Meet two inspirational Northamptonshire producers
By Carmela Sereno Hayes, Northamptonshire correspondent
Published on May 29, 2015
Above left: Gluten-free brioche from The Most Marvellous Baking Company
1) Angelina Cupcake
Run by Julie Elliott, Angelina Cupcake makes award-winning, delicate cupcakes and beautifully detailed celebration cakes.
Julie first started baking American-inspired cupcakes for friends and family from her home in Towcester in April 2009. The cupcake craze was exploding in the US at the time and Julie was inspired to bake her own.
Although her favourite cupcake is vanilla, Julie loves to experiment, creating extravagant flavours such as Champagne and strawberry, through to the more extreme banana, maple and bacon, and American favourite, peanut butter and jelly.
A cupcake wedding tower by Julie Elliott
This didn’t go unnoticed. In 2010/2011, Angelina Cupcake won the Carlsberg Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards ‘Best Local Product’ accolade for her Chocolate Surprise cupcake, impressing judges and top chefs with the flavour, texture and presentation.
Julie still bakes in small batches from her home, continuing to have that personal touch, building magnificent cupcake towers for weddings and tiered and novelty cakes for special occasions.
When not baking, Julie organises pop-up dining and dessert evenings, providing guests with supper and a choice of seven delicious puds, recreating childhood memories of comforting sticky toffee puddings or delicious rhubarb crumble with lashings of custard. She can also be found at various foodie events throughout the year with an ever-changing menu of cupcakes and baked treats.
If your decorating skills aren’t up to scratch, Julie likes to share her knowledge by presenting bakery demonstrations and decorating classes in and around Northamptonshire, and is also a guest tutor at Marcus Bean’s Brompton Cookery School in Shrewsbury. A selection of her favourite recipes and top baking tips can be found on her blog angelinacupcakes.blogspot.com. You’ll also find the occasional restaurant review plus recommended products. For more details or to place an order or enquiry, please contact Julie Elliott on 07944 009779.
2) Happy Little Cake Company
Run by Vicky Robertson, Happy Little Cake Company is an artisan gluten-free bakery. Vicky is a baking-obsessed foodie and cake geek determined not to let a diagnosis of coeliac disease get in the way of a passion for good food.
Vicky designs and bakes bespoke novelty cakes and cupcakes for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations, and supplies gluten-free cakes, bakes and desserts to local coffee shops, tea rooms and restaurants.
In 2014, The Happy Little Cake Company was a double finalist in the Carlsberg Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards with her Marathon Maker Muffin, and a finalist in the National Cupcake Championships with her boozy ChocoCocoNutty Malibu Cupcake.
Vicky has developed her own gluten-free flour blend and in early 2015 brought this to market along with a range of artisan baking mixes for home-baking under the brand name Most Marvellous Baking. The range includes her flour blend, plus mixes for cakes, cookies, brownies, bread and pasta, and also gluten-free breakfast cereals. It is supported by recipes and baking tips online.
The Most Marvellous Baking range has gained approval to use the Crossed Grain Symbol from Coeliac UK and the products can be bought online and at a number of independent delis and food stores in Northamptonshire.
Vicky can be contacted on 01604 404398 or by emailing hello@thehappylittlecakecompany.co.uk
Please support both Julie and Vicky. They are both passionate and have an appetite to succeed in our home county of Northamptonshire.
Grazie, Carmela x
Carmela Sereno Hayes lives in Northamptonshire and is the author of Southern Italian Family Cooking. She also runs cookery classes and is behind the website Carmela’s Kitchen.
