Baking some HUGE smiles!

As you know, we recently set up our Facebook charity shop to raise funds for the Baking a Smile charity, we are so proud to say that in its first two weeks of "business" our lovely Cake Club followers helped to raise over £500 and we have now donated over £600 in total!!

So we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a bit more about this lovely charity and how the simple gesture of a free cake has made a big impact on the families of children with life threatening illnesses and life limiting conditions.

Baking A Smile was established In December 2012 so it is in its early stages of development but already they have a large team of amateur & professional bakers on hand, donating their time, experience & money to provide amazing cakes to very brave children and to fundraising events.

Donna Coyle, mum of Louie McKellar, told us that Baking a Smile arranged for Louie to have a spiderman cake delivered to him while he was in hospital. Louie is just 5 years old and suffers from cystic fibrosis along with his sister. This condition means that they have lots of long hospital visits every 4-6 weeks to see the specialist team of consultants, nurses, physios and dieticians. Louie has to have daily medication which consists of 20+ tablets and Physio twice a day and that's when he doesn't have infections so it can be even more! Of course this can be tiring and hard for everyone in the family.

Louie was nominated by Donnas cousin to receive a cake during his very first hospital stay. It was the first time Louie had to have an IV and he was in hospital for 2 weeks over Easter. Receiving his cake put a huge smile on his face as well as everyone else's!

Baking a Smile plans to hold cake decorating sessions at The Evalina childrens hospital in London to put a smile on the faces of the children who are on their wards. By downloading a recipe or tutorial from our shop you are helping to raise money to fund those classes and inject some fun into an otherwise traumatic time.

The shop is accessible by visiting our Facebook page and clicking on the shop tab below the cover photo. This won't work on a phone or app so a laptop or pc is the best bet, you can choose from lots of lovely recipes and tutorials including...

Once you choose and pay for your recipes/tutorials they are instantly downloadable from the shop so you can get started on making something tasty straight away! ALL the proceeds from the shop go to Baking a Smile so we can put a big smile on the faces of some other children!

If you are a baker that could help to support this charity by donating a cake PLEASE contact them directly, they are always keen to hear from new volunteer bakers!

Thank you for helping to support such an amazing charity!
Dolly, Suzi, Charmaine & Laura

Cake Club Bakers Dozen...An interview with Shereen

Its time for the third Bakers Dozen guest to join us and this month its the turn of the brilliant Shereen of Shereens Cakes and Bakes. If you are not aware of Shereen (where have you been) then we promise you won't be disappointed when you visit her Facebook page! We have been showcasing Shereens creations on our Facebook page but this is our opportunity to tell you even more about this lovely lady!

Shereen doesn't just make gorgeous cakes, cupcakes and giant cupcakes, she also shares her knowledge so you can make your own versions as well! With an online tutorials shop, a book and numerous free tutorials available via her Facebook shop plus one to one classes, Shereen really is becoming a bit of a guru for those wanting to become cake decorators or expand their existing skills.

The Cake Club admins all follow Shereen avidly and love her creations so we were delighted when she agreed to an interview and a live Q&A on our Facebook page (join us 7-8pm June 13th to ask your questions). Keep reading for a little insight into the world of Shereens Cakes and Bakes...



What made you decide to enter the world of cake making?
It happened 'by accident' and just grew faster than I could think about it really, it was just a natural progression.

What did you do before Shereens Cakes and Bakes?
Worked in hotels on reception for a few years and just day to day admin jobs.

Who and what inspires you?
Bella cupcakes inspires me and everything pretty inspires me from kids clothes to greetings cards, as long as it's pretty

How do you respond to negativity on your page?
I try and ignore as much as possible, obvious troll comments I ban and delete. I try not to let others bring me down, I am human behind my business page and I just won't put up with it, delete and move on.

What was the hardest part about setting up your own business?
Actually making the decision to do it ... would I get orders? Would I make enough money to stay home with kids and being pregnant in my first year of working for myself and then doing a wedding cake 2 weeks after having a baby, hardest time ever.

Do you bake and decorate by your self or do you let anyone help?
All by myself

Are there any parts of cake making that you wish you didn't have to do?
Lining pans, baking (hubby does a lot of it) ... and cleaning up!




If you could make only one of your cakes again which one would it be?
The blue 3 tier wedding cake with pink roses and yellow and and white flowers, I loved that cake and finally felt like I had reached something 'new' with my cakes

If you could make a cake for anyone who would it be?
My dad, I was too ill to make his 60th Birthday cake this year and had such an amazing idea and i am gutted I couldn't make it ... so I still really want to treat him to a novelty cake that is totally 'him'

If you could only follow one FB cakey page which one would you choose?
Victorious Cupcakes, she shares amazing creations by herself and by others and is always so kind.




Have you enjoyed making your book "party cupcakes" and if you decide to do more what theme do you think the book will have this time?
I thoroughly enjoyed doing my book. I would love to do a big cakes book with lots of little details that you usually see on my cakes.

And finally, what would be your biggest tip to help any bakers out there still learning?
Be patient, if you are frustrated, walk away and breathe. Also try and teach yourself as much as you can yourself, trial and error is the best learning tool, it helps creativity. Don't take on cakes that don't interest you, you won't enjoy making it. I do not do vehicle shaped cakes, they make me get very stressed out and suck the fun and love out of decorating for me.

You can follow Shereen on Facebook by visiting https://www.facebook.com/shereenscakesandbakesstevenage

From all of us at Cake Club we send a MASSIVE thank you to Shereen for allowing us to get a bit more of an insight into life at Shereens Cakes and Bakes and we are looking forward to the Q&A tonight too!  Welcome to the Bakers Dozen Shereen!