My Mini Christmas Cakes

 

 

 

I am really thrilled at how well my Mini Christmas Cakes have turned out.  I was in Lakeland (www.lakeland.co.uk) and saw these mini domed cake tins and thought how great they would look as Mini Christmas Cakes.  They are perfect as gifts for friends and family or perhaps to give to teachers to say Thank You.  I used a Mary Berry Christmas Cake receipe which is in last years Great British Bake Off Receipe Book.  I covered the cake with marzipan and white fondant and made some Red Glittery Stars for one cake and Holly with Berries for the other.

 

 

 

 

 

They are £6.50 each and come beautifully gift wrapped and delivered to your door!

 

 

 

Christening Cupcakes

I was asked by a lovely lady called Polly to provide her with some cakes for the Christening of her baby son.  Polly had contacted me after looking at my website and asked for a variety of delicious cakes.  These included some fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and we decided to use pastel colours and I made a variety of fondant figures to put on the top.

 

I made some little ducks, very cute teddy bears and some little tractors and I was very pleased at how they turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

I also made my Strawberry Layer Cake, Melting Moments and Rocky Road Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

A great selection I'm sure you'd agree!

Williams Superhero Birthday Party

 

 

I was asked to make some Batman Superhero Cupcakes for my friends little boy William.  It was his fifth birthday and he wanted 'Chocolate and Batman'.  Luckily his Daddy is an artist and he made me the Batman template to enable me to cut out the faces.  Quite tricky as these are small cupcakes and so I cut out Batmans mask in black fondant and then his chin with pink fondant. 

 

I stuck the chin to the mask to make the whole face.  When the fondant was dry I used an edible pen and drew on Batmans mouth.  I used tiny pieces of white fondant for the eyes and Hey Presto there was Batman!  I used a mini Black Cookie Cutter for the bats and used Royal Icing to write 'POW'on the other cupcakes.

 

 

 

 

William was very pleased with his Cupcakes as were all his friends!

Melissa's Wedding Cupcake Tower

I was so excited to be creating a Wedding Cupcake Tower for Melissa's wedding at the Goodwood Hotel (www.goodwood.co.uk).  The bride was using beautiful red roses in her bouquet and the colour red was also included within the wedding colourscheme.  After talking to Melissa about what flavour cakes she wanted and what sort of look she was after, we decided on Vanilla Cupcakes with rich Chocolate Frosting.  To match the red roses in her bouquet I made handmade fondant roses, each with a small leaf to put on the top of each cupcake.

I had to make 80 roses for the large Cupcakes and 20 rosebuds for the mini Cupcakes, plus 100 leaves!  I worked out that if I made 12 roses per night, two weeks before the wedding I would have them finished before baking began!

Once I had baked the cupcakes, I had a dummy run to see how I would set up the cupcakes on the tower and then frosting began.  Now the day of baking and frosting was a really hot day and it was a real challenge getting the frosting on the cupcakes before the butter started separating from the chocolate! 

Phew, Cupcakes frosted and decorated and now just needed to be transported.  Myself and my lovely ma packed them up and drove very carefully to the hotel!  We set up the tower and arranged the cupcakes, which all looked beautiful.  I had taken some fresh red roses and arranged them on the top tier and then sprinkled red petals around the base of the tower.........

Et Voila!........

My New Neon Colours!

What a week...the Olympic Torch came to Chichester and it was my son's last week at school.  I can't believe it's been a whole year since he started and I just had to bake his teachers some Thank You Cupcakes.  I also made 30 Olympic Torch Cupcakes...one each for Rory and his classmates.  It was the perfect chance to use my new Betty Crocker Neon Food Colourings which I found on www.Americansweets.co.uk.  They have so many things I love from America including Neon Cake Sprinkles and Oreo Cookie Pieces which are in the shape of tiny cows!  Very delicious in my Chocolate Brownies...yum

The Neon Colours come in Green, Purple, Pink (my absolute favourite, it is like pink bubblegum!)and Orange.  They really look amazing on dark chocolate and with the leftover icing I make iced flowers and other decorations to use on other Cupcakes and Cakes....no waste in my kitchen!

I used them on Rory's teachers Thank You Cupcakes and I think you will agree they look pretty amazing!

All packaged and ready to go!

The Hungry Caterpillar

I absolutely loved making this Hungry Caterpillar Cake.  It was for a repeat client of mine for whom I have made several cakes for grandchildren and great grandchildren!  This cake was for Otto who was having his 1st birthday and loved the Hungry Caterpillar.  It is a vanilla No 1 cake and I split it in half and filled it with my homemade Strawberry Jam and Buttercream (not an easy task!). 

I made the Hungary Caterpillar out of fondant and made some fruit to go with him, a little cupcake and a slice of cheese.  They all looked really effective on top of the cake.  I used pale green buttercream to compliment the green in the Caterpillar and around the bottom of the cake I used the icing nozzle that makes grass (I'm sure it has a special name but I have no idea what it is!).  I cut out fondant flowers and leaves and decorated the base of the cake with them.  I also made some bigger leaves and piped Otto's name on them.  I got this idea from www.lucys-cakes.com she makes amazing toppers for birthday cakes, so please have a look if you need any ideas for childrens birthday cakes.

Happy Birthday Otto

Stunning Strawberry Cake

I found the idea for this cake from an article in one of the Sunday Supplements.  Peggy Porshen had a receipe for a Strawberry Layer Cake and it was decorated using a doilie and coca powder.  I bought some really pretty doilies from Waitrose and used them to display some of my cakes when I went to the Rarebrandsmarket. 

The idea is you put the doilie on top of the cake and sieve cocoa powder over the top and voila!  You can get different designs on your cake depending on the doilie pattern.  I have put strawberries in the middle and it photographs really well.  This has proved to be a really popular cake, it is simple, tasty and as my friend said "stunning"

I think I will be making lots more of these cakes, at least for as long as the Strawberry season lasts!

The RarebrandsMarket

I had a fantastic time at the RarebrandsMarket last Thursday....here is a picture of some of the cakes I was selling.  I made Oreo Cookie Brownies, Strawberry Layer Cake and Cupcakes, Rocky Road Cupcakes, Melting Moments, Raspberry Fondants and Lemon Cake.  Everything sold really well, and people were very happy to see the Melting Moments.  It is a biscuit that was considered a bit old fashioned but is definitely making a happy comeback.

The Raspberry Fondants were courtesy of a recipe I found on www.iheartkatiecakes.blogspot.com ...Katies blog is one of my favourite cake blogs and I love trying her receipes and hearing about her baking experiences.  The fondants went down a storm with many people taking them home to have later, warmed up with cream or icecream. 

I met some lovely people at the market and was able to talk about what I did and hopefully some of them will be future customers.  I met two lovely ladies who both have blogs and their own websites www.olivehomeware.co.uk and www.lavenderloops.co.uk and they both mentioned me in their blogs...so lovely to be recognised as a good cake maker!  The photo below is courtesy of lavenderloops who also has a lovely facebook page........

Next event... Tarts For Troops www.tartsfortroops.org.uk on Friday 22 June at Bosham Village Hall.  This is an event I am actually organising myself...will let you know how it goes!

Happy Birthday Leah

My Sister-in-law Catherine asked if I would make her niece a birthday cake for 13th birthday.  A very important birthday for Leah as she had become a teenager.  A word to strike terror into every parent...I know I definitely went through the terrible teens.  Although my memories of my teenage years are a bit hazy, my mother seems to have a stock of stories recalling my worst moments.  Anyway,  Catherine has many talents but baking is not one of them and I am often asked to bake various cakes for all sorts of events.  This cake I was very happy to bake and I was able to use up the flowers and butterflies left over from the cakes I made for the Rarebrandsmarket....more of that later!

This is yet another Vanilla Sponge and Strawberry Buttercream Layer Cake, it seems people can't get enough of my Strawberry Buttercream...the flavour is intense due to my homemade Strawberry Jam but I won't wax lyrical again about the beauty of it....unless people insist!

The finished Cake!

The Joy of Jam!

Last year I made Plum Jam and I don't remember really enjoying making it...maybe it was because you have to remove the stone from every plum!  But Strawberry Jam is really easy and so delicious.  I found a brilliant receipe in my River Cottage Preserves Book by Pam Corbin.  She is the queen of Preserves and Jams and gives great advice etc when talking you through her recipes.

This is the first part of the Jam making process, where you put a couple of hundred grams of strawberries and sugar in the pan and then mash the fruit to pulp. 

The receipe suggests you use small fruit as if the strawberries are too big they will disintergrate and I have to say my jam is full of gorgeous whole strawberries.  I found the best Strawberries at Chichester Market, small and perfectly sweet.

And here are my lovely jars full of Strawberry Jam.  I just had to make some scones to see if the Jam was as good as it looked and guess what...its delicious.  So delicious I am going to take some with me to www.therarebrandmarket.co.uk on Thursday and share it with the general public.  I am also going to use it in my Strawberry Buttercream Layer Cake.

A Surprise for Claire!

I was phoned by a lovely lady called Pam who wanted to surprise her daughter by having a birthday cake delivered to her work!  Pam lives in Suffolk but found me on www.yell.com (hurrah I'm starting to show up on other search engines!).  I made a Vanilla Sponge Cake and used my Homemade Strawberry Jam in the middle and covered the cake with fresh Strawberry Buttercream.  I made White Fondant Flowers and painted the middles with Pink Edible Lustre.  The cake not only looked good but it smelt gorgeous too.

Pam phoned me later which was lovely as I had no idea if Claire had liked the cake or not.  Luckily she loved the cake and was absolutely thrilled with her surprise.  I don't mind saying I was left with a warm, fuzzy feeling!

Strawberrytastic!

At last English Strawberries are ready to be picked and eaten!  With this lovely batch of Strawberries I have made some Vanilla and Strawberry Cupcakes topped with Strawberry Buttercream.  I adapted a receipe that was actually for Blueberry Cupcakes from "Making Cupcakes with Lola" written by the girls who have the famous Lola Cupcakes Bakery in London.  This is a really light cupcake which incorporates Almonds and Yoghurt making it really moist.  I chopped up the strawberries really finely in the cupcake and for the buttercream I whizzed some Strawberries in the blender and added them bit by bit to the buttercream so it did'nt get too runny!  This is Summer in a Cupcake!

Jubilee Cupcakes...I Think I'm Ready....

My husband thinks I have gone a bit Jubilee mad...but when I see all the lovely merchandise I just can't help myself.  Jubilee Cupcakes deserve to be displayed to their full potential, a bit naff you may think but I think Fun Fun Fun!  Any excuse to bake for special events is ok with me....

These Jubilee Blackcurrant and Lemon Cupcakes are a delight and a bit of experiment of flavours...I used some of my homemade Lemon Curd to infuse the Vanilla Cupcakes and after they they had cooled I filled them with Blackcurrant Compote.  The Buttercream is also coloured using Blackcurrant Compote and tastes divine.  I love using fruit in cupcakes especially when it gives the Buttercream not only a great taste but a lovely natural colour.  NO PRESERVATIVES OR E NUMBERS.....COOL!

Lucy's Fairy Cake

It was Lucy's 5th Birthday and she decided she would like a Fairy Birthday Cake, so I found a fairy on Youtube that I liked the look of (not too Disney!) and set about making her.  As you can see she is a bit on the plump side (more like a Sugar Plum Fairy) and I did find that trying to make hands look like hands and not like feet quite difficult!

The fairy sat in all her splendour surrounded by flowers and butterflies and Lucy loved her, so much that she ate her!  Yes the fairy had a short but brilliant life making a little girl very happy and thats all that matters....

Lucy's Birthday Cupcakes

Lucy is Rory's first and best friend.   They were born on the same day a month apart but were actually due on the same day.  However Rory ever competetive, decided to come a month early!  Therefore Lucy is very special in our lives and I love making cakes for her.  She luuuuuuurves cake and so for her birthday I made not only a delightful fairy cake (see next post) but also these adorable mini cupcakes.  I was able to let loose with not only my favourite colours of pink and lilac but also with flowers, butterflies and glitter!  Fantastic!

Lemon Curd (I know...its not a cake!)

I thought I would include this in my blog because I was making Lemon Cupcakes and wanted some lemon curd to swirl through the Buttercream Frosting and to put in the middle of my Cupcakes.  0h my goodness...so easy and sooooo delicious, I had to stop myself eating it by the spoonful.  I found a receipe for it in the You Magazine which had included a section on baking with lemons. 

Take 3 small lemons and grate the zest from them into a pan.  Juice the lemons and strain into the pan.

Separate 4 eggs and whisk together 4 yolks and 3 egg whites until combined.

Strain the beaten eggs into the pan, add 225g sugar and 75g unsalted butter.

Place over gentle heat and stir continuously, until mixture has thickened, takes about 5 mins.  You can tell its ready when it coats the back of your spoon.   Make sure you do stir continuously, if you go away and leave it I think it could possibly turn into scrambled egg!

Pour into a 450g jar (sterilise first by washing in warm soapy water, rinse and dry in a hot oven).

I keep my in the fridge and it will last for about a week.  It makes great lemon tarts if you like making jam tarts!

Harry's Dinosaur Cake (Part 2)

I made Harry's Dinosaur cake by baking 2 x 10" round vanilla sponge cakes and cutting them into various dinosaur parts!  I used a template from www.instructables.com and put the pieces together with buttercream.  I also covered the whole cake with a thin buttercream coating to stop all the crumbs from appearing in the final coating of green buttercream.

I left it to dry overnight and then covered the whole of the dinosaur with green buttercream.  I made purple fondant triangles to run along his back like spikes and used jelly beans for claws.  I also made his eyes and nostrils from black and white fondant.  I used an icing nozzle that makes buttercream look like grass and surrounded the dinosaur with it.  I put the dinosaur figures around the board and put a little glitter on them to make them stand out. 

The children loved the cake and the last time I saw my very cute fondant dinosaurs they were being eaten by three very happy boys (sob!)

Harrys Dinosaur Cake (Part 1)

 It was Harry's fifth birthday and he really, really wanted a Dinosaur Cake!  I thought I would try and make some fondant dinosaurs to put around the cake and I found some great inspiration on the internet.  I had seen these as Toppers on the top of some Birthday Cupcakes and thought they would be perfect!  Great fun to make and so simple!

Jessie's Peppa Pig Birthday Cake

Jessie is a gorgeous little girl who is the daughter of my good friend Ali Gaudion.  She is a brilliant Wedding Photographer who is always giving me tips on how to take photo's.  I try my best but I'm better at making cakes!

Jessie wanted a Peppa Pig Cake and so I looked on Youtube and found a great video on how to make a Peppa Pig and hey presto...I think she looks pretty good.  It is a Vanilla Sponge Cake, covered in Strawberry Buttercream and decorated with handmade Flowers and Butterflies.  It was a joy to make and very popular with all the children.