Nickey Miller - Cake & Loaf Gatherings: Sweet and Savoury Recipes to Celebrate Every Occasion

Welcome to Cake & Loaf Gatherings, a celebration of our favourite sweet and savoury recipes for sharing. We are Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham, co-owners of Cake & Loaf Bakery in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 2010. Holidays have always been our favourite times of year at the bakery. Theres something magical about the energy generated by the hustle and bustle of a well-run kitchen at peak capacity. Especially at Easter and during the winter holidays, we pump out thrice our regular volume of products. In every corner of the bakery there are folks icing cookies, dipping chocolates, or packaging up boxes of treats. Customers line up around the block each holiday to get their favourite pies, cakes, and seasonal treats from our little bake shop. The level of support is always humbling, and its been a privilege to have our baked goods be the centrepiece of many gatherings over the years. Whether you have tasted these recipes at our bakery or are just now discovering us, were sure we will have you drooling in no time. Each chapter of this book focuses on a holiday or type of gathering, progressing seasonally through the year from Valentines Day at the beginning of the year to a New Years Eve bash. Weve always been driven to host gatherings and bring people together with food, and weve been planning and throwing celebrations together for over a decade now. A gathering can be intimatejust your household or a few close friends or familyor as grand as a wedding. Its not the size of the gathering that counts but the connection it creates.

In these pages well share all our best party planning and successful gathering advice along with our favourite recipes. Get intimate with Hot Cinnamon Blondies (), both included in our Birthdays chapter. We will help you gain an understanding of how important it is to prepare, not only so you will be ready to host but so you can actually enjoy the celebration too. Let us walk you through timing, preparation, adding a sense of playfulness, and building an environment of connection. If you want to host a gathering, weve got the perfect recipes for you to share.

You will find useful information at the top of each recipe. Vegan recipes contain no animal products and are identified with a V symbol. Note the yield for the recipe you are making. This is essential information to make sure you will have enough for your guests. The yield allows you to plan for doubling or tripling recipes, if needed. You also will notice a Prep and Cook time associated with each recipe. Prep indicates the active time involved in a recipe, including any microwaving and most stovetop activities. Cook indicates the total bake time. Where appropriate, any extra time needed (such as for cooling or chilling) is indicated. Each recipe also includes Do Ahead instructions to clarify timelines and help you plan dishes. When preparing multiple recipes for a gathering, it will help to know what you can make ahead.