Clandestine Cake Club Bolton - Three

If it wasn't for the Clandestine Cake Club, some of my closest friends would never have entered my life. Three years ago I decided to start a Bolton branch, and never even dreamed that we could have so much fun! We push ourselves to be better, support each other through disasters, and regularly nearly wee ourselves laughing. 

For us, cake club has been like some incredible cake-fuelled Jackanory; with tales of blind dates, work related ridiculousness, and some stories I cannot possibly repeat here - one including a very special kind of spider... This is what happens when you over indulge on sugar on a regular basis. 

We sit and eat cake, vow never to be such a pig again, and then take just as much home in a cake 'trough'. We spend the rest of the evening cursing the 'cake ache' in our thighs and our own gluttony, whilst attempting to remedy our hopeless situation with cheese and/or crisps. I love the look on people's faces as you enter a venue with a massive cake, only to be followed by twenty other people doing the same thing. For normal folk, this can be very confusing. 

For us it all started with Amanda at Thyme Deli in Horwich. She was willing to let thirty-odd people into her dining room, bringing their own cake. We love her for it. It was only right that this is where my reign as organiser would come to an end. It's been a ball, but I'm ready to hand over to someone new.

Saturday's meet up was of course, birthday themed. Bring something worth celebrating I told them... It was amazing. Considering some of this lot had never baked before they joined the club, they put on an utterly amazing spread! Everyone has skills in their own specific area, which means that no two cakes are ever the same.

We had fifteen cakes, including:

• Chocolate and Vanilla Neapolitan Sponge Cake
• '3' Layered Carrot Cake (with three different types of carrot cake)
• Strawberry Dream Bundt Cake
• Toffee Apple Upside Down Cake
• 1, 2, 3 Cake
• Chocolate and Berry Birthday Cake
• Chocolate, Banana and Coffee Marble Cake
• Twix 'Celebrations' Cake
• 3rd 'Anniversary' Ginger Bundt Cake
• Lotus Biscoff Bundt Cake
• Mary Berry's Malted Chocolate Cake
• 3rd Birthday Butterfly Cake
• Rainbow Layer Cake
• Rose and Pistachio Cake
• Frosted Carrot Cake

The last picture is one of my favourites. This is the moment Claire realised she had been hoodwinked by Michelle into organising the next meeting. Luckily for her, Clare will be joining her as joint organiser. I can't wait to see what they come up with, but one thing is for sure... that bloody 'Grunge' theme will happen!

Thanks folks, It's been an absolute pleasure.