Wars of the Roses...

Ever since attending the cupcake class at Hey Little Cupcake just over a week ago, I've been itching to practice the hardest cake we made... the rose.

Never one for making things easy for myself, I bought the nozzle and took up the challenge. I made these cakes using a basic vanilla cupcake recipe from the Primrose Bakery cookbook. I found this recipe to be beautifully light and fluffy, and each cake rose well. A perfect base for the main event. To make the frosting, I used the standard method of double the quantity of sugar to butter, and added pink colour paste and a little vanilla extract.

I used two different nozzles to achieve the cakes above. For the smooth piped cake in the centre I used a plain nozzle, and for the 'rose' effect cakes I used a Wilson 1b nozzle. The pink pearls are from Just Bake and the iridescent edible glitter is from Hobbycraft. The cupcake cases are a mixture of Dr Oetker and Asda's own. 

Retail Therapy on BBC Radio Manchester

This morning I was invited onto BBC Radio Manchester's Retail Therapy show to have a chat with Becky Want about baking and Clandestine Cake Club Bolton. The show was being broadcast from one of my favourite spots, Bolton Market.

It's a brilliant shopping destination which offers way more than your standard spuds and bangers. The market has been making quite a name for itself, and is fast becoming way more than fruit and veg. There are cookery demonstrations from top chefs, courses to help with cookery skills, a loyalty scheme and regular farmers' and international markets.

In the last few years the market has won a number of awards, including:

• Best Food Market, BBC Radio 4 Food Farming Awards 2011
• Best Indoor Market 2010 
• Tourism Retailer of the Year 2009

Bolton Market is steeped in history, with businesses being tended by the same families for generations. Whilst I was waiting for my slot on air, I had a little wander around to kill some time.

Because I wasn't doing my usual 'charge round at 100mph' routine, I had the chance to have a really good nose round the stalls, and had a lovely chat with a chap called Charles from John Hool Herbalist. He told me that his business is the oldest run by a single family in Bolton, and showed me a picture of his dad outside the shop in the old Market Hall. He also had some amazing vintage herb tins which had been in the family since before the first world war.

Retail Therapy is a consumer show that is broadcast from shopping destinations within the Greater Manchester area. I chatted to Becky about why I bake and what goes on at the Clandestine Cake Club. 

For the next seven days you can listen to the show on BBC iPlayer here: Retail Therapy with Becky Want 10th March 2012.

If you have any questions about joining the club, please email me at dollybakes@gmail.com.

Bolton Market

Twitter: @BoltonMarkets

Market Opening Times: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9am-5pm

Home Bake by Eric Lanlard

The cover of this book sports an oozing sponge piled high with whipped cream and fresh fruit. A greedy girl's dream. As I started to flick through the pages for a little baking inspiration, I noticed something different from the books I've reviewed recently. Nothing looks perfect. 

The WI would have a fit. There are cakes with over-risen peaks, lemon glaze seeping onto table cloths and (dare I say it...) crumbs! Eric Lanlard is a Patissier by trade, and other recipes reassure me that he is capable of perfection. I think this makes me like the book even more. He chooses to make cakes that are a feast for the eyes as well as the belly.

I chose to test one of Eric's classics which is sold in his cafe-patisserie 'Cake Boy', in London; the Cake Boy Chocolate Sponge. It used melted rich dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder so made a much richer sponge. I covered my cake in melted Galaxy chocolate, which made it richer still. I'm not normally a huge fan of chocolate cake, which is why I was keen to see if this could win me over. 

It was a chocolate sensation. It was moist and not overly sweet. The only thing I would amend next time would be the size of the tin. I found I had too much mix for a 20cm sandwich tin as suggested, but then again all mixtures have a little mind of their own. I would just suggest filling yours no more than three quarters full.

What I really liked about this book was the hints and tips dotted around the recipes. For example, Eric suggests:

"When adding the eggs, the cake mixture can look as if it has split. Don't panic - a teaspoon of flour stirred in will bring back smoothness to the cake mixture."

This book is a great all rounder. It has recipes that will appeal to those who need to build a little confidence as much as it will to the seasoned baker ready to tackle the dreaded souffle.

 Lemon and Passion Fruit Tart and Gingerbread Souffles from Home Bake by Eric Lanlard

The new series of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard is on weekday afternoons at 12.05pm. Click here to catch up Baking Mad. 

Home Bake by Eric Lanlard

Publisher: Octopus, Mitchell Beazley, 2010

Hardback, £20

Disclaimer: I reviewed this book because I like watching cookery programmes and this book had a killer chocolate cake. I received no payment from the publisher for doing so.