Interview: Clare from The Little Bear Cakery

Clare runs The Little Bear Cakery, an award winning cake business based in East London. I caught up with Clare recently and she told me all about what she does. I can vouch for her amazing skills – she makes the best macarons in the whole world and her wedding cakes are really something to behold. She also has a blog where she shares some of her extraordinary recipes as well as her latest designs.

She’s also taking part in the Women in Making competition by Triumph – you can vote for her here.

Hello Clare! How are you? I absolutely love your cake business, The Little Bear Cakery. What inspired the name?

I have loved bears since I was little and once upon a time I was the “little Clare Bear”!

Tell us a bit about yourself

I am a 29 year old pastry chef and cake designer based in East London. I take great inspiration from flowers and nature, creating beautiful and quirky bespoke wedding cakes, macarons, favours and accessories to suit all tastes. I love experimenting with different textures and materials as well as making intricately handcrafted sugar flowers.

What’s your favourite thing to make?

Probably anything a little unusual or new. I love nothing better than a challenge – a chance to learn new skills and push undiscovered boundaries.

What’s the best part of making wedding cakes?

It has to be the excitement of each new project. I love bringing a client’s ideas to life and creating something totally unique to them and their special day.

Which cake are you most proud of?

It’s difficult to say really but I would probably have to go for my first tree trunk wedding cake. I had to teach myself a whole host of new techniques just for one cake and even down to the last minute had no idea quite what the final result would be but it certainly exceeded all expectations! I created it for such a lovely couple as well and they wasted no time in writing me a really sweet thank you telling me how thrilled they were with the cake. Little things like that make it the best job in the world for me.

What’s the secret to the perfect macaron?

Practice! Don’t expect to master them first time – everyone has their preferred technique and method and this comes through trial and error, patience and persistence! It’s impossible to create a finite method for them as everyone uses different equipment and ovens, so practice will result in a method that works for you. Ashley has shared my favourite basic macaron recipe which I think is a great place to start.

What’s the first thing you ever learned to make?

I grew up baking with my mum from an early age. There was always tea and cake in my family so during the school holidays I could often be found keeping busy in the kitchen (if for no other reason than to lick the bowl!) It was probably my rock cakes that were most famous amongst my family members though.

What’s your favourite restaurant?

I hate this question! I have had a fair few fantastic gastronomic experiences and it is really hard to single out one. However, one that particularly knocked my socks off recently was Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. I had the octopus, pork chop and tipsy cake – an absolutely faultless meal.

Are you on Instagram?

I am indeed and I’m totally addicted! Come and procrastinate with me Instagram.com/Littlebearcakery. I also use Pinterest a lot and have a whole board of wedding cake inspiration! 

What’s your best cake tip?

My new favourite tool in the kitchen is a blowtorch. I use it to gently warm the (metal!) bowl of my mixer whilst I am creaming butter and sugar. It helps to stop the mix from sticking to the sides so you don’t have to keep stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides. Just be careful not to overheat the butter and I would only advise using it on a metal bowl.

Clare is taking part in the Women in Making competition with Triumph. You can learn all about it here. What would you do if you won? 

You can vote for Clare here: 
https://campaign.triumph.com/uk/profiles/clare-margary#profile-wim_profile