Greetings from Pink Rose HQ!
Okay, so I know it has been a while since I posted on here but in my defence an awful lot has happened lately which has kept me occupied.
One of these things being running the first ever Brighton marathon which I managed in 4hrs 22mins. The atmosphere was amazing and despite struggling to walk for several days after and never actually wanting to marathon at all I have now signed up for next year’s race.
There is method in my madness though because I have actually run for years and, quite frankly, given the amount of cake I consume on a daily basis, I need to run a LOT or I would be the size of a house.
See you can it lots of cake and not get fat – the catch is you just have to exercise your arse off, literally.
Anyway, back to cake, sort of, as that is what this blog is supposed to be about. I almost didn’t make it to the marathon as the afternoon before my youngest daughter, who has recently turned one, ate a cashew nut and had a massive allergic reaction. Cue a 999 call, adrenaline jabs from paramedics and a trip to the local hospital.
It was all very scary at the time though thankfully she is fine now but we do have to carry and adrenaline pen in case it happens again and we are waiting for her to be allergy tested to determine if it definitely was the cashew nut and if there is anything else likely to make her swell up like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.
However, it got me thinking as increasing numbers of my clients are also requesting allergy friendly celebration and wedding cakes – why is it that so many people seem to be suffering from food allergies and intolerances today?
Not that I am in any way shape or form an expert but I do wonder if it is to do with the high levels of certain food substances now found in so many products – wheat, gluten, dairy, nut traces. Is it because our bodies are bombarded with these substances day in day out that some people build up an intolerance or a more serious allergy to them? Or are they genetically predisposed to being inolerant or allergic?
In any case I am sure having too much of anything in a diet can upset the body balance which is why I am more than happy to do my best to cater for people wanting special dietary cakes. Having tinkered with my recipes most can be adapted and still taste scrumptious so no one need deny themselves the pleasure of a slice of cake.
For those that have multiple allergies though I would heartily recommend my friend Gemma McFarlane who runs www.icedgemcakes.co.uk as she is a trained chef specialising in food allergies and intolerances and her cakes are amazing (I should know, she did my 30th, it was chocolate and the cake itself was dairy free though you would never have guessed in a million years!)
She is currently pouring all her energies into a new website and fabulous blog on www.icedgembakes.co.uk a site packed with great articles and hundreds of brilliant tried and tested recipes for anyone with an issue with certain foods.
She is excellent at what she does and anyone interested in baking should check out her site.
Finally, on that note I have a few of my cake recipes I will be posting shortly. I see no point keeping them secret, they are so yummy I want to share them with everyone!
It seems like an age since I last posted on here but finally I have a few new pictures to put up. They were taken by the very talented Becky Tosney and showcase some of my more avant gard cakes.
