Your West Midlands Wedding - Feb/Mar 2020 (Issue 66)

83 ADVICE WHAT’SYOURFLAVOUR? Q My hubby to be and I would love to wow our guests with a flavoursome wedding cake? Which interesting flavour combinations do you think work well and will keep our guests talking about the big- day cake long after the wedding?  A My menu is so extensive, however I find most couples stick to the traditional flavours of vanilla, chocolate and lemon. My chocolate and caramel sponge is like no other you’ve ever tasted, it’s so light and moist, and even people who don’t usually like chocolate cake fall in love with it. People constantly tell me my vanilla and chocolate cakes are the best; so, actually I’m less convinced there’s a need to find an interesting flavour combination or to try new/unusual flavours rather than focussing on selecting a cake maker who can provide a cake that has an amazing texture, lightness and is of the highest quality. That will impress guests far more than a niche or trendy flavour, which can often only appeal to a small selection of those eating it. If you do want to try unusual flavours, which I often make upon request, we always recommend this be limited to only one or two layers of the cake, so that other more traditional flavours can also be incorporated to please all tastes. However, what I can highly recommend is the technique that I use with most of my cakes, which is to cover them in ganache rather than buttercream, as the layer before the sugarpaste is added. This not only has an aesthetic benefit of providing a much more highly quality, smooth finish for the sugarpaste, but makes the cakes richer and, according to all my customers, far more satisfying and enjoyable! We use a very high quality Belgian chocolate to make the ganache, using white chocolate for vanilla or lemon sponges, and either milk or dark chocolate for chocolate sponge-based cakes. Laura Nolan | The Nuthouse Bakery nuthousebakery.co.uk stilllightphotography.co.uk I do, I do, I do Q We’ve just got engaged and starting to plan our big day and already I’m unsure of a couple of things; what’s the difference between the role of a registration office, having a civil wedding at a venue, and I’ve also heard the term celebrant? A I know the terminology is a bit mystifying isn’t it? There are only two kinds of legal marriage at present, one conducted by a religious body or a civil wedding conducted by a registrar. A registrar can conduct a legal marriage ceremony either at an appointed office (register office or registration building) or at a licensed venue. In Warwickshire we are now also offering a ‘duo’ ceremony, this involves having a short no frills legal ceremony at one of our offices and then you can have a ceremony at a location of your choice subject to a H&S inspection as long as it isn’t a venue that could be licensed under our usual terms. We may refer to the registrar who does this type of ceremony as a celebrant. However there also now a lot of independent celebrants. These are people who can offer a non legal ceremony but it must be proceeded by a legal ceremony conducted by a registrar or religious minister. Diane Lampard | Warwickshire Registration District | warwickshire.gov.uk victoriaamrose.co.uk Made you blush Q Is there a hard and fast rule to blusher colours, as I never pick the same shade but was wondering whether it can actually enhance your complexion? A When it comes to blusher colours it can go so easily wrong, my biggest tip when selecting your shade of blush is to pick something which is similar in colour to the lipstick you have chosen. By doing this you know that the colours will complement each other instead of clashing for example if you have chosen a bright red lipstick you need a stronger blush with red undertones to offset the lips or if you have selected a pinky nude lipstick you should then opt for a light pink blush to enhance the cheekbones with, always apply your blush last. Stephanie Morgan | SJM Beauty | sjmbeauty.com