I’m a cake-lover. There, I said it – that wasn’t so bad was it? Well actually, if you know me at all it shouldn’t come as any surprise because before I embarked on this all-consuming arcades project I had a baking blog, which I’m ashamed to say I just haven’t had time to update of late.
It was nice therefore to get the chance to photograph my first love, baked goods, from the lovely Celtic Cakes in the
Castle Arcade.
I’ve often walked past the window of Celtic and gazed adoringly at the amazingly crafted sculptures adorning their cakes, things like dragons, lilies and all manner of things beside. All things that despite my passion for baking I know I’d probably never be able to master.
Owned by Ann, who I met for a chat the other day, and her husband, it is the pair that make all the cakes themselves. For the most part, Ann makes the cakes, while her husband is the man responsible for the decoration, although she did admit to trying some of the “simpler” designs. What she describes as simple looks very complicated to me though!
The cake shop is only a part-time operation, believe it or not, as Ann works for a bank the rest of the week. Her husband is also employed elsewhere. It’s for that reason that you won’t see the shop open Monday-Thursday – not that should stop you staring at the window displays. Unbelievably in the past tax year, Ann says her and her husband have made over 300 cakes – that’s some baking for something which is only a ‘part-time’ undertaking.
You’ll see in the pictures the amazing cakes on offer, but what you might not know is that these display cakes are not real… that is the sponge underneath isn’t. Amazingly, the icing is exactly what you would use in a real cake and some of it in the shops is as old as 6 years and is still looking fresh.
Ann points out that there are a lot of wedding-related businesses in the Castle Arcade. There’s a wedding dress shop along with a hairdressers and a jewellers – this arcade could make a great little mini destination for brides and grooms to be – you could probably source everything you might need somewhere in the arcades, even if not in this one.
Pictures speak a thousand words so take a peek at those around this post, and if you like what you see, don’t forget to visit the Celtic Cakes website.
Cardiff Arcades Project 