Good afternoon everybody,
Though still not quite December, we have a few bits of festive housekeeping which we felt may be of interest and may need time to percolate. Here goes...
Firstly, on Sunday 14th December we will be hosting our second cake-off event at the Covered Market, a Yule Salon. As in the summer we have invited local guest bakers to join us, this time to create festive bakes. We welcome back Pet Gât, Cake On My Face and Lost Tallulah and greet Jack and Freddie of McQueens for the first time. Unlike the summer, we will be prepared for any queueing situation that may occur with an outdoor payment station. And we will also be making much more cake. We will release the full menu next week, but let's just say that Valentina, our Head of Pastry may well be about to surpass herself. Two words: 'yule' 'log'. And another two words: 'Mont' 'Blanc'.
Next up, in a Hamblin first, we are making one of our products available for nationwide delivery. The Dundee cake has become our Christmas staple, and as we wrote last year, it's a simple cake, therefore each ingredient needs to be stellar in order for it to sing. Just raisins soaked in strong black tea, our candied peel, the best almonds from Charles at Food and Forest, brown sugar, Berkeley Farm butter and Cacklebean eggs. And John's heritage wheat flour of course. Topped with pearl sugar and the classic embellishment of concentric almond circles. This is a cake that you can store in a tin and left to its own devices will continue to improve as the days pass. A small slice with a pre-breakfast coffee will fortify you for whatever festive chaos ensues. A cake that makes those far away long for home. We will be making these in a 5inch format, so approximately 6 portions. They will be mailed out on a 24 hour delivery service, on either Wednesday 10th or Thursday 18th December. At its best within a week of receipt. Needless to say we will also keep some in stock for the bakery.
Lastly, our Christmas opening hours are a little complex this year, due to the way the days fall. We love being open on Christmas Eve, it's the most convivial day of the bakery calendar and feels very special to be part of your celebrations. So we have decided that for the final week of trading, we will be closed Thursday 18th and Friday 19th, and then open from Saturday 20th unil Wednesday 24th, a five day run. We hope this isn't too confusing, and will give another reminder closer to the time for those who wish to plan their last visit of the year.
That's all for now, tune in next week for Hugo's festive wine guide. Thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
Kate and Hugo