CCC No 17 - Blackcurrant Cassis layer Cake for a Joint CCC @ The Glasshouse, Stydd Gardens, Ribchester.

A couple of months ago I was kindly tipped off by a member of our cake club, fellow WI member, Farmers Market Organiser and Bee keepers wife Mrs Crossmoor (Crossmoor Honey), as to a new teashop that had opened in the Ribble Valley, she raved about its fabulous ambience and the fact it was owned and run by non other than the producer of some of the first radio shows I appeared on,  the lovely Alison Brown. 

So without seeing the venue I contacted Alison and asked if  she would consider being a venue for a Clandestine cake club meeting, she immediately said yes, only later did it dawn on me that this was totally out of my area, fortunately the South Lancashire branch has very close links with the Ribble Valley branch so we decided on a joint meeting, the joint organisers Kate and Liz both having heard good thing too about our venue.

Wind the clock forward several months and to a very balmy Lancashire summer and its time for our joint visit to The Glasshouse, Stydd Gardens, Ribchester. The venue has now been featured in Lancashire Life and several local newspapers and the place is really starting to buzz, I have even had a sneaky little visit and all I can say is wow !

The Glasshouse is what is says it is set in a beautiful country plant nurseries gardens, filled with quirky naturalist object da's were you can partake of some great local quality food and drink, Alison has carefully sourced the best locally produce to feature on her menu. I think you can tell but I love The Glasshouse.

When we arrived the cafe and garden were very busy and very hot, so it was a good job Alison had reminded me to remind our bakers to bring nets to protect our cakes from the local wildlife, fortunately Alison had reserved us a huge table for our cakes, quickly bakers started to arrive and due to the heat we quickly got proceeding underway, we also attracted lots of admiring glances from customers of the cafe too, so lots of potential new members for CCC. 

Alison was delighted with us holding our event at the The Glasshouse and on such a beautiful day we feasted on Exotic and Wonderful cakes in the lovely Stydd gardens. We all loved the venue and the cakes were absolutely fabulous, featuring exotic fruits and tropical ingredients, a wonderful event in an exotic location.

The location also features a number of other businesses including a wine shop and herb nursery and also a unique wedding venue.

My cake for the theme was a Blackcurrant and Cassis layer cake, originally I was making a Peach and amaretto cake but when the peaches hadn't ripened I needed a substitute and quick, and as our blackcurrant in the garden was heavy with juicy berries it hastily became a blackcurrant cake instead.

I used the ever faithful Fiona Cairns 4 egg sponge cake mix (also used in the tiramisu cake) but substiututed the amaretto with cassis. The two cakes were cut into 4 layers and were sandwiched with a cream cheese butter cream and blackcurrant cassis compote. The cake was finished with some sugar shards.


Many thanks go to Alison and her team for a great event in a gorgeous venue, please pay them a visit soon.


Credit for the stunning photography goes to Lancashire Food Photography who really managed to capture the ambience of a wonderful summer afternoon of cake.