Celebrations – Breakfast by the sea

Choccywoccydoodah’s Game of Thrones Red Wedding Cake shoot

Heather — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:28:47 +0000

Mass slaughter, gushing blood and decapitated cherubs; those aren’t the usual images that spring to mind when I’m talking about cake, but that was exactly what I got on a recent shoot for Choccywoocydoodah.

I don’t normally post much of my commercial work here on the blog, but this recent shoot was too good not to share!

Last week I packed up my kit and headed up to London’s Carnaby Street to photograph a very special cake. The commission came from the television network HBO, who booked me to shoot press images of the Game of Thrones Red Wedding Cake, produced by the incredible Choccywoccydoodah. The cake was made to celebrate the release of GoT season 3 on DVD. And to add a bit more excitement to the shoot, Choccywoccydoodah had their film crew along to film document the cake and the shoot (no pressure there then!).

The workmanship of the cake was truly breathtaking and it took two strapping men to lift it into place – an absolute work of art and testimony to the talent of Choccywoccy’s choclatiers.

After the shoot the cake was being whisked away to be presented and cut at a press event with some of the GoT cast members, so sadly I didn’t get to try any of it. Knowing Choccywoccy I’ve no doubt it tasted as incredible as it looked though!

The post Choccywoccydoodah’s Game of Thrones Red Wedding Cake shoot appeared first on Breakfast by the sea.

Happy Easter

Heather — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:50:00 +0000

I’m taking a few days off over Easter to spend some time with friends and family – and, of course, eat a few hot cross buns! Wishing you all a very happy Easter break.

The post Happy Easter appeared first on Breakfast by the sea.

Carrot cake with orange blossom icing

Heather — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:11:00 +0000

All images © Heather Wilkinson 2012

Grrr, I’ve had so much trouble getting this post up. Sometimes Blogger totally misbehaves when I’m trying to add text and it drives me crazy! Anyway, enough of my moaning and back to the serious business of cake.

This is a pretty reliable carrot cake recipe that produces a handsome round cake. It can also be scaled down to make a generous batch of muffins or mini loaf cakes.

The great thing about this cake is it’s packed full of sweet seasonal carrots and juicy sultanas, which make it surprising moist. I use the smallest amount of orange blossom essence in the icing, but you could use a little grated orange zest instead.

I hope you like the piccies I’ve done to go with this recipe – I’ve been watching way too much Downton Abbey

You will need:

For the cake

300g soft light brown sugar
3 free range eggs
300ml sunflower oil or vegetable oil
300g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp vanilla extract
300g carrots, grated
1 small handful of dried sultanas
100g shelled walnuts, chopped, (plus extra to decorate)

For the icing:
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold
½ tsp orange blossom essence

1.) Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3. Line and grease a round 8 inch loose-bottomed cake tin.

2.) Put the sugar, eggs and oil in a mixer. Using a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk), beat until all the ingredients are well mixed. Next, sieve in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and vanilla extract and continue to beat until all the ingredients are combined.

3.) Add the grated carrots and walnuts, stir together and then pour the mixture into your prepared cake tin. Bake in the preheated oven for around 1hr 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. When the tin is cool enough to touch, remove the cake and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled you can make your icing. This process is best done in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment, but you can use a handheld electric mixer too. Just lightly hold a tea towel over the bowl when mixing to prevent covering yourself with icing sugar.

4.) Sieve the icing sugar and add into a mixing bowl along with the butter. Beat together until the mixture is well combined.

5.) Add the cream cheese and ½ tsp of orange blossom essence (this must be exact or your icing will be too runny) and beat on a medium/high speed for about 4/5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.

6.) Ice your cake using a palette knife and decorate with a mixture of whole and crushed walnuts.

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