Wet And Windy – But Lots Of Cake!

It was unbelievably miserable weather at 12.30pm when Sue collected me to go and set up for our Annual Christian aid Tea Party. She held the ladder whilst I went up and hung banners, bunting and balloons [I’ve told Bob that I’m not doing this any more this year – that’s three times in 4 weeks I have risked life and limb!]

You can see that the ground is really wet!

We were concerned that people might not come, and that we would not have enough cakes.

Oh We Of Little Faith!

They turned out in droves, bearing tins and Tupperware full of calorie laden confections

 

 

Here is Janet – and less than 50% of the cakes!

The event ran from 2-6 and there was a constant stream of people from the village, from both churches and neither – all eager to have a cuppa and a cake [or two]

Included in the stream was one Very Wet Pastor…

 

…he brought his own waterfall!

Having returned from his conference, on the motorbike, Bob had been out in the rain for sometime. His biking waterproofs are very effective – and although he himself was dry, when he sat down at the table with his cake, all the remaining water poured off his trousers in little rivulets, leaving puddles on the floor round his chair.

Two small children came in after school with Gran. One said to the other “I like Bob’s Church. You know the thing I like best about Bob’s church? It’s the dunking in the big pool. People go right under the water!”

The kitchen staff worked really hard, as always

I made some fairy cakes [cupcakes] as my contribution. I iced half of them with pink glace icing, and half with 7-minute frosting.

Then I piled them on to my cupcake stand  - only £5.99 in The Works – way cheaper than Lakeland’s version at £13.99

The iced ones had a cherry on top, the frosted ones had little heart sprinkles from Aldi

 

 

The paper cake cases were from IKEA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a basic sponge recipe [what Mary Berry calls a 4-4-4-2] and tried 7-minute frosting for the first time.

The recipe is from my Dairy Book of Home Cookery

 

SEVEN MINUTE FROSTING [takes abut 12 minutes in total!]

• 5½oz granulated sugar
• ½tsp cream of tartar
• pinch of salt
• 2 egg whites
• 3 fl oz water
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

1- Place sugar, cream of tartar, salt, egg whites and water into a LARGE bowl [1 litre/2 pints]

2-Place bowl over pan of simmering water and beat with a hand held electric mixer for 7 minutes till mixture thickens and forms soft peaks

3-Remove bowl from pan, add vanilla, beat for further 3 minutes

4-Swirl with palette knife or spoon over cakes.

[this quantity will top 24 cupcakes, or cover tops and sides AND fill a 2-layer 8” sponge sandwich]

This recipe was remarkably easy, looked impressive and tasted good! I shall do it again.

All in all, despite the rain, it was a really successful afternoon – but I had two minor kitchen disasters in the morning.

First – do not ice cakes and then balance them immediately on cake-stand to photograph for blog – wait for the icing to dry! Otherwise the pink icing will run down, drip on the tablecloth and set unevenly [the cake-stand does not have perfectly horizontal holders!]

Second – what is it about red cake colouring?

I only have to look at the little bottle for my fingers to turn into those of Lady Macbeth! Out, damned spot! out, I say!…What, will these hands ne'er be clean?