mel-kelly

Autumn Newsletter 2023

melaniekelly2017@gmail.com — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 12:12:03 GMT

Hello dark nights...!

We are well into the throes of Autumn with Winter just around the corner. Summer definitely feels like a distant memory especially considering we're on our third Prime Minister since then!

It's been a super busy year so far, it has absolutely flown by and i've included a snapshot of some of the cakes made as well as upcoming cakes for Christmas. I have a limited number of spaces in December for celebration cake bookings but the diary is open for 2023. I'll be closed from 24th December until January 6th for my annual two-week break where i try and do nothing not much at all other than relax and watch Christmas films!

Thank you so much for keeping me busy this year. I have really enjoyed each and every cake, cupcake, biscuit and cake class!

Mel x

Autumn Fires - Robert Louis Stevenson

"In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!"

...Holidays are coming!

Even though i love summer, I cannot help but get excited about the dark nights drawing in, the run up to Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas and having no need to justify why I might be wearing a dressing gown at 5pm! If it's dark and cold outside then pyjamas and dressing gowns are acceptable attire regardless of what time it is!

I have already soaked all the fruit for the Christmas cakes in copious amounts of brandy and I am looking forward to the gorgeous festive baking smells in the kitchen; ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg, cloves mmmmm.

This year i will be offering brandy fruit Christmas cakes, festive sponge cakes and fondant decorated Terry's chocolate oranges - these were so popular last year and make super cute gifts!:-

Fondant decorated Terry's Chocolate Oranges = £10 each

Brandy fruit Christmas cakes
Mini 4 inch = £20
6 inch = £42.50
8 inch = £52.50

6 inch sponge festive log/hedgehog cake - £40
8 inch sponge festive log/hedgehog cake - £50
(Available in chocolate/chocolate orange/spiced vanilla/or homemade salted caramel)

To order pop me a message at https://www.melkellycakesandbakes.com/contact

Weddings 2023/2024

I have been so privileged this year to have been able to make some beautiful cakes for beautiful couples. I have truly loved making every one.

Face to face consultations will be available in early 2023 and throughout the year. I currently offer wedding cake taster boxes where you can try up to eight flavours from a current selection of 12 and these can be posted out. The hard part will be deciding which flavours to choose!

For more information on wedding bookings contact me at https://www.melkellycakesandbakes.com/contact

Cake Decorating Workshops

Community cake decorating groups are held at Layton Community House, 5 Grenfell Avenue, fortnightly on Mondays between 2pm and 4pm. These are completely free to residents of Layton and everything is provided!

Over the summer, I also delivered a children's cake decorating workshop at Weeton Army Community Centre...lots of fun was had getting creative (and messy) making a variety of cupcake toppers. In August, I also had the opportunity to take part in creative workshops organised by Blackpool Heritage Zone at the Winter Gardens. It was a fantastic day with workshops delivered by many local Fylde artists too. I would well recommend following their page Blackpool Creative Market | Facebook to keep up to date with news on forthcoming workshops as well as local creative markets

Recipe Time!

I get lots of good feedback on my chocolate buttercream and the key is using chocolate ganache rather than just cocoa powder...it really does make the difference

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter (at room temperature and cut into cubes)
500g icing sugar (sifted)
200g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa is best)
100g double cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 - 2 teaspoons of boiled water

Equipment

Stand mixer/food processor/handheld beater or very strong arms!
Wooden spoon
Mixing bowls
Spatula

Method

1. Beat the butter and vanilla extract in a stand-mixer or with a handheld beater on a medium to high speed for between five to 10 minutes (or until the butter is light, smooth and glossy.

2. Add the sifted icing sugar to the butter and mix for several minutes on a low speed until all the icing sugar and butter is fully mixed. To avoid a cloud of icing sugar, add half of the icing sugar at a time when mixing.

3. Add one to two teaspoons of boiling water to the buttercream and mix for a further 60 seconds. This helps get the buttercream to a really smooth consistency - but add a little at a time - too much and it can turn a bit sloppy! I usually use a spatula to press the buttercream against the sides of the mixing bowl in order to get rid of any air bubbles.

4. To make the chocolate ganache, break up the chocolate into small pieces and put into a mixing bowl suitable for a microwave

5. Heat the double cream in a microwave until very hot. Leave to cool slightly before pouring over the chocolate pieces. Using a wooden spoon, mix the heated cream with the chocolate until it's all melted and smooth and glossy. If you are still finding chocolate lumps, pop the bowl into the microwave for a few seconds and keep stirring until it's all melted. Be careful with overheating the cream or the chocolate/cream mix as the ganache can split.

6. Leave the ganache to cool and then add to the buttercream and mix in thoroughly...and there you have lovely chocolate buttercream. I usually add the ganache to consistency and taste. You may not need to add all of the ganache...any leftovers can just be eaten!

TIPS
- you can melt the chocolate and double cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water on a hob if you do not have a microwave
- if your ganache splits (looks grainy, oily or lumpy), pop it into the fridge for around five to ten minutes and take out and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon. The mixture should start to come back together.
- chocolate ganache sets hard and makes a great covering for cakes under fondant and is shelf stable
- the cream needs to be hot/scalded to improve it's longevity but always let it cool a little before pouring on the chocolate as overheating the mixture normally always results in split ganache.

Autumn Newsletter

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 17:30:42 GMT

...so that was summer then!

So I'm guessing we bid farewell to Summer, short-lived as it was. That said, we have had a beautiful September and I did think that I would have packed the kitchen fan away by now. As I write this there is a definite chill in the air this evening though and I have been part-tempted to put the heating on. However, given recent headlines about energy costs this winter I think the thermostat will be locked away with instructions to the kids of 'put a jumper on' if anyone complains of being cold...even if we are already wearing three jumpers, a vest and a dressing gown!!

It has been a very busy summer period with lots of wonderful cakes, cupcakes and cookies made for birthdays, thank you gifts, anniversaries and weddings. So as we say farewell to summer I would like to thank all my customers for their continued custom and cake ideas and here is a poem I found by Stanley Kunitz which I'll leave right here.

Mel xx

End of Summer

An agitation of the air,
A perturbation of the light
Admonished me the unloved year
Would turn on its hinge that night.

I stood in the disenchanted field
Amid the stubble and the stones
Amaded, while a small worm lisped to me
The song of my marrow-bones.

Blue poured into summer blue,
A hawk broke from his cloudless tower,
The roof of the silo blazed, and I knew
That part of my life was forever over.

Already the iron door of the North
Clangs open: birds,leaves,snows
Order their populations forth,
And a cruel wind blows.

...holidays are coming!

This year i will be offering brandy fruit Christmas cakes, festive cupcakes, meringues and hot chocolate bombs as follows:-

Brandy fruit Christmas cakes (contains alcohol and marzipan (ALMONDS)
4 inch = £30
6 inch = £40
8 inch = £50
Christmas cupcakes
6 for £15
12 for £30
Meringue boxes (mix of meringue pops and kisses)
£12
Hot chocolate bombs gift box (made with Callebaut Belgian chocolate)
£9

To order pop me a message at https://www.melkellycakesandbakes.com/contact

Weddings 2022/23

I have been privileged this year to be involved in creating wedding cakes and I am taking bookings for 2022 and 2023.

I currently offer wedding cake taster boxes where you can try up to eight flavours from a current selection of 12. The hard part will be deciding which flavours to choose!

For more information on wedding bookings contact me at https://www.melkellycakesandbakes.com/contact

Cake Decorating Classes

Community cake decorating groups are held at St Annes Parish Church Rooms each Tuesday and are free to those in recovery as part of the Building Recovery in Communities Fund.

There is also a one-off buttercream flowers and cupcake bouquet class on 30th September 2021!! Places are limited but there is still time to book on this just drop me an email at info@melkellycakesandbakes.com. More classes will be added from sugar models to royal icing cookies!

To subscribe to my mailing list for upcoming products, offers and events email me at info@melkellycakesandbakes.com with the subject SUBSCRIBE

Mel x

July Newsletter

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 18:00:38 GMT

Weddings are back !

It has been fabulous to finally get to create wedding cakes this year after 16 months of planning headaches for all concerned ! There is something amazing about being able to design, create and set up a wedding cake and then stand back and admire.

I offer consultations either via telephone, Zoom or face to face over coffee at the Upside Down Cafe in Blackpool, sketches of the design and the best part, cake samples from a current choice of 11 different flavours from traditional brandy fruit cake to more modern flavours such as salted caramel or white chocolate Baileys mud cake.

Wowzers, it's been a hot few days ! I've been slowly melting away in the kitchen in the week but it's now nice to have a few days off to enjoy the start of the summer holidays. Long may this lovely weather last !

Whilst relaxing in the sun i thought it would be a perfect opportunity to write my first little newsletter to share news, recipes and pictures of some lovely creations recently baked. At the end of this newsletter is an unsubscribe function which you can select if you would prefer not to receive future newsletters.

As always a big thank you to all my customers and I wish you a lovely summer

.. .Mel made us the most amazing cake for our wedding. From the start of planning, Mel was so kind and considerate with us not knowing exactly how many people to cater for because of covid restrictions. The cake she made was absolutely stunning, the sugar flowers were just incredible, no one could believe they were really sugar. And the taste of the cakes....wow! Would not hesitate in ordering from Mel again. Thank you for helping to make our day so special. X ...

Community Cake Decorating Groups

June and July saw the start of cake decorating groups held in St Annes after an idea i had last year which came to fruition following a successful funding application to the Building Recovery in Communities Fund via Red Rose Recovery.

The idea behind the group came from the benefits of baking and cake decorating as a social activity with a focus on mindfulness and creativity. You cannot help but leave the stresses of life behind for an hour or two in the process of creating some colourful (and tasty!) cupcakes or making a beautiful sugar rose for example. The groups include learning about piping techniques, working with colour, sugar models and sugar flowers . I am currently in the process of securing a venue so that we can also do the baking side too!

For more information on the groups pop me a message at info@melkellycakesandbakes.com

Mel x

Lockdown meringues - get the pinny back out

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 17:00:53 GMT

Ready for more lockdown baking?

As we head back into another lockdown, there’s a song that keeps popping into my head, much the same as it did last lockdown that being REM’s ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it’. Of course it’s not, but it can certainly feel that way at times. And as we go into winter, even more so. The relentlessness, the dark nights, the rain…

But I’m sure you don’t need reminding of this ! No doubt with the fresh lockdown about start we may all be picking up our aprons again and baking at home. As i’ve said before, baking is such a mindful activity and it can really help to take us away from the stresses of everyday life and the worries and drudgery of what’s going on around us. For that reason I wanted to share a simple meringue recipe. It’s really easy and you can have such fun experimenting with colours, flavours and designs. Not to mention they taste lovely!

... a simple meringue recipe. It's really easy and you can have such fun...

If you’re feeling festive already, and why not it’s 3 ^rd November so it’s practically Christmas anyway, make up some meringue snowmen with some cute chocolate buttons for eyes. Kids will love it and that’s about 30 minutes of entertainment sorted.

The recipe!

What you'll need :-

The ingredients

180g caster sugar

3 egg whites (from medium free range eggs)

1/4 tsp of cream of tartar

Flavour extracts (optional)

Food colouring (optional, the gel or paste food colours are the best for vibrant colours. Liquid food colours are, erm too liquid, and will affect the meringue consistency and will fade when cooking).

Piping bags

Greaseproof paper or a silicon baking mat

Piping nozzles (or alternatively cut a small hole in the end of a piping bag)

Mixing bowl

Electric whisk

The method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 110c/230f/gas mark 1

2. Start by making sure all your equipment is squeaky clean. The slightest bit of dirt or grease will prevent the mixture from getting to stiff peaks.

3. Separate the egg whites into a mixing bowl if you are using a handheld whisk or into the bowl of stand mixer.

4. Slowly start to whisk the egg whites on a low to medium speed initially.

5. Once the egg whites start to foam, add ¼ tsp of the cream of tartar and continue to whisk until the mixture has reached soft peak stage (the mixture will form peaks when lifted with a spoon but fall back into themselves).

6. At this stage, start to slowly add the sugar one tbsp at a time. Continue whisking all the time at a medium to high speed.

7. Once all the sugar has been added you should start to see the mixture thickening and looking glossy. This is what we want. Continue to whisk on high for around another five to seven minutes.

8. The mixture should now be at stiff peak stage. A good way to check this is to turn the mixing bowl upside down. If all the mixture stays in the bowl, it’s at stiff peak stage.

9. Test a little of the mixture by rubbing a small amount between your thumb and forefinger. If it’s still a little grainy, whisk for a bit longer until the mixture is smooth.

10. Add flavour extract and colours if using. I usually start by adding ½ tsp of flavour extracts and then adjust upwards if needed.

11. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a nozzle or cut the end of the piping bag and have fun piping shapes, swirls and little meringue drops onto a baking sheet covered with greaseproof paper or onto a silicon baking mat!

12. Pop into the oven for around 40 minutes. The actual time will depend on the size of the meringue shapes but a good way to test if they are done is to gently pull one of the shapes off from the baking sheets. If they come away easily, they are done. If they are still stuck, leave them a little longer !

13. Enjoy !

14. Keep them in an airtight container once cool and they will be good for about two weeks ��

If you tried the recipe, comment and show us your meringues!

Mel x

The Year That Should Not Be Mentioned

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 18:03:41 GMT

Hello I’m Mel.

The Mel behind Mel Kelly Cakes and Bakes and this is my first foray into the blogging world so you’ll have to forgive my amateur ramblings at this stage. It’s been a fair (ahem) number of years since I did any form of writing since my GCSE English Language days, albeit it certainly doesn’t feel that way. The 90s were 30 years’ ago?! Surely not.

So here I am, it’s 2020 and what a year this has been! At the start of the year I was working within addiction recovery services and at no point did I imagine that, fast-forward nine months, I would be surrounded with icing sugar, cake boxes, and sugar paste, sat designing and making cakes! Why the change I hear you say?

I decided to put my life-long passion and hobby into something more

I do not think that I am alone in saying this year has been difficult. In fact, I am probably joined by most of you in saying that we have all had our unique challenges this year. Mine started when I was completely burnt out from working within mental health and addiction services and in May this year I lost my job. Initially I was devastated and with the schools shut and still under lockdown, there was little chance of me being able to get another job. But after every dark night comes a bright day, so I decided to put my life-long passion and hobby into something more and went ahead and set up Mel Kelly Cakes and Bakes.

Brick Masquerading as Bread

Not only do I wish to use Mel Kelly Cakes and Bakes for the as the name suggests, cakes and bakes, I aim to offer baking workshops to people in recovery from mental health difficulties and addictions (when Covid restrictions allow!). Baking is extremely therapeutic, and I will openly admit that having faced a number of difficult times throughout my life, baking has been a go to activity for me. It uses all the senses (taste obviously being a good one) and the step by step process and repetition involved makes it an extremely mindful activity. It’s a great way to escape from life’s stressors, take a step back and focus on the here and now. The bonus being at the end, you’ve made something lovely from scratch. Whether that be bread, cupcakes, cheesecake, a three-tiered cake spectacular or a homely apple turnover. Learn to laugh at yourself though and your baking fails. My first ever attempt at bread was well, not great. In fact, it would not have looked out of place in a scene from Murder She Wrote with Angela Lansbury’s lightbulb moment at having determined the murder weapon. It was a brick masquerading as bread.

So then, whilst baking and cake decorating are both my recovery tools and my passion (after my children of course!) they are now my bread and butter (couldn’t resist!) and I hope to use my blog to share recipes, cake decorating techniques, the ins and outs of running a cake business and my aim to get my workshops up and running.

There are a number of things I have learnt during ‘the year that should not be mentioned’; that there is beauty in simplicity, there is community and friendship in the smallest of gestures, and that our relationships with others are so important. A simple cupcake left on the doorstep of a neighbour for no other reason than to remind them that they are not alone. Which is why for me cakes are so special. You cannot help but smile when someone gives you a cake!

Mel x

mel-kelly

Autumn Newsletter 2023

Hello dark nights...!

Autumn Fires - Robert Louis Stevenson

...Holidays are coming!

Weddings 2023/2024

Cake Decorating Workshops

Recipe Time!

﻿

Autumn Newsletter

...so that was summer then!

End of Summer

...holidays are coming!

Weddings 2022/23

Cake Decorating Classes

July Newsletter

Weddings are back !

Community Cake Decorating Groups

Lockdown meringues - get the pinny back out

Ready for more lockdown baking?

The recipe!

The Year That Should Not Be Mentioned

Hello I’m Mel.

Brick Masquerading as Bread