Zimfest, Rain & Cupcakes

It has been a busy 2 weeks, and I am exhausted. This past weekend, we took up a stall at the Zimfest 2011 Festival. Zimfest is an outdoor festival, that began 11 years ago, where Zimbabweans come together to celebrate the spirit of Zimbabwe. Founded by the WeZimbabwe Charity, the event attracts not only Zimbabweans, but friends from all backgrounds for one BIG party, Zim style. With plenty to drink, steaks & traditional sausages - borewors to Braai (BBQ), traditional dishes to eat, and a cupcake or 2, markets stalls for a spot of shopping and the main attraction being the musical entertainment it's a fun day for all!

So, we took up a Stand Alone stall...hmmm!! With very dark clouds hanging over London on Friday, the rain poured and poured, as we baked our yummy treats, hoping that Saturday would be a lovely day...An early start at 6am, saw light clouds and no rain...so we set of to Raynes Park quite optimistic, goodies packed, and the sun teasing us here and there...As soon as I pulled into the field, the dark grey clouds appeared out of nowhere, it was windy and cold...and we still had a gazebo to erect! That had to be to most hilarious sight, and as we attempted to get the cover on, the wind wreaked havoc, so an hour later and little help from someone who felt sorry for us, the gazebo was up! Time to dress the table... battling the wind, we put the first cakes out, and it poured for a few mins, enough to soak everything and this happened 3 times, so by that point I was ready to pack up and go home! We had the wind blowing away our cards, napkins, popcorn bags you name it, but a little perserverance, goes a long way!

Eventually our warm spirited Zimbos arrived, giving of so much love appreciation, we forgot about the weather issues and enjoyed meeting and interacting with everyone who stopped by our stall! On the menu for the day we had:

Lemon Pound Cake, Cinnamon & Walnut Pound Cake, Chocolate Brownies, Vanilla Bean  Sponge Cake, Chocolate Fudge Cake, Vanilla Cookies, Cupcakes ranging from Vanilla, Granadilla (passionfruit), Lemon Touch, and Chocolate, Popcorn bags and the Award Wining Midnight Safari Cupcake to give away!

It was a long day until 10pm, but worth every minute and kind of makes you home sick. I do miss the Sunshine City, life was good, always exciting and full of happy people, even when it rained! Here are few pics of the day, I didn't get a chance to take that many, but it defintely was a fun family day! We stayed true to CC, dressing the table in our signature hot pink with hints of chocolate brown and a touch of yellow. The cupcake cases honoured the Zimbabwean flag colours with the mini cupcakes in white, yellow for the Lemon cupcakes, green & red for the Vanilla Bean and black for the Granadilla.

  

 

 

 

 

Click here for more pictures of the event!

So with Zimfest over, roll on the National Cupcake Week, we'll be posting details on what we have in store for the NCW soon!

Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!
xxCC Treats

A Sweet Day in London...CC Treats is a winner!!!

The Midnight Safari Cupcake has won the title of Most Innovative Cupcake of the Year 2011...

I'm still in shock, but overjoyed & thankful!!! So we made it to the ICA in one piece! It was a fun day, with several demos, presentations and then a "cake talk" from David & David of Outsider Tart. It's a pity we didn't get to speak with the judges, but the time just went by so quickly! Some of the judges I saw were Eric Lanlard (!!), Peggy Porschen, and Tarek Malouf of the Hummingbird Bakery, who took some to speak to me (yaay!!). A quick lunch & viewing of all the cupcakes, then it was time for the Awards! I met the 2009 Cupcake Championship Winner, Kevin from Mamas-Cupcakes, who's  a really cool & down to earth person! Check out his site! The overall Cupcake Champion 2011 was Absolute Treats, who specialise in a Free-from range of cakes, well done!! There were alot of well presented cakes, and at the end of the day it came down to the taste! Taste is paramount for a good cake!

Our winning cupcake was a Rich Dark Chocolate Sponge with a hard Divine Chocolate centre filled with an Amarula fused Marshmallow Fluff, topped with an Amarula Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue, decorated with dark chocolate shavings, a gold dusted dark chocolate disc...and boy have I had my fair share of them...(I will be running everyday this week to shed those few extra kilos). Thank you to everyone who sampled our Cupcake, and the great feedback we received!! Nailing the flavour was our main aim aswell as incorporate the spirit of Africa, and we nailed it!! I didn't fuss over the decor details, and kept the cupcake very simple, although I did miss my 1M swirl! So all, in all, it was a really Sweet Day in London!!! Well done to everyone who took part!

I captured a few shots, but when I was annouced as winner, shakey hand syndrome took over, so the focus wasnt too great! Hey, I'd just won!!

The judging tables

The Winners...

The National Cupcake Champion 2011

Some shots of the judges and the British Baker Team...

What a day, and a week it has been!! It's not over, The National Cupcake Week is right around the corner, so we'll be updating you on what we have in store for the 12-18th September, and how you can help us raise money for the partnering charity, CLIC Sargent, which is a childrens' cancer charity that supports and provides clinical, practical, and emotional support to help the whole family cope with the impact of cancer and its treatment, life after treatment and, in some cases, bereavement.

Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!

xx CC Treats

It's National Cupcake Championship Day!!

Today's the day... Just thought I'd write a quick note to say Thank you for the words of encouragement and support that you've given me!!

So, I'm on the train to London Charing Cross with my cupcake entry...and it's rush hour!! Help me!! I managed to get a good seat, where technically no-one can bump or step on my cakes, but I'm so anxious & keep checking on the BIG bag!!

Anyway I'll be back on the blog later to share all the details on the event!!
So excited!

More people have squeezed onto this train, and I have a cocky man drinking his coffee right in front of me and the treats...We will survive!!!

Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!
xx CC Treats

CC Treats Cake Pics

Check out some recent pics of our baked treats! Click on...CC Treats cake pics & enjoy! Feel free to leave a comment!



Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!
xxCC Treats

Chic Red & White Wedding Cake

This weekend saw us deliver a chic cake for a lovely bride Bini, who celebrated her wedding this weekend!

We were called upon to make her a simple cake, infusing her wedding palette of deep red & white. For the 3 tier cake, we baked our Madagascan Bourbon Vanilla Bean Sponge filled with a MB Vanilla Bean buttercream. For the cakes structure, we infused a combination of 2 square cakes for the top and bottom tiers, and a round cake for the middle tier, and covered them in white Regalice. We used a satin ribbon in 2 thicknesses to bring in the deep red colour and hand piped royal iced pearls for a simple but stylish details. For the chic bow detail, we added a gold acorn style brooch, and displayed the cake on a simple beaded gold square cake stand.

Here are some more cake pics for you to enjoy...

We also had the pleasure of making her bouquet, which was made up of white Calla Lilies and beargrass, wrapped in a red satin ribbon, secured with gold beaded pins & a pearl & diamante wired butterfly...

Our Best Wishes go out to the lovely newly weds as they embark on this exciting journey together !!

Sweet & Stylish Wishes & 2 Kisses!!

xx CC Treats

Countdown to the National Cupcake Championships 2011

We are counting down and looking forward to the National Cupcake Championships 2011 to be held on the 15th August! Our Midnight Safari Cupcake was selected as a finalist in the Most Innovative Cupcake category!!

This week I'll probably pile on a couple of pounds from baking, sampling, tweaking, sampling our cupcake! But I must admit this cupcake already tastes good...ymmm! This cupcake flavour will be available on our new menu after the 15th August.

We'll post some pictures soon!!

Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!

xxCC Treats