Brussels Clandestine Cake Club – meeting #2; le rentrée

With a theme of 'back to school', the five bakers, two eaters and three kids faced this rentrée with maybe a bit more enthusiasm than the other one.

Dutch apple cake, without the salted caramel sauce

We each baked childhood treats or cakes with a clever twist – an ‘apple for the teacher’ Dutch apple cake (with salted caramel sauce), sticky toffee cake, bakewell cake, a Swedish strawberry cheesecake, a marble cake and chocolate-filled brioche – an Italian childhood staple. The sharp eyed amongst you will notice that one enthusiastic baker had baked two cakes!

Marble cake

All participants were reinforced with either strong cups of Barry’s (Irish) tea or glasses of Sprite, depending on their age.

Bakewell cake

And so down to the eating. At first, there wasn’t a lot said, as everyone was too busy going ‘mmmmm’ and ‘nomnomnomonom’. After the first platefuls were consumed we shared the details behind some of the cakes, be they granny’s recipes, family favourites or simply brought back happy memories.

A loaded plate!

Round 2: we each loaded up our plates again or moved on to the next cake on the table, sharing baking tips and eating tips (“you have got to try this one”). This time the ensuing silence came from over-indulgence. Break time and time for a refill of the tea cups.

We all managed to have a third tour de table, waistbands groaning. By the end, each of the cakes was decimated, and there wasn’t a lot left to take home.

The Swedish strawberry cheesecake

The next meeting will take place at the beginning of November, probably the 2^nd, but this is TBC. If you would like to come along, email me, Katie, at brusselsCCC@gmail.com.

Italian chocolate-filled sourdough brioche rolls

What's on in Brussels...

There are a couple of really nice foodie events happening in Brussels over the next days, weeks and months.

For starters, the first meeting of the Brussels Clandestine Cake Club will take place on Saturday 29 June at a secret location in Brussels. I’m involved in setting up this club of cake devotes, so if you are interested in coming along, email me at 365thingsilearnedinmykitchen@gmail.com or BrusselsCCC@gmail.com for more information (including the venue! Shhhhh).

You can also look at the website here.

This summer also sees the Brussels edible park at the Mont des Arts where you can look at, pick, taste and share a multitude of fruits, vegetables and herbs. They will also do cooking demonstrations on Thursdays. Find out more.

The Buttles Great Bake challenge will take place between July and September. It is an opportunity for bakers to showcase their baking skills through the monthly themes… and the opportunity for cake lovers to taste & judge which are their favourites! The bake is for charity, with all proceeds going to Buttles, a UK charity that provides essential items to children and young people whose health, safety and well-being are at risk. They provide grants to children and young people living in poverty.

Read more here.