With February the 14th fast approaching are you braving the thought of the annual battle to the appropriate card section in the supermarket? Do you go for the funny card and jokey underpants to get around the soppy business or is it all out romance for your significant other on the most romantic day of the year?

Why not try an alternative present and win over with delivery of a cake for Valentine's Day? After all, nothing sings of more homely romance than sharing a chat over a cuppa and delicious hunk of creamy vanilla sponge cake, layered with a velvety homemade buttercream, whipped from pure butter and icing sugar and smothered with a jam made from rosy red strawberries.

Such is a tempting and heavenly treat.

At the Brilliant Bakers we are always looking for new ways to make our cake recipes brilliantly delicious and go the extra mile to ensure every tasty morsel is as decadent as it should be. We take pride in the fact that all of our cakes are baked fresh to order, and it is of high importance to us that the most homemade of creations arrives at your door.

With this thought in mind, we found it necessary to perfect our recipe on time for Valentine’s deliveries and embarked upon a serious spoon-dipping mission across the country for a real homemade quality jam which we believe is deserving of a thick spreading on our beautiful Genoese vanilla sponge cake which is always made fresh to ensure a soft, moist and light texture. It is then split and spread and layered with our buttercream and our newfound fabulous full-bodied fruity preserve.

After a valiant expedition around the country’s finest jam makers, we found our winner in the town of Tiptree, in the heart of the English countryside in Essex. Best known for its production of jams and preserves, this little town is surrounded by orchards. Fruit farming began here in 1864. What attracted us mostly was ’Thursday’s Cottage’s’ artisanal lustre. They are a small production unit who make a variety of different preserves, curds and marmalades. Each of their products is made in small batches by hand because it keeps the fruit whole and makes a better product. The specially selected whole fruit is cooked in open pans- and our strawberry jam is made with handpicked finest fruit from the farms own strawberry crop.

It easily won us over in the taste test with it’s deep rich flavour and perfect consistency for spreading, neither too lumpy nor thin, but perfectly smooth as whole fruit jam can be. Staying true to their artisanal roots, you won’t find Thursday Cottage products in the major supermarkets because they support independent trade, which is where they started over fifty years ago.

So on Valentine’s morning, get the kettle on and slice the cake- the proof will be in the pudding, and your hearts will be in your mouths!

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