakers!!
Decorating By hailinguk Updated 25 Aug 2017 , 10:29am by Magic Mouthfuls
Hello
Sneaking on quickly at work - tut tut !! Thanks Roxy and Maisie they really were happy with the cake and it makes all the hard work worth it especially when you are there to see peoples faces to reaction on seeing and eating it !!
M4rvelgeek hello and someone who actually lives near me in Hampshire I see ?!
Kathy I think it is its near on impossible to keep up with this thread at the best of times, but I do hope you are ok xx
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....Please say it was fruitcake??! lol
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For those who sell cakes to the public then do you tell them the shelf life left on the cake after the wedding day? If its taken you 5 days to decorate and its sitting in a warm room at the wedding and then nicely warming up at the disco surely it makes sense to shift it as quick as possible - dont most brides & grooms go on honeymoon the next day?
Do you produce a written/typed list of do and donts and that they were produced in a non-nut free kitchen, contains eggs and alcohol.
I can see someone commenting on how dry their cake was and how quickly it went moldy while slatting you. Shop bought cakes have a long lift as they are produced in factories and contain massive amounts of sugar as preservatives.
Yep.
All the recipes I use are good for 12 days at room temperature (21degrees) varified by environmental health, so I aim to decorate in 5-7 days, I tell them they have 3 days to eat it during which it's to be in an airtight containter and that gives a slight safety net. If they ask about freezing I tell them to cutt he icing off first, or, if I'd frozen my filling at any point I say not to freeze.
For birthday cakes I have a label which says: All cakes contain/may contain; muts, gluten, eggs, soya........ for wedding cakes it's just a line in the contract.
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....Please say it was fruitcake??! lol
Erm...nope. I remember being really irritated that she didn't cut it because it was a choccy cake and I really fancied it (this was when I still enjoyed cake) :) I dread to think what it must look like under the sugarpaste!
Awow.... that's...... kinda gross! lol Although last month I heard that one of my regulars manages to get the cake out from inside the icing leaving it intact, she stuffs them with foil and keeps them!
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Erm...nope. I remember being really irritated that she didn't cut it because it was a choccy cake and I really fancied it (this was when I still enjoyed cake) :) I dread to think what it must look like under the sugarpaste!
OMG that is a little scary Lizzy ! My nan is 87 on Wednesday (I'm doing her cake tonight nothing decorated though as haven't got time!!) she has been suffering with bad health over the last year hence the families cakes are all now done by myself !
Also we all get so worried as she does live on her own and her sight isn't great and her cupboard is just full of out of date baking products ! She is an amazing woman but slightly scary so no-one is brave enough to wade in and sort out her cupboards 
I know, I agree! We all thought it was a bit odd but hey ho, what're you going to do? I wasn't about to argue with her - she's a scary Irish lady with a mouth like a navvy
I've got so behind again 
! Last couple of days I've been too tired to get on with anything 
. Bit better today though so I've got a cake cooling down from baking this morning.
Thank you for your lovely comment catsmum 
(and I love that anniversary cake!). It was a bit of a crazy idea really so I was glad when it worked out in the end. Once I'd carved & ganached the cake and covered it with MMF, I coated the board with melted chocolate and sprinkled on the homemade chocolate biscuit crumbs so I'd know what the "soil" looked like for painting. Then I started on the painting, which was scaaaaaaary ! I decided what angle the cake should be viewed from, then closed one eye for the whole time whilst painting to get the right perspective (if I ever do it again maybe I should invest in an eyepatch 
). First I painted in the edges for seeing the back of the cakeboard "through" the cake, and then did the line for the back of the bell jar before filling in the rest of the soil. I painted in the highlight at the back left of the jar after this (it didn't come out very visible though). Then I painted the flowers, leaves, and stems, and finally the highlights/shadows/reflections in the bell jar, having studied many pictures of bell jars to try to work out what it should look like! The finished cake looked quite bizarre until you walked round to just the right angle, and then the picture sort of "clicks" into place
Jo I absolutely adore that cake you've made! The baby booties are sooooo sweet .
Welcome to the forum m4velgeek . I had the same problem with moderation - it made trying to have conversations rather confusing - glad to see you're able to post without the faff of that now! (And the Frozen cake looks brilliant!)
Siany there is so much detail in your minions cake! Wow!
ASorry, had to post and run this morning. I'll try to reply to everyone tho.
Chasingmytail, yes it was a local wedding, mansion house (the rather grand name for Newport registry office!) and the local club afterwards. The cake was made by somebody in Swansea, I wasn't happy about it but that's a whole other story! I agree about the cake being stale by the time it's doled out. At the same stepsons baby's christening last year they wouldn't cut the cake, took it home and dished slices out about a week later, stale and yuck! I made the baby's 1st birthday cake earlier this year and I told them to make sure they cut it and give it out as soon as they can cos I don't want people eating week old cake and blaming me cos it's minging!
Lizzie - you've not heard of anybody not cutting the cutting cakes before? Me neither but then you've probably not met a family like my dysfunctional lot before!
I thought it was selfish beyond words tbh. They were already taking the whole cake home, even without the dummy tiers two tiers for one couple and a baby (and one of them diabetic) is a lot. They went in honeymoon at 4 this morning so I'd love to know what happened to the leftover cake. To not want to cut the cutting cakes was just too much, you're right jean, it is a good job I was there, I didn't cut them tho, not that stupid, I gave the knife to the grooms mam and she did the honours!
Cardboard cakes and fake cakes on eBay, haha, love it! Wish I'd known about those before the wedding!
Hi nanny, I'm ok actually, husband and I went to the wedding, had a little drink or ten together, danced together and waddled home at midnight together! :-D it was actually one of the best weddings I've been to and it so shouldn't have been! So much was wrong, so much should've been wrong but wasn't, it was lovely, really good atmosphere, no fighting, no cake (oops! Did I say that?!) and the sun came out just in time for the photos! The club is a bit of a dump but who cares when the vodka's so cheap! And I had no kids with me, my mother said I could stay out as late as I wanted!
Hi Kathy, nice to see you, hope you're all ok. X
When I delivered my last wedding cake, I got asked by the venue staff if they could 'cut it down the middle and then put it against the wall (so noone would notice that there was only half a cake) for another party the next day'!!!!! It was the first I'd heard of it but apparently they were going to be having a party the day after the wedding as well and wanted to keep some of the cake for then. I suggested that they just keep the bottom tier or something but that wasn't what the MOB wanted. So after a while of trying to be logical and hide my slight shock/confusion, I just said it was impossible to do without totally destroying the cake anyway thanks to the boards and supports. Also couldn't guarantee how fresh it would be. Not entirely sure what happened after that!
Only other time I know masses of cake was leftover was when I made the wedding cake for my fiance's best friend. It was a 16kg+ momma of a cake and would have served well over 150. They 'cut' it early but didn't want to take it off display until later on...by which time all bar maybe 25 guests had gone home so the vast majority went uneaten. i said they could freeze it but hope they had a big freezer :-( Was totally gutted! Especially as the buffet was seriously stingy and we were all starving!! lol.
ANo way! Half a cake! I really have heard it all now! :-D
I go away for a couple of hours and have loads to catch up on.
Hi Snowflakebunny, that's so weird fancy wanting to half a cake.What is wrong with people 
Grey OMG I can't believe your regular takes the cake out and keeps the fondant to stuff with tin foil, that has got to be the strangest thing I've ever heard. It is official people are just nuts
Maisie glad you had a good time at the wedding with your husband it's nice if you can be friendly and enjoy things like that together.How nice of your mum to look after the kids and give you a night off
AHi roxy, yes, I had the best mam in the world Saturday night, I don't get out often then when I do I forget I've got a home to go to! Yes lovely to be "friends" again! :-D where's nanny, she'll be delighted!
LOL I'm glad you enjoyed it Maisie you deserve it after the past few weeks you've had, are you paying for it today?
AHaha thanks roxy, no, bit better today (wedding was Saturday mind!) like I said, I don't get out much!
AAm delighted Maisie, fab news and nothing makes me more happy hearing your ok again, sending big big hugs.xxx
A:-D thanks nanny, I knew you'd be chuffed! I'm almost tempted to say things might be looking up for me, for now at least!
I'm gonna be busy thus week, cake for my SIL 30th birthday party Friday, simple in theory but first cake I've ever made that'll be seen/ eaten by people (well adults) I don't know. I'm quite nervous.
AHave faith in yourself Maisie, now you are happier, it will show in the cake you make!x
AThanks nanny, I like that. :-D Gota go, bath time, bedtime, story time etc. early night for me then I think, going out and having fun is exhausting isn't it? G'nite all. :-)
AOh maisie I missed you again ! So pleased the wedding was fun for you and pleased you can remain friends, my mum and dad really can't so speaking from experience it might be hard at first but worth the extra effort at the beginning for the long term good of the family.
Your cake will be great maisie I'm sure of it, like Nanny says have faith in yourself xx
Victoria thanks for the compliment to those booties took a while !!
Siany was it you that said about a flexi edge beater for my KA ? I have amazon vouchers to use up from my birthday and think my money best spent on that as hate getting covered in cake batter ! Are they really good ??
AWell just gotta tell you guys, my daughter in law bought me the Serenity cake lace mat for making Ioans cake, big one too, just done and gonna do what either Jo or roxy said and try air drying it instead of cooking it, whoo hoo.
AIt was me raving about the flex edge beater jo. I love it, so much better than just the beater blade, I would definitely recommend it.
Aw, that's a lovely gift nanny, bet you were delighted.
Really am off to bed now! Night night.
Awww that's lovely Nanny nice to know your talents and efforts are appreciated isn't it, how sweet of her . It was me that said about the air drying Nanny I have got one drying at the minute myself. My family wanted some more mini victoria sponges so while I was baking I decided to bake a 5" cake so I could try the cake lace on an actual cake. I want it black and only have one strip of black from the last ones I did so had to make some cake lace mix up to make another on, I halved the amounts so I didn't end up with to much and added black food colour but it has just ended up dark grey so I will have to airbrush it tomorrow like I did the other one. I have just made a red poppy to go on the cake to so just have to fondant cake and airbrush the lace and hopefully will be able to post a pic tomorrow.
Night Maisie
Jo I have a flexi beater with my mixer (not a KA) ,I do think it is worth getting you don't have to scrap the bowl as much and it is great for buttercream.
AHi everyone,
I have a quick question if that is okay. I don't know if any of you might be able to help! I am making my daughter a birthday cake, I was going to so a sunshine one, but decided to be a bit more adventurous and go for a tree house. ( she is mad into trees, well leaves really).
The top (the tree house) will be an eight inch cake. Has anyone got any ideas how I might do the structure of the trunk of the tree. Do I need to go to the hardware store!! :grin: Or would you reckon a four inch dummy do or am I way off the mark!
Crazy gray has done a tangled tower cake it is in his photos and has a tutorial with it maybe you could get some help from that.
If you didn't want the tree to high I don't see why you couldn't stack a couple of dummies like you said and secure them with a couple of wooden dowels through them going into the board maybe.
AThanks Roxylee I will go have a look at that!!
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Original message sent by Lizzybug78
Hey m4rvelgeek (love the name btw :-))
Have you tried isomalt? It's less problematic than normal sugar, and if stored correctly will last much longer.
I kept champagne bottles made from it for two weeks with no issues. They were in a Really Useful Box with silica sachets, then before the lid went back on I put a few layers of clingfilm over the opening and clicked the lid over it.
Might be worth a play with it for next time?
Sounds good. Will have to give it a try... =)
No probs Newstreet, I have just had a look myself and it looks like the tower is all made out of RKT.
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Original message sent by Jo Field
M4rvelgeek hello and someone who actually lives near me in Hampshire I see ?!
Indeed I am... ;)
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