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Jul 9, 2019

CM Does Something Different | Baking Cakes


The second of our 'CM Does Something Different' posts. Inspired by our best-selling 'Wise Words' designs that feature lots of quotes relating to all sorts of hobbies & interests. We pick a topic & give it our best shot. Hilarity ensues. Secret talents are revealed.

This week's topic was 'Cake' so each member of the team had to - you guessed it - bake a cake. To our delight we all unknowingly chose a different flavour, yet, all cakes shown here were made with eggs, sugar, flour, sheer determination & a dash of shredded nerves. We're not bakers. Some of us had never so much as touched a whisk.

We happen to share a building with a baked goods company - WorldBake - who are always coming up with delicious sweet & savoury treats that make our mouths water every time the aroma of a fresh bake drifts down to our studio.

The struggle is real.

We thought it would be good fun if they could judge our creations & they kindly obliged (everyone loves a slice of cake). They're a really lovely bunch but, boy, did they take their roles seriously. We all had sweaty palms* as they made their expert deliberations. It was as if Paul Hollywood & Prue Leith were in the room with us.

Read on to find out the winner...

*disclaimer - no sweaty palms touched the cake

Natalie's Cookie Cake

Natalie went for the only thing she knows how to bake (her own words). Playing it safe with a tried & tested option. Well, it paid off as it was absolutely delicious. Filled with both milk & white chocolate drops. Shell declared that this would go great with a side of vanilla ice cream. We all concurred.

Hannah's 'CM' Victoria Sponge

A classic Victoria Sponge filled with heavenly buttercream & strawberry jam with a rather clever Coulson Macleod twist. Hannah created a stencil based on our logo then went through the painstaking process of making black icing sugar. Peter from WorldBake asked if it was decorated with poppy seeds which would've probably been an easier option. Yet, still, top marks for effort. It was executed rather perfectly.

Shell's Strawberry & Pimms Wimbledon Cupcakes

The presentation of these charming cupcakes wowed us all. Clearly a lot of thought went into the concept of these cute tennis-themed creations. A different take on strawberries & cream. Perfect to devour in one whole bite whilst you're watching Wimbledon on the telly. Just don't eat the tennis ball. It's not icing (as we first thought). It is, in fact, made of polystyrene.

Mark's Ginger Cake

Don't let first appearances fool you. Whilst this ginger cake does look ever so slightly like a cow pat, it is in fact an absolute taste sensation. The World Bake folk awarded this cake first place for both the taste & texture categories, & Mark had never baked in his life. Quite an achievement. He's pretty chuffed about it. We'll never hear the end of it.

Danielle's Pistachio, Raspberry & White Chocolate Cake

After a good hour & a half of prepping/baking - 80% of which was spent de-shelling pistachios (rookie error) - the cake was ready to decorate. Right from the start, the intention was to adorn the cake with fresh fruit. Very 'instagrammable'. Turns out the raspberries were also handy for hiding the ever-so-slightly sunken middle. Perfect.

Jake's 'CM' Coffee & Walnut Cake

A tasty combination & another cake cleverly adorned with the letters 'CM'. This time with walnuts. Jake already had a practice run earlier in the week - a good strategy. He decided that the cake needed a touch more coffee, so we think he emptied the whole pot in. None of us have slept since.

The Results

After careful consideration, the judges presented their results in a series of categories; creativity, appearance, taste, texture & their overall favourite. Here are the winners:

CREATIVITY - SHELL'S STRAWBERRY & PIMMS CUPCAKES

APPEARANCE - HANNAH'S 'CM' VICTORIA SPONGE

TASTE - MARK'S GINGER CAKE

TEXTURE - MARK'S GINGER CAKE

OVERALL FAVOURITE - SHELL'S STRAWBERRY & PIMMS CUPCAKES

In the end, it turns out Shell served aces & won over the judges with her nod to Wimbledon. A well-deserved winner. Afterwards, we all rather enjoyed devouring an enormous amount of cake. So, certainly a good day had by all.

May we take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to the WorldBake team for taking the time to pop down & for being such fantastic judges.

So, what do you think? Which one looks the most appealing? Which flavour would be your favourite? Perhaps we've even given you the inspiration to try your very first bake?

Join us on our mission to try something different & send us your cake creations using the hashtag: #somethingdifferentcm

Whether you're a novice or pro, it's all about having fun. We'll share our favourites on our social media channels & pop a free sample card* in the post to you to say thank you!

Know someone with a birthday coming up? We've got a fun greeting card that celebrates cake. Get it here.

 

*Free sample card may not be the design shown in this post. The greeting card will be chosen at our discretion. A random design suitable for any occasion.

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