Hello and welcome to SYW’s second FEATURE post. I am a huge fan of Zoe Clark and her cakes (and cupcakes and biscuits and macaroons…).
I first find out about Zoe when I bought her book Cake Decorating at Home, which is an excellent guide for those who want to try making their own wonderful creations. Then one morning on my walk to the station I saw a new cake shop was opening (I’m addicted to cake and cupcakes so I definitely took note) and amazingly it turned out to be Zoe’s! I was super excited as you can imagine.
Zoe and her husband have a beautiful shop, The Cake Parlour, and I usually end up stopping and staring in wonder at the fabulous window displays. There are rows of cupcakes there at the moment and a stunning 6 tiered white wedding cake. I highly recommend stopping by! You can even buy a few cupcakes while you’re there to take away with you. If you can’t get to Wimbledon though, be sure to check out Fortnum and Mason as you can now buy Zoe’s wedding cakes and biscuits there too.
I managed to speak to Zoe about how she got into the wonderful world of cakes and a bit about the The Cake Parlour.
How did you end up becoming a cake supremo and owner of the beautiful Cake Parlour?
I think it’s been about timing, the right opportunities, lots of luck and lots of hard work. Having just moved to London, I had the chance to work either at the Savoy as a pastry chef or take a job making cakes at Cakes for Fun in Putney – even though I had no real experience apart from making some sugar flowers for my own wedding cake. I hadn’t even used sugar paste icing before! Anyway, I took the cake job and absolutely fell in love with it immediately! After working for other people for about 20 months, I set up my own business from home for 3 years before deciding to open The Cake Parlour.
Where do you get your inspiration for your cake designs?
As most of the cakes I make are for weddings, I take a lot of inspiration from items and elements clients are using. For example it could be the flowers, the venue, the stationery or the dress. Other designs could be inspired by beautiful fabrics, wallpapers, even tea sets and glassware.
What advise would you give couples when choosing a wedding cake?
Think about where the cake is going in the room and how it will tie in with everything else around it.
Are there any cake trends we should look out for in 2012?
Still lots of lace, also ruffles, pearls and corsages. Also back to more traditional cakes rather than cupcakes.
You have some great cake flavours on offer at The Cake Parlour (Banana and Passion fruit yum!) but which one is your favourite?
Still the classic vanilla and raspberry! I’m always in the mood to eat it!
What’s your favourite thing about weddings?
Knowing the couple and their guests have had a wonderful day together filled with lots of wonderful things!
I love baking and after seeing your gorgeous macaroon tiered cake I thought I’d give them a try, but I haven’t had much luck with macaroons, any tips?
It’s all about trial and error and a bit of luck. So many factors can influence how macaroons turn out. A lot can be to do with the oven! If they don’t work out in the first attempt – try again.
Zoe has two books available Cake Decorating at Home and Chic and Unique Celebration Cakes and a new book Chic and Unique Wedding Cakes out at the end of March. I highly recommend them and cant wait to see the new one! If you want more than just a book but hands on tutorials check out Zoe’s classes on The Cake Parlour website.
Most lovely
I Love her Cakes !