I 'parked' our campervan travel blog at the end of 2013 and, having sold the van in February 2014, it may be some time before we hit the road again and I can start blogging about our adventures once more.
To kick off my new blog here is an almost seamless link to my previous blog - with a photo of a cake I made for good friends of my twin sister Sue and her partner Will. To celebrate Paula's 60th birthday I made a cake in the shape of Paula and Glen's VW camper - they now have the travel bug and I have to admit to being very jealous.
Sue's brief was for a cake with a campervan theme that could be transported easily as it was to be taken hand luggage on a BA flight to Rome! She provided me with a number of photographs of Paula and Glen and their VW van and then she set off again on her travels to Africa leaving me to work on a design that would meet the brief. Many of the cakes I've made have been carefully transported around the UK - none has ever had to withstand x-rays, a pressurised cabin at 35,000ft and such a long journey!
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| Paula and Glen recreated the cake pose after the party! |
A square fruit cake covered in marzipan and green fondant icing provided the base for the smaller cake carved into the VW van shape. After adding some of the finer details like the VW badge, wing mirrors, grills and wheels I sprayed the red fondant icing with confectioners glaze to give it a glossy finish. Paula and Glen's heads popping out from the windows were a little bit of a challenge as the sugar sticks I had fixed them onto snapped the day before the flight. I wouldn't normally insert inedible items into a cake but needs must at this late stage and a couple of cocktail sticks saved the day! Thankfully the cake passed through the stringent security checks at Gatwick, survived the flight and subsequent train and car journeys to its final destination over 1000 miles from Surbiton.
I've always enjoyed making cakes for family and friends and in my dream world I would make and decorate cakes all day long. Sadly though, as with many craft hobbies, the amount of time taken to create these little 'works of art' and the amount that can realistically be charged for them makes it difficult to make a living from it. One day maybe........
In the meantime I have photo's of quite a few of my cakes stored digitally and in dusty photo albums so I'll set about writing a few posts about them and some of the stories behind them.
Cake arrived safely, Kath - after being swiped for explosives at Gatwick! (Bet that's a first for one of your amazing cakes too...). Everyone at the party loved it, and Paula wants to know how to keep the campervan part forever (the rest is long gone, all eaten) Thanks so much,
ReplyDeleteSue x
Thanks for taking it over to Italy and foregoing vital luggage space! Glad the party was a success x
DeleteThank you again Kath for the lovely cake. We arrived back safely from our exciting adventures a couple of days ago, Glenn's brother and sister in law have had the time of their lives, having never left the US before now! We did Florence, Venice, Black Forest, Heidelburg, Amsterdam and Bruges - and everything worked well. Weather was good to us and all I want to do now is get back on the road! Need to pick up the "campervan part" from Katie in Somerset asap - who kindly brought it back with her - and believe me it will stay with us as long as is possible!!! Thanks again - it made the evening just perfect.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear you enjoyed your trip and the party and so glad you liked the cake. This time last year Dave and I were in Turkey with our campervan - we can recommend Turkey and Greece as great destinations. Our song for the trip was Willie Nelson's 'On the road again.....'
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