80th Birthday Cake

I know, I know, I've been MIA.  I hope you haven't left me.  I am an emotional blogger - I find it hard to post when I'm feeling down.  But the other reason is, I am fussy.  I like to have pictures to accompany my posts.  It makes for more interesting reading I think, when there is something visual there too.  But since the photos I really wanted were on hubby's camera, I couldn't get them when I wanted them.  I am still waiting on said photos.  

But that's not all!  When I want to write catch-up posts, I have to have them in chronological order.  I just can't cope when they're not!  Even I am laughing at the silliness of this, but it messes with me... so I put off posting.  

Well, no more putting it off; even without those pics, I will go ahead and post.  And it may not be in chronological order!  But I'm going to get over that and post anyway.  I will try not to bombard with posts one after another with what has been going on.  There is a bit of cake, and a bit of Erik.  A bit of family and a bit of fun.  All the bits and pieces that make up this blog.

But first up, just a cake....

This one was made as a gift to my husbands grandmother, for her 80th birthday.  Only a small cake, 6", fruitcake.  I made the flowers, trying really hard to come up with a spray that was both classic, but with a more modern, cleaner feel to it.  These were the first flowers I had made since class!  We had to transport the cake with us over the 3 day journey interstate for the celebrations.  Fortunately, it made it there with minimal damage - a couple of leaf tips and only one orchid petal broke off.  I was able to fix the petal, thankfully, and the broken leaf tips were not even noticeable.

xx

Red Egg & Ginger Cake

This cake was made for a friend who held a red egg & ginger party for her son. I had never been to one of these before, much less made a cake for one! So I was really pleased when she asked me to do a cake for her.

In keeping with the theme, the cake is ginger, sandwiched together with white chocolate ganache to add some sweetness in contrast to the spiciness of the cake. The giant red egg was nestled in a chocolate nest, and the iced writing was gilded with edible gold for the perfect finishing touch.

I fell in love with the sleeping baby on the egg.... so cute!

xx

Sons Of Anarchy Cake

I made this a while ago for a friend of ours turned 30. It was my darling husband who kindly volunteered me to do his cake. Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE doing cakes for people - especially good friends - but at 3 days notice!!? Aarrgh! So I had all of 3 days to design, plan and make this cake, which is why the logo and rockers are very, very simple.

The idea for the theme came from hubby, and judging by the reaction of the birthday boy's friends and family, it was just perfect.

It was chocolate cake with jaffa ganache - absolutely delish! And yes, he loved it :)

xx

Baby Shower Cake

I made this cake for my friend's baby shower this weekend just gone. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to fit it in with everything I have going on at the moment, but I really wanted to do it, and I'm glad I did. Doing cake was just what I needed right now. I enjoy it so much, and it's such a relaxing outlet for me, despite the late hours that go into making one.

My friend is a very special lady. Her and her husband had been trying for a baby for so long. Something like 8 years, before they conceived this child. The day she pulled me aside at church and whispered that she was pregnant, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. So, so, SO happy for them. They are just the most awesome people, and they are both going to make such great parents. And so all of that makes this cake extra special, and I am so pleased to be able to do this for her.

You wanna know whats inside though, right? Well, I never did get a snapshot of the insides once it was cut, but I can tell you it was a cookies & cream mud cake with white chocolate ganache. It sounds rich, but actually, it was just really delightful. So many people raved about it that I wanted to go and hide, hah! I get shy, mmmkay?

I think this is the first baby shower cake I have made, and certainly the first tall cake I have made. So yeah, anyone who knows what they are looking will be able to see I had some issues with that tall cake, hehe. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with the outcome for a first try.

xx

I forgot to credit where I got the silhouette from! I certainly didn't design it myself - I can't draw to save my life, heh. This is where I found the picture, and the idea for the cake comes from a whole bunch of cakes after a google search for 'baby shower cakes' and 'pregnant lady cakes'. Credit where credit is due!

Pineapple & Cream Sponge

I thought we were about due for some more cake. But I haven't been baking anything special lately, so here is one I should have posted ages ago, but never seemed to have gotten around to it.

This was for my big sisters' birthday. She had been craving a sponge cake with fresh cream and pineapple. Not easy coming up with a funky and modern design when it comes to decorating with fresh cream and fruit! I wanted something different to the traditional swirls etc. This is what I came up with. The middle is also filled with pineapple and cream, and the succulent flower on top is from my garden. First time I've used fresh flowers on a cake! I really liked the effect of it... I think it added to the "pineapple" theme a little bit. You know... spiky green leaves and such...

I have to say, this cake was delish :)




xx

Teapot Cake At A Kitchen Tea

Well I was going to limit this post to just the cake, but I decided to include some other things too, because the whole event was actually quite lovely. It was the kitchen tea for my SIL hosted by the other two bridesmaids and myself. We themed it on a High Tea style... which, actually, I found later was not what I thought it was. What I was thinking of was Afternoon Tea, otherwise known as Low Tea. High Tea was what the lower class folk had, and equates more or less to what dinner would be today. It was called High Tea because it was taken at a high table. Low Tea or Afternoon Tea was called such because it was tea and refreshments taken at a low table, sometime in the mid afternoon. So, yeah... fail on that count LOL. But everyone else knew what I meant! So in the end it didn't matter.

And it was so nice! Have you ever had tea out of proper tea cups? And saucers? If you haven't, you should seriously try it. I know we are all used to mugs these days and tea cups are a bit smaller than mugs..... Ok, they are alot smaller. ...Tiny... really. - But that's not the point! There is just something about sipping tea from a dainty tea cup balanced just so on its lovely matching saucer. You drink, and then refill, and drink some more. And for that reason, your tea is always hot! Can't have a tea party without tea, but besides the tea, we also had wine, punch and a gorgeous range of dainty eats: Ribbon sandwiches, mini quiches, pickle, cheese and cabana sticks made up the savouries. And for sweets, mini lemon meringues, mini vanilla cupcakes, butterfly cakes and of course, scones with jam and cream. And the big cake. The Teapot cake! Everything was delicious, and I still can't thank the other bridesmaids enough for all the amazing work they put in with cooking, cleaning and setting things up. You rock girls!

The inside is chocolate cake with caramel buttercream. The buttercream tasted lovely when I checked it, but I was so disappointed to find that you couldn't taste the caramel in it once you ate it with the cake. Oh well. I know for next time now.

The cake is covered in ivory fondant, with rose detailing embossed on the sides and lid, and hand painted in with edible colours. The gold gilding around the edges was also edible. The sugar bowl and creamer are cupcakes decorated with the same. The sugar bowl had real sugar sprinkled on top, while the creamer was topped with white chocolate ganache. Tasted awesome, but I thought it looked like the milk in the creamer had turned because it was more yellow than white!! LOL. Fortunately, this didn't put anyone off :) The only thing was, they all thought the cake was too pretty to cut and eat!

I had iced the board and embossed it too, to try and make it look like a small table cloth. The one thing I forgot to do was put a ribbon around the edge of the board... was kicking myself for losing that detail. It really does make a difference!

I had made the mini cupcakes as well. Vanilla with vanilla buttercream and handmade sugar flowers. I just thought they turned out gorgeous with their pretty pastel colours. I really loved these ones, but again, people thought they were too pretty to eat!

There were a couple of games, and my SIL was showered with gifts for the kitchen. Bottom line: she felt very spoiled, which was the whole point really :).

One of the games was the toilet paper bridal gown. If you don't know this one, the name kind of speaks for itself. You break up into small groups, choose a bride, and make her a gown out of toilet paper. My daughters were in a group together with another one of our guests, and I couldn't stop smiling at the scene they made! Big Miss was standing, so proud and dignified modeling her designer gown, and Miss Jane was so busy working away to dress her big sister up with the help of the other lady in their group. It was just beautiful! A little glimpse of the future methinks. I almost had tears in my eyes.

Such a perfect reflection of their personalities. Amazing.



Miss Jane explains to us the details of their couture creation.

Big Miss was so pleased with her designer gown!

Of course, Miss Jane was not going to be left on the shelf, so she got the lovely Katherine to make her a bridal gown too. Cute :)

Miss Jane gets her own designer gown.

Personalised sugar cookies went out as party favours. I've only made these a couple of times before, but this was the first time I had iced them properly. All the flowers were handmade, and I tried to stick to the subdued and powdery colour palette to match the party theme. I loved the way these turned out - so pretty! Most people thought these were too pretty to eat too, but I couldn't wait to have one... and they didn't disappoint - delicious! But then, they couldn't really fail when they are Peggy Porschen's recipe /wink. I wanted to provide the recipe for you here, but it's copyrighted and I don't have written permission from Peggy, so I don't feel comfortable doing it :P. Other people have though, and one place you can find the recipe is on Carly's Kitchen blog - it's the same one I used. Not a difficult recipe by any means, so don't be afraid to try it! They are seriously yummy, with or without icing. Buttery and tender but not cakey, and firm enough to hold their shape and icing.

Sugar cookies; recipe from Pretty Party Cakes

We all had a lovely time. It was the first time I have made a teapot cake, and it didn't quite turn out the way I envisioned it. But in the end, despite all the flaws I could see, I was really pleased with the result, and learned some new techniques along the way.



xx

Pillow Cake

Or cushion cake. Or tiara cake. Whichever :) I promised to make one ages ago, and I finally got around to it!

This was for my sister's 3oth. Citrus mud cake with white chocolate ganache. Very rich! Yummy!

Everything is edible except the flower stamens, jewels on the tiara, and candles :). The tiara was made from chocolate.



xx

Blue & White Christening Cake

Shocking photos, I know, but they were taken at night when the light is really bad - and I'm just a terrible photographer LOL.

Top cake was chocolate with rich chocolate ganache filling, cupcakes were vanilla velvet with vanilla buttercream frosting.

I'm not a huge fan of the design of this cake - it's a little too traditional for me :P. But it turned out well enough, and the colours are effective together.

PS. I know I need to work on my piping skills - don't laugh!! LOL (Ok, you can... I am!)



xx

Black & White Cake With Pink Lilies

I had the privilege of making my SIL's engagement cake last week. My SIL is not just my SIL, she is my best friend - as close as one of my own sisters. We laugh, cry, and stress out together, and she loves my children as her own - which means alot to me. The man she is engaged to is just fantastic. Top guy, a great addition to the family - and taller than her!! (She's a pretty tall girl!)

Anyway, she asked for a cake with black, white and pink colours, lilies, and a ribbon that draped over the cake. Chocolate cake with cookies & cream filling, and the rest was up to me. So this was what I came up with!

I made the lilies from sugar paste.... it was the first time I'd made anything like them, and I wasn't particularly happy about how they turned out. But a bunch of compliments soon brought my satisfaction levels up a bit further.

It was the first time I'd tried any stringwork piping, so I was very nervous. The lines are most definitely not perfectly spaced out or straightly done, but the overall effect was still beautiful. So I was happy with it.

Had to include an inside shot.... I love looking at the yummy insides of cakes, and thought you might like it too :P - despite the fact that it's messy and not all set up like a food stylist!

In retrospect, I would have made the top tier 1 inch smaller; I think it was a little bit too big and didn't quite have the desired effect. And I accidentally cut the ribbon about 1 cm shorter than what I wanted!

Still, I was very pleased with the outcome overall, and had a heap of fun with this cake. I got to use some new techniques and it turned out delicious.



xx

Elmo Cake and No. 7

My nephew's birthday and my daughter's birthday are very conveniently on 24th and 25th of January respectively, so we often do a little thing for them on Australia Day (26th January for all you non-aussies :) - it's a public holiday for us!). This year, I made a simple Elmo cake for my nephew.

Everybody loved it and raved about how good it looked. This suprised me a little bit, because it was so simple to make. I can't see any work in it that requires any meticulous use of skills or talent. I didn't even have to carve the cake into any shape! But they all said it was very effective and kept asking how I got Elmo's 'fur' to look so good. I guess I take alot of the stuff I have learnt for granted now. Elmo's 'fur' was made using a grass piping tip. It's an icing tip with several holes punched through it. Nothing greatly scientific. But I suppose if you don't know about it, then it's just something really cool! I was just very pleased that they liked it. My sister stuck a no. 3 candle in Elmo's mouth and we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to the birthday boy. He was just toooooo cute. He loved all the fuss, and the cake and the candle, and nearly burnt his lips off getting so close to the flame to try and blow it out!

As for Miss Jane, I told her that she could have a small cake this time as I am planning to do a party with friends for her later on when the school year starts. She asked for a no. 7 - fantastic!... I thought. Quick and easy.

Both cakes were marbled vanilla and chocolate with vanilla buttercream (just tinted different colours). Miss Jane asked for jam in the middle of hers, so the no. 7 got jam too.

Obviously, my little Miss Jane turned 7 this year. But last year, I noted down some of the hilarious things she said. Kids say the darndest things you know! ( - hey, wasn't there a show about that on TV at one stage? Haha!). Anyway, she came out with some pearlers that often left me scratching my head wondering how the heck she came up with such an idea. Here are some of the best ones:


How does the weather come? (Ummm... well.....)

How do donkeys get babies? (I choked on my juice, but my husband anwered her with a perfectly straight face "Why 'donkeys', Leila?"

Do dogs really say 'bow-wow'? (Err....)

How does the egg get a yolk in there instead of a chicken? (Oh dear, I see us having 'the talk' a little sooner than I anticipated!!!)

Why do ladies have to wear bras? (This one was in the middle of a large department store, right as a man was walking by us in the other direction!)

Mum, what will happen if you take a light bulb off and put water in it? (WTH?)

Mum, if a fairy gets a mozzie bite, will all their blood be gone? ... because they're so tiny! (Bwahahahahahahahaaaa!!!)





So, hahaha, how would you answer her questions?



xx

Lightning McQueen Cake

This was for my nephew Stefano, for his second birthday. I was so privileged to make this cake, it truly was an honour. I think that of everything I have made so far, this one tops them all. On the night before the party, I stayed up the entire night finishing it. Went to bed at 8:50am for 1 hour, then got up and got ready for the party. I haven't pulled an all-nighter like that since I was in uni, but it was so worth it. He is so worth it. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be seriously, disgustingly humid, so the icing was melting and became very sticky. I'm surprised the cake held up as well as it did given the circumstances! The worst that actually happened was that the spoiler on the back of the car wilted, and you can see that clearly in one of these photos.

Left side view. Photo was taken at home before the cake ventured out into the elements.

Right side Left side.

The rear spoiler drooped from the humidity. I was very disappointed.

Yep, they hacked into it LOL. Chocolate cake with cookies & cream filling. A delicious combination.

Hubby and I were trying to work out how much the cake weighed, because when I came to put it into the cake box, I found that I couldn't lift it, and had to get him to help! (Lucky he was home that day, he was actually meant to be out at the office). We worked it out as weighing around 13kg. I'm not kidding. It was ridiculously heavy! The bottom tier was a 14 inch cake, and the car measured 12 inches long.

xx

Mini Christmas Tree Cupcakes

For Miss Jane who has her class break up party tomorrow. Terrible pics as usual, and far from perfect anyway, but I'm sure the grade one's won't mind too much!




xx