So, I've joined a cake club. It was only a matter of time really, wasn't it? I'd read an article about it in a magazine a few months ago, The Clandestine Cake Club its called, and now, whilst the post Bake Off depression has started to set in, it seemed like the perfect time to join.
The premise is straightforward; bake, eat and talk about cake. A theme and a date will be posted on the website, though the location is kept top secret until the last minute, members then interpret and bake their own creation to bring and share. You chat, gossip, swap ideas, share knowledge, and ultimately attempt to eat your body weight in sugary sponge. Its free, fun and you get to take cake home - if you haven't over done it, and can face it, that is.
As with all clubs, there are a few rules; each cake must be large enough to cut into 8-12 decent slices, and cupcakes, muffins, brownies, cookies, pies and tarts are all prohibited. Its a strict cake only club, as conversations begin as soon as you sink that knife in for the first time. Both home-bakers and pro's can join, but its not a competition, so no one should get hung up about what their cake looks or tastes like. Even if it is a failure, at least there's something to laugh about! Experiment, eat and enjoy. 
It was the Cheltenham group's fifth meeting last week, though it was my first, and the theme was 'colours of the rainbow'; an attempt to brighten our spirits after all of this dreary autumnal weather. After scouring through my stack of cookbooks, I ended up choosing a little recipe that I had cut out of a newspaper supplement; a basil and berry cake. Possibly a risky move for my first attendance, but its all about being adventurous, so a heap of the herb was whizzed up in the cake mixture, and then a generous dollop of green food colouring was added for good measure. I can honestly say that its the brightest cake I've ever made, and sandwiched together with a cream cheese icing and a scattering of berries, it was a feast for the eyes - sunglasses were probably necessary.
The secret location turned out to be Whole Foods Market, in their little 'cooks kitchen', and not knowing quite what to expect, I rocked up clutching my rather heavy cake tin hoping that the car journey hadn't massacred it - fear not, all was fine. There were 20 people in total, and about 15 shades of cake; lots of red velvet variations, rainbow sprinkles, bright icing and pretty piping. I was quite glad that I'd gone for an unusual recipe as most were vanilla, fancily coloured as opposed to fancy flavours, so the sharp fruits in mine softened the sugary blow. A lemon curd and raspberry cake, spiced pumpkin and a couple of chocolate ones were also a welcome addition. Though, if I had to pick a favourite, it would be the fluffy pink velvet layer cake, with pastel ribbon-like icing, all expertly executed.
Most of the group were in their late 20's - 30's I'd say, with a handful older, and all women, bar one man who was also popping his cake club cherry, and confessed that the massive multicoloured cake he'd brought along was actually the first cake he'd ever made - both impressive and brave. A lot of people knew one another from work, and many had met at the previous events, but none of that mattered as everyone was openly chatting. The cakes had little name tags too, so it made it a bit easier to match names to faces, or cakes to faces at least.
This gay-pride-for-cakes only lasted an hour, which is probably quite a good thing as after a sugar high comes a sugar low, so, armed with tupperware, we manoeuvered round the crumbs and piled slices in to take home. I think I tried 5 cakes whilst there - a strong effort - and I took slivers of the others back for the chap, though it did look a bit like a kids party bag gone wrong when he opened the box.
The next event is in December, and will be festive themed; Christmas jumpers at the ready.
No comments:
Post a Comment