It’s no secret that the éclat team are partial to a bit of cake every now and then and Friday afternoons always seem to go that bit faster when fuelled by a chocolate éclair and a cup of tea. There was, then, a good deal of excitement in the office when our ritual of ‘Fat Friday’ was taken to a whole new level, with a Bake Off in support of a very worthwhile cause: Macmillan Cancer Support. As an office that has avidly followed the BBC show, the éclat team was keen to prove it had what it takes in the kitchen.
The result was a sweet lover’s delight: a smorgasbord of cake delights ranging from the traditional; fudge, coffee and walnut cake, to the avant garde: Jaffa cake as a cake – a particular crowd pleaser, the chocoholic’s dream, salted chocolate tart, and the seasonal; autumnal fruit sponge.
These were all baked by the fair hands of the éclat team themselves, with one exception of a cake that was disqualified on the grounds of ‘unfair assistance in baking’. Delicious it may have been, but, rules are rules.
When all cakes had been sampled, scores were added and a Bake Off winner was declared. In our own small way, I think we now know what Mary Berry must go through in sampling eight different cakes in one sitting and this itself required some serious stamina. But someone had to do it so we soldiered on.
Big congratulations go to Christine, éclat’s very own Star Baker and worthy winner of a specially personalised apron. And if she ever wants to recreate the winning cake we’re only too happy to try it again, in the name of research, of course.
This was a great team effort; it not only showed us what we could produce when we put our minds to it, but we’ve also raised a worthy sum thanks to donations from the team and our neighbours in the next office who gallantly dropped in to score our efforts.
Thanks to Kim for organising and encouraging us all to dust off our baking tins and have a go at trying to create something tasty.
You can see for yourself the results of our trials and tribulations on the kitchen here: roll on the next Coffee Morning!
Kirsten is an Account Director at éclat Marketing. She looks after PR for people in cybersecurity, broadcast, telecommunications and business technology. Having read English Literature at Manchester University, she regards ‘what’s your favourite book’ as a decidedly unfair question. Connect on Google+, LinkedIn or Twitter
