The Cake Decorating Weekend

This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity of taking cake decorating classes with both Eric Lanlard and Mich Turner who are, in today's words, epic cakemakers. I have books by both of them and whenever university work gets a little more stressful than usual, I plonk myself in bed and flip through the books whilst daydreaming. I'd rather be making cakes than taking politics notes that make no sense, really. (No, I still love my major.)

Eric, Mich, and Peggy Porschen have been the three people who have inspired me to create tiered cakes and glamourous/couture-y cakes like these mini rose cakes, this three-tiered cake, and the first one of them all- the one I decided to make one midnight: a simple two tiered imprinted cake. Their creations are the prime example of eye-candy and are awe-inspiring in their level of detail, elegance, and beauty.

The class that I took with Eric was the Cupcake Masterclass (Info for classes can be found here.) We learned how to work with gumpaste (Which I had never done before!- Gumpaste is slightly different from sugarpaste/fondant in its texture- it hardens fairly quickly), we used the gumpaste on silicon moulds to get desired shapes and then learned to how to color the figures and use glitter. Eric also showed us three lovely techniques to ice cupcakes (a wonderful swirl, petals, and one that was absolutely gorgeous and sort of looked like petals and leaves) Sadly I didn't manage to the last one really well. It was great since I tried a lot of things I hadn't tried before. The session was followed by a wonderful afternoon tea. Each of the sandwiches and pastries were presented soo beautifully that all of us gasped everytime they were brought out.  Only after I took the pictures did I realize that they were blurry- I was so excited to eat all of the goodies haha.

The class with Mich was a crowncakes and cookies master class at the beautiful Langham hotel on Regent Street. We learned how to ice and flood a cookie (I FINALLY learned how to flood a cookie- now I can use all my cutters to their full potential!) and then learned four wonderful designs for the crowncakes. I was quite proud of them- they looked so pretty I didn't want to eat them! But, also in this case, there was one technique I didn't quite master which was the candy striped cake. My lines were really squiggly and shakey :( But it was the design I loved best. The one I was happiest with though was the monochrome lace with pink icing in sashes and bows and drops. It was a great class ALSO followed by a wonderful afternoon tea. I hope I can recreate something like this on my own because my main issues seem to be getting the royal icing the right consistency and covering the cake neatly with fondant. More info on the classes here.

the squiggly cake.... but I made the rose myself!

I'm extremely glad I got to take both these classes and the icing on the cake (pun not intended) was that they were on consecutive days. I conquered my fears of gumpaste and royal icing and I'm ready to work with both of these mediums a lot more extensively than I previously had. 

Motcomb Street

I already posted this on my travel blog here http://sid-sees.blogspot.com/2011/06/motcomb-street.html but here are some pictures!

Motcomb Street is a wonderful little street tucked away in Knightsbridge- it has restaurants, a chocolate shop, cafes, and eateries. And everything is wonderful.

This is just a roundup! You can find the whole post (with more pictures and writing- details!) on my travel blog here: http://sid-sees.blogspot.com/2011/06/motcomb-street.html

Taste of London

After attending Taste of Dubai this past March, I was extremely excited to see what the London version of the festival would be like. And so, on Thursday the 16th, I made my way to Regent's Park Outer Circle in the bitter cold and drizzle (ok it wasn't that bad) to check out Taste of London. And I was not disappointed. Regent's Park itself is a beautiful park that reminds me of the English garden (go figure, considering it is in England).

But anyways, the tickets were more expensive than Dubai's. GBP26 at the door compared to AED75. The conversion is 1GBP to AED6 if I'm not mistaken. Do the math, I'm not bothered.

Taste of London was at least double the size of Taste of Dubai but the layout was pretty much similar. White semi-tents with three or four dishes from each restaurant- and around 4 restaurants to a tent. What they had which I don't think Taste of Dubai did was a small producers/business market with individual stalls belonging to small business owners. There was the usual cupcake business but other really unique ones (compared to what I've seen) were ones such as a chili oil business called David's Chili Oil or a cordial making one... I LOVED the pomegranate and rose flavoured one. There were also small businesses selling cupcake decorations. Edible sugar decorations. Really good idea. I got a few lovely edible pearls and heart shaped decorations.


And the dishes at some of those restaurants were absolutely divine! Such unique ones! I tried a chicken tikka pie with a BERRY compote. It was heaven. I had no idea that chicken tikka and blueberries went so well together but they do...
Also tried a pea and mint mousse with goat's curd... it looked like sorbet but.. obviously, wasn't. Good stuff.


The festival also had a cultural section promoting Jamaica and they had looots of Jamaican food which was soo good. One that I tried was deep fried yam balls... For some reason I always confuse yam for yak and was a bit concerned but yams are a vegetable and they have a VERY unique taste..

One chocolatier that had a stand there was Paul A Young whose stand had what I think are some of the yummiest chocolates ever. I tried a 70% chili one which was undoubtedly heaven but one which blew my mind was a sea salted caramel truffle. HEAVEN, I tell you. The shop is at Wardour Street and I am going to hunt it down and buy the entire pack.

Also, you know Bonne Maman, the jam brand? Apparently they do chocolate mousse and creme brulee.. WHICH ARE REALLY GOOD. I tried them. Yes, I did. DROOL.

And San Pellegrino had a lovely little tent to itself styled like a Roman courtyard with stone benches- and with every bottle of water they gave you sundried tomatoes, cheese sticks, and olives, because "water goes well with food" according to the guy at the stand.

The Ritz's English Custard Cake with Date Syrup

 The chicken tikka/shepherd's pie/berry compote which was surprisingly so so good- from Benares.

Cake! Baked stuff!

 The mint and pea mousse which I thought was some sort of sorbet at first. Reallllyy good.

That sea salted caramel chocolate truffle from Paul A Young chocolatier.. Wardour Street, here I come!

 A Cuban band.

David's Chili Oil.. realllllly good stuff.. It was mindblowing.. So spicy and amazing.

 Huge slabs of fudge.

 cupcakes

 The crowd inside the small producers' market.

 more cupcakes! with edible wafer decorations

The deep fried yam balls. 

My Foodie London

I just came back from a very quick, whirlwind three day trip to London. I went with no agenda whatsoever, no to-do list (which is quite unusual for me). After exploring the lovely town and coming back to Dubai, I looked through all the food-related pictures I had taken and realized that most of them were of something sweet. I guess that says a lot about me and what I like to indulge in.

But here are some of my selections of what I think are the most scrumptious foods I came across!

Laduree- Harrods

When most people hear Laduree- Harrod's, they think of Summer 2010 when all of Khaleeji-land somewhat descended on this little cafe. Overdressed women and loud people were the norm. Sadly, now in February- it still is. But looking beyond the clientele that frequent Laduree, one can appreciate it for what it is. Although its pastries (and especially macarons) have been overexaggeratedly exalted, it has the most amazing French toast I have ever tried. As well as the best hot chocolate. Don't get me wrong- the pastries are wonderful in their own right, but are not phenomenally unique from those at other good pastry shops around the world. Nevertheless, their raspberry macarons are melt-in-your-mouth, eat-20-pieces-and-don't-even-realize amazing.

The Hummingbird Bakery

On Saturday morning, we headed out to Portobello Road for the amazing little market that takes place there on that day. One of the best things about Portobello is that apart from the cute little finds you come across, Hummingbird Bakery is right there! On Saturdays, their Portobello branch has no seating, but we picked up two cupcakes to have on the go- one vanilla on vanilla one, and the other a chocolate malt flavor. I can't believe I forgot how particular to Hummingbird the Red Velvet cupcake is- and so I didn't buy one. I really, really regret that now. The chocolate malt cupcake was an entirely new experience for me- I hadn't tasted anything like that. First of all, it had Maltesers on the frosting- which is one of my favourite chocolates. Second, the cake itself had a very caramel-ish flavour to it- which complemented the frosting perfectly.

Mrs. Kibble's Olde Sweet Shoppe

I love this store for the simple reason that it is an amazing small business (with only two branches) that was started around 4 years ago. It's just the kind of business venture that I like to see nowadays what with huge chain restaurants & cafes, corporations, and franchises invading the whole world. You get the most delicious candy in this store- specifically the English hard-boiled sweets. The truffles are very good, too. I discovered this branch one evening last March as I was strolling- it's hidden in a little lane right behind St. Christopher's Place (which is near James Street behind Oxford Street and Selfridge's).

Wandering through the streets

One of the funnest things to do! I found some amazing shop window displays on Regent Street this year (perhaps because of Valentine's Day!) The chocolate coated strawberries are from Godiva and the multi-tiered white wedding cake is from a cafe whose name I cannot remember- and don't think I even read. And the macarons- I don't know where they're from either. It's a patisserie on Regent Street near Piccadilly Circus on the right.

Fortnum & Mason

I had first seen Fortnum and Mason last year when I went into Hatchard's (a quaint little bookshop) that's right next to it. What attracted me instantly was the interesting and creative window displays. I never went in, though, because I was in a quite a rush. This year, however, I did. And I had not expected what was in store for me (pun not intended)! The ground floor is a food hall with all sorts of finds- exotic teas, amazing candies, and the like. The rest of the departmental store houses women's and men's clothing etc... But the entire store is reminiscent of days long gone. I guess it's because I read way too many Regency era novels- where the lady goes shopping for dresses in a lovely gilt and velvet carriage. The whole place is carpeted and has low ceilings. The staff (particularly the male staff) are dressed in long tail-coats and the items that they sell are all bespoke, elegant, and unique. This place also has the best vanilla fudge ever. I wanted to bring a whole box back to Dubai!

Harrod's and Selfridge's Food Halls

Found this quite amusing.

This would go lovely with an Alfredo sauce!!! Great for kids!

Pierre Herme, best caramel macarons... No pictures allowed but I still got one! The victory!

Jelly Belly! Sadly they've stopped their jalapeno flavour :(

Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Waiting for Harrod's Food Hall to open, Monday morning.

Randoms

Afternoon tea at Harrod's Georgian Restaurant

Garganelli with aubergines at Signor Sassi

Scrumptious tangerine. Best part: seedless!

Porridge @ HIX Selfridge's. It fills you up for the entire day.

Slug and Lettuce- Amazing food!

Sunday morning breakfast at My Old Dutch Pancake House in Kensington with my lovely friend Feryal!