Karen Wright: Letting creative juices flow on showstopper

I am taking a break from cooking for a couple of weeks while I concentrate on putting the finishing touches to a showstopping cake.
By Karen Wright
Published 7th Feb 2024, 08:01 BST
Karen's showstopping cakeKaren's showstopping cake
Karen's showstopping cake

The cake in question is a three-tier rich fruit cake, covered in marzipan and fondant icing so very much like a traditional wedding cake in design except this one is green! The Caravan and Motorhome Club asked me to create a cake to share with club members at the Scottish Caravan and Motorhome Show which was held in Glasgow last weekend.

I love it when I get free reign to design and then create a cake. I love to let my creative juices flow and see where my imagination takes me. Normally my big cakes are very busy with lots of fine detail but for this one I felt drawn to a different approach, something calmer and with a soothing feel, something appropriate to represent Scotland.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I chose a soft green for the cake itself and pinks and mauves as highlights, I was thinking of all that lovely pink heather that can be found in Scotland. With that I decided that I’d use a tartan ribbon too, it just made sense! With so many to choose from it was quite a task to find the perfect match but in the end I went for a ‘Pride of Bannockburn’. I made a few thistle decorations to stick around the sides of the cake and adorned it with a few purple pheasant feathers. Now the cake was good to go, with the addition of a few caravans and motorhomes of course.

Most Popular

Next week I am spending a week at home preparing for two more big events, the Caravan and Motorhome Club show at the NEC followed by a whole weekend of rhubarb at Wakefield’s very own Rhubarb Festival (16-18 February). I am delivering a talk for ‘Our Year 2024’ on the Friday (16th); I am in the demo tent on the Saturday (17th) and Sunday (18th) at 11am. On the Saturday afternoon you will find me in the Red Shed helping serve rhubarb treats and on the Sunday afternoon I will be in the Ridings cooking up some vegan rhubarb dishes!

Forced rhubarb is such a tasty and beautiful vegetable. It is in season for a very short time but is at its peak now so why not buy a few sticks and celebrate its deliciousness, it is very versatile too.

Related topics:Karen WrightScotlandGlasgowREDRidingsWakefield