Tiers of the Cake


A tasty slice of inspiration...

Hello foodies,

A huge warm welcome to Red Velvet Baking, the blog! I have been baking since I can remember and I have always wanted to share my experiences and tasty flair beyond the walls of my own home. In summer 2011 I launched this little blog. I blog as a celebration of my achievements and dedication to my culinary passion, alongside an overflow of my enthusiasm, with a few added delicious recipe ideas. Pictures and tips galore, sure enough to sink your teeth right into and to get your mouth watering. Delicious beautiful baking can put a smile on anyones face.

Summer 2013 saw me train for a month at Leiths, gaining a distinction in practical cookery and last summer I ran a culinary arts course in the USA, specialising in baking.

I am now back in the UK, writing for my blog from sunny Yorkshire. 2015 is going to be a big year for Red Velvet Baking, so keep posted!

Keep calm, enjoy and most importantly BAKE!


Jessica

xox

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Website - Undergoing a magical makeover!

Find the missing sprinkle...

Monday 8 July 2013

Recent Cake Creations...

Morning foodsters!

So recently I have been ridiculously busy, with last week juggling five different jobs at once! Last week saw The Children's Media Conference, in Sheffield for its 10th year, which was amazing for networking and advice and I will be blogging on Her Uni about it - links to go live shortly!


 The week previous I was busy with last minute cake orders and working through my never end PR and marketing list! I took on a Red Velvet simple, square sponge and a double chocolate 18th birthday cake. Both very happy clients and I had great fun with the sugar-craft modelling!



Milk chocolate sponge with white chocolate ganache filling. Chocolate fondant covering and vanilla buttercream detailing. Everything, obviously, edible.



 Last week I focused mainly on shortening my list and balancing my work load. Below is the cake for Gordon Ramsay's 'have a nice day' book launch, which is an American based, crime thriller. Buy your copy on Amazon today for a truly fabulous summer read!





This week a good friend of mine tagged me in a Facebook repost of this picture, with regards to bespoke crafts and cakes. I thought it was too good not to share and to all you foodies and crafties, who  feel forced to undersell their time and products, show your clients this. If people are wanting personalised, bespoke, one of products, that are unique to them, the price in guaranteed to be higher, to match the higher quality. Shop local, shop luxury.


Keep calm and be kind to your local sellers.

Love, as always, 

RVB 

xo

Harrogate Speciality Food Show :)


After a few years of wanting to go, one year of being away when I received tickets, I finely got to indulge in the Harrogate Speciality Food Show. I had looked at holding a stall there myself, but after experiencing its delights, I now know it is not the place for me, but a great place to pick up on mainstream trends and business success in the speciality food industry. Ps I cannot resist saying look at my cute little ticket (above), so easily excited.




I met a lot of first timers at the show and it was wonderful to see all the young, fresh, talented individuals that are helping to food industry thrive with the 'shop local' schemes. Everyone was so passionate about their field and supportive of the other stalls, working together to create a fantastic atmosphere. There were demonstrations too and we caught the 'make the most' out of food that is past it's best. Always plenty to do with bananas, but unusual and tasty ways to cut down tremendously on food waste, utilising your fridge contents to the best of the ingredient ability, no matter the skill of the chef in hand! See the picture above and below of the delicious treats that were made.



As you can imagine, the sweet stalls took most of my attention and below is a gorgeous chocolate stall. Most of the businesses were looking for wholesale buyers, rather than individuals, which is why Red Velvet Baking was not as well suited, doing bespoke orders, however it was nice to see the range of products out there and to see more artisan and 'homemade'  products are beginning to take the market by storm, as  mass production loses the personalised, luxury feel of products.




As we got horrifically lost on the way to Harrogate, we arrived quite late and I had an order due in shortly after too! We did however, make it in time to see the Dragon's Den style talk, where some of the stall holders presented their products to a chef and several market retailers. It was fantastic to watch and the first guy, with his Greek meze range, from The Olive Branch, was really good and the product tasted very authentic.




Meze style dip or marinade, shame it was on a ritz cracker so flavour was a little lost!


These two ladies, mother and daughter, really touched my heart, being really new to their business, promoting home made marshmallows. Over the past couple of years, marshmallows have really hit it off. I am really not sure why, but when you taste a home made one, alongside a Princes, £1 for a full bag one, you quickly realise that we have been eating them wrong for years! These lovely ladies got criticised for poor branding and quickly learnt that to compete in this kind of market, they have to raise their game. I did swing by to their stall before leaving and offer a few tips on branding, PR and marketing, I just couldn't resist! I do wish them the best and suggest you go find a local marshmallow stockist and try a REAL marshmallow!


It was a fabulous experience and I plan to go again next year, but it is more for finding local sources for good quality chocolate and containers, rather than gaining business for me. I stand by bespoke and personalised and would hate to go national too quickly with RVB, but one day, you never know, I could be coming to a town near you!

Keep calm and shop local.

Love and warm wishes,


Red Velvet Baking

xox