Shoreditch "Clandestine Cake Club" - Meeting 1

Thanks so much to everyone who came to the inaugural meeting of the Shoreditch CCC at Crimson Heart. It was so lovely sitting round and getting to know each other, and feeling (kind of) healthy due to the Vegan theme for the month. There was banana maple syrup, lemon drizzle, chocolate carrot, banana tahini, steamed berry... It was actually quite nutritious when you think about it :)

The 'Vintage Tea Party' Book - By Angel Adoree

On the way to a 1926 night at Troxy :)

What an absolutely beautiful book to own! I do love my Kindle as I'm an avid reader and it's easier for me to use that to carry the 10 books I can read in a week - but there is nothing better than holding a gorgeous book like this in your hands and going over its pages time and time again, in a big comfy chair.
And the best thing about it is it's not just a 'cook-book' but also has tips on how to source vintage china, make decorations and even get the perfect vintage look for your tea party. But because of the large range of subjects it covers, I was surprised at how sophisticated the recipes are. This is a 'grown-ups' cook book which includes dishes like smoked salmon souffle and brie & walnut savoury scones. It even includes so many things I've never even heard of...and I've been to a lot of tea parties! Coddled eggs, aspics...the list goes on.

http://vintagepatisserie.co.uk/ 

Now I'm half Irish and half Gypsy, so I thought I was aware of every possible excuse to drink during the day...champagne breakfast, bloody mary, mulled cider etc. But even I haven't heard of "Athol Brose" - a delicious combination of cream, honey, whiskey and oats to be downed with your bacon and eggs. That's next on my list to try :)
Continuing the boozy theme, there is a gorgeous selection of tea cocktails such as a 'Tea-quila Sunrise' and a 'Tea-tini'. So who thought tea parties were twee and boring?? Of course there are also some amazing recipes for sweet treats but I don't want to spoil the surprise - go and get the book!

 http://angeladoree.co.uk/ 

Angel herself is an amazing woman - you may remember her from Dragons Den (watch here):

Clandestine Cake Club
 - The first rule of Cake Club is "You do not talk about Cake Club"
 - The second rule of Cake Club is "You do not talk about Cake Club"
(or something like that...)

http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/

Well actually the main rule of cake Club is "NO cupcakes, muffins, brownies, pies or tarts - it's all about CAKE"

Now the end of March is drawing near, I thought I'd officially post about how proud I am to be the organiser of the Shoreditch branch of the 'Clandestine Cake Club'. The CCC was founded in the summer of 2010 by Lynn Hill, who simply wanted a way to enjoy more tea, cake and conversation without having to do ALL the baking herself. Thus, the Cake Club was born and since then the network has grown to over 70 clubs, with international groups in Spain, Switzerland and New Zealand.


I first saw this group on The One Show on Feb 24th of this year; note that at the time (1 month ago) there were reportedly only 30 CCC groups....

You can also read Lynn's write-up of the day here:  http://clandestinecakeclub.co.uk/2012/02/16/leeds-the-one-show/
I e-mailed Lynn straightaway after checking her website and seeing there was no local group near me...in fact, hardly any in London at all! Poor Lynn was inundated with e-mail but within a few days I had a location and a date for my first meeting, and the Shoreditch CCC was born.
Since then the Clandestine Cake Club has been in many magazines and newspapers, and was even on the Alan Titchmarsh show on the 16th of this month (an accolade shared by my W.I Group, the Shoreditch Sisters.) 
It will also be on Lorraine Kelly's show around March 26th and there is a cookbook featuring the best of the CCC's recipes in the pipeline to be released soon...
If you'd like to join my group or the network in general, click on the above link and get registered. You can then apply to attend the specific events, and that is a necessary part of the process as it's the 'clandestine' part! The venue is never advertised until only a few days before so you need to be registered to find out where it is... It's also a good idea to register to let the organiser know what cake you're making (so there's no duplication) and if you intend to bring a guest. The theme changes every month, and next month I have a 'Film Noir' theme to really get those innovative and creative juices flowing.
So if you like to eat, bake and talk about cake then there's a place for you in a Cake Club near you.......... x0x

Cakes and Shakes at "Fat Sam's Grand Slam"
My most recent adventure with Crimson Heart nearly involved me getting absolutely covered in cream during the infamous 'Splurge' fight - part of the 'Bugsy Malone' immersion experience hosted by Future Cinema.

We weren't selling tea but there were plenty of cakes, supplied by my favourite location for sugary shenanigans in Shoreditch: Crimson Heart Tea Shop. And standing behind the counter while the amazing smells of rocky road, vanilla cupcakes and strawberry milkshakes wafted over me was almost maddening - dairy is still off the menu for me so Fat Sam had to eat my share :(

The film run this time around is much longer than Brief Encounter, partly as it coincides with the kids Easter Holidays, so there's still a chance to get tickets. We were definitely prepared  for the onslaught of sticky fingers demanding milkshakes, coke floats and giant cupcakes like zombies demanding BRAINS, and it was nice to see that our 'hard-shakes' were just as popular for grown-ups as they contained a cheeky shot of something a bit stronger...

Thank god for  the fact I never gave up booze for Lent - I needed a shot myself by the time Ali started to sneakily let me know the splurge was going to begin soon so we needed to wrap up the cakes. I went all clumsy with the cling film and started panicking, hissing to Ali in a frantic whisper "I can't find the end, I can't find the end!!" hahaha. And honestly, what compelled me to give the counter-top a good wipe down and polish?! It stayed shiny and clean for, ooh, all of 5 seconds once the pies started flying. I've never spent so much time under a table in my life!

Crimson Heart Film Club
There is a book called 'Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe' which I did a fairly scathing review of a long time ago - it was full of schmaltz and one dimensional characters that were bordering on being fairly racist stereotypes... Needless to say I got asked to take the review down. Good. I know where I'd rather be....in the real world:

Of all the places I've had afternoon tea in London, this has become a firm favourite and I definitely consider myself a Crimson Heart Groupie. Not only are the food and drinks fantastic, the staff friendly and the atmosphere as cosy as your nan's slippers, the place is just bang on trend and full of ideas. On any given day you may find yourself visiting a pop-up flower stall in their back garden, playing retro boardgames, watching a band or attending a book club. I was there for the recent monthly film club and had an absolute blast. For the entry fee of just £5, I was plied with food and drink, I got to enjoy Weird Science in surroundings just as comfortable as if I was at home and I met some more great people.

I was on the winning team for the quiz afterwards, so I got to choose the film for next month...I'm not telling you what it is, you'll have to come and see! Also, head there this Thursday at 6pm for the clothes swap party - the Crimson Heart Swap-o-Rama! Go to http://www.facebook.com/crimsonheartshoreditch for details xx