Art and chocolate at the Open Houses

Today we hand over to another guest blogger, and what a choctastic one it is! We’re huge fans of the Artists Open Houses here at LoveBrighton and today we’re hearing first hand from one of the infamous cake creators that have become synonymous with a trip to an Open House. (For those of you who don’t know, it’s become a bit of a Brighton & Hove tradition to sell tea and cake at the Open Houses during May!)

The Artists Open Houses are on during the 4 weekends in May, so this weekend is your last chance for 2013!

Over to Ev now, from ‘CHOCADYLLIC’ who tells us how her cake making got started, with details of her stall at Farm Mews Open House in Hove….

A few months ago I offered to make my friend Lynne a 'proper' chocolate cake for her 50th, not just a Victoria sponge cake with added cocoa! And so I experimented with different recipes and learnt how to work with chocolate. This is the result:

I carried on baking for my enjoyment, sharing my cakes with friends and family and before I knew it I was selling regular chocolate indulgence cakes to a tea shop in the Brighton Lanes. Soon after, I started to get commissions:

Then I noticed a small ad for the Brighton Bake Off in the Leader and entered this cake:

I was really pleased to win third prize.

From that came more commissions including a cake for Center Parcs.

I then got the opportunity to run a cake and tea stall at Farm Mews, Farm Road, Hove for the Artists Open Houses. My husband Rob came up with a name and CHOCADYLLIC was born.

There are two pretty Tudor courtyards with 15 artists showing their creations. Lovely people and atmosphere, beautiful arts and the best cake in town! Chocolate indulgence cake, wheat free salted caramel millionaires slices, CHOCADYLLIC banana choc chip, truffles, triple chocolate brownies and lemon drizzled cake.

For the last weekend of the AOH I am creating a CHOCADYLLIC show case cake for raffle. Tickets are £1 only.

My founding principle is that my cakes must taste as great as they look.

The raffle prize cake as with all my basic chocolate indulgence cakes serves between 16 and 24 portions, is made of the best quality ingredients including Belgian chocolate, is moist crumbly and deliciously chocolatey.

CHOCADYLLIC open from 11-6pm Saturday and Sunday 25 and 26 May. You can find us at:

• Farm Mews, Farm Road, Hove - half way up Farm Road which is just off Western Road by Hove Kitchen restaurant. Its the second mews!

We’d love to see you!

Ev

For out more about the Farm Mews Collective Artists or check out the Artists Open Houses website at www.aoh.org.uk. You can also join CHOCADYLLIC on Facebook.