Cakes for happy days

Last week I made a lot of cake. Mum had a wedding at Lunga and three 'pudding cakes' were required - cakes that can be cut ceremoniously but eaten as a pudding. Don't know about anyone else, but I hate fruit cake. And I hate marzipan and I hate rock hard royal icing, and how everyone always politely moves the constituent parts around their plates to make it look like they really are eating Christmas cake by another name.

Anyway, the groom was Irish, the bride Scottish and they lived in America, so we came up with the idea of  a chocolate guinness cake, a Cranachan sponge and a lemon and apricot cake with Philadelphia cream to drizzle. And even though I say so myself, these were gods of cakes. Mum did the finishing touches at Lunga and they were served with huge bowls of strawberries, chocolate ganache sauce and lightly whipped double cream. And not a single bit of Royal Icing in sight!

Love is in the air..

A lot of baking is being done...

...because the weekend is nearly here. Cup cakes for eating, and displaying in our lovely china tea cups;

upside down pear cake; gluten free chocolate orange cake; apple and date flapjacks. My goodness my kitchen smells delicious. DELICIOUS.

Sooo excited that spring has sprung...

.......you can feel it in the air. A little warmth when the sun comes out. Snowdrops. Crocuses peaking through as I walk through the park to work.

So hardly surprising that a wee bit of a spring clean and a revival is taking place down here at The Hidden Lane Tearoom. We've come over all romantic; the menu is getting revamped; our china cup cake wedding cake display seems to get eaten every day. And we're sprucing up the paint work. (Well, actually, my dad is sprucing up the paint work but I have a long list of other jobs that need doing and I'll sweet talk him into those once he gets here!)

What's on the dummy this week? A beautiful vintage wedding dress from the lovely DragonFly Dress design here in the Hidden Lane. What's on the menu? Chocolate and Guinness cake (some of us are still celebrating St Patrick's Day). What's on the walls? Soon - some fabulous photography in stupendous frames from McCracken Framing, also here in the Lane. And some lovely lacey vintage necklaces from Fantoosherie.

Baking books galore. A warm hello. I think that my little tearoom is a really really lovely place to be. I hope that you do too:-))

The Hidden Lane loves weddings. Truly

The Hidden Lane is a community of fabulous artistic creative people. Chatting recently over tea and cake (a blueberry ring cake with vanilla syrup, to be specific), we realised that, individually, quite a few of us are part of the wedding world. We've got photographers, ring makers, a vintage wedding dress and bespoke wedding dress designer, a china cup cake wedding cake maker and hirer of vintage crockery (that would be me), a stationer, an awesome picture framer, a wedding caterer and a florist. And that's just for starters.

Moving onto the wine - it had been a long afternoon - we realised that we could (wedding:-) band together to create a fabulous little weddingy community where brides + grooms + friends + mums + those of a curious disposition could physically come and meet us and see what we do and seek inspiration not just online but in the real world of people working together to make beautiful weddingy things.

And so The Hidden Lane Loves Weddings is born. Here in the Tearoom, you will be able to browse samples of peoples works - we'll work to a monthly theme of either colour or concept - you can even have part/all of your hen party here, if you fancy. We already have some lovely little Mr and Mrs things from the fabulous Charlotte Macey (www.charlottemacey.co.uk)and will be adding all sorts of cute things from wheresoever we find them.

As a taster of lovely and happy and exciting things to come, some of us worked together this week on a bit of a photoshoot that was a whole lot of fun. Pammy, who works here in the tearoom, volunteered to be our model for the day. Lisa, from Dragonfly design, re-worked the most beautiful vintage dress for her, along with a lovely lovely fun headpiece and silver grey silk bow with butterflies. Vintage lace gloves finished off the look. Another Lisa, this time from Sparrow andRose, supplied the bouquet of white roses, white phlox, rosemary and dill (the perfume, the perfume!) with vintage lace to bind.

I supplied the china cupcake wedding cake - which was devoured not long after the shoot (Well, a girl's got to eat), and photography was by Carole Fitzgerald of Fishnets and Stalkings, and Alan Scobie and James Morrison of The Hidden Lane Photography. The photos here are Carole's (that would be my wonderful mother!) and Alan and James' will be following shortly.

The venue was the fabulous Hidden Lane Gallery, a stunningly arty and beautifully crafted studio which is very much a part of The Hidden Lane Community although entry to it is off Argyle Street. Thanks Jo, for lending us the space.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this introduction to our new collective venture here at The Hidden Lane. We've nearly got our own website up and running but remember - The Hidden Lane Loves Weddings is primarily a community of

real people showcasing their fabulous skills in the real world. I LOVE IT!

Fairy cakes and wedding cakes

I've been perfecting my fairy cakes recently as they sell so well in the tearoom. I recently had a huge order for 400 for a company in Glasgow which tested me to the limit - both in terms of making them and storing them. The end result though is that I am now something of a fairy cake expert.

My favourite toppings are probably quite girly - obviously for the wedding market it's not surprising, and I love particularly the pastel colours and the bright pinks. But I also play around quite a lot with the cakes themselves and in order to make the 400 f

airy cakes a bit special I experimented with apple and cinnamon, red velvet, carrot and honey and chocolate brownie cakes.

Am now practicing some fairly ghoulish ones for next week. Along with some interesting 'finger' foods that should send a shiver down the spine!

Welcome to The Hidden Lane Tearoom

Hello and welcome to The Hidden Lane Tearoom. First of all you'll have to find me, tucked away down a lane just off Argyle Street West, it's not always that easy, its part of the appeal! Once you have found me you will find yourself surrounded my multi coloured buildings and a feeling of tranquility not often found in Glasgow! In the far corner of the cobbled lane rests a beautiful vintage tearoom, celebrating a bygone era where high tea and china teacups were a way of life.

I specialise in home baking, from traditional victoria sponge with cream and jam to triple chocolate cake with the most chocolatey icing you ever did taste! There is always a wonderful selection to choose from, I have two whole tables dedicated to my cake display so the only difficulty will be deciding what you fancy! Just to make sure I'm not leaving anyone out I also have gluten and dairy free delights, which are often more tasty than the real deal!

High Tea is fast becoming a favourite. To do it propoerly start with the delicate finger sandwiches, move onto the scones and jam and finish with a generous selection of cakes and goodies. Served on traditional cake stands and accompanied by beautiful loose leaf teas or fair trade coffee this is a perfect way to spend an afternoon with friends.

The Tearoom is available for private functions...why not have a vintage tea party for your next special occasion? It is also a great space for live acoustic music. Last weekend 3 members of the French Wives did a small set and with no PA or mics the atmosphere was perfect!

I think I have covered everything for now. Watch this space for up and coming events and Tearoom happenings!