A[quote name="LisaPeps" url="/t/622656/a-thread-for-all-uk-bakers/3450#post_7492138"]You can get 700g (140pcs) from town and country fine foods (min spend £80 for my area) for £14.43.

You can get 500g from hb ingredients for £4.85 but on the website they only show dark chocolate. They have a £10 delivery charge (free over £200).

Or there's some here http://www.surbitonart.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh001954.pl?WD=cigarellos&PN=Belgian%2dChocolate%2dcigarillos%2d%2dWhite%2d500g%2d335%2ehtml#SID=111

Or here http://www.chocolatetradingco.com/buy/white-chocolate-cigarellos?by=cat&c=797&o=2&pz=10&p=1[/quote] Thanks for your reply. Appreciate it. Not able to find any on the website for hb. Can you post a link please? X

AHi all! Where can I buy bulk icing sugar? Preferably the one comes in a plastic container. Thanks

AHi there, I buy 3kg icing sugar fro Costco. It's quite cheap in there too. :D

AHi Nanny, can't remember the exact recipe but it's the same as my sponge, I just replace the flour with gluten free flour and add some milk. How did yours rise? Mine didn't rise as much as a normal one.

AYou do the same as me then Maisie, nope it doesn't rise as much as normal sponge mix but the taste and texture is still there thankfully.

Ahttp://www.hbingredients.co.uk/products

If that doesn't work just search for cigar and they'll come up

A

AHi everyone (yes it's me again). Was just wondering if anyone can help? I am making a wine bottle in a crate cake for a friend's birthday at the end of this month. I'm using black fondant for the bottle but I want it to be shiny like a real glass bottle, not matt. Can anyone recommend a way of doing this or a product I can buy that has this affect? I don't have a spray painter thing or anything which I've heard can make this affect but I was wondering if there was a good lustre type spray out there that's clear?

Thanks

AHi Sugarluva, you can use Edible glaze spray can from PME OR Confectioners glaze. :)

AHi Sugarluva, I agree with Bashini, I used the confectioners glaze on my drumkit I just made , it was red and I wanted it shiny like the real thing, it did just the job, it isn't expensive about £2.90 a pot.

AI use the PME edible glaze and it does the same thing, but make sure the surface you are spraying over is covered cos it is a nightmare to get off once you get it on a table top!

AThanks everyone. I'll have a look for it and give it a try. Any recommendations of where to get it from? Or should I just try eBay?

AAm I right in thinking the spray is about £6? Or am I looking at the wrong thing? There are pots of glaze for around £2-3 but I'm assuming these need to be painted on which just sounds like more room for error if you ask me hehe

I used several coats of confectioner's varnish on these...  let each coat fully dry before applying the next.  I must admit, I was at both parties, so could make sure the sugarpaste was removed before serving.  There's no reason why you 'can't'...  just not sure you'd want to eat about 4 coats of it, LOL!!

AThey look fantastic relznik. I love how real and the bottles look when they're shiny like that. I hope mine turns out half as good. Just need to decide whether to order the liquid glaze or spray?

ARelznik, this is amazing!!!

AWow! Relznik they're amazing. I came to ask a question (yeah, I know, another one!) but couldn't ignore those cakes! So, my question - I've read loads on CC about freezing cakes so I've just put two (well two bits actually) in the freezer. Is it ok to freeze gluten free cakes (I'm assuming it is but you never know, they cook different so they could freeze different couldn't they) and when should I take them out if I want to decorate them friday? Just in case you're interested, I 've frozen them because I'm seriously reaching the end of my tether with this gluten free, nut free, banana free, artificial flavouring free, cake free cake! The last bit was a joke btw, it's just starting to feel like that! I made a test cake a few weeks ago but it didn't rise well. My friend really wants a giant cupcake but after the test cake didn't rise well I was worried it would be worse in a giant cupcake tin so I did a trial tonight. It was awful, started to rise really well then just sort of imploded. It's cooked well and tastes yummy so I've chopped the sunk bits off and froze the good bottoms. The plan is this will give me the very top and the very bottom of the cupcake and I can just bake an carve extra layers for inbetween. Do you think this is a good plan? I know that's about 20 questions and I'm so sorry to still be going on about this but I'm never doing an anything free cake again if that's any consolation! :-)

AHi Maisie, I personally don't freeze cakes, except if it's needed to be carved. But ones I had to freeze a cake as the party was postponed. That cake was already torted and filled. Make sure if you are going to freeze the cake, wrap it really well with cling film and then in foil. So, if you want the cake for Friday, I would take the cake out from the freezer on Wednesday morning and let it come to room temperature with wrappers. Ones it's nicely thawed, you can fill. And Thursday you can decorate.

The giant cupcake cake you mentioned, I assuming it's gluten free too? I use Doves gluten free plain flower, baking powder and xantham gum. Do you have the giant cupcake tin? If so you can use your 8" round cake quantity to bake in it.

HTH. :)

AThankyou Bashini.:-) Yes the giant cupcake is gluten free, I make them all the time with normal flour, they're easy, taste lovely and people ask me for them all the time. I use a 6 egg mix in the giant cupcake pan, that's what I used last night with the gf mix. I also use Doves, I haven't got any Xantham gum but I used Gluten free baking powder that has xantham gum in it. I haven't ever frozen cakes before but I've got even less time than I thought I had on Friday now, I've got something I can't get out of that's going to have me out of the house most of the day. Do you think making two more layers Friday and stacking / shaping them with the top and bottom as guides will work?

ANo problem. Yes, you can carve the giant cupcake. Hope this will help you.

http://jessicakesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/giant-cupcake-tutorial.html

ABashini, you're a star! I watched loads of tutorials to learn how to make one in a cupcake pan but I've never seen one to make one without the pan! I haven't got circle cutters but I've got the top and bottom of the cupcake so it should be easy (famous last words!) to stack the new layers between and use a knife shouldn't it. Thankyou so much, you've been a massive help. :-)

ABashini, just a thought, why do you US plain Doves flour, as opposed to the self raising one? Is there a reason why?

As you know from my FB page the minion I made last Tuesday was GF and I used the self raising, and like Maisie says it doesn't rise as well , but its still nice, so just wondered really.

I tend to freeze all my cakes, time is impossible to forecast and have in the past baked cakes, fixed cake card, cut filled and covered with ganche then froze.  This worked very well as all I had to do was cover and decorate.

Having a business, home and children to contend with no way can I forecast that I'll have a good week to complete all these tasks - actually I have my son's 5th birthday cake in the oven now for end of April. Because I am also doing the food for the party I need to keep my sanity. Over the week I will bake a few more little cakes and freeze.

AHi guys :-) I didn't even know there was plain and sr gluten free flour! I just bought the only one Tesco sells! I'm keen to know about the rise on the plain one now as well! Did you use a deep pan/ bowl for your minion cake Nanny or did you stack thin layers? Chasingmytail- are they just as nice after they've been in the freezer or can you tell they've been frozen? I've never got much room in mine so I couldn't put more than one at a time in anyway. Shame because although I only bake for friends and family I have a few really busy months, lots of birthdays within days of each other. March is one of them!

Yes freezing cakes should improve the flavour especially as it allows the added flavours to enhance a bit like a casserole really (always tastes better when left a few days).  I use  Lindy Smith's chocolate mud cake recipe and keeps amazingly.  Any good sponge freezes well. Plus you can chip off oddly shaped bits when a bit frozen. I have frost free freezers and wrap them in plenty of cling and foil to avoid any freeze burn and any fish or smelly foods from penetrating.

Ive made gateau type cakes and decorated with fresh cream and fruits and froze them - worked beautifully. This is great for busy weekends when you can just grab a cake out of the freezer, defrost over night and perfecto you have a gateau to take to a party and everyone thinks your a godness for preparing it in the heat!

The freezer and microwave are your friend when baking.

AMaybe I'll try it regularly then. I was picking the brain of a local baker before I started decorating my own, she does it fron home, advertises locally and gets loads of business. She's the mother of one of my sons classmates so I bump into her socially occasionally. I was at a party she was at (and had made the cake for) it looked amazing so I asked her how she does it. She said she bakes the cake, crumb coats it and then "stick it in the fridge for 5 days and forget about it" then she gets it out to decorate it and delivers it next day. I couldn't believe my ears! Needless to say the cake was dry and stale. That was partly the reason I started decorating my own actually. It's nice to have a beautifully decorated cake but I think tasting good is most important, it is food after all!

Yes cakes have to taste good - I too have had a very bland and stale cake but looked amazing.  There are many decorators who buy the cakes in and only decorate - this is called safe for hygiene and cover you for insurance - I think Sweet Success do these cakes.

The basis of a good cake is to use a moist cake and imo (that is my opinion some disagree) my chocolate cakes have to be made with real chocolate and contain some form of cream/yoghurt as this keeps (seal) the moisture in. My basic sponge is the BBC goodfood Basic Vanilla cake which also contains yoghurt - I change this to suit ie lemon/orange/vanilla etc. My coconut one is Dan lepard's.  I never skimp on the quality of the ingredients. My eggs are from my girls and always use medium quality of english butter. Flour usually Shipton Mill/Doves etc.  Now the chocolate is based on Barry Callebauts 50% - 70% (white chocolate is delicious 28%). But surprisingly I have much success using Sainsburys basics dark chocolate it is wonderful.

I would rather go to a party and see a home made cake that wasnt decorated professionally but tasted amazing than have one of those cakes you see on Cake Boss that looks OTT but tastes bland. Same goes for disappointing wedding cakes that are overly decorated but are plain dry cakes. Well before I was into cake baking we had an amazing wedding cake which was an Italian gateau - layers of amazing moist cake with loads of booze but was decorated quiet plain.

My cake has been cut now I have filled it with white chocolate ganche and tomorrow will dark chocolate ganche the sides following the endless tutorials on you-tube as this time I am determined to get my sides perfectly level and top flat - as I tend to get cakes on the pisse as my husband says! Then I'll freeze it and get it out 3 days before party to decorate but previous to that I aim to make as many bits/models in advance.

AMmm, I'd like to try the sponge with yoghurt. I don't make chocolate cake much, most of my lot prefer plain sponge. My grandad loves coconut cake, I couldn't find one coconutty enough for him or one that measured up to his mothers for ages, I kept tweaking a recipe til I was happy with it and he said it was the best he'd tasted - high praise indeed! I also use the best quality ingredients I can, free range eggs, WELSH butter etc. :-) You talking about ganache the other day prompted me to try it again, I heated the cream then added the chocolate (Nannycooks suggestion I think?) It worked! It was lush! I didn't use it for anything, just wanted to see if I could make it! I think I'll use milk chocolate next time though, or a better quality dark, I used Tesco's own just to experiment. Please show us your cake when it's done, i'd love to see it. And you don't wana know what my husband says about my cakes sometimes!

Hi all,

My name's Jenny.  I just joined yesterday. I'm a UK cake decorator based in Edinburgh.

Maisie73 suggested I come along and say 'Hi'.

* I personally don't get on with the spray glaze.  No matter what I do, I get a 'pitted' finish.  So I buy the liquid and brush it on. 

* I have only tried a gluten-free cake once.  It wasn't a success.  I haven't bothered again! LOL!

* I bake fresh 99.999% of the time.  On the rare occasion I've made an 'administrative error'  then I will bake a week ahead of time and freeze.  It has never affected the quality of the cake.  You just need to make sure it is really well wrapped.  I wrap in foil, then 2 or 3 layers of clingfilm, then place in a carrier bag!  When I defrost, I take out the freezer, take out of the carrier bag and then leave until it's at room temp!

* Hi Jenny!

Suzanne x