Last Wednesday I was invited down to London to take part in a Coffee Morning Masterclass put on by Macmillan Cancer, and hosted by Charlotte from Restoration Cake. I was very generously provided travel, so hopped on a train feeling all important (it’s something about London, it makes me feel all VIP) and headed to Shoreditch.
Now, there were some glitches on the way. My train was late (obviously) so I arrived to the masterclass a little late and missed the nibbles (provided by my all time fave M&S), and it was also torrential rain – something I hadn’t planned for as Leeds was sunny – so I arrived looking a little like a drowned rat. However, the venue (Tramshed on Rivington Street) was adorable, and so worth it. Downstairs was a huge restaurant full of delicious smells, upstairs was a medium sized venue room with an open kitchen, a whole shelf full of colourful spices, and a mini bar decorated with mystical looking alcohol bottles. It was very cosy and French, and definitely somewhere I’d go again.
It was a short but sweet event; Charlotte showed us how to create simple but gorgeous looking cakes using household items. Making the whole topping took under 10 minutes for a cupcake once we’d been taught, and they looked much more professional than anything I’ve attempted in the past.
The aim of the masterclass was to show just how easy it is to create delicious, picture perfect cakes for the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday. A lot of people are put off because it’s time consuming or because their cakes look like Pinterest fails but seriously, if I can make a sugar rose anyone can!
For the cake:
Step 1: put some butter cream icing into a piping bag (or a sandwich bag and cut the end off). Pipe a small little mound into the middle of your cupcake
Step 2: take some fondant, warm it up in your hands and roll it to around 3mm thick. Cut a circle using a wine glass, then place it on top of the mound. Use your fingers to stretch it to the edges of the cake.
Step 3: use your palm to gently smooth off the fondant so it is like a small hill.
For the rose:
My camera failed to capture this well in the light, and then I accidentally squished my rose on the train home so I figured it would be better to include one of Restoration Cake’s YouTube videos!
We were given some amazing goodie bags, provided by M&S who are Macmillan Coffee’s official sponsors. Throughout this month, several products in the M&S Food Halls will have 10% of the sales going to Macmillan, as well as 5p from every cup of coffee and cake.
There are also limited edition home products, such as this gorgeous Cath Kidston-esque apron, which will be donating 10% of the sale.
You can find out more about hosting your own Coffee Morning here.
Even if you can’t do one on Friday, you can always host one next week and donate. My work have decided to put one on the Wednesday after, inspired by my talk of cakes, as we’re having a big meeting anyway and meetings are always better with cakes!
Macmillan rely on 99% donations and the work they do is so important. As well as caring for those who are receiving treatment for cancer, they help men and women living with life after cancer, something which can be just as emotionally and physically draining as when living with cancer.
Are you hosting a Coffee Morning this year? Leave me suggestions of what you’ll be making, I’m thinking brownies and cupcakes!
