Tag Archives: freshly baked

Emmas Cake House

A highly skilled baker and cake decorator whose products are unbeatable for taste and appearance

Main event: Gorgeous celebration cakes, which look too good to eatemma6x9

Is it worth the calories? There is cake and then there is Emma’s cake

Tips: Order in advance for special celebrations; these cakes take time to create

After graduating in Hotel Management in 1993 Emma Fuller completed a graduate programme at Harrods, which included merchandising and restaurant management. Next, as a wine merchandiser for Marks and Spencer, Emma gained an experience mix that gave her an enviable foodie CV. Proven in her next move when she became a restaurant and hotel inspector for the AA, leaving eventually to start a family. But bubbling under all this high-powered work Emma had been nurturing a love of baking. Cake making didn’t emerge as a possible career path until later.

Moving out of London and with young children at home Emma’s baking interests were allowed to flourish. First she decided to develop her decoration skill set and spent three years attending evening classes in Horsham. Not content with those skills she gained a coveted place on the intern programme with Mich Turner MBE, a celebrated cake maker and owner of the Little Venice Cake Company.

emma cake trio

Since completing her internship Emma’s cake business, ‘Emmas Cake House’ has flourished. Working hard to establish her customer base she has wowed us with her stunning cakes. I first met this star baker at a networking event and it was love-at-first-bite with her signature salted caramel cake. There are not many cakes I would break the ‘no carbs’ rule for but these are an exception and I don’t think anyone else gets the salt sweet combination as precise. Emmas Cake House stands apart as this business is built on making wonderful cakes presented in a modern and stylish format that floats high above the competition. Without a retail outlet Emma attends food fairs, craft and Christmas events to showcase her products which you can also buy online from her website.

On our journey around Surrey we see a lot of cake stalls selling predominantly cup cakes many of which look great but are pretty average to eat. Serious cake eaters are Emma’s target market and she knows how to keep the orders rolling in. Whilst we chatted about her baking career Emma cut me a slice of her carrot cake. It almost seemed a criminal act to take a knife through the vanilla seed speckled icing, spiked with lemon curd to add a citrus kick. The cake itself is dense but not heavy, moist and cuts faultlessly. The fruit is soaked for 24 hours in brandy before preparation. After cooling, the baked sponge is liberally doused in syrup adding a luxurious mouthfeel. Finished with icing, this is a cake to celebrate with.

emma cake triojpg

Christmas for Emma’s Cake House is a core element of her business. Emma designs three new-look Christmas cakes each year which she sells by attending events and through her website. In addition to cakes you’ll find jars of gingerbread stars, gingerbread houses and jar cakes. All of Emma’s recipes are executed with precision and attention to detail. This is so that she gets the most out of the quality ingredients, for example using brandy soaked fruit, muscovado sugar, fresh spices, nuts and free-range eggs whilst using only small amounts of flour gives the cake a rich moistness and luxury that hard to achieve on a tight budget. Not surprisingly the retail prices of her cakes reflects her investment in ingredients with Christmas cakes starting at £29.95 each. Having seen first hand the effort and care that goes into the baking here the phrase ‘worth every penny’ springs to mind.

It’s not just baking that keeps Emma busy, more recently, helped by the time spent with Mich Turner, Emma demonstrates at cake and bake shows and does tutorial videos and even boasts Lakeland among her clients. Emma is also in demand for food styling for photo shoots.

Her cakes are so revered in the Surrey food community that they have just been featured at the Houses of Parliament. This event, which was organised by Local Food Britain  showcased some of our county’s top food producers to Government.

The accolade to Emma and her cakes doesn’t really get much higher than this.

 

The Cake House on Facebook emma _carrot_cake

www.emmascakehouse.co.uk

Text and images Shirlee
Text and images Shirlee

 

 

Order a cake or pop in for a sit down snack

Butter and Cream Cakes

Butter and Cream Cakes, 22 Church Road, Milford, Godalming,
GU8 5JD

 A bespoke bakery and cafe offering pretty wedding, birthday and everyday cup cakes.Suke Wibaut

Go there for: Glitzy cup cakes with a sumptuous cream-cheese topping, rocky road and squidgy brownies.

Avoid: Missing out: pick these up in North St Market, Guildford, or at the Milford shop.

Is it worth the calories?: If you’re counting, opt for a mini cup cake: all the fun but half the impact!

Tips: You can order a personalised birthday cake just 24 hours in advance.

Suke Wibaut had been making a nice living as an outside caterer but a shift away from catered boozy corporate lunches to lone al-desko dining saw her core business decline. The emergence of the cupcake market caught her eye and after a few trips to London to check out cupcake entrepreneurs like the Primrose Bakery, Suke re-invented herself.

Chocolate chilli cup cakes, hand crafted rose buds and assorted cupcakes

At first Suke made cakes at home and sold them at Guildford’s North Street market. The ladies on the fruit and veg stall next door didn’t think she would last 6 months but it seems we can’t resist a glittery iced treat for £2. Suke is doing a roaring trade: everyone loves her cup cakes! Indeed, Surrey University orders 10,000 of them for their graduation ceremony every year. You will also find them in a few select tea shops in Surrey.

In September 2012 a vacant shop in Milford became Butter and Cream’s new home. It’s primarily a production unit but has a couple of tables and a small menu. The café area is very attractive and customers often stay for coffee and a cake while deciding on their order.

The cake counter order and eat in or take-away

Suke is really keen to build up the birthday and celebration cake side of the business. She creates fabulous wedding cupcake towers but personalised cakes for birthdays and other celebrations start at £10.50.

The cakes are all made from scratch using unsalted butter, castor sugar, plain white flour and eggs (not free range, unfortunately). Cakes are at their best eaten on day of purchase but can be frozen.

red_velvet_cupcake_6x9My son has eaten a fair few of Butter and Cream’s cakes and loves them. I never seemed to get a look in so I sampled a selection while I was there. I ate the chilli and chocolate cupcakes with my eyes they were so pretty. They have subtle chilli kick after the first chocolate hit dissipates. The icing is a creamy rich, melt-in-the-mouth experience and I knew why; I had seen the 10 kilo tubs of full-fat cream cheese in the kitchen which forms the base for the icing here. Whipped mercilessly with icing sugar and cocoa, it had to be good.  I also sampled salted caramel, toffee and apple, mango, passion fruit, and orange. The flavours here aren’t really that assertive but the combination of sponge with creamy rich icing does it for me. Cakes and slices complementing the cupcake range include brownies, almond slice, lemon drizzle and rocky road.

I didn’t have room for a blackberry Shiraz and chocolate or red velvet – next time! Suke is always researching and creating new flavours to keep her growing fan-base satisfied.Personalised birthday cake

These cakes are little edible objects of desire, guaranteed to elevate your mood and deliver a sweet kick and sometimes that’s all you need to make your day.

www.butterandcream.co.uk

01483 351717

Text and Images Shirlee
Text and Images Shirlee