Tuesday 5 July 2011

A Taste of Lancashire: The Cake Whisk

Introducing our 'Taste of Lancashire' feature.  Every Tuesday & Thursday we will be showcasing local wedding suppliers and venues.  If you are interested in featuring on our Taste of Lancashire feature or wish to recommend a supplier or venue then please contact lancashirebride@hotmail.co.uk.

Whisking the cupcake world into a frenzy with her to die for cocktail cupcakes I am pleased to have The Cake Whisk on the blog today.


 Vicki, please introduce yourself and your line of business.

My name is Vicki Ormerod and I am the proud owner of a Wedding and Celebration cake business called The Cake Whisk.

How did you get into making cakes?
I have worked in and around Manchester in management for all of my professional life. During that time I had my own family and making cakes started as a hobby. Over the years I was asked by friends and family to make cakes for them, so I went to college in Oldham to improve my skills. I never tire of making cakes and seeing people’s reactions to them. As the demand grew I knew I had to do something more and set myself up in business early 2010.

So where can we find you? And which areas do you serve?

I am based in Rochdale and cover Rochdale, Saddleworth, Oldham, Bolton, Bury, Lancashire, Cheshire, Manchester and will happily respond to requests anywhere in the North West.

What kind of cakes can you make?

Gosh – just about anything and everything!

From miniature cakes, to cupcakes, to biscuits for favours, to sponge cakes to rich fruit cakes, and everything in between. Basically, the bride and groom of today are very discerning and know that they want to have cake that not only looks good, but tastes good too – and also caters for the many varying tastes of their wedding guests. If that means making a 5 tier wedding cake with each tier a different recipe, I will do it.

In recent weeks I was asked to make a vegetarian cake for a Muslim wedding. It was a multi layered, fresh fruit, fresh cream and fresh made vanilla custard cake which was then covered in white chocolate. It all had to be made on the day because of the fresh fruit and dairy. Challenging but great fun.


We love the idea of ‘A Sonnet to Cupcakes!’ (Please see first picture) How did this come about?

I can make great cakes, but am completely rubbish at taking photographs of them! I asked Saddleworth based portrait and wedding photographer Jude Gidney to help me out. And her pictures are amazing. When she was doing what photographers do back at her studio after the shoot, she had a small competition on her website for a poem that she could incorporate into one of the pictures – and that is where the sonnet came from. I didn’t know that this was what Jude had done until she unveiled my new portfolio, so it was a lovely surprise. The author ‘Lara’ (aka Rachel) was duly rewarded with 2 large boxes of Limoncello Cupcakes for her works.

Do you have a favourite cake that you have made?

Oh heck! This is one of the worst questions you could ask me – I LOVE all of my cakes and I usually love the one that I am doing at the time more than any of the others. I am very proud of Elizabeth as the detail is so intricate, yet she can be dressed up with jewels and formal flowers for a more formal wedding, or shabby chic roses and old lace for a contemporary and relaxed vintage look. And she is proving to be very popular for bookings I have taken for next year…


 
There is also Jeni, a 5 tier rich fruit cake that was delivered to Mitton Hall in Whalley in December in several inches of snow and -10C. Because of the delicate snowflakes that extended over the edge of the cake, it could only be delivered in 2 boxes instead of 5 separate ones. So it was very heavy and there was always the chance of damage. We lost about 6 snowflakes which I very easily replaced with spares and nobody knew any different. The porcelain-like flowers and snowflakes on this cake made it very special and one that will remain one of my favourites.


We see that you’ve started making ‘cocktail cupcakes.’ What exactly are these?

Again, I was responding to what my clients have asked for. The cupcakes are baked using the liqueur or spirit that is in the recipe. So Limoncello Cupcakes are baked using that lemon liqueur, and the frosting has a wee bit of the liqueur added too. They are very tasty and very tasteful, they aren’t intended to be ‘boozy’ but they are definitely for the grown-ups. When I have been asked to do some as part of a mixed batch of cupcakes, I carefully colour code them so that guests know which ones to avoid for the non-drinkers and children.

Where can our readers meet you? And do you have a website?

This year so far, I am exhibiting at:

The Broadfield Hotel, Rochdale 17th July
Bolton School, Bolton 2nd October
The White Hart, Saddleworth 16th October
The Royal Toby, Rochdale 13th November

Please keep checking my website through as I may add more dates. I always bring plenty of different samples along…

You can find me on:
Facebook Thecake Whisk
Twitter chiefwhisk

And my website:

If you would like to come and have a brew and some samples and a chat about your wedding cake please email me on:

vicki@thecakewhisk.co.uk or you can call me on: 01706 346550

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