Kokova Magazine

With less than two weeks to go until the Cake & Bake Show launches in Manchester, it is already set to be the most exciting show yet.

As well as a whole host of celebrity demos from the likes of Paul Hollywood and Tom Herbert, plus competitions and interactive sessions, the April 5th - 7th Manchester show features a market place which promises the best variety of top baking equipment, sugarcraft tools and delicious bakes.

Here's a round up of just some of the exciting products you'll find at the show…

• Tom Parker Bowles described Dishes to Dine For steak pies as 'Perfect pastry, magnificent meat, a glorious pie'. Packed full of the leanest matured steak from their Nova Scotia Farm in Yorkshire with a perfectly balanced gravy in a thin crisp pastry these pies are a must-try at the show.
• Airbrushing is a huge cake decorating trend in 2013 and stunning cake decorations are only a spray away with this fun, easy-to-use Lakeland Cake Airbrush Kit. Using your icing as a canvas and food colouring as your paint, the gravity-fed airbrush ensures a constant flow to make for a smooth application of colour.
• Emboss patterns and add texture to sugarpaste, fondant, modelling chocolate and more with a Designer Rolling Pin from www.purplecupcakes.co.uk. Available in a variety of patterns including Daisy Chain and Vintage Vine. Small enough for cupcakes yet large enough for cakes and cake boards.
• Recreate a traditional Hovis loaf in your own home with limited edition vintage Hovis tins. Available from Flourbin.com, an online store for artisan flour and baking ingredients including unusual products such as Buttermilk Powder. Visit their stand for free samples of their delicious100% British malt flours.
• Swap your vanilla essence for a Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract at the Cake & Bake Show! If you are guilty of having vanilla essence in your cupboard and not Vanilla Extract they'll swap your bottle for a 60ml Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract absolutely free of charge at the www.BakingMad.com stand.
• Popcorn is the latest treat to get the gourmet treatment and Joe & Seph's are producers of the best-tasting popcorn in the UK, having won eight Great Taste Awards in just under two years! They'll have 24 delicious flavours handmade from all natural ingredients for you to try, including their fantastic Lemon & Poppyseed and Peanut Butter flavours.
• Neff provide appliances that are tailored to modern lifestyles and requirements. Their unique Slide&Hide door (as seen on Great British Bake Off) fits smoothly under the oven to provide full flexibility and better access to the oven and the CircoTherm helps you to cook a complete three-course meal simultaneously with no intermingling of flavours.
• How often do you wish you could send a loved one a cake for their birthday, to congratulate them or maybe to cheer them up but find it expensive or worry the cake will get damaged? Cake Nest has the answer! The greetings card you can eat! Handmade with love by a family-run business, each card offers a mouth-watering slice of cake and is beautifully packaged.
• Based in Manchester city centre, Hey Little Cupcake! will be selling their freshly baked cupcakes, cake pops and brownies from their stand at the show. Our favourites are their gorgeous little 'Up' cupcakes.
• Lakeland's new Duo Icing Bag range allows you to pipe two different colours at once, giving you a whole new level of creativity! The secret of this kit lies in the innovative split coupler and two compartment bag that separates the vanilla buttercream from the chocolate…or indeed any colour or flavour combination you could dream of!

Whether you're an amateur enthusiast looking for a fun family activity, a home baker looking for some helpful tips or a sugar-crafter on the hunt for the latest equipment, the Cake & Bake Show Manchester offers everything every baking fan could want and need.
www.thecakeandbakeshow.co.uk