Cakes have got to be the highest form of food. But there was a time when being on a free-from diet meant you had to settle for a vacuum-sealed brownie.
Thankfully, clued up people are feeding our needs.
We had the pleasure of being introduced to Willow Cottage Kitchen at the Allergy and Free From Show North, where we saw the amazing cakes that founder Charlie makes. They are absolutely stunning and some of the sugar craft absolutely blows you away. One of the things that sticks in Karen’s head the most is the edible Jimmy Choo shoe. It looked so real she wanted to stick a foot in it. Rory’s opinion regarding the best cake, however, is that Mr Potato Head wins hands down.
We then caught up with founders Charlie and Bob at the Free From Food Awards, where we got to hear their story and learn about their passion for pudding.
Then on a bright sunny day in June, we took a trip to visit Willows Cottage Kitchen – the double Free From Food Awards bronze-winning cake shop that has got everyone in the free-from world talking. Willow Cottage Kitchen officially opened on June 7th. Their little shop is a gorgeous, quirky building in Lymm in Cheshire, which was previously a sweet shop, a grocery and a hairdresser’s. It suits them down to the ground. They have a Mad Hatter scarecrow sitting on the bench outside, created for the party-themed Lymm Scarecrow Trail, but he’s not scaring us off.
From the moment you pull up outside the studio you can tell you’re in for something special as the eyes of many intricately created cakes stare back at you, hungrily beckoning you in. This is quickly followed by a huge smile from both Charlie and Bob who look genuinely delighted to see you walk through the door. There seems to be incredible community spirit in Lymm and lots of local support for businesses, which helped towards a fantastic business launch. Even the mayor has scoffed down their cakes.
What stands out about Charlie and Bob is that they are wonderful, larger than life characters who can’t help having a laugh at every opportunity. They are so much fun and have a brilliant sense of humour, they both bounce of each other and finish each other’s jokes. You feel like you’ve known them for years and from the sounds of it, that’s what the people of Lymm feel about them too.
Charlie likes to leave a little bit of this humour in her cakes, for instance by revealing a cheeky bit of a teddy bear’s bottom. Bob put his foot down when she tried to put a poo in the loo on a plumber’s cake, though. Too much toilet humour? Rory was personally gutted that Bob made that call, but thinks he is just one of those strange people that find the prospect of eating a toilet (and its contents) hilarious.
They are so kind they even delivered a free-from cake all the way to London after a delivery company broke an icing figure. Just a short nip down the road… of several hours. To their surprise, when they arrived it was the family of a famous celebrity previously known for his time travelling antics…
Oh but wait, then there’s this! Thank you to the amazing @willowcottagek1. #glutenfree #harrypotter #enoughwiththebirthdaysnow pic.twitter.com/LDJJLS8dPk
— Georgia Tennant (@georgiaEtennant) March 27, 2018
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Charlie was giving Karen some amazing tips about icing cakes and modelling figures – she now holds classes, which are going down well locally. She teaches people how to ice cakes with lots of little tips to make it easier and look professional.
Willow Cottage Kitchen are heading to the Allergy and Free From Show in London on July 6-8 on stand A141 – they are well worth a visit so if you are going, make sure you check them out. We’re certainly looking forward to making many trips to see them when we’re wandering around. They will launch a brand sparkling new product too, called a ‘Curly’, which is a dream. Karen had a chance to sample it and will say one word only for now – perfection! Very exciting.
Charlie and Bob welcomed us into their shop, despite having just had a crazy night at Lymm Food Festival. Charlie’s feet were hurting so much she was wearing her slippers. The perfect accessory to match her yellow hair net, blue apron and wooden spoon microphone.
Charlie will take on any challenge of cake and the prices are so reasonable. We were both in shock as it is literally about half what I would have expected for a normal cake, let alone a free-from one. The amazing cakes they have created are out of this world and all completely bespoke. For example, this Fortnite cake is pretty darn incredible considering Charlie hadn’t heard of the game when the order was given.
A special birthday cake for a special birthday! Edible bullets & Krispie grenade were so fun to do and all Gluten Free too, as all our cakes are. pic.twitter.com/TfGhuDobCT
— willowcottagekitchen (@willowcottagek1) June 4, 2018
It’s the level of research and care put into the cakes that make them so brilliant. Charlie was explaining that she loves doing wedding cakes, but finds it so nerve-wracking because she wants the cake to be perfect for the most important day in a person’s life. For Rory, that sums up what they are all about, they make quality cakes because they care.
Having lots of dietary requirements between them, they are very clued up on allergens and Charlie can do stacks of cakes that are free from the top 14 allergens. Both Charlie and Bob are coeliac and Charlie has enough allergies to give Rory a run for his money. They have got 5* from FSA and are aiming to get accreditation by Coeliac UK and for FODMAP. They have a great set up with no nuts or gluten on the premises and a separate fridge for milk and egg products. Here are the sponges and frostings on offer…
They like to give their cakes clever names too. They’ve got a chocolate orange cake called Joppa This was demolished at the Allergy Show. Karen tried the g Gigly cake (hee hee hee) which is based on the Japanese jiggly cake. It is a beautiful, subtle taste of matcha (green tea) and ginger. It is so light that Karen managed a whole slice and then sampled another cake on top (which is unheard of, she claims). It is also a really low-fat cake and low in sugar. Obviously when it has icing slathered on it, it is a different story but traditionally you don’t do that so it doesn’t count!
Charlie’s sponges are definitely one of the best gf ones Karen has ever tasted.
If we haven’t sold them to you enough, they also do little touches such as make a little blue butterfly for every wedding cake, Charlies signature feature. However the bride herself comes in to make it under Charlie’s expert guidance (blue butterfly pic). How lovely.
‘Leave a little sparkle wherever you go’ is written on the ceiling of the shop. Willow Cottage Kitchen most definitely does that.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to Willow Cottage Kitchen for giving us such a warm and pleasant trip to Lymm. We’re just gutted we could only stay for two hours, next time we’ll stay longer.
By Karen Woodford and Rory Mason – The Safer Eating Company