1200 portions of cake!
If someone had told me that after just 8 months as a ’pro’ baker I would be serving cake to a horde of 1200 people I would have laughed but that’s just what I found myself doing last Saturday at the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance 10th birthday party!
After a rather long night spent icing buttercream swirls on top of 450 cupcakes and portioning up tray bakes, Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny. I was somewhat relieved as I had visions of rain stopping play and me being left with 1200 portions of cake to dispose of! Mr Ice Maiden and I can eat a fair amount of cake but that’s a tall order even for us! As we loaded up the car I was thankful to have an estate as, even with the back seats down, it was a bit of a squeeze to fit in 50 boxes of cakes and a delicate 4 tier centre piece along with various cake stands and my emergency repair kit. Master Ice Maiden was buckled in to a corner and given the task of keeping the ‘big cake’ steady on the drive over.
On arrival we were directed to the marquee and we set about displaying all of the cakes ready for high tea later in the afternoon. It was really interesting to be there for the duration and see people’s reaction to the cakes. As a professional cake decorator you are not usually present during the party, setting up before the guests arrive and disappearing again. Not being much of a photographer myself I was fascinated to see the number of people who took photographs of the main cake. It was also lovely to chat to people about what I do, with lots of people asking questions about recipes and decorating tips.
Once the set up was done we were free to enjoy the event until 3pm when high tea would be served. The air ambulance crew, along with fire, ambulance and police officers put on the most amazing mock incident display. It was truly awe inspiring to see them working so seamlessly as a team to help those ‘injured’ and ‘trapped’. Master Ice Maiden was enthralled, particularly by the man who had lost his leg. This kicked off a long conversation about what blood is and whether or not the leg would grow back!
Having enjoyed the various displays and a great hog roast for lunch I was back at my post ready to serve cake when the horde descended like a plague of locusts at 3pm. I have never seen cakes disappear so quickly! Mr Ice Maiden did a valiant job of topping up serving plates as I sliced the centre piece as quickly as possible. The boys and girls in uniform played no small part – I heard the phrase ‘it’s for the whole crew, honest’ several times as firemen and air crew disappeared with handfuls of cupcakes.
At the end of the day there was just one box of cakes left which were sent off to the crew room for the late shift to enjoy. It was a great event and, judging by the weight of the donation bucket on my table, a successful one for fund raising. The DSAA provide such a vital service in our rural community and I was really happy to support them. If you would like to find out more about their service, make a donation or buy some of their promotional products just click on the link to go to their website – www.dorsetandsomersetairambulance.org.uk
I have to send out big thank yous to my friend Sharon for helping me out with the brownies, Mr Ice Maiden for being my dogsbody and to Master Ice Maiden for being an angel all day!
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