Cressida Bell's Cake Design, Fifty Fabulous Cakes

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I first met Cressida Bell in the very early 1990’s. I had been asked to introduce new product lines and ideas into the shop at the wonderful Charleston Farmhouse. This was a dream come true for me as I had been in awe of the fascinating Bloomsbury Group since I first pulled a book about Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell off the, then, mahogany shelves of Dulwich Library. The shop at Charleston Farmhouse sold Cressida’s screen-printed work and very soon I was in her London studio ordering for other businesses for which I bought at the time; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and The Museum Store in Covent Garden. To this day, the bed in my spare bedroom is beautifully adorned with one of Cressida’s Woman and Mandolin cushions (Check out Cressida’s site). 


Later my sister and her husband got married at the Bloomsbury decorated Berwick Church, near my parents in Sussex, but that is a whole other story. 


I was really delighted recently to read a review of Cressida’s new book, Cressida Bell’s Cake Design, I was even more delighted to see it in the window of my local book shop, RyeBooks, on my way into the office this morning. Not only are Cressida’s fifty fabulous cake designs all highly original, and fittingly in keeping with her artistic provenance and Bloomsbury sensibilities, following her simple instructions you need no inherent or acquired baking or cake decorating skills whatsoever. I would imagine this type of decorating would be great fun to do with the children; Cressida advocates pressing decorations into pre-iced cakes.  I predict a whole new retail trend in blank canvas cakes. Personally, I bought it just to pour over the wonderful photographs.


Pick up a copy from Rye Books or your local bookshop, if they do not have it ask for it and it will be there the next day.

Lawrence’s monthly shopping page appears in the SE Magazines group of publications, click here to view online.

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