Showing posts with label shop-bought cakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shop-bought cakes. Show all posts

Saturday, 16 June 2012

Never knowingly under-caked...



A Baker Days cake...

















Here’s a confession that won’t surprise people who know me well; I like to bake.  In fact, I love to bake.  You might say – in fact, I did, to a friend just this evening – that I am never knowingly under-caked.  I can’t help it, I think it’s in my blood (my mother is a demon baker), so bearing in mind that for most people their default model of parenting is the one they were brought up with, despite the fact that I really didn’t do much baking when I was young(er) and child-free, in my case the iced writing was on the wall the moment I became a mum.

There’s something about being able to offer your children a piece of cake for pud (after, of course, the requisite helping of fruit - *looks furtively around and thinks that yes, she probably got away with that one*), or being able to offer guests a slice with their cup of tea that is peculiarly satisfying.  Cake is, I think, something of a cure-all; life generally tends to look a lot less grim if there is a piece of it on a plate next to your cuppa.

Working from home I’m in the privileged position of being able to find time for all this baking (although even so, I don’t usually manage to until after the kids in are bed), but it’s still only a once a week indulgence, and  I certainly don’t ever get round to baking for people outside the family in the way that I might like to.  Because there’s something special about a cake as a gift for a good friend or a loved one, whether it’s for celebratory purposes or purely as a pick-me-up, isn’t there?

What I am not, however, is an expert at sending cake further than around the corner in the back of the car.  Just think of how it looks after you’ve brought a purchase home from the local WI Bazaar and you’ll get what I mean, so when I was contact by Bakerdays, I was very interested in the service they offer; their website gives you the opportunity to send a beautiful personalised cake through the post.  You can either use one of 300 existing designs or create your own to decorate one of 6 cake recipes, which they will ensure is delivered to your chosen recipient along with a party pack of candles, gift card, balloons and a party horn.  One of the sizes they offer will even fit through a standard letter box in its’ own tin.

Prices start at £14.99 for a letterbox-sized cake, which seems quite reasonable when compared to the price of a delivery of flowers, for example.  And when you can’t be with the people who are important to you, this is a great way to show you care – and to ensure that, like me, your friends and family are never knowingly under-caked...


This is a sponsored post, but all content and opinions are my own


Saturday, 13 August 2011

Jamaica Ginger Cake, sticky toffee pudding, and Rusty Lee. What's not to like?


I love to bake, but my repertoire is limited to a few favourite recipes; chocolate cake, shortbread, vanilla sponge, and fairy cakes, and I don't often have the time to get round to making those. And shop-bought cakes, on the whole, are not great in Russia. They look purty, no doubt about that, but to my British tastebuds they are usually too sweet, too creamy, and just don't hit the spot. Add our family's nut issues to the mix, and unfortunately they aren't much of a fall-back for us in Moscow.

So when I was given the chance to write a sponsored post for McVities about their newly repackaged Jamaica Ginger Cake, it brought back a host of delicious memories and made me long for it to be available over here. Not only is it delicious to eat straight (or even - gasp - buttered), but I have been known to use it to make a cheat's sticky toffee pudding by simply slicing it up and pouring toffee sauce over the top before baking it in the oven...

Anyway, enough about my day dreams. Sigh. Visit the official Jamaica Ginger Cake Facebook page for the chance to enter a fabulous competition to win a 'dream holiday' and to see the fabulous Rusty Lee (remember her? More importantly, remember her wonderful laugh?) making delicious recipes with ginger cake. Or otherwise, just watch the clip below before adding the ingredients to make Rusty's truffles to your shopping list...





This was a sponsored post...