Granddaughter's Jubilee cakes

My 10 year old granddaughter wanted to make cakes.   She made these from start to finish.  Gluten and dairy free cupcakes made with her favourite salted caramel icing sugar.

She then made the frosting (dairy free buttercream) under my guidance, learning how to make sure it was light and smooth.   She then divided it into three, and colored one tub red, one blue and one white using Sugar and Crumbs Colour pop colours. 

I showed her how to feel an icing bag, and gave a quick demonstration on how to use the nozzles we chose.   I left her to it.    Didn't she do well?     My favourite was the cake below - which I think looked like a crown!

 

Birthday Cakes

Following on from previous posts a cake for the birthday girl and some butterfly cakes.   My granddaughters don't like sugarpaste and I wanted to do a little cake for her (It's only 6" square). 

Limited by the fact that it has to be sponge and buttercream, I attempted to make a little record player cake.  The record is chocolate leather and the arm chocolate sugarpaste.

I also made some butterfly cakes, as that is her and her sisters favourites.   No fancy modern cupcakes for them - good old fashioned butterfly cakes!

Fairy Cake Toppers

Just a quick topper for some fairy cakes  designed in Craft Artist for a family birthday

Birthday Cake

My son appears to like Simnel Cake (having eaten half of the one I made at Easter, and said to me "You can make that again!") So it was obvious what he would chose for his birthday cake!   The cake is the Mary Berry recipe with an almond paste layer cooked in the middle

I felt I couldn't just do a "marzipanned" cake  - so I designed this cake topper and got it printed on sugarpaste  Obviously apostles were not required on this cake, so I just made a load of little balls to decorate the edge.

I didn't apply almond paste to the sides, but discovered this ribbon in Sainsbury's so put two layers around the outside to disguise the cake sides.  (Note to self - probably should have bought a gold board too!) 

I didn't think his girls would like the fruit cake, so I made a few "fairy" cakes.   I did cheat slightly ad when I collected the cake topper, I bought some ready made printed wafer toppers with fairies on! Not quite his scene, but the girls will love them!

chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing and wafer toppers

I will know by the time this post is scheduled whether the cakes met with approval.

Birthday Celebrations

I have been a bit lax this past week with the blog, but it has been such a busy week.  A big "0" birthday tea party last Sunday, friends to stay, days out and an emergency visit to dentist to have a tooth removed, as I had split the root to name but a few things.

Anyway, I will attempt to catch up.

This post is all about the cakes I made for our big birthday tea party, when my daughter, daughter-in-law and I catered for about 120 guests!

My daughter's 40th sponge birthday cake 

My daughter actually had a birthday cake on her birthday earlier this year, (you may recall the minion cake).  So I made a simple victoria sponge with a handmade, airbrushed rose, and buttercream swirly roses around the sides.

Son-in-law's 50th Birthday Cake

My son-in-law is an avid steam train enthusiast, and also has a few quirky gnomes in his garden, thus the theme of his cake.  I designed the topper in CAP2 and had it printed on sugarpaste at Simply Topps, which just happens to be situated about a mile from us.  His cake is a rich fruit cake, with Royal Icing.

My70th Cake

I knew I wanted sugar butterlies and Marguerites on my cake, and at the beginning of last month I won the sugar dough elephant made by one of the country's top demonstrators (Jan Clement-May) in our raffle at Sugarcraft Club.  I just knew he had to go on the top of my cake.  I just added the piped 70.  I made all the sugar butterflies and the Marguerites.  This cake is ivory sugarpaste and again is a rich fruit cake.

Cup Cakes 

We decided I should make a few cupcakes for the children, and these were simple vanilla cupcakes, with buttercream swirls and I designed the three toppers in CAP2, and had them printed on ricepaper.

close up of the toppers

The cake buffet table

I also made a huge batch of marsbar crispie, and my daughter made some lemon drizzle and carrot cake tray bakes.

I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse of my creations.  More to follow of the week's activities on another day.

Chocolate Leather (Chocolate Modelling Paste) and Ganache

We had a chocolate demonstration at Sugarcraft Club last week, which inspired me to have a go at working with Ganache.   Surprisingly in all the years I have taught Cake Decorating I have never worked with Ganache, althoughI have worked with chocolate and love working with Chocolate leather.

 

So yesterday saw me having a little play, using the recipes that David Edward our demonstrator gave us.

 

I am quite chuffed with the results, as obviously I have never piped with Ganache either!  and as I don't really DO cupcakes, to be able to create something with the chocolate was really enjoyable.   I also learned a different way to pipe roses (the large roses in the picture), which in the past I have never been able to achieve.   (I have always piped roses using the nail part of the piping nail, but these large ones were piped on the flat part - actually my nail wasn't big enough for piping these - so I stuck a piece of waxed paper to the top of a pringles can and piped on that - lol!)

 

Some of the cakes have white chocolate leather under the roses/flowers, and one has dark leather under a white leather flower shape.

 

some of the family were visiting whilst I was piping the cakes, and they soon got demolished.  However, when they had gone I had a little play with some dusting/spraying of the cakes.  Here are some close ups:

white choc leather, impressed with patterned mat, and rose piped using way
I learned to pipe roses on the nail.

Choc ganache on cake, then piped ganache pansy with choc leather centre and dusted with silver

dark and white chocolate leather

piped ganache rose, dusted with gold (piped on pringles can)

ganache rose sprayed with pearlescent spray.

 

David let us sample various flavoured ganaches - so that is my next experiment - and I have sent away for some hazelnut paste and some pistachio paste.   Looks as though I shall be experimenting with the ganache for the insides of chocolates for Christmas!

Birthday Cake

It is my daughter's birthday on Monday and I have made this cake for her:

Birthday CAke

as you can see I used some of the little painted discs that I made the other day.  When I made the sponge I made extra mixture to make some fairy cakes.  The cake is half chocolate, half lemon sponge (using the Batter Daddy bought from Joanna Sheen's shop.  I then used the remaining mix to make some lemon cupcakes and some chocolate cupcakes.

a selection of cupcakes

I don't profess to be a cupcake maker, so I am still experimenting!  The chocolate cupcakes, were spread with buttercream dipped in chocolate sprinkles and then more buttercream piped around the edges.

The lemon cakes were decorated with buttercream and then sugarpaste which had been "embossed " and then dusted with blue dust. (click on the picture and you will see the embossing more clearly)  Like the chocolate ones I added a rosette of buttercream and placed some more of the discs on them.  For three of them I piped some roses on a cocktail stick (I would have done more, but the buttercream was getting warm and didn't want to play - I must admit I normally prefer to make the roses in Royal Icing.)

OK so they are not "perfick", but they taste good!

Mags