They say you can’t have your cake and eat it. To which any seasoned cake enthusiast would reply, “why not?”
When husband and wife team Doreen and Wilfred Carleton of Carleton Cakes started producing their outstanding range of tempting treats in Cootehill, Co Cavan in 1994, they were determined to have their cake and eat it, too. Running a busy family farm alongside a fledgling cake business meant multi-tasking to beat the band. Setting up any new venture is a gamble and for a long time they juggled both, which proved to be a delicate balancing act.
Since then, Carleton Cakes has gone from strength to strength and is now a beloved member of the Dunnes Stores Simply Better family. The couple complement each other perfectly, each bringing their own special talents to the double-act.
“Doreen’s area of expertise is cakes. My area of expertise is tasting them,” says Wilfred. At the beginning, however, it was by no means a given that things would take off for Carleton Cakes.
“For the first few years in business we lost quite a bit of money. We nearly gave up, but the farm kept us alive. So, it was touch and go at the beginning,” says Wilfred. Doreen picks up the story. “We started off as a small bakery in our local town of Cootehill. It was an effort, really, to raise funds and to rear four children in 199…”
“1994,” confirms Wilfred, with his shrewd head for dates and figures, “August, 1994.”
One and a half staff
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Season's eatings
The Dunnes Stores
Simply Better range includes the Handmade Chocolate & Cranberry Florentine Slices by Carleton Cakes
For businesses such as Carleton, the Simply Better brand - of which the couple are personal fans - is a stamp of approval and real signifier of quality.
How Carleton Cakes went from little local bakery
to award-winning purveyor of delectable treats
That first incarnation of Carleton Cakes was a small retail unit in Cootehill.
“We rented a space of about 400 square feet on the main street. We worked from there and started with one person full-time and one person part-time. We always say, we had one and a half people when we started out,” Doreen says.
Those one and half people did the work of at least two, and with a little bit of inspiration and lots of hard work, their output began to rise like a slow soufflé under the steady heat of a baker’s oven.
These days, things have increased tenfold and their staff tally is, as they might say, ‘one and a half hundred’. Carleton Cakes now employs 150 people, giving a boost to the economy of Cootehill and the surrounding areas. The enterprise is very much a local success story, one that is giving back to the community and firmly rooted in the local population.
“After about three years, we extended to a small ‘Coffee Corner’ — a coffee area with five tables,” continues Wilfred. “That worked fairly well, and then after a five-year period and the lease was up, we decided to move into the wholesale end of things.”
For businesses such as Carleton, the Simply Better brand — of which the couple are personal fans — is a stamp of approval and real signifier of quality.
“That’s where Simply Better excels,” says Doreen, “because they insist on small batches. They like us to source our ingredients locally from other Simply Better producers”.
“And that’s a good thing too, because it creates a sense of community and that’s important,” Wilfred adds.
That small-batch process comes across in the flavour and texture of the entire Carleton range. When the Carleton Christmas cakes are made, the fruit is weighed and then soaked in fine mature whiskey, all by hand, using a traditional method that connects the consumer to the process in a tactile manner.
Increasingly, consumers like to know that raw materials are sourced from reliable suppliers and that the human hand is involved in the manufacture of what they eat, at this or any other time of year.
“I call it real, proper food,” Doreen says. “Free range eggs, sourced locally in Cavan, proper butter, full fat milk, all the good stuff. Just eat what you enjoy - and walk an extra loop around the block,” she laughs.
There are also award-winning Handmade Salted Caramel Slices — made with single-origin Colombian chocolate sourced from the talented people at Áine’s Handmade Chocolates, also based in Co Cavan. For something with a crumbly, tangy freshness there are Handmade Irish Mixed Berry Crumble Slices — made with an Irish mixed berry preserve. And for complete indulgence, try the Handmade Belgian Chocolate Brownies, which showcase the best in Irish butter, free range Irish eggs and Belgian chocolate. Any of these might be a feature on a festive sideboard near you over the coming season.
The brand’s Handmade Chocolate & Cranberry Florentine Slices also remain extremely popular. These succulent oblongs of mouth-watering flavour are made with the finest ingredients, from rich fruit mincemeat infused with brandy, cranberries and Belgian chocolate to the light dusting of crunchy flaked almonds, corralled atop a perfectly baked all-butter shortbread base.
When it comes to innovation, recent Yuletide additions include the development of Hand Decorated 8 Mini Fruit Cakes, which make sense for small get-togethers and for anyone entertaining in more intimate numbers.
A self-raising family
NEVEN'S RECIPE FOR
Carleton
Cakes
Having
their cake
Shop The Simply Better Collection
A cut above
The best-selling Simply Better Hand Iced
Richly Fruited Christmas Cake Slices are a big hit with Dunnes Stores shoppers
The presidential sweet
It takes two
Doreen and Wilfred Carleton, founders of Carleton Cakes
A Carleton Christmas is a bustling affair: the wider clan will descend on Cootehill for the big day this year, so the premises closes for three whole days as Doreen and Wilfred put their feet up.
“We have 13 grandchildren and every other year they come to us on Christmas day. Every second year they arrive the day after, so obviously we have to share with ‘the other side of the house’. It's a bit mad in our house, and there’s a lot of food. Sometimes I think we're a bit like the Italians - you know how for them, food is the answer to everything?”
If cake is the answer, who really cares what the question is. The best thing is to enjoy the time off, with a side of flavoursome indulgence.
A family day in
Co. Monaghan
Carleton
Cakes
Co. Monaghan
It takes a village
The What's For Pudding? team celebrate their Great Taste award
Savour the heartwarming delights of this family-run Irish dessert business, sprinkled with love and tradition
Top notch
Simply Better All Butter Lemon Sponge Puddings baked with a layer of luscious lemon curd served with blueberries, pomegranate and mint
When asked for advice for all those baking and preparing desserts of their own for Christmas Day, Doreen says, “Real ingredients are key. It's also very important to mix your butter and your sugar: that's the first stage of the process, to mix extremely well before you add your flour. Keep a good consistency. Also, it is key to soak the fruit for a minimum of 24 hours. There isn't really a maximum time and obviously, if you can let it soak for 36 or 48 hours, the dried fruit absorbs even more of the moisture of the liquid. It improves the flavour.”
‘Ovening’ is crucial, too. A longer, slower bake is how Carleton Cakes achieves the perfect texture their customers enjoy, so leave yourself plenty of time for a long bake if you are making a Christmas cake or plum pudding yourself. Or you can simply choose one of the Simply Better delights from Carleton Cakes, available throughout the festive season on the shelves at Dunnes Stores. Then, you can put your feet up — and have their cake and eat it.
Christmas bakes
SERVES
10 12
PREP TIME
10
SET TIME
120
1. Using a spatula, pour the cartons of custard into a large bowl and whisk in the chocolate sauce until smooth.
2. Cut the brownies in half and place in the bottom of a trifle bowl. Drizzle over the coffee. Roughly crush the salted caramel sable biscuits and sprinkle over the brownies. Spoon the chocolate custard mixture over the top, then cover and chill for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
2 cartons Simply Better Coole Swan Fresh Custard
1 carton Simply Better Handmade Belgian Chocolate Sauce
2 packets Simply Better Handmade Belgian Chocolate Brownies
4 tbsp freshly brewed Simply Better Single Estate Brazilian Coffee, cooled
1 packet Simply Better Salted Caramel Sablé Biscuits
2 cartons Simply Better Single Source Irish Jersey Cream
1 packet Simply Better Handmade Belgian Milk Chocolate Buttons
100g bar Simply Better Single Origin Colombian Dark Chocolate
50g bar Simply Better Handmade Honeycomb Belgian Milk Chocolate, finely chopped
NEVEN’S RECIPE FOR
Belgian Chocolate Trifle
See Neven Maguire’s Belgian Chocolate Trifle recipe
See Neven Maguire’s Belgian Chocolate Trifle recipe
3. Whisk the cream until peaks form, and dollop on top. Decorate with the milk chocolate buttons and the chopped honeycomb chocolate. Serve straight to table in all its glory!
The business has grown substantially over the last 10 years and become a family affair. The Carletons’ two sons, Richard and Dylan, have joined the business and manage the minute detail of the day-to-day running of the company.
“We take a back seat. Some might say it’s not quite far enough back, but there you go,” laughs Wilfred. Indeed, these back-seat drivers have steered the business to a healthy position over the last number of years, with no loss of quality.
Simply Better has worked with Carleton Cakes since 2019 and the range has expanded year-on-year. And with Christmas not far away, now is an ideal time to stock up on Carleton’s award-winning creations, such as the Handmade Irish Raspberry Bakewell Slices, made with a delicious Irish raspberry preserve from Wexford Home Preserves.
The main bread and butter at this time of year would be our Christmas cake slices. They’ve sold relentlessly, year-in and year-out,” remarks Wilfred, “and I suppose — as the old story goes — if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
The slices contain “proper butter and lovely brown sugar,” Doreen explains. “The fruit is infused in whiskey from the West Cork Distillery and then there are top-of-the-range raisins, cherries, and so on.”
Doreen is at pains to emphasise the handmade nature of all stages of the cake-making process, including — quite literally — the icing on the cake: handmade marzipan and the other accoutrements that make Carleton Cakes so appetising.
Made for sharing
Dunnes Simply Better Hand Decorated 8 Mini Fruit Cakes
For businesses such as Carleton, the Simply Better brand - of which the couple are personal fans - is a stamp of approval and real signifier of quality.
The business has grown substantially over the last 10 years and become a family affair. The Carletons’ two sons, Richard and Dylan, have joined the business and manage the minute detail of the day-to-day running of the company.
“We take a back seat. Some might say it’s not quite far enough back, but there you go,” laughs Wilfred. Indeed, these back-seat drivers have steered the business to a healthy position over the last number of years, with no loss of quality.
Simply Better has worked with Carleton Cakes since 2019 and the range has expanded year-on-year. And with Christmas not far away, now is an ideal time to stock up on Carleton’s award-winning creations, such as the Handmade Irish Raspberry Bakewell Slices, made with a delicious Irish raspberry preserve from Wexford Home Preserves.
There are also award-winning Handmade Salted Caramel Slices — made with single-origin Colombian chocolate sourced from the talented people at Áine’s Handmade Chocolates, also based in Co Cavan. For something with a crumbly, tangy freshness there are Handmade Irish Mixed Berry Crumble Slices — made with an Irish mixed berry preserve. And for complete indulgence, try the Handmade Belgian Chocolate Brownies, which showcase the best in Irish butter, free range Irish eggs and Belgian chocolate. Any of these might be a feature on a festive sideboard near you over the coming season.
The brand’s Handmade Chocolate & Cranberry Florentine Slices also remain extremely popular. These succulent oblongs of mouth-watering flavour are made with the finest ingredients, from rich fruit mincemeat infused with brandy, cranberries and Belgian chocolate to the light dusting of crunchy flaked almonds, corralled atop a perfectly baked all-butter shortbread base.
When it comes to innovation, recent Yuletide additions include the development of Hand Decorated 8 Mini Fruit Cakes, which make sense for small get-togethers and for anyone entertaining in more intimate numbers.
The main bread and butter at this time of year would be our Christmas cake slices. They’ve sold relentlessly, year-in and year-out,” remarks Wilfred, “and I suppose — as the old story goes — if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
The slices contain “proper butter and lovely brown sugar,” Doreen explains. “The fruit is infused in whiskey from the West Cork Distillery and then there are top-of-the-range raisins, cherries, and so on.”
Doreen is at pains to emphasise the handmade nature of all stages of the cake-making process, including — quite literally — the icing on the cake: handmade marzipan and the other accoutrements that make Carleton Cakes so appetising.
When it comes to innovation, recent Yuletide additions include the development of Hand Decorated 8 Mini Fruit Cakes, which make sense for small get-togethers and for anyone entertaining in more intimate numbers.
The main bread and butter at this time of year would be our Christmas cake slices. They’ve sold relentlessly, year-in and year-out,” remarks Wilfred, “and I suppose — as the old story goes — if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
The slices contain “proper butter and lovely brown sugar,” Doreen explains. “The fruit is infused in whiskey from the West Cork Distillery and then there are top-of-the-range raisins, cherries, and so on.”
Doreen is at pains to emphasise the handmade nature of all stages of the cake-making process, including — quite literally — the icing on the cake: handmade marzipan and the other accoutrements that make Carleton Cakes so appetising.
A Carleton Christmas is a bustling affair: the wider clan will descend on Cootehill for the big day this year, so the premises closes for three whole days as Doreen and Wilfred put their feet up.
“We have 13 grandchildren and every other year they come to us on Christmas day. Every second year they arrive the day after, so obviously we have to share with ‘the other side of the house’. It's a bit mad in our house, and there’s a lot of food. Sometimes I think we're a bit like the Italians - you know how for them, food is the answer to everything?”
If cake is the answer, who really cares what the question is. The best thing is to enjoy the time off, with a side of flavoursome indulgence.
A family day in
SERVES
10 12
PREP TIME
10
SET TIME
120
1. To make the pastry, place the flour, butter, sugar and salt into a food processor and blend for 20 seconds. Add the milk, lemon zest, egg and yolk and blend again until the pastry just comes together – do not overwork the dough or the pastry will be tough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.
2. To make the frangipane, combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend for about 30-40 seconds until you achieve a soft paste.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4).
4. Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured work surface. Transfer the pastry to a 23cm (9in) fluted loose-bottomed flan tin, ensuring the pastry is pushed into the edges of the tin. Spread the mincemeat over the pastry in an even layer to cover the surface of the pastry. Then top the mincemeat with the frangipane and sprinkle over the flaked almonds. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
5. Dilute the apricot jam with a little lemon juice or water and bring to the boil, then brush the tart with this glaze. Serve warm with Simply Better Vanilla Bean Fresh Custard.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
175g plain flour
100g butter, diced and chilled
50g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
1 Simply Better Free Range Corn Fed Egg plus one extra yolk
½ Tbsp. Simply Better Organic Irish Jersey Milk
Zest of ½ lemon
NEVEN'S RECIPE FOR
Cranberry & Chocolate Mincemeat Frangipane Tart
They say you can’t have your cake and eat it. To which any seasoned cake enthusiast would reply, “why not?”
When husband and wife team Doreen and Wilfred Carleton of Carleton Cakes started producing their outstanding range of tempting treats in Cootehill, Co Cavan in 1994, they were determined to have their cake and eat it, too. Running a busy family farm alongside a fledgling cake business meant multi-tasking to beat the band. Setting up any new venture is a gamble and for a long time they juggled both, which proved to be a delicate balancing act.
Since then, Carleton Cakes has gone from strength to strength and is now a beloved member of the Dunnes Stores Simply Better family. The couple complement each other perfectly, each bringing their own special talents to the double-act.
“Doreen’s area of expertise is cakes. My area of expertise is tasting them,” says Wilfred. At the beginning, however, it was by no means a given that things would take off for Carleton Cakes.
“For the first few years in business we lost quite a bit of money. We nearly gave up, but the farm kept us alive. So, it was touch and go at the beginning,” says Wilfred. Doreen picks up the story. “We started off as a small bakery in our local town of Cootehill. It was an effort, really, to raise funds and to rear four children in 199…”
“1994,” confirms Wilfred, with his shrewd head for dates and figures, “August, 1994.”
Since then, Carleton Cakes has gone from strength to strength and is now a beloved member of the Dunnes Stores Simply Better family. The couple complement each other perfectly, each bringing their own special talents to the double-act.
“Doreen’s area of expertise is cakes. My area of expertise is tasting them,” says Wilfred. At the beginning, however, it was by no means a given that things would take off for Carleton Cakes.
“For the first few years in business we lost quite a bit of money. We nearly gave up, but the farm kept us alive. So, it was touch and go at the beginning,” says Wilfred. Doreen picks up the story. “We started off as a small bakery in our local town of Cootehill. It was an effort, really, to raise funds and to rear four children in 199…”
“1994,” confirms Wilfred, with his shrewd head for dates and figures, “August, 1994.”