atrcapital.co.uk

Category: Blog

  • Custom Christmas Biscuits Gifts

    3 Good Reasons to Send Enchanting Christmas Biscuit Gifts in 2020

    Well there’s not much to say about 2020 – I think we all know what a rather strange, and unsettling year it has been. Who would have thought that working from home, home schooling, Zoom and signing off ‘Stay Safe’ would be the norm?

    Christmas wreath biscuits - biscuits for business from Enchanting Bakes

    Christmas WILL happen this year, but again we have no idea exactly how it will happen and what that will look like. Will there be Christmas parties? Or even a drink in the office? At this stage, it all seems to be a ‘maybe but probably not…’

    But that doesn’t mean you need to give up on Christmas gifting. If anything it makes it more important than ever to send a thank you, a Season’s Greetings and some festiveness (if that is even a word!) to staff and customers – wherever they are. After such a strange year with many people furloughed, and many others not seeing their colleagues other than through a screen, why not send a custom made sweet treat to reconnect everyone, and raise a smile.

    So why choose Enchanting Bakes to send festive greetings to you staff or customers?

    edibly printed logo christmas biscuit gift box

    1 IT’S PERSONAL

    Choosing a custom biscuit design for your gifting shows that you have thought through the gift you are giving. Whether it is a year like the one we have had, or a ‘normal’ year, everyone wants to feel thought about and receive a gift that thought has clearly gone in to. Bespoke biscuits are the perfect way to do that.

    2 THEY SHOW APPRECIATION

    Christmas is the time to thank people, remind them of your working relationship and show them that you appreciate what they do for you – whether they are an employee or customer. If there was ever a year we need to reach out and make sure people know they are appreciated, then this is surely it. As my mum told me, ‘Always say Thank You!’

    3 EVERYONE LOVES BISCUITS!

    There’s not more to add here, other than people genuinely love biscuits! They are very uncontroversial (appropriate for everyone regardless of faith, life stage and role). But more importantly, people like biscuits and like to eat biscuits and eating biscuits makes people happy – which is the perfect emotion to associate with your brand!

    The perfect gift for 2020. A branded, mask wearing gingerbread man!

    Here at Enchanting Bakes, we have a passion for biscuits, and for making creative, interesting Christmas gifts that will spread some biscuits happiness! All can be tailored to your company or event (whether online or offline). From a Thank You festive biscuit with a cup of tea (individually sealed teabags), to branded gift boxes, colour in and eat your own biscuit baubles and mask-wearing gingerbread men, there is something for everyone.

    Get in touch to find out more!

    Enchanting Bakes is a small boutique biscuiterie based in Twickenham. We make delicious, custom biscuits to make people smile.

  • Love In The Time of Covid – Biscuit By Post

    Posting biscuits and happiness across the UK!

    I was reflecting the other day about the biscuits we have baked over the past 6 months (since lockdown started). I scrolled through the images of all the delicious biscuits we have baked and iced, and I realised that my dream of creating a business that makes people happy is well and truly here!

    We have made such a huge array of biscuits for individuals, companies, team leaders, parents, kids, people living on their own, people wishing they had more privacy and so many, many more. At a time when so many needed isolation gifts, we have been able to send custom and personalised biscuits through the letterbox. And the overwhelming theme has been sending custom biscuits by post to let people know they are loved, thought about, appreciated and missed.

    custom message biscuits

    It has been a privilege to send some of the personal messages on biscuits that children and grandchildren have sent to their isolating parents, messages of strength friends have sent to each other, reminders of better times sent on photo cookies, and sometimes just a simple rainbow biscuit to remind people that this will pass.

    An absolute favourite was a mother who sent a custom biscuit gift by post to her son. He is in his early 20’s and was living alone through lockdown in a flat with no contact with anyone other than through a computer screen. She asked us to create a photo cookie biscuit gift box with images of her son as a (very cute) toddler, with the message “You are amazing, strong and have got this. Never forget that. Love from Baby [Name] from the past”. I have to admit as a mother, this made me well-up slightly, and I felt so privileged that we were helping raise a smile to someone who really needed it.

    We have also worked with lots of companies since their staff were no longer able to work in offices. Managers wanted to find ways to let people know they were appreciated, and recognise that everyone who normally worked together were working apart and in very different circumstances. Another manager wanted to find a way to bring everyone together and recreate the office camerdarie – even if only for an afternoon. We have created everything from branded and customised biscuit gift boxes sent to every team member, through to a single Thank You biscuit and a tea bag to encourage people to have a cup of tea and a biscuit whilst chatting with colleagues. Again, baking custom biscuits to help bring some positivity at difficult time has ben a real privilege.

    So as a small business owner in a rather turbulent year, I feel so proud that we have designed, baked, iced and delivered such an array of amazing, loving, funny, bittersweet and personal messages onto biscuits.

    So just get in touch if you want to find out how we can help you send some custom biscuits by post. I know biscuits can’t fix things, but they do make things just a little bit better!

  • Thank You Teachers

    We all keep saying it but 2020 really is the most bizarre year. The fact that we are approaching the end of term even though most children haven’t been in school since March 20th seems so strange. But up and down the country, remarkable teachers and support staff have been keeping going, maintaining classes and schooling, and helping children cope with this ‘new normal’ as best as they can.

    So if ever there was a year to thank teachers and send them special end of term gifts, this is surely it. Accordingly we have developed a limited range of Thank You Teacher Gift Boxes with personalised teacher gifts and custom thank you biscuits. (click here to order)

    For me personally, I am so impressed and inspired with how the my daughter’s teachers have kept on teaching (through a screen), checked in on them, whilst continuing to keep key worker school open. So from me, a huge THANK YOU to the teachers, TA’s, school receptionist, school cleaners, head teachers and everyone else who has tried to make this strange time as happy as possible for our children.

    Our gift boxes are available in our Etsy shop and are all letterbox friendly. End of Term gifts are always so important to the teachers to let them know they are appreciated, so please let us know any questions.

    Thank You Teachers!

  • Team Appreciation and Happiness – A Case Study

    “I love this – such a great idea”

    CEO of the company of this case study.

    We have been working with quite a few companies looking at ways they can help their team members continue to feel engaged and appreciated with seem many of them working at home.

    In the current climate, with so many staff currently working from home, business leaders and managers are looking for ways to keep their people motivated and engaged. The sense of camaraderie and day to day relationships are missing, and the contact with the people seen every day is now only through a computer screen.

    Furthermore, everyone working from home is working in a very different set-up with some living alone, and others trying to manage home schooling before their work day begins.

    We have recently worked with a large energy company. As with most businesses, all of their staff have been working from home since March.

    Having spoken with the CEO, he was looking for a slightly different way to communicate with his team and let them know they are appreciated by him and the business. He wanted something unique, appropriate for everyone and branded to help the sense of belonging. He also wanted to raise a little smile and give people a well-deserved break!

    We created biscuit giftboxes for every team member that included logo biscuits, plus message biscuits saying “Thank You for all your hard work”, and “Apart but still one”. Each box also included a personal gift note “We are all in the same storm but not in the same boat” recognising that each team member was having a different experience and facing different challenges whilst working from home.

    And as an added element, and to add a little smile, we included a single tea bag with the note thanking everyone, and encouraging them to take some “much deserved time out and have a cup of tea and a biscuit”. Each box was posted directly to the team members house.

    The response was great with people emailing thank you’s (and the odd post on social media too!) The CEO said “For a small gesture, these biscuit gift boxes really do make a difference to reminding our staff we appreciate them and everything they are doing at such a challenging time. Thank You!”

    We were delighted to work on these for this company. Small personalised gifts showing people they are appreciated and remain part of a team are so important to maintaining morale at the current time. Biscuits can’t fix things, but they can make things a little bit better!

    To find out how we can help you, please get in touch info@enchantingbakes.co.uk

  • Custom Father’s Day Gifts Delivered Straight to the Door

    Its Father’s Day on June 21st this year. It has been such a strange year so far and many of us have not been able to spend anywhere near as much time with Dad’s and Grandad’s as we would have liked. At the time of writing, I guess we don’t know who we can see and how we can see them. Will it be a self- isolation Father’s Day, or we will be able to see them. So in my world, that makes this Father’s Day an extra special one, and a great reason to send some custom and unique biscuit gifts.

    We have been making delicious biscuit gift boxes for a few years now and have designed our packaging not only to be lovely, but also to be letterbox friendly so we can post directly to your Dad, or to you to deliver personally.

    All of our biscuit gift boxes are available in our Etsy Shop. And read on for my thoughts for our top 3 Father’s Day biscuit gift boxes for 2020:

    No. 3 Happy Father’s Day Biscuits

    Simple, beautiful and delicious, this biscuit gift box is is perfect to wish your Dad a Happy Father’s Day. Add your personalised gift message. Sweet and simple.

    No. 2 Custom Father’s Day Biscuits

    Whether for Daddy, Dad, Stepdad, Grandad, Pops or any other name you have for your Dad, just let us know and this bright and colourful Father’s Day gift box is sure to make him smile.

    No. 1 Edible Photo Biscuit Father’s Day Gift Box

    Completely unique, and such a quirky Father’s Day gift. An edible photo biscuit gift box is perfect especially in the year of Coronavirus when we have all been kept apart from our Dad’s and Grandad’s.

    All of these Father’s Day gifts are available in our Etsy shop . The post is taking slightly longer than normal so please don’t leave it too late to order. We will add a sticker to each box saying the gift should not be opened until June 21st. (Our biscuits are sealed and have a best before of 6 weeks).

    So whether you will be near or far from your Dad / Grandad this year, I hope one of our custom biscuit gift boxes for Father’s Day will make him smile.

    Stay safe,

    Griselda x

  • Letterbox Biscuit Gifts – custom biscuits posted straight to your employees

    Well, Coronavirus has certainly changed the way we are all doing things. Colleagues and teams who once saw each other every day now only see each other through screens. And as dates for returning to an office remain under discussion, often employees and staff can feel unsettled.
    It is also important to recognise many of the challenges employees are facing as they work from home. Many people live alone and have barely any interaction with other people in an average day (if at all). Others are home schooling whilst holding down a full-time job. With all these different circumstances and new pressures on our colleagues and friends, small acts to show them they are appreciated take on much significance, and employee wellbeing is so important.

    A Cup of Tea and a Biscuit

    As many of the workforce continue to work from home, or are furloughed, we have been looking at ways we can help keep teams feeling engaged and motivated.

    Now, I am in no way suggesting that biscuits can fix things, but I do know that receiving a biscuit gift through the post to team working from home can really brighten their day, spread a smile and preseve the camaraderie we all took for granted when offices were open.

    We have been creating custom biscuit gifts for some of our clients, and the feedback to date has been wonderful:-

    “Thank you so much. They loved them.”

    “What an amazing idea – it really perked people up.”

    “I love them – thank you!”

    “We all had a cup of tea and a biscuit on Zoom together.”

    It’s not a meeting without biscuits

    So why not send them a thank you gift – let them know you appreciate the effort they are putting in and the juggling many are doing to keep things going. We can all acknowledge that things are tough, but let people know they are still part of a team, even if they haven’t seen them other than through a screen for weeks. You can use our biscuits gifts to say thank you and just show your team you care.

    Get In touch info@enchantingbakes.co.uk to find out more, or place an order.

    Enchanting Bakes is a small biscuiterie specialising in delicious, custom biscuits and cookies. Please contact us to find out more about our logo biscuits, custom cookies, photo cookies and more.

  • Easy Orange Shortbread (dipped in dark chocolate)

    This is such an easy and delicious recipe. One for the kids, or keep them all for yourself. The dark chocolate dip adds some luxury to these, but they work just brilliantly without.

    125g butter
    50g caster sugar
    zest of one orange
    180g plain flour

    Pre-heat the oven to 180C (or 170C if fan-assisted).
    Cream the butter and caster sugar together. Add the zest and stir through. Then mix in the flour to make a dough. Roll the dough out to approx 1cm deep and cut into fingers or rounds. Place on a baking tray (lined with baking paper) and bake for 10-15 mins (this will vary depending on your oven and the size you cut them to. You can check them after 8-10 mins to see how they are doing). Once they are just starting to turn golden the edges they are ready.

    Allow to cool and they are delicious if you eat them as they are or…

    Melt 100g plain chocolate in a heat proof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the owl isn’t touching the simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove the pan and tip it slightly so you can dip the cooled shortbreads in. Place on clean baking paper to set.

    Enjoy!

  • Piping Icing Easter Egg Biscuits

    So it’s Easter this weekend and what a strange one it will be this year. We had been planning Easter icing workshops with some of our business customers. We can pre-bake our delicious biscuits and bring them to your office along with icing bags, sprinkles, edible paints and other sweet decorations. We bring everything with us, treat your team to an hour or two of engaging and creative fun, whilst learning a new skill and having a sweet treat at the end. (We also clear up and leave only happy people and delicious biscuits behind!)

    Anyway, for obvious reasons, we are not going to be running our Easter Egg Biscuit Decorating Workshops at the current time. But we thought we would still share how we pipe our Easter eggs biscuits with you as it is a really fun activity to be doing this time of year, and something you can do with the family, or anyone else you are self-isolating with!

    Firstly you need to decide your biscuit shape. If you have cookie cutters then great. If not, you can use an upside down glass or cup to cut rounds, or you can use a piece of cardboard to make a template and use this to hand cut your biscuits (and icing) so they are all the same shape.

    Next, bake your biscuits. We use a sugar cookie recipe for most of our biscuits, but for these shortbread will work just as well.

    Allow to cool and then you can get icing (although these shortbreads are so delicious you need to make sure you don’t just start eating them straight away).

    If you can get hold of fondant icing (which is also called ready to roll icing at the supermarket), this is ideal to cover the biscuits. You can roll this out to a few mm thickness and then cut to the same shape as the biscuit. Spray or sprinkle a very small amount of water over the biscuit and put the cut icing shape on top. You just want enough water to make it stick and not to make the biscuit soggy. A clean water sprayer (like the ones for misting plants) is ideal but please please make sure it is brand new, completely clean and has only ever had water in it.

    And now the fun bit…the piping icing! You need Royal Icing for this which you can buy in the sugar section in supermarkets. Put some royal icing sugar in a bowl add cold water (very slowly and in very small amounts – you’d be amazed how little you need! Use the quantities on the box as a guide). You want the icing to be the consistency of toothpaste or the inside of a Creme Egg. Once ready, put it into a piping bag, and you can decorate any which way you please! I often draw my pattern out onto a piece of paper first, but the whole point is to be creative and have some fun!

    Let the icing dry for 30 mins or so, and then if you have it you can paint with edible paints. Use a really clean paint brush and again, be as creative as you want!

    We would love to see your biscuits so please tag us on Instagram or share on Facebook. @enchantingbakes

    Happy icing and Happy Easter!

    Griselda x

    Please get in touch if you would be interested in finding out more about our icing workshops for your team or business, or for a group of friends.

  • Biscuit Cake / Cake Biscuit Icing Workshop

    We recently ran a Valentine’s biscuit decorating workshop. You may have seen these amazing biscuits cakes – they are large biscuits cut to shape, and then iced with fluffy buttercream before being decorated with a host of sweet treats.

    Our biscuit decorating workshop was themed for Valentine’s Day. We brought along our hand baked vanilla sugar cookies in a range of shapes and sizes, supplied, piping bags, fondant icing, holds, cutters, food colouring and got everyone decorating.

    We started with everyone hand icing the smaller biscuits to go on top of the larger biscuit bake and introduced a few techniques and skills to the group. Once they had had time to decorate their ‘topping’ biscuits, we brought out the large biscuits for decorating. Again, after a brief tutorial, everyone was able to pipe their own larger biscuits with our fluffy buttercream before assembling the final creations. They decorated their biscuit cakes with the biscuits they had iced, and a selection of other treats we supplied including themed sweets and sprinkles.

    The results were fantastic with everyone taking home their own beautiful, delicious and personal biscuit cake. Even better though was the feedback we got from the class.

    “I can’t believe I made all this myself. I love it!”

    “That’s 2 hours of the most brilliant R&R. I really needed that – thank you!”

    “It’s so nice to do something creative and make something with my hands”

    “Can we stay here and do this all day?”

    Our biscuits decorating workshops and icing workshops are an excellent few hours of doing something creative, relaxing and fun. We can tailor any workshop for you, and we cna bring everything with us (and leave only smiles and beautiful biscuits).

    Contact us to find out more.

  • The Great Bake Off Ice Off

    A unique, fun team activity at a company event.

    The Background

    One of the most exciting projects we worked on last year happened at the end of November, 2019. We were approached by BBC Studios to talk about a corporate event they were having with the producers of the international versions of The Great Bake Off (not just GBBO but there’s The Great Bake Off’s in so many countries including Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Australia…the list goes on.) They were looking for a fun, engaging and creative activity to include in a 2 day conference being hosted at BBC Television Centre in London.

    The Idea – Different, quirky and team-based

    We worked with the event management team to develop their concept. They were looking for a fun, team-building activity with a competitive element that was on-theme, and also was different to what they had done before. They wanted to offer the delegates something light-hearted, with a baking association that was both engaging, created something impressive and was not overly complicated or messy! It needed to be something that could be brought to them at their head office and then cleared away with ease.

    The Concept – Creative and engaging

    After discussing a few different ideas, we progressed with creating a large collage made of individual biscuits that would be decorated by each team, and then put together to make a final image. The image would be divided into 50 square – each with a small part of the bigger picture on. Teams would be given random squares to copy in icing, and then we wold slot these into the larger biscuit collage.

    The Main Event

    We set up worktables (just like in the big white tent!) Each team was supplied with ‘blank canvas’ iced biscuits, icing bags with different colours of icing in, some edible paper, edible ink felt pens, and 6 random picture squares to reproduce in icing.

    The delegates were told which team they were in and joined their work stations. And then the icing began!

    As each iced square was completed, it was brought to the front and included into the larger picture collage on a big square frame. Each team also iced a final biscuit with their team name on which was added at the end of the activity.

    The Results – Fun, enjoyable, engaging team event

    As each biscuit was completed, it was wonderful to see the final image being put together. As individual squares, the decorators could not tell what the final image was, and so had to reproduce the square they had as best they could. Despite aiming for a big reveal at the end, the excitement as each biscuit got slotted into place was infectious as the bigger picture started to come together. And as you can see…they did pretty well!

    In terms of delivering against the original objectives, the delegates enjoyed the creativity and ‘hands on’ aspects of this workshop, and really enjoyed the competitive element! As promised, the event was different, quirky, on-theme and also involved everyone. We were delighted to be thanked by many of the participants who said how much they enjoyed icing the biscuits (and in fact taking extra biscuits to make a few more!)

    The Feedback

    “Thanks for all of your hard work on the biscuit activity last week. It was a big success and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. It was a great way to break up the afternoon and your creative ideas and enthusiasm helped us to achieve a unique activity….the biscuits were delicious too!”

    Want to find out more?

    If you have a team or client event coming up, and would like to talk through unique and creative ideas with us, please just get in touch to see what we can do for you!

    info@enchantingbakes.co.uk