2013 was Cakeyboi’s first full year and I thought I would pull together some of the highlights for yours (and mine) delectation.
The year did start off quite quietly. Still learning my trade so to speak.
In April though my friend Jac from Tinned Tomatoes and I were invited to a tour of the Mackays Jam factory, here in Arbroath where I live. It was great to see how the jams and marmalades I grew up with were made. I also made a new foodie friend in Claire, who does the marketing for Mackays. Claire has since started her own baking blog What Claire Baked - check it out.
In May, it was Cakeyboi’s first birthday and one recipe I made to celebrate was very popular. The birthday cake batter bark was cake batter flavor fudginess sandwiched between white chocolate all with added sprinkles. Very delicious.
June was a busy month as Disneyboi and I traveled to NewYork for a joint (early) celebration of my 40th birthday and our 10thanniversary. We visited some places I had been dying to visit for ages, these included IHOP, the Big Gay Ice Cream store and lots of other candy-filled shops of wonder. It was a great, but very damp, experience!
In August Cakeyboi hit the press. After coming runner up in a National Cake Competition two of my local newspapers featured articles about me. The Dundee Courier even visited my dingy wee kitchen and took some photos for the piece.
In September after several months of sorting out, my foodie friend Kat at The Baking Explorer and I launched our own baking, blogging challenge. We toyed with a few names including ‘Four Petites Sake’ before agreeing on ‘Treat Petite’. It’s only a few months old but we are thrilled with all of the entries that our fellow bloggers are entering.
September was also the dawn of one of my most popular recipes – brownie brittle. For all those of you who like the crisp edges on brownies, this one is for you. And going by the hits of this recipe, that is a lot of you!
October was a busy bumper month. The BBC Good Food show invited me to be part of it’s Blogger Community, which I accepted straight away. I visited the show and wrote about my day there. This included meeting James Morton from The Great British Bake Off.
I was also lucky enough to interview celebrity chef James Martin.
Also in October I hosted my first Clandestine Cake Club. I joined the Dundee ‘branch’ in April 2012, and later was kindly asked by organisers Jac and Becca to join them as a co-host. My first time as host was great, the theme was Halloween and there were lots of tempting spooky treats to enjoy.
The past couple of months have been hectic, trips to London and York, busy at work, working with the nice people at After Eight, but I did manage to cram in a few festive recipes, including these cute Marshmallow Snowmen above, another recipe hit - if you can call this a recipe!
So that was 2013 in a nutshell. I wonder what 2014 will bring? Whatever it is, I wish you all the best. Happy New Year everyone!