With the resurgence of the British love affair with baking and eating cakes as an affordable treat, a baker and brewer both based in Calderdale have joined forces over a slice of real ale fruit cake! Lottie Shaw’s bakery in Elland and the Little Valley Brewery in Cragg Vale have teamed up to launch a rich Yorkshire fruit cake, baked with fruit soaked in naturally brewed Stoodley Stout, to offer a real taste of the Valleys.
Directors of each of the companies are graduates of the Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Business Programme. Charlotte Shaw of Lottie Shaw’s and Sue Cooper of Little Valley Brewery met on the course and decided that a business with a 100 year family baking heritage partnering with a master brewer could create a compelling product, a Seriously Good Fruit Cake with real Yorkshire pedigree.
Lottie Shaw’s is renowned for its Yorkshire Parkin and this rich new fruit cake will enhance its growing handcrafted cake range. The classic fruit cake is enriched with Stoodley Stout, a rich, dark stout containing chocolate and crystal malt with oats and wheat and is available in a new Lottie Shaw’s Yorkshire hamper and online at www.lottieshaws.co.uk.
Little Valley Brewery is the result of a lifetime ambition and love of brewing by founder, Wim van der Spek, a Dutch born Master brewer with a background in food science. Wim’s love affair with brewing started as a youngster and he even set up his own Beer Club at high school in Holland, which is still there today! Wim met his partner, Sue Cooper, in 1999 when each embarked on solo bicycle trips in Tibet and Kathmandu and in 2005 they established the Yorkshire brewery in Calderdale, producing fine hand crafted premium beers that are naturally brewed using 100 per cent organic ingredients.
Charlotte Shaw, director, Lottie Shaw’s commented “After meeting Sue on the Goldman Sachs programme, I knew her company had the same brewing philosophy as we adopt in our 100 year family baking heritage. We are delighted to be working with Little Valley Brewery, who produce superb fine ales, to create this Seriously Good fruit cake with a bit of Yorkshire class.”
Sue Cooper, Co-owner, Little Valley Brewery said: “This cake and ale collaboration is fantastic for both companies. We are excited to work with Lottie Shaw’s, a local company producing top quality, traditionally handcrafted baked goods and we hope our new fruit cake will be a hit with our respective customers.”