Handbag Cake

I had a cake class today in West Village so I took a 40 minute walk along the Hudson River to get there. New York was out jogging and dog walking (there are a lot of doggies here ) and it was beautiful in the morning sun.

Just as I was thinking life couldn't get much better, it did: a five hour cake class with the wonderful Colette Peters who let us help ourselves to her large working kitchen, a treasure trove of cutters, colours, embossers and ideas. Colette was warm, funny and generous with her advice - anyone with a photo of Hugh Laurie taped to her fridge gets my vote.

The working kitchen was busy with three large cake orders, including this huge urban hip hop barmitzvah cake (only in New York). 

The kitchen was full of stunning cakes and peppered with little jokes. The staff quietly focused on their work while we chatted (when they could understand my thick British accent). 

The class was on making handbag cakes. Everyone was given the same shape of vanilla and chocolate cake layered with Swiss buttercream (I ate the offcuts for elevenses) and finished with very different bags. This is mine.

I thought Fitz would like to take the cake into work to share with his colleagues, but apparently taking a pink handbag cake onto the trading floor would look a bit strange. So I am going to have to eat it myself. 

Mmmm traders don't know what they're missing.