Yesterday saw the inaugural Newcastle Clandestine Cake Club organised by Lisa Vincent. The rules of Cake Club are simple: you bake a cake based on a theme, meet somewhere you can get a brew, eat the cakes, then take home any leftovers. You are allowed to talk about Cake Club, and you do not have to have a fight with Brad Pitt (more’s the pity). A few of us had watched with interest and envy as Clandestine Cake Clubs popped up all over the UK including Leeds, Manchester and London. It was time for the Geordies to get baking.
There’s something slightly daunting about turning up to a club where you don’t know anyone and the only thing you might have in common is a love of cake, but the lure of noms won over any shyness. We met at the lovely Settle Down Cafe, who kindly stayed open late for us.
The theme was childhood summers - I made a lemon sponge carousel cake (I’ll explain elsewhere why I made such a ridiculously ornate cake); Lisa made a strawberry layer cake with fruit grown at her own allotment; Carol made a banana rum cake with cinnamon frosting; and Val made a raspberry, almond and white chocolate cake that was neatly described as “like Bakewell tart but even nicer”.
Thankfully there were some non-baking guests to help eat it all. The cakes were truly delicious and as each contained fruit, we reckoned we’d eaten four of our five-a-day.
The next Newcastle Clandestine Cake Club is on Wednesday 24 August and the theme, pickpocketed from South Lancashire CCC, is “fantasy meets reality – the cake you’ve dreamed about”. The venue is secret – it’s not called clandestine for nothing – until you book a place.
And guess what I’ve had for breakfast? Mmm, leftover cake….
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