When I was thinking, earlier today, about writing this post, I thought it would be about my week that was, but as is the way of the world as soon as I started to look back on what I did this week, my brain took off in a different direction and the planned post morphed into something else.
Category Archives: Cake
♥ A Book. A Queen. A Cake.
♥ Bake my Cake
What do you do if you qualified as an architect in Dublin, just as the world economy wobbled spectacularly, the Irish property market imploded and construction in Dublin lurched to a shuddering halt? When Catherine De Groot completed her degree in 2008, she briefly worked in an architectural practice but when her hours were cut, she decided to supplement her income by transforming her childhood passion for baking into a business. For a while she beavered away at the cake making plus the architecture but the fledgling baking business was so successful that she decided to leave architecture and in November 2010 she found a suitable premises and opened Bake My Cake.
The shop is on Booterstown Avenue in South Dublin, it’s long, narrow and the white-painted walls are a perfect foil to the splashes of colour supplied by: the shelves of brightly-hued products, the painted logo created by a graphic designer friend, the colour blocked take away coffee cups and the pretty polka dot cake boxes. The gorgeous baking aroma transfixed me the moment I walked through the door, it comes from the heart of the business,an open plan kitchen, at the back of the shop, overlooking a small garden.
The business has three distinct parts. Firstly there’s the baking side; should you be looking for a bespoke cake for a special occasion (wedding, birthday, christening…) you can sit down and talk to The Bake My Cake team and they will come up with a design that matches your requirements. There is also a list of deserts, cupcakes and other treats available to order. Secondly, if you are a devoted home baker the shop is a place where you can source all manner of cake-centric things such as: fondant icing, cake tins, colouring, cutters, edible food writing pens, cake decoration and cup cake cases. The third part of the Bake my Cake business is the treats section at the front of the shop where there is a daily changing choice of goodies (cup cakes, brownies…) as well as ice cream and coffee for sale (take out only).
A special thank you to Neil, one of Catherine’s team for answering all my question.
Note; Bake My Cake, 45 Booterstown Avenue,Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Website: http://www.bakemycake.ie Phone: 00353 1 2784478. The shop is open, Monday – Friday: 8.00a.m. – 6.00p.m. and Saturday: 10.00a.m. – 4.00p.m.
Filed under Cake, Celebrations, Dublin, Food/Wine, Shops/Shopping
♥ Bastille Day Madeleines
Tomorrow, Bastille Day is the French national holiday; it commemorates the storming of the infamous Bastille prison on 14th July 1789 by disgruntled revolutionaries. The rebels took the Bastille and that event became a symbol of The French Revolution. Tomorrow all of France will be en fête; I decided to celebrate from afar by baking some madeleines.
Filed under Cake, Celebrations, France, Recipes
♥ Orange Breakfast Bars
This Sunday’s weather made it very difficult to believe that we are just ten days away from Midsummer. The sky was dull and dark in these parts and misty, gauzy, grey rain floated incessantly to the ground. A soft day! To cheer myself up this evening I did a spot of comfort baking and whizzed up a batch of orange and cinnamon breakfast bars, for the freezer. The recipe comes from Jane Clarke’s book Body Foods for Life.
♥ Chocolate Guinness Cake
I suspect the grand panjandrum, whoever he or she is, in charge at Diageo’s (owners of Guinness) marketing department, may have been mostly occupied these past ten days with ordering in cases of celebratory champagne. The reason? On a recent state visit to Ireland the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh watched a master class in how to pull a pint of Guinness. A short few days later Barrack Obama also on a visit to Ireland was pictured downing a pint of the black stuff. These images have appeared in media outlets worldwide; a marketer’s dream and the type of publicity that no amount of money can buy.
Books for Cooks
If a trainee fairy maniacal working her way through ‘Bewitchment for Dummies’ were to cast a spell which meant I had to eat lunch in the same place everyday for evermore, I hope that place would be the Books for Cooks café in London.
♥ Coffee in Dublin//One: The Cake Cafe
The Cake Cafe, in the eco-friendly Daintree building, is slightly off the beaten track. First find the Daintree paper shop on Camden Street, walk through the shop and exit by the rear door into a bamboo fringed alleyway, when you emerge you will see The Cake Café.
♥ Launch Party
Welcome to my world seen through the prism of my blog. This is my first post. Why blog? Well for me it’s the chance to talk about some things I love: life, style, interiors, food, wines, books, great cities, and anything that makes my heart skip a beat. I also hope it will act as a catalyst to push me into doing some things I have always wanted but keep finding some reason to put off.
I baked a cake to celebrate my first post, so excuse me while I go eat a slice or two. Talk to you soon.
Filed under Cake
