Happy Monday to you all! I’m feeling up for this week… bring it on and do your worst because this girl is firing on all cylinders.
As has become my custom here at Restoration Cake, I am beginning the new week with another fantasy bake. I am blessed to work with some fantastic clients and gorgeous couples on Bespoke Celebration and Wedding Cakes and honestly wish that I could feed you all – come and see me at one of my many events this year and you are pretty much guaranteed a slice of cake. I do often fantasise about baking for my idols though…
Because the last two weeks have been dedicated to impossible bakes, both Groucho Marx and Fanny Cradock being no longer with us, I wanted to revisit the land of the living this week with a lady who is a true icon of mine in both my style and my icing!
I would love to bake a cake for Immodesty Blaize.
Immodesty Blaize sits at the very heart of classic Burlesque for me; her sultry Hollywood looks, enviable hourglass figure, and beautifully choreographed routines could easily all have existed in the same golden age as Gypsy Rose Lee.
Want a tiny taste? Watch the video below… which is probably safe for work as it aired pre-watershed and the video is less than two minutes so you can sneak a peek the next time your boss steps away!
I have technically baked for Immodesty Blaize on a couple of occasions previously; the first was for my book Burlesque Baking. The projects in this book were all inspired by Burlesque performers that I admire and who inspire me – Immodesty was an obvious choice and the cake design that I created for her was bejewelled with rubies inspired by one of her iconic corsets.
The design needed to be achievable at home and explainable in a single page and I was very proud of the resulting cake… I am determined to bring back the silver ball into cake decorating! I love little silver balls.
I then expanded upon this one small cake with something a little bigger for The Cake & Bake Show back in Autumn 2013. When I was asked to design a cake table display, I called upon my Immodesty Blaize inspiration and pushed it that little bit further.
Two identical cakes, wrapped in black edible sugar lace, mounted on black candlesticks for added drama, flank one five-tier extravaganza of a cake!
Also on the table were lace cupcakes with red sugar rose toppers, heart-shaped cookies with red glitter icing, and some serious props. Chris made the replica of Immodesty’s rocking horse from a kitschy little home ornament and she still lives on the shelf in my office – though her red feathers are faded!
Such is the power of Burlesque to inspire. I will forever be drawn to the glamour and decadence of this art form and I dare say that its influence will continue to emerge in my icing.
As for Immodesty Blaize herself, I like to think that I would serve her a slice of cake on her home turf in Monaco. Oh yes, our dear Ms Blaize lives every inch the lifestyle that you would expect of one so glamorous and her Instagram feed is a daily dose of vicarious living and stunning outfits. I would bake her something that tastes of the sunshine like my Lemon Drizzle Cake with Italian Meringue…
Come back tomorrow for the recipe!
I like to think that we would enjoy this zesty little cake on the terrace with a glass of Champagne, whilst making the world a more glamorous place together. We could discuss the stylish women who have inspired us and maybe she could teach me a shimmy or two. The return to reality after this would be rough!
So I encourage you all to avoid reality for a few minutes today. Take time to daydream looking at pictures that inspire you, listening to music that makes your mind wander. You never know what you will be able to create when you come out the other side.
Stay gorgeous!
Cxx
