Are You looking at my Blitz??

I really want to get us in the mood for this next post (and cake, for a change...) so get ready, here’s the science bit...
Turn the volume up on your PC\Mac\iPad\chalk board etc., but not too loud, I want us to be able to have a civilised conversation after all. Think ‘classy rooftop terrace bar, playing "Ibiza Chillout" as we sip Sancerre’ volume and we should be fine...now right click on the link below and open the page in a new tab - no need to leave this page it should start all by itself....now you have exactly 2 minutes and 34 seconds to get through this or I’m breaking out the Vera Lynn, fair warning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfZqyzI8pW0

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Puppini Sisters (who, by the way, are amazing)

Some of my very favourite words grouped together are "make whatever you like, I'm sure it will be gorgeous" - I don’t hear them very often but when I do I can barely contain my excitement. So as you can imagine I very nearly expired with glee when my gorgeous pal not only uttered the magic phrase but also added that the cake was for a 1940's themed affair and I was invited!! "Tally Ho" Indeed!

After my initial lindy hop for joy the terror set in…At first glance much of the 40's were really given over to fighting (on very large scales) bombing (even larger) and a severe lack of bananas. There is a lot more I would love to delve into here but a) we have so little time before the song ends and b) I would be reprimanded by all for being depressing and wartime misery obsessed.

With such an exciting decade to be given as a set off point I can honestly say my poor tiny mind was somewhat blown. So much going on but is Wartime really an appropriate theme for a celebratory cake? I guess that would depend on who wins. Well, in true GP spirit I set about hours of architectural, period and design research before the blackout curtains were drawn and the metaphorical searchlights flickered on. My extensive research* into Burlesque would win the day and lift this cake out of a depression and into the boudoir. *(Extensive Research may be broken down as follows….I have been drunk in Volupte many, many times. I follow the fabulously sexy Polly Rae on Twitter and I have – huge overflowing shelves of books covering every tassel shake from American Burlesque Queens of the 50's through Dita VT and everything and everyone imaginable in between – over qualified some may say…)

As you may recall from http://gpcakes.blogspot.com/2010/05/quils-mangent-de-la-brioche.html
what I lack in historical fact I am more than happy to invent, and what I don’t make up myself I learn from West End shows (OMG you guys , I’m like totally all set to take my Bar exam from what I've learnt at Legally Blonde)!! So whilst I am not suggesting my creation accurately depicts the horrors and devastation of wartime I do like to think it captures, if not the mood of a decade then certainly the mood of us Brits and our fighting spirit.

The "We Can Do It" poster gal became my muse and constant companion for this project although by the end of it I must have exhausted her as she wound up looking slightly more 'man in Amy Winehouse drag' than I had intended....! C'est La Vie. And speaking of France...(or speaking in French I should say...) I figured that too much bunting and stiff (steady) upper lips may be too much for a ripping 40's party - so this cake is very much a game of two halves. Concentrating on the "make do and mend" attitude of the period I wanted some of the cake to have an almost rough around the edges feel in muted, sepia tones but I wanted some real pizazz from somewhere, but where?? Whilst Londoners were picking bits of ceiling from their china tea cups and painting their legs with gravy browning, I imagine Chic Parisian’s sipping champagne and falling in love as they stroke their nylon covered thighs, ah l'amour. So turning the cake around we are greeted with an explosion of colour, glamour and of course the obligatory tassel or two.

The party itself was a spiffing success with some fabulously un wartime pairings. Whilst standing with three members of the "French Resistance" I spotted Hitler chatting with a slightly un-pc (and disturbing) "Golly"! Anyway to protect the innocent I won’t show you the photos - just feast your eyes on the edible.....

And now it’s onto the next...........I’m afraid my dears there can be no rest for the decadently well time travelled! 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