Women's First Cake - By Bethan

For those of you who have been following ‘my’ women’s co-operative who are learning baking and general café skills to open a café in Kasese town some time in the next year, you will be pleased to know the following:  The women got their first contract for cakes!  I spent two full days with a mixture of joy and trepidation as I wondered a)will the women turn up in time to cook it, ice it and deliver it? And b)will the cake turn out okay and look good/taste good/be well received so that the women get more work?

The ladies kept good time (that is, within one hour of when they should have arrived three of the six were here!) and the lemon cake was cooked to perfection.  As it cooked we experimented with making icing roses with the icing bag.  It turned into a bit of a competition as we tried to see who would do most of the icing in the future!  Most of the women were good at it but one (who has many other assets, as well as being the self-proclaimed ‘grandmother’ of the group!) was hopeless so she has not been allowed near the icing nozzles!  To cut a long story short, (that’s unusual for me!) suffice to say that the icing didn’t roll properly so had to be watered down and spread, almost causing me to break down in tears of frustration! but the rest of it went well and the cake was delivered in one piece and rumour was that it was enjoyed in ‘the village’ by four daughters whose birthday it was.

Not much profit was made from this cake, but hopefully word has got out that these women are starting business and that the cakes are yummy!  Please pray that this happens and that business can start for these women even though they have not yet opened their café.  Savings are nearing the target of 1.2million and are due to hit that peak in two months’ time so watch this space as we hope to have opened by Easter to catch the tourist trade and local students coming home for the holiday.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers of support.  Any ideas as to how to roll royal icing without it sticking to the table anyone?  See the picture of our first cake in the gallery.