I hadn't been before so didn't know what to expect but from looking at the Cake International Facebook page the night before, I knew there would be lots of amazing cakes in the competition section and possibly the chance to bump into Bake Off gurus Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry.
After a surprisingly smooth journey on train and underground we arrived at the Excel just before 11am and did a quick circuit of all the trade stands to think about what to buy later, before moving on to the competition section. Some of the cakes were truly amazing, but equally I was quite reassured to see some that weren't outside the realms of my ability. Maybe next year!
Very few entries actually contained cake, especially the wedding cakes and decorative pieces which didn't have to. I found this a bit odd but I guess it's to give the decorators the best opportunity to show off their skills without having to worry about correcting a slightly wonky cake or worrying about how to support the weight of the cake.
By lunchtime we needed to get out of the crowd, so took a little stroll outside the Excel to the Fox pub where we had a lovely quiet lunch to refuel for the afternoon. We returned to the show to make purchases! I have never really done any sugarcraft work - as I've said before it's all about brilliant tasting cake for me and I've only really done fondant modelling and some piped ganache or buttercream. Pretty sure I really would codge it up if I tried to anything that required delicacy or patience! My eyes were truly opened to the wide array of things that were on offer though!
The Arista Soft modelling paste team were demonstrating how to make flowers on their stand and these looked quite simple. When the paste dries it is still a bit soft and flexible, which, I think, makes it a lot nicer to feel and look at than the hard, brittle sugar ones I have seen before. Only problem is you can't eat it! Well, you could because it's non toxic and made from potato flour, but it wouldn't be very nice. I bought a big block (surprisingly light - it feels like a pack of baby wipes) for £5 and will have a little experiment. I knew I wanted to try some transfer sheets, the ones that put a pattern onto chocolate. I shopped around for the cheapest ones and found a stall selling five sheets for £10, even one with some Rock Choir stars on which will come in handy in future. Some paper butterflies (£2 per pack) and an offer bag from Renshaw (nice big blocks of white and brown modelling chocolate, white fondant and a teatowel for £5) completed my haul. I hadn't planned to buy much because I have nowhere to tidy it all away to at home so I was quite happy! Mel topped up her stack of things with some wires for flowers, a silicone rose mould, a selection of powder colours and some fondant blocks that Renshaw were selling for £1 each. We could already see that the stands were planning reductions for the last day so I think we'll come on the Sunday next year and pick up bargains!
Paul Hollywoood and Mary Berry were on in the theatre area at 4pm so at 3pm we headed over there, hoping to get a place and a much needed sit down. Alas it was already full and nobody was budging when the previous demo finished, so we joined the queue to be let into the VIP seating area if that didn't get filled. We were lucky to eventually get seated and Paul and Mary were fab. I picked up a top tip from Mary about putting your pastry onto the bottom of your flan tin (fold the edges in) before putting it into the ring and then arranging the pastry, rather than trying to lift the pastry into the ring with the base in place, and Paul's tip for dough is 'the wetter the better'. Filth. ;-) It was lovely to see Paul do some baking after a day filled with decoration. I felt back in my comfort zone!
Overall we had a brilliant day - there was so much to see and ideas to obtain. There were just a few things that could be improved:
- More baking stands and baking ideas...or just rename it Cake Decorating International so it's more clear what will be there. This is only slightly tongue in cheek!
- Not sure how this could be improved but I found people quite rude, pushy and impatient, especially when the stands were busy and we were patiently waiting to have a look at something or take a photo of a competition cake. I always thought baking people were nice people. My illusions have not been completely shattered but bruised!
- The show needs a bigger theatre to avoid the seating problems.
- Less aggressive 'Do Not Touch' signs on the trade stands. I even saw one stand telling people they would die a slow death if they touched the cut out shapes on display! I can understand this with the competition entries, but if you want people to buy your products you need to accept they will want to pick things up and examine them to see how they work, and factor potential damage into your business costs.
Thank you Cake International, we will be back. Maybe next time we will bring competition entries!
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