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

National Cupcake Championships 2011

CCTreats has been selected as a finalist for the National Cupcake Championship 2011!!!!!!

The finals will be held on 15th August! We are so looking forward to this, and gives us a great opportunity to meet with like-minded cupcake bakers and industry greats!! Visit National Cupcake Week News for the full list of finalists!

We appreciate all the love & support that we have had on our Cake journey so far!!
We'll keep you posted on how the 15th goes!

Sweetest Wishes & 2 Kisses!!
xxCCTreats!!

Summer Soiree

I have been busy planning a surprise luncheon for my sister who graduated last Wednesday...what a challenge! This has been one of the hardest things that I have had to plan, as we spend A LOT of time together, so keeping all the details a secret was a little tougher than I thought! I had to get the party stationery and the decor ready within 48hours, however I have had months to visually plan it!

With true British weather...very unpredictable; it was windy, cold and cloudy, but thankfully we had no rain! My sister is a simple being who likes, chic, pretty and arty kind of things with not too much fuss, so I kept the details very simple, with bursts of colour here and there! I chose violet, sage green, and various shades of yellow for the colour palette.

We used a white table cloth with light silver details on the fabric with chic silver tassels in each corner of the cloth. She's also an asthmatic, so I couldn't use showers of flowers, so I bought a bunch of bright yellow Gerberas from the supermarket (a bargain at £3 for the racket!), and cut the heads of the stems, and placed them on the table for the yellow accents. We used yellow "faux" linen napkins & damask embossed napkins in a light green colour for added texture. (I was going to use sage green ones, but they were too harsh against the strong yellow). We wrapped these in the themed napkin wrappers, placed the cutlery inside, and set them in a white tray.

We grouped the cake treats, simple party snacks & drinks together, and the salads, sauces & dips on another table. The cake treats were a rich chocolate sponge cake, covered in a chocolate ganache, adorned with slices of fresh strawberries. The rich redness of the strawberries, added a pop of colour complementing the yellow/green/purple palette. We also bake some Lemon Touch Cupcakes, with a simple yellow buttercream swirl and place them on a white platter with the green embossed napkin. We used some stylish jars to serve her favorite food craving...popcorn, and adorned the lids with purple ribbons.I must say after spending an hour or so cutting the food tags, I misplaced them...urgh, and found them the day after! We also served peppermint creams & chocolate eclairs and placed them in mini coffee jars.

Setting up & almost there...

Rich Chocolate Fudge Cake & Lemon Touch Cupcakes

 We served a cold buffet of salads, and braaied (BBQ'd) bbq steaks, mango & lime chicken drumsticks, and smokey bourbon ribs. For the drinks we served a homemade Ginger Cooler & Citrus Mint Fizz, Orange & Mango drinks, and a mix of other drinks. I will post the recipe for Ginger Cooler & the Citrus Mint Fizz, they were perfect Summer coolers (you just had to imagine that it was hot & sunny)!

Always be prepared for change...it got too cold outside, so we had a quick switch, the guests moved inside, and the tables were moved outside!

It was a lovely afternoon with family & friends! The food was good, the treats were yummy, and most importantly she cried from the surprise, so I say job done!

We have some great & exciting news to share with you all about our CCTreats...it's still sinking in! Check out next post coming soon!

Stylish & Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!
xxCCEvents

Dairy-free Birthday Treats

Last week, I was busy in the kitchen baking treats for many a birthday. One very special treat was some dairy-free cupcakes for my lactose intolerant bestie, Miss Merx! I wanted to really treat her to some luxury treats, from look to taste, ensuring they were still indulgent treats even without all the dairy/buttery components of regular cakes. So I baked our Vanilla Bean sponge, topped it with a dark chocolate butter-free swirl and a dark chocolate dipped strawberry with white royal icing dots. I packed the little treats in complimentary red cupcake boxes, and made my way up to Covent Garden...and then the heavens opened, and it rained, and rained hard! My shoes were soaked, jeans, jacket, name it got wet! And as for the cupcakes, they arrived safely and intact, to be enjoyed by all!! It was a fab, relaxing evening, with FAB chicken, and I met some wonderful people. So Happy Birthday lady and have a blessed and FANTABULOUS (i love this word!) year ahead!!

I really need to invest in a new camera...hmmm!

Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!
xxCCTreats

Nautical Cake Details

We complete our nautical theme details with the cake details from the party. The cake was our signature vanilla bean sponge filled with our creamy vanilla bean buttercream, and fondant icing. We made a fondant life saving ring in the party themed colour, with a roped border, and adorned the cake with sailing boats, all echoing the party colours.

This truly was a fun cake to make!

Sweet Wishes & 2 Kisses!!

xxCCTreats

Ahoy There!

A while back I mentioned that we were working on a Nautical Themed 1st Birthday Party, which has seen us at our busiest over the last couple of days, as well as being busy in the kitchen baking some yummy treats!

So the nautical themed first birthday party has come and gone, and the party was a great success! The weather delivered some sizzling sunshine, and sealed the theme. The party was held in the garden of the lovely God-parents of the birthday boy, and the decked patio with the exposed brick back wall, was the perfect canvas for our theme. The colour palette we chose was made up of navy, apple green, hot orange, white, with hints of pinstripe in shades of blues and white. The decorative accents included, sailing ropes, biodegradable wooden cutlery, navy & apple green napkins, navy grosgrain ribbons, pinstripe ribbons, personalised bunting, water bottles, napkin wrappers, cookies and favour bags, and a nautical inspired cake!

We designed the complete range of the event stationery, based around the nautical icons of a sail boat and an anchor, no 1, and the party slogan Ahoy There! in the chosen colour scheme, and stripes and bold outlines to keep it boyish and playful for a 1 year old, and this also added pops of the colours to the party table. We customised our welcome sign, using a plain white polystyrene ring, and added navy blue strips of ribbon, white cord, and glued on the welcome message, so that the guests were Welcomed Aboard the Nautical theme from the second they arrived!

  

We used mounted navy blue drinks dispensers for some yummy homemade coolers, and set them at varied heights. We used plain white serving platters for the kids nibbles and added more colour with pineapple, strawberry, and kiwi fruit kebabs dotted with Haribo jellies!

It was a fun party to plan, and fun was had by all. With plenty of good food, a BBQ for the adults, good music and wonderful group of people, our job was done!

Cake pictures and cookie details following in the next post!

Enjoy the sunshine!

Stylish Wishes & 2 Kisses!!
xx CC Events