Inspiration like no other…
So whilst it still very much feels like the depths of winter, I thought I would look back on a very happy day I spent in London last month. For years I have wanted to go to The Biscuiteers Icing Cafe, it is where I get a huge amount of inspiration from and was so excited to head up to their Northcote Road cafe for an icing class.
Walking up to the cafe, you couldn’t help but stop at the window. There are some fantastic displays and it is genuinely my version of a sweet shop! We arrived and were greeted with the offer of tea whilst we waited for the lesson to start. I had chosen to go to the Apres Ski class which was a mixture of basic skills and more detailed patterns. It was the quickest two hours I have ever had!
The first step was to outline the biscuits, building a wall to keep the flood icing in!
After that, we then began to flood this biscuits, doing half first so that they could go in the oven to set whilst we did the other half. It was so nice to not have to make any of the icing! Everything was laid out for you with someone on hand to help you with any tips!
I ended up going to London with a very old school friend, we had a fantastic day reminiscing about old times, whilst he learnt something new and I rekindled my love for icing biscuits. Once the flood was completed the fun began, the detail was added, making the jumper look like proper knitted jumpers and adding marshmallows to hot chocolate.
Once that had set, it was time to box up and package the biscuits, part of Biscuiteers charm are their tins, all of their bigger collections are packaged in individual tins with different patterns. I love the different patterns and is becoming a slight obsession with how many I can collect!
Having completed the class, I couldn’t resist having a look around the shop and the other collections they sell. There was one tin I particularly wanted to buy as they no longer sell it on their website, but more on that another time! Although I don’t think I necessarily learnt new skills about icing biscuits, after a manic Christmas period, I found my love of icing biscuits again! I remembered why I started icing biscuits 5 years ago, and to take two hours to ice ten biscuits meant I could concentrate on the quality rather than plowing out the same biscuits. It has resulted in a conscious decision this year to focus on the quality of my biscuits rather than the quantity. Biscuit icing has been my love and my escape from everyday life and work, I don’t ever want it becoming a chore.
So thank you Biscuiteers, for giving me my love of icing biscuits back. I cannot wait to come back for another class. Maybe this time I will go and try the Notting Hill Icing Cafe!