Cake and Bake show

Sometimes I blog about the events/places I've been to and that's what I'm doing today!

I asked my mum if she wanted to go to the Manchester Cake and Bake show for her birthday, as she enjoys baking. The answer? Yes please! So off we went. I took the day off work, and we went to Manchester Central. I'd been there in the past (University fairs) and didn't remember it being all that big (I think I've been spoilt by visiting super huge European fairs with work). It opened at 11, and there were lots of people there at 11.20 on their way in. They had a huuuuuge walk around the side of the building to get in (I think they were expecting much larger queues over the weekend) but it was fantastic once we were inside, very roomy and not too crowded.

We spent the day wandering around, and watched a few demonstrations on the Dr Oetker stand, which has given me lots of ideas! We'd also booked seats for a couple of the professional shows - watching Rosemary Shrager cook an apple and a chocolate tart was a brilliant experience. She was hilarious, and my mum really enjoyed watching her cook, and also got a signed copy of her new book. Just to add - mum made one of the tarts from her new book, chocolate and raspberry, and it was delicious! We also watched Simon Rimmer making a lovely looking rabbit pie, and a vegetarian filo pie. The day wasn't just about pastry though!

There was cake. lots and lots of cake, and lots to go with cake as well. Here are a few that I loved and took photos of, but it is only a few - I'd probably break the internet putting up pics of all the cakes!

 

 

I think one of the highlights was watching the elephant cake being decorated. The Cakebomb team were fantastic, they were happy to answer questions and were brilliant to watch. I was amazed looking at pictures of the elephant on the Sunday. Details can be found here http://cakebomb.me/

 

There was plenty to buy as well, and I came away with some lovely red, white and blue glitter... St Geroge's day is around the corner, and these could come in handy.

 

Would I go again? In a heartbeat. Which is great, as after making brandy snaps with the 2012 GBBO winner on stage, my mum won 2 tickets for the event in London! I left the event with lots of ideas, and now I'm off to see what comes of them!