Oh I do Like to be Beside the Seaside!

Mr Sun was shining happily on the sandy beach and was rose tinting the whole of Margate. I admit, and I'm sorry Margate for this assumption, that I thought Margate and all its surrounding towns were filled with OAPs and that anyone over 70 was considered a spring chicken. I hold my hands up, I apologise, I was most definitely wrong and refreshingly suprised. Margate is rich and fruitful with all things me - lots of pop up art galleries and studios, pastel painted vintage shops full of fur collars, trilbys and box leather purses, streams of bunting link each corner of the tiny village, a toy village in quaintness and delight. Fish and chips packed in treasure chest boxes stamped with a blue fish, open cobbled plazas scattered with chairs, brimming with shoppers and spectators sipping expressos while gazing at the glossy sea, and the gleaming glass structure of the Turner Gallery, a sculpture, an art work in itself. Yes Margate you proved me well and truly WRONG.

Half Moon Bakery would fit in on several levels, one of which is that it emphasizes the family heritage and recipes as my mother and father, grandprrents and their parents, and their parents all grew up int he area. Mr Edmund Sydney Linington was Mayor of Thanet and you'll be able to find a road named after him in Birchington and the infamous Somali Farm, built up over many hardworking Linington Men is nestled in its glory over the fields of Thanet. Many childhood memories of mine are of paddling at Minnis Bay, playing the two penny slots on the pier, visiting my lovely Godmother at Westgate, holding Christingles at Birchington Carol Service, it makes sense to move to a place that I remember with a sile of sweet nostalgia and love.

After several days property searching and getting a feel for the place, my heart is set on Margate. Bravo!... and with final viewings taking place this tuesday, a decision should be made by the end of the week. Gaggy Walker's Rock Buns are coming home, on the fast train of course!

Farewell Norwich

Again my apologies for the lack of posts over the recents weeks/months. I have been busy with graduating! But now I am right back on the Bakery train. I have serached for premises high and low, from Bungay to Beccles, Sevenoaks, Eynsford, Folkestone, London, Margate and Brasted. Phew. The top banana so far appears to be a little shop in Westerham so for now assume that is where the Half Moon will be. London didn't work out as unfortunately my funds are quite low. I am putting in my life savings into this business and as I have yet to win the Euromillions, I have had to scale down the venture. The new plan is to start small in Kent, build an empire and then open at least 5 branches of Half Moon Bakery over the UK.

I have still be baking, of course I have. As well as the normale cafe orders in Norwich, I have done several private events and birthdays which help with the kitty. (as above).

I will depart from Norwich on Friday so my days are spent baking (everyone has doubled their orders since discovering my leaving date) and packing. I much prefer the baking. The next few posts will consist mainly of cakes for you to marvel over. They will all be available in Half Moon Bakery, ready for you to come and make a visit. once I have the exact location, I'll let you all know, and pop the kettle on....

Blossoming...

I am busy busy busy with the Half Moon Bakery concept.

The Big Feastival by Mr Jamie Oliver and spurred me on drive this baby home to London in September so I really hope it will be recieved with hungry mouths to fill with cake.

I have sent endless emails to suppliers and chefs to help me with the plans and I am still doing my orders for the Norwich cafes and my private orders too. I am apporaching Waitrose with my Pick-Me-Up Bars so fingers crossed, that all folk will be able to enjoy them wherever they might live.

This week I have been experimenting with Gluten Free and vegan cakes. For Pulse Cafe, I wanted to keep my mark of a creative flavour but safe for vegan chaps and chicks. I created a new one for my "Bake me a Bunch of Flowers" range and made a lovely Hazelnut and Rose Cake.

Also I made some summery Camomile and Courgette fairycakes which have a lovely subtle flavour and, don't worry, you can't taste the courgette. It is completely hidden. Miranda Hart gave a quote on "King Of.." on Friday when she, and host Claudia Winkleman, were disuccing what should win the Kinf Of the Biscuit Title. Miss Hart said that a Garabaldi biscuit hould not even be considered and it contains fruit and "fruit in a biscuit is fruit out of context, I want a biscuit not a piece of fruit - what's next? Chicken Sponge?" No Miranda, I will not be experiment with chicken sponge, and certainly not in my Pulse orders, no need to drop those forks vegans- my cakes only hide vegetables. Whilst Miranda has a point, if you want a light and buttery cake then why eat one with a vegetable addition? well the courgette is not on view, not like a fruit cake which is openly brandishing natures crop, my Vegetable Patch cakes are not additions  for flavour or colour nor are they on show and advertising their veggie status. Can you really see a child eating a cake that takes the form of a green vegetable - I think not. These are playful cakes, the vegetables are the champs of hide and seek. The cakes are and should still be enjoyed as cakes, they are temptingly sweet so Miranda and other tasters would be completely oblivious to Mr Courgette quietly hiding under the stairs.

Exams, Eggs and Elbow Grease

I apologise for the lack of posts over the last couple of months; whilst doing all the baking I  revise for my have had to revise for my finals, yes the third year exams marking the end of my degree so I thought that possibly revision had to have priority over the blog.

I can happily say that they are over with now and I will be graduating on 20th July. So back to the Bakery plans... business is booming. you can still find my cakey goodness at Wholesome, Finnies Juice Bar and BIddy's Tea Room in Norwich but also I now do Biscotti for Carrello's, the coffee baristas in the city and there are lots of lovely gluten free and vegan cakes that I supply for Pulse Cafe.

Thanks to Martin Pond, I have a great website where I get private orders and commissions for cakes and I have been busy with cupcakes for an artist private exhibition, a christening and in two weeks I'll be doing cupcakes for a wedding.http://halfmoondesign.weebly.com/bakery.html please go and check it out for a look at my work and more of a selection of the cakes.

I hope to give more updates of the bakery process soon, but for now I leave you to go and drop off a mahooosive order of cakes to Wholesome and then its back on the Bakery train this morning doing an order for Pulse. Alll great experirence for September!

Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can!

 Half Moon Bakery cakes are slowy but surely popping up in many lovely, littles cafes and delis in the city of Norwich. Many evenings I spend in my teeny tiny kitchen creaming butter and sugar with my weak arms that I have inherited from my mother, and yes the oven is really hot, there is absolutely no work top space, the washing up forms a monumental china tower in the sink, and clouds of icing sugar puff gets everywhere but this is me, and Half Moon Bakery making headway and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. I can't wait to have the Bakery of my own, lets home the London folk lick their lips in anticipation.

My Afternoon Tea range of dainty fairy cakes, old-favourite biscuits, and floral inspired scones and flavours exclusive (for now) at a vintage cafe filled with sounds from a grammer phone, tea in a proper tea cup on a proper saucer run by the gorgeous Charlie Buchan.

Find Lemon and Lavender fairy cakes, Rosewater Butter Biscuits, 

Goji Berry Scones and Classic Custard Creams at Biddy's Tea Room.

If you're out the house bright and early a "Pick-Me-Up" bar will awaken your senses bursting with papaya, fat raisins, dates, apricots and with more mineral rich seeds than a bird feeder. rather than clogging your arteries with butter these bars are bound with peanut butter and agave syrup. Gluten-Free Orange and Almond Muffins or a square of crumbly Blackcurrant Shortcake is perfect with a cup of coffee, or enjoy a slice of Lemon, Blackberry and Jasmine Flower Cake on a sunny afternoon in Wholesome cafe and grocer.

Fancy a cup cake? Head to Finnie's Juice Bar for a healthy carrot and cinnamon delight with juicy sultanas...

... Extra order for 18 Carrot Cupcakes for Monday morning- here's to Sunday evening where I'll be fighting with an icing bag.

From Mother with Love; The Fairy Cake Years

Both my my brother and I have birthdays in September, which proved to be a tricky mix of excitement and disappointment as young kiddies. This is due to the fact that the English school autumn term begins in September so we would be so looking forward to our birthdays coming up after the summer holidays but also have the dreaded black cloud of school starting looming over. So this meant that every year are birthday would have to be celebrated with a day at school, a day beginning at 8am, in an itchy uniform, filled with joys of double maths, late homework, french verbs and spelling tests.

But bless our dear Mother, she could feel our pain and so every year, come September she would bake birthday fairy cakes for my brother and I, and our entire school year to enjoy at break time. Now I say fairycakes and not cupcakes. Fairy cakes are quiessentially english creations. They are small and dainty, perfectly sized to fit in the palm of a child's hand. Light, fluffy and sweet. Sweet enough to be wanting more and never ever falling into the sickly catergory. She would make 36 for me and 36 for my brother. Beautifully crisp and golden on top with that brilliantly sunny yellow of airy cakey goodness inside; revealed once biten into- and delicately spread with a shiny icing glaze in blues and greens for the brother and pinks and yellows for me. No nuts, no fuss, just a lot of love.

The fairycakes are intrinsic with fond memories within our family, circled with giggles, cuddles and brought sunshine on rainy days. They can put a smile on the face of everyone, even the grumpiest, most stone-hearted fellow would find his mouth up-turning. I'm positive these gems will be a best seller at Half Moon.

Post one; The Baby

Coming from a long line of women bakers in my family, I have been born with, as my grandma would say, "sugar and spice and all things nice" running through my veins. Us women, from the Walker-Linington-Jones gene pool all inherited lovely soft hands perfect for rubbing in butter and flour, and our fingernails show large milky half moons, pointing to this baking trait.

Half Moon Bakery is dedicated to all these women of previous generations and so both old-fashioned nostalgic recipes which have been passed down the family as well as more modern and new creations will be on offer. This blog will document my path to achieving my goal and I will post pictures of the delightful cakes, bakes, biscuits and sugary treats that will be available to buy in the Bakery.

I find if things are written down then you are more likely to achieve them so wish me luck, and see you at Half Moon Bakery in 9 months. Quite literally having a bun in the oven, baking is my baby.