Boutique Baking - review by Sarah Trivuncic

Sarah Trivuncic, food writer and author of Bake Me I’m Yours…Sweet Bitesize Bakes on Boutique Baking.

Peggy Porschen’s

new book Boutique Baking is a departure from her previous titles – rather than high end sugarcraft creations and celebrity style wedding cakes, the cakes in her new title are based on those sold in the Peggy Porschen Parlour.

The bakes are as exquisite as ever, Peggy is a baker who sets trends rather than follow them but there is plenty inside Boutique Baking for the less experienced baker to enjoy making without feeling intimidated.

There are tricks to vary things you may be baking already; Peggy’s tribute to the cake pop

is served in an ice cream cone rather than on a stick, her macarons are cleverly feathered with food colouring streaked inside the piping tip. Cupcakes are obviously a huge seller in her parlour, my personal favourites here are the chic banoffee cupcakes with matching dark brown cases and blossoms and the Cosmo cupcakes

based on the cocktail made with Cointreau.

Show stopper chapter has to be “luscious layer cakes” – Peggy presents a series of three layered cakes in an elegant 6 inch size. The piping on the Glorious Victoria Cake

is effortlessly simple – I saw her demonstrate icing this cake at the Squires Sugarcraft Show where the room was packed full 45 minutes before the start time, such is her popularity amongst baking fans.

My standout cakes in the book are the raspberry and rose dome cake

– I predict we’ll be seeing a lot more cakes this shape soon, the white chocolate passion cake decorated with birthday candles and triple berry cheesecakes. The whole thing is topped off with recipes for drinks from the parlour such as pink lemonade (it has to be pink if it’s at Peggy’s)

and hot white chocolate with vanilla. With the recent hot weather I am especially desperate to try her summer berry ice tea.

Some recipes in the book use Peggy’s own jam range as ingredients although you could substitute with others. You could always though, if you’re near London, use it as an excuse to drop by the Parlour and buy some.

Sarah blogs at MaisonCupcake.com

Photos (c) Georgia Glynn Smith

Quadrille Author Events in June

As well as the start of summer and the four-day Jubilee weekend, June brings some exciting events with some of our fantastic friends!

Boutique baker and cupcake artiste Peggy Porschen will be running a baking masterclass at Lydia Booth’s cookery school in Blackrock, Dublin. If you’re an aspiring Irish baker, there’s no one better to learn from than Peggy. She’ll be showing how to make your own treats that are as pretty as they are delicious on Wednesday the 6^th June from 18:45-21:00

Visitors to the BBC Good Food Show will be in for a treat as Reza Mahammad, the King of Spice will be there signing copies of his new book Reza’s Indian Spice and hopefully sharing the spicy secrets that have made the Star of India an award-winning restaurant for over 50 years. The show runs from the 13^th to the 17^th of June at Birmingham’s NEC, and Reza’s signing takes place at 13:45 on Saturday the 16^th.

If just getting your book signed isn’t enough, you can head to Books for Cooks in Notting Hill, where Reza will be running a workshop on rice dishes. To see this expert in action and enjoy tasting his creations, be sure to book your spot. Reza’s workshop will be on Thursday the 28^th of June at 11:00

 

Michelin-starred seafood chef Nathan Outlaw will be at Waterstone’s in Truro at a signing of his new book Nathan Outlaw’s British Seafood. This collection of recipes is full of tantalising photos shot on location in Cornwall, so this event should not be missed by any South-West seafood lovers! The event is at 12:00 on Saturday the 16^th June.

Two Quadrille favourites will be bringing their magic to this year’s Taste London Festival: Atul Kochhar and Jason Atherton. Atul will be showcasing the skills that made him the first ever Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star in the AEG Taste Theatre on Saturday 23^rd June between 13:30-14:00. Gordon Ramsay protégé and author of Gourmet Food for a Fiver will also be demonstrating at the festival, date and time TBA.

 

 

Boutique Baking book launch at the Peggy Porschen Parlour

Stephanie Balls of Peggy Porschen guest blogs: