Lifestyle

Baking with Happy Eggs and Bee’s Bakery

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August 17, 2015

My first blog used to be called Eileen Cuisine, because it was everything about food. I’ve started it 8 years ago, as a challenge, since I didn’t even know how to boil an egg. I had to educate myself, reading a lot of books, watching so many Top Chef seasons and Youtube tutorials. I must admit, I have advanced since then, after hundreds of hours of practice, and I would be happy to boil you an egg perfectly. A Happy Egg, for that matter. Last month I have attended a baking masterclass session for around 4 hours, with Happy Eggs and Bee’s Bakery. This happened right on the day I started a diet, so you can imagine that after baking and tasting around three cakes, I went home with some pounds extra. Bee Berrie, the owner of Bee’s Bakery is one sweet lady that knows her way around a cake, and she means business. In two years Bee’s Bakery has grown from a home kitchen business to being awarded as one of the top five biscuit bakeries in London. Bee has created a giant replica Kinder Egg for ITV, appeared on Channel 4 with Heston Blumenthal and been filmed for advertising campaigns for Ralph Lauren and Olay. She’s baked bespoke cookies and cakes for clients including the BBC, Topshop, Jamie Oliver and Harrods created an enormous replica perfume bottle for Marc Jacobs. Now that’s some serious resume so imagine my surprise when she was as down to earth as the girl next door.

“Cookies and biscuits are everything that cupcakes are not!” She says. “Extremely versatile and quick to make, they last for ages, and there are tons of parent recipes that are super easy to adapt and customise to make something truly original.” If you want to learn her tricks, Bee teaches sell out lessons at the Cake & Bake show. You can find Bee’s recipes here and if you want to try one her biscuits, you can buy them at Harrods, Jamie Oliver’s Recipease store or order them through her website.
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So, what went down that day? Take eight bloggers, hand them cute Happy Eggs aprons and put them to whip and bake, and you have yourself the formula for success. Except for the kitchen which we left in a total mess. Well now, you can’t have them all. Creative people see art in chaos, right? We had around 7 cards with recipes, and I honestly thought it was impossible to make them all. Time past by, with lots of laughter, serious moments of learning the difference between using fresh organic eggs such as Happy Eggs, and the other kinds that might ruin your entire work. At some point in the whole process, we had to whip an egg custard until it became light and fluffy. I honesty thought my arm will fall off, and after 10 minutes of hard work, my cream was nowhere to perfection. Practice, practice, that’s what Julia Child said, so I have to take her word on that.

What I loved about the class was that we got to experience new things, such as adding savory elements into desserts. I am really traditional, especially when I am baking something new, but when we made Victoria Sponge (recipe below), Bee said we can go safe with orange peel, vanilla essence, and lemon paste, or we can go wild with basil, rosemary, thyme or whatever crosses our mind. I have decided to chop some basil into my batter and add an orange essence to intensify the freshness of basil and what a revelation! My little sponge cakes were so flavourful and rich! I have filled them with custard and lemon curd, I like my desserts quite tangy.

Why attend a backing class, especially with Bee? Well, you will learn so many techniques and impress your guests the next time they come over with your perfect cakes. Bee can definitely teach any level of expertise, from young children to adults, with the same smile, energy, patience and passion. You will also bond greatly with your peers, over a cup of hot tea on a well deserved break. I have really enjoyed my experience with Happy Eggs and Bee’s Bakery, we felt relaxed even after spending so many hours standing, because we did what we love, and nothing can take away the passion and love for baking. 8HmZKeWVSJFsE8pQlnvsTBEHqfeSMXKDDP1UutRvX3o NXb-s_uq2JMzDPkEsHC0Hu5OlYrv3E_2vexbBh9jApU

Bee's Victoria Sponge

By August 17, 2015

Instructions

Make sure your butter is super duper soft before you start. Then throw everything into a bowl and using some elbow grease, beat vigorously until you have a lovely thick cake batter.

Transfer to two 8 inch lined sponge tins, or 3 cupcake pans, bake at 170 degrees for around 20-25 mins, then allow to cool before filling and decorating however you like.

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2 Comments
  1. Reply

    Oana

    August 20, 2015

    This is one of my favorite posts!
    Why?? Because we can actually see you doing what you Love behind the lenses and the post. You were so envolved into that!!
    And I must confess,I wish I could ‘ve try one of those. They look perfect❤️

    • Reply

      Elena Sandor

      August 20, 2015

      It was an amazing experience, I am happy you like it;)

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