Cheeky Cheeky....!

The British are widely mocked for their reserved natures and stiff upper lips, especially by our more liberated European cousins and never more so than when it comes to "l'amour". Ha! Little do they know what goes on behind closed doors! Whilst the Belgians are straightening their cucumbers, the French are passionately cremé-ing their Anglais and the Italians are "Doing It Better", we are invariably (as the News of the World would have us believe) stuffing our mouths with oranges and being spanked by an overweight couple from Wigan whilst "dogging" on the M6.

Now, as I’m sure you can imagine, we at Guilty Pleasures like things a little more risqué than risky (and very very much less revolting...) and as such believe in a much simpler time, a time when it was all about what was hidden behind a fan, feather or tassel and not what was shoved, bounced or slapped surgically, into your face through your 3D TV or monitor.

I was lucky enough to have been brought up on a diet of Benny Hill, Kenny Everett and Carry On films so I worry for today’s kids. In the Age of Instant Gratification, they don’t have to wait until Saturday to buy their Kylie cassettes from the town and they certainly don’t have to tape their favourite tracks from the Sunday afternoon Chart Show. Everything and anything they need can be found online and so there is no innocence and very little "Cheeky" these days, it's all hard-core Hentai midget porn and ITunes for today’s youngsters! They don’t read Just 17 and practice kissing on the back of their hand, in fact they are barely 17 and they practice a lot more than kissing....on each other! I cannot imagine what the kids on my street would make of Benny Hill and I wholeheartedly expect they would describe Kenny's fooling’s dressed as Cupid Stunt, as a bit "battyboy". That said, I could easily spend a rainy Sunday afternoon eating cupcakes and watching Babs expertly fling off a brazier or fire off a minxy giggle but maybe even I would find Ben & Ken slightly odd by today’s standards.

And so, to the point! The Brits like all great sexually repressed nationalities were masters of the naughty, the "tongue in cheek" if you pardon the blatant innuendo. Growing up, as I did very close to the South Seas (ok that sounds all very South Pacific doesn’t it? Maybe it’s closer to the truth if we just say Southsea....) life was all candyfloss; kiss me quick hats and Seaside Sauciness - in the form of postcards rather than sailors I should add!

A friend had asked me to create a cake that she could take to a celebration at the beach last September. Now at that time we were still basking in the 4 minutes of sun that our summers allow and it got me thinking back to my youth and giggling at the large breasted "dolly birds" and skinny little guys on the postcards we used to receive and send to our friends. I remembered the vibrant colours and bawdy humour and desperately wanted to transfer the feeling to the cake.

Luckily, this lovely lady always gives me a free reign to design anything I desire and thankfully, she is not so easily offended! (Check back soon as I have been re-commissioned for a Line Dancing Extravaganza and I've been told I can make the chest as big as I like!!)

So here is the Seaside Sauciness cake in all its bawdy, rock sucking glory!

And remember boys and girls in the words of the Transylvanian ambassadors to excellent pop tunes...

"Come and smile, don't be shy
Touch my bum, this is life
Cheeky Cheeky
We are the cheeky girls
We are the cheeky girls
You are the cheeky boys
You are the cheeky boys
Cheeky Cheeky"

And now it’s onto the next...........I’m afraid my dears there can be no rest for the decadently wicked cheeky ;o) x

Time for Tea (1940's)

This seemed like it was going to be a true Guilty Pleasure from the outset, a former Land Girl was turning 90 and I had been asked to create something exciting to mark the occasion. “How exciting indeed” I thought with images of tanks, Marines, The Windmill and burly GI’s flashing before my very eyes. BUT, how could this be made more appropriate for someone with a few more years and in fact more class than I?
How indeed...
I had a further chat with a friend of the client who had suggested that since our former LG loved cakes, maybe a modern shop front filled with cakes, rather than focussing on the past would be a good starting point, and for a while it was...
The more I thought about this project the more I couldn’t get a certain image out of my mind. If you search for Miss Polly Rae on the web the same, incredibly striking photo always seems to be listed first. Dressed in what I imagine all Land Girls worth their salt to have been wearing (although on reflection, a bustier and hold-ups would be terribly impractical for picking your way through the “Blitzed” streets of London, especially during a blackout), Miss Rae stands triumphantly (and saucily) before burning planes and a battleship. I was desperate to use this as my starting point but it’s a battleship not a “Battenberg”.

It wasn’t until the day I ventured out of my glamorous central London apartment for baking supplies that I really started to get a feel for this Guilty Pleasure. Within my first few paces I had my first flash of inspiration (if this was a movie there would have been sounds of German planes overhead and some very dramatic music). The builders have moved in opposite and started to demolish an old 70s maisonette block –leaving behind half walls and debris. It was (and still is today...)exceptionally beautiful.
Turning the corner onto a quiet residential street I was happily mapping out my trip around the store and feeling quite glad that there was a tiny fraction of sun peeking through the dismal skies. When I looked up I noticed three sad looking flags tied into a tree, the leftovers of last summer’s street party.

I couldn’t have been more inspired by this point and with a determined nod (to myself, of course, it wouldn’t do to start acting crazy in such a cute little street) - I had finally cracked this. My cake would be a smashing tribute to cakes and to the Land Girls!
With a few extra touches, such as the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster, radio and Union Jack bunting I hope I have captured the spirit of the times and made someone very happy in the process.

And now it’s onto the next.....I’m afraid my dears there can be no rest for the decadently wicked x