Cake Britain

Organised by 'Miss Cakehead', who describes herself on her blog as "a creative ‘dictator’ / creative content producer", Cake Britain produced more than just a play on words.  Inside this small white walled gallery space, a stones throw from Leicester Square tube was an array of confectionery delights.  Sponsored by Tate+Lyle sugar, in celebration of their recent switch to fairtrade produce, the exhibition consisted of roughly ten works created by a selection of artists, each with their own take on the concept of food as art.

On entering the rather unassuming gallery, I was welcomed by the sound of  The Strangeloves "I want candy".   There was an great sense of fun as people were papping away, getting as close as they liked to the kooky confectionery masterpieces.

Hung nearest the entrance was a striking piece by Miss Cakehead herself, The Futureheads vs Cakehead loves Evil.  Here Miss Cakehead lifted the lyrics from her favourite song, Oh the Chaos and used them as both a mission statement for her personal blog and also the exhibition.  About twenty lines of lyrics, spread across 6'x6' of the wall.  Propped in front of each black painted letter though was a cookie letter, coated in a wonderfully thick black icing.  Visitors were allowed to pick the letters off the wall and eat them on the spot.  This kind of consumer viewing was really interesting to watch. The cookie words were lovingly baked and cut out into fragile letters, only to be eaten, not by family and friends hot from the oven, but off a wall in a gallery near the west end.

My favourite pieces in the exhibition were the ones that genuinely played with using spounge cake, icing, or anything edible as a fun medium.  The Mad Hatters Tea Party by Amy Greenwood won the competition (of which I didn't know there was one had it not been for the plaque next to the piece).  It was a neat piece of coloured fondant work with an adorably cute dormouse, and one very tripped out caterpillar.

There were two pieces for me which really impressed.  David and Simon Smith's Carousel Deer, was created using solely Tate+Lyle sugar.  The organic rough texture of the sugar allowed the ruggedness of the wild to live through the deer sculpture.  The sugar cube patterning around the neck did not seem too geometric, but sympathetic the contours of the beast.  It certainly was a majestic centre piece, and my favourite.

Another work I particularly liked was the black slicked toucan, smeared across the floor. Used in a genuinely innovative way, the black  marzipan like icing was smeared across the floor. The flat black body juxtaposed with the flamboyant 3D beak created an excitement of scale, colour and surprise.  There was something superbly satisfying about the idea of someone plastering a black slick of icing across the floor, and then watching people tiptoeing around it.

The last creation I feel needs a mention was the Edible Garden.  It intrigued me, unsurprisingly, as it is a masterpeice by Lily Vanilli.  A combination of beautifully delicate peach-crush coloured petals grew tall next to glitter licked stamen of overly confident flowers.  A shiny black (edible) scorpion lurked in the undergrowth, but most amazingly there was an overpoweringly delicious smell of bitter cocoa.  It was the only piece I could actually smell smell, and on reading the plaque, the attention to detail went a little deeper. Edible bugs and roots of the plants lurked in the soil beneath. Amazing.  

Konditor & Cook's "Comforting Curly Whirly"

I popped up to Borough Market today - August bank holiday weekend.  It certainly was manic, hoards of people, and swarms of wasps in every tasting jar of chutney.  After filling a bag full of goodies I dived into Konditor & Cooks, reading the "deservedly legendary" awning overhead.  Inside it did look delicious, and you could grab a cake slice for about £1.70 if you look for it.  I was tempted by the lavender swirls, and the lavender and orange blossom cake.  In the end I opted for a cake behind the glass counter.  They always look so much more appealing somehow.  I chose the Curly Whirly cake.  I was feeling  like something rich and dark, and hoped it would give me a cocoa kick.  I was also allured by the description of the "Real vanilla bean frosting, surrounded in layers of dark chocolate sponge".

It was squeezed carefully into a little cardboard box and stowed away in my bag for the journey home.  I enjoyed it with a cup of hot earl grey.

The sponge, for £2.65 was worth it in terms of texture.  I could tell as soon as I lifted it from the box, the cake gave beautifully under my fingers.  It held together well, even in the mouth and had a wonderful bounciness to the texture.  Often with a light sponge I find the consequence can be that it is overly crumbly, this wasn't so.  The taste was quite delicate, chocolatey, but not overly rich, which was a good thing, as the slice was fairly generous.  It was moist without being stodgy or heavy. Perfect.

The benefit of the moist sponge meant there wasn't need for heaps of the icing.  At first I thought the thickness of icing down the centre was stingy, until I realised the sponge was perfect without.  If the cake had a downfall,for me it was in the icing.  I was really excited for a "real vanilla bean" butter icing.  Unfortunately all I could detect was heaps of sugar, and butter. A fail-safe combination maybe but I was expecting a strong vanilla accent to the chocolate.

Was it worth £2.65? For me yes.  I will definitely be going back to Konditor & Cooks to sample some more cakes.  Though maybe next time I'll try to avoid a summer bank holiday weekend.

Curly Whirly Cake