Chris and his mum, Lynne Poyner
Even if you didn’t follow the Oscars last Sunday, you will most likely have seen a picture of Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton winning an Oscar for ‘Best Live Action Short Film Award’ for The Silent Child, quite an incredible achievement for first time Director Chris and his fiancée, writer and actor, Rachel.
The film, which is 20 minutes long, tells the story of Libby, played by 6-year-old Maisie Sly, who lives a silent life until a social worker, played by Shenton, teaches Libby how to communicate through sign language.
We caught up with Chris’s mum, Lynne Poyner, who helped to finance the film by making cupcakes!
Lynne is a cake artist and used to have her own cake business. Lynne learnt to bake as a child, helping her mum in the kitchen.
Lynne moved onto cake decorating later on in life and when Chris and Rachel suggested making cupcakes to raise money for their short film, Lynne rose to the challenge!
I was more than happy to help them raise funds as i just had a really good feeling that this film was going to be special
Around 1500 cupcakes later, Lynne sold the cupcakes, mainly via Rachel’s mum who works for a large company, raising a staggering £2,000!
Lynne said she made the usual flavours i.e. vanilla, chocolate, lemon but raspberry and white chocolate was very popular!
Lynne’s basic mix
340g butter
340g caster sugar
340g superfine SR flour
6 eggs
Drop of vanilla paste
Usual creaming method i.e. beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and gradually beat in the eggs. Gradually fold in sifted flour.
Using an ice cream scoop, pop the mixture into the cases and bake at 130* for approx 35 minutes (they should spring back when touched gently). Baking this way makes a beautiful rounded sponge cake.
Thank you Lynne for a wonderful story and congratulations on your son’s incredible achievement!
Who else has made cupcakes to raise money? We would love to hear your stories, email [email protected] or let us know in the comments below.
