Clandestine Cake Club - Baking like Delia

  

I haven't written about my cake club for some time.

I run the Dundee branch of the Clandestine Cake Club with my friends Becca and Stuart and it's been running for 3 years now.

Just in case you haven't heard of the Clandestine Cake Club before, it's now a worldwide cake club that was set up by Lynn Hill in 2010 as a way of bringing like minded people together to chat and enjoy cake. It started small, but now there are over 200 clubs across the world.

Each club meets on a regular basis and the bakers are set a challenge. However there are rules: No Cupcakes, Muffins, Brownies, Pies or Tarts. It's all about the cake.

So you maybe wondering what the Clandestine part is about? The bakers that have applied and secured a slot at the next meeting are the only ones who find out the location. It's top secret and even the bakers only find out the night before.

Each baker can bring a guest or an eater as we call them and the meet-ups are informal and fun with lots of chat and the occasional glass of wine. There's always cake leftover, so the bakers and guests all bring a box to take cake home in.

This month I asked my bakers to Bake Like Delia. They had to choose a cake from one of Delia's cookbooks or her website to bake and bring along.

I made a Sticky Toffee Cake with Toffee Icing and topped it with pecans and a drizzle of toffee sauce.  Delia made it in a loaf tin, but I decide to make a cake.

It looked glorious when it came out the oven, but in my rush to get it finished and head off to the venue I couldn't find my spatula for spreading on the buttercream and I used a spoon instead. MISTAKE! It slopped over the edge and didn't look bonnie, as you can see, but it did taste great.

As my bakers will tell you, something always goes wrong or not quite to plan when you are baking for cake club.

As well as my Sticky Toffee cake we had a Lemon Cake with Fresh Cream and Homemade Curd, an Apricot and Hazelnut Meringue, a Lime and Coconut Cake, an Austrian Coffee and Walnut Cake with Coffee Cream,  a Squidgy Chocolate Cake, a Sticky Toffee Bundt and a Chocolate Fudge Cake.

Cake heaven!!!

Photo: Apex Dundee

Our secret venue this month was rather plush. We had our meeting in The Apex Hotel in Dundee, which sits on the waterfront, next to a quay where some of our oldest ships are docked.

Their Metro Bar and Brasserie is one of my favourite places to dine in Dundee. They always do great veggie dishes and they are especially good at catering to different dietary requirement, so Graham always gets a great vegan meal there too.

Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa
1 West Victoria Dock Road
Dundee DD1 3JP
Scotland

T +44 (0)1382 202 404
F +44 (0)1382 201 401

To make a reservation:

T 0845 365 0000 (UK)
T +44 (0)131 441 0440 (Outside UK)
E dundee.reservations@apexhotels.co.uk

Check out the Clandestine Cake Club official website to find out if there is a club near you.

I'd also like to give a shout out to my cake club bloggers:

Stuart - Cakeyboi
Becca - Becca Bakes
Genna - Blethering Boys

For all your cake baking needs and some great tips too, check out my 

Great British Cake Off collection on eBay.