tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16440820669899565732024-02-19T01:40:03.486+00:00BakerGirlA blog about my cake making and general cooking :)Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-20988459215571212082010-04-06T23:50:00.000+01:002010-04-06T23:50:58.760+01:00New Toys!<div style="text-align: center;"> I didn't intend to bake tomorrow. The plan was to revise, quietly, and then go to training in the evening.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong> BUT</strong> Gran has given me new toys :) <em>(this excites me more than it should) </em>I have been given a wedding cake stand, and a rolling cookie cutter.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2pslcBsyGeOzRhu9CVYfV40YxQxY5Jb_HB_p__WD1WoV5Oh-qUJx2ZeVxM3lbUQDud6Ly2GRVan3jSAW2VNQDbeqfo1ZNuUneVNLe4MkAEQjht6-mT_2MyhKzq9DzBxnCmyqMfqiv2k/s1600/2010-04-06_23.22.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2pslcBsyGeOzRhu9CVYfV40YxQxY5Jb_HB_p__WD1WoV5Oh-qUJx2ZeVxM3lbUQDud6Ly2GRVan3jSAW2VNQDbeqfo1ZNuUneVNLe4MkAEQjht6-mT_2MyhKzq9DzBxnCmyqMfqiv2k/s200/2010-04-06_23.22.02.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEharIZTslvxeOi2ABUuSwlaldhLGGMxhoBjhq5_XpMLvFxUwe8pHdkElvkPgIxPCICnd_4EhXefP9Dc8J1LINeipnQvqrfmhW85-5tprrOUDBVvJhH37yuWAdoaTt3ybMxukAtQv_N7WWg/s1600/2010-04-06_23.21.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEharIZTslvxeOi2ABUuSwlaldhLGGMxhoBjhq5_XpMLvFxUwe8pHdkElvkPgIxPCICnd_4EhXefP9Dc8J1LINeipnQvqrfmhW85-5tprrOUDBVvJhH37yuWAdoaTt3ybMxukAtQv_N7WWg/s320/2010-04-06_23.21.36.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>excitingexcitingexciting</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Now, I think wedding cakes are a step too far at the moment. But I can do other big cakes instead :) I just really want to use the cookie cutter as I think it's a very clever idea.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Man, I love gadgets.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Sooo, tomorrow I am going to make sugar cookies, and then do some royal icing decorations :)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Revision can wait!</div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-41141036940999987052010-04-06T16:19:00.000+01:002010-04-06T16:19:09.531+01:00Pig Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAZbtyiv7GpSM1jBUmvBqSx4OxH_Xa10dXEECzaTdnwuROXvpE3CjHAVLHRF3SOMqjA9GKAqXl0EKHUu6A4ymQ3HwBAVqftYGRcZMNISLQH8ZPPHMPxRPJ4MAYZp-EYevdkahDwz850o/s1600/PICT0552+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAZbtyiv7GpSM1jBUmvBqSx4OxH_Xa10dXEECzaTdnwuROXvpE3CjHAVLHRF3SOMqjA9GKAqXl0EKHUu6A4ymQ3HwBAVqftYGRcZMNISLQH8ZPPHMPxRPJ4MAYZp-EYevdkahDwz850o/s320/PICT0552+BG.jpg" /></a></div> Today is my Gran's 74th birthday, so I decided to maker her a cake. My great-Grandad was apparantly a pig farmer..so the cake does fit...somehow.<br />
This one is just a basic Madeira cake, cooked in a 4 pint pudding basin. The cooking took <strong>FOREVER</strong>. But on the bright side, I could actually <em>see</em> when the cake was cooked, through the bowl.<br />
Now, I really should plan ahead when I make cakes, but I completely forgot to buy any jam for the cake. So, I looked around the kitchen and found <em>this</em>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dYp8eQDJ5EDVEONOLdjF4b74-VMckRzZfrsew2T8DXEAhBVy4-7RbvM2wamdNilhhEAg8QNXT2pKMa8eWV3Ijt1yyi-D_t58BJ1S3NF-c6xPIGleuctPX7s4x9rhND5EMtU7L0YlvmQ/s1600/PICT0530+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dYp8eQDJ5EDVEONOLdjF4b74-VMckRzZfrsew2T8DXEAhBVy4-7RbvM2wamdNilhhEAg8QNXT2pKMa8eWV3Ijt1yyi-D_t58BJ1S3NF-c6xPIGleuctPX7s4x9rhND5EMtU7L0YlvmQ/s320/PICT0530+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>gran-made yumminess</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Gran is a super-chef, so she makes these special james/jellies and gives them to us. So, in a way, she contributed to her own cake. The jelly went really well with the buttercream.</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4SgwqeOW0TwwDQENWR_GDhwZGv9kWA7F2W7aNOqeXOa4TZv7biADDDd843nbrUm6U-KxXiVbfIpwOipWLtDzFqQptLdyoyZgk9Kx9JJK4DEfV-fd1wa8kVe5dWDSigcLTe6miU3GRe0/s1600/PICT0531+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4SgwqeOW0TwwDQENWR_GDhwZGv9kWA7F2W7aNOqeXOa4TZv7biADDDd843nbrUm6U-KxXiVbfIpwOipWLtDzFqQptLdyoyZgk9Kx9JJK4DEfV-fd1wa8kVe5dWDSigcLTe6miU3GRe0/s320/PICT0531+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8w4mhhanmccPybdFkEXjigBdD0o9PjjIyJuL_CYjkXlenhK7fb1YKKHlcQ5svcRsXNPfaMYDzLLw-IYfSIiZfean8xkgC2n7ODGwYvcSdgaPkOyLD2OthrslmqbIptzmnHQhoNjfDNg/s1600/PICT0532+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8w4mhhanmccPybdFkEXjigBdD0o9PjjIyJuL_CYjkXlenhK7fb1YKKHlcQ5svcRsXNPfaMYDzLLw-IYfSIiZfean8xkgC2n7ODGwYvcSdgaPkOyLD2OthrslmqbIptzmnHQhoNjfDNg/s320/PICT0532+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em>yumyumyumyum</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"> Then it was time to colour the fondant. I hate doing this. It just takes ages. Anyway, here are my favourite types of food colouring.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGngPvGYlsYq7VNGTv849sa50PunXKec35ZPrbp5Mo9nqd_Ci63dZ0_Ht0EXkKxa0OrqBg5dJEfTF_EtrU1odmJLpsdnIez7lmTJuhSBZmYYRTG-rPkdzzSMvV2ob_89RgQsxyT2VGmE/s1600/PICT0534+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGngPvGYlsYq7VNGTv849sa50PunXKec35ZPrbp5Mo9nqd_Ci63dZ0_Ht0EXkKxa0OrqBg5dJEfTF_EtrU1odmJLpsdnIez7lmTJuhSBZmYYRTG-rPkdzzSMvV2ob_89RgQsxyT2VGmE/s320/PICT0534+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>colourflair :)</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I used the Dusky Pink colour, as I don't think a flesh coloured pig would have been very appealing, really. Surprisingly, it didn't take too long, and I ended up with quite a nice piece of fondant, which draped over the cake<strong> WITHOUT CRACKING!!!</strong> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjB98LMjs9dr4DRjM9Id3kP_qQDsDRoQ7oaLodnhz2ZZrw2XYJon5r2k6Xvfh-OZJd56saw21jRQ_9uDrlJB152vRtCCN-BM2B3giKWiLwp3yowXIHZC9qzP4B-nefJ1vqlgW3Na9Ldc/s1600/PICT0537+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjB98LMjs9dr4DRjM9Id3kP_qQDsDRoQ7oaLodnhz2ZZrw2XYJon5r2k6Xvfh-OZJd56saw21jRQ_9uDrlJB152vRtCCN-BM2B3giKWiLwp3yowXIHZC9qzP4B-nefJ1vqlgW3Na9Ldc/s320/PICT0537+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7cAoNFTt2diQpqgQJeQwGvAE5toCZs5unHMNSDfKD-vj_2hbzu6mHNJQ3NYlYXNeVsDc0yls8M3-d1o8qxozSiExH9FlUgygDKIGNvTnxhKpJs3VLuWp1XjVrgprSFGsSXkYXyqiw9o/s1600/PICT0538+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7cAoNFTt2diQpqgQJeQwGvAE5toCZs5unHMNSDfKD-vj_2hbzu6mHNJQ3NYlYXNeVsDc0yls8M3-d1o8qxozSiExH9FlUgygDKIGNvTnxhKpJs3VLuWp1XjVrgprSFGsSXkYXyqiw9o/s320/PICT0538+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em>kinda looks like a pink hat.</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"> Then the easy part was just making the eyes, ears etc. <em>(circles, triangles, etc) </em>I stuck them on with water. To make the snout, I just cut a disk from the fondant, made nostrils with the end of a wooden spoon, then cut a happy little mouth. And here he is, in all his happiness.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvCem5lsLdxW0IwbeNz-one0KoZt6SBCA8bOU6T4PH67i1eQZMoOGtyOEz0C9BBre5lMaGa6PV0R0jDILckzQGnRAa70ljEXcreeeIeglnsgzHHqRMY9tEwH4_uj7LzUFtmdv7eeGlgo/s1600/PICT0543+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvCem5lsLdxW0IwbeNz-one0KoZt6SBCA8bOU6T4PH67i1eQZMoOGtyOEz0C9BBre5lMaGa6PV0R0jDILckzQGnRAa70ljEXcreeeIeglnsgzHHqRMY9tEwH4_uj7LzUFtmdv7eeGlgo/s320/PICT0543+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>happypiggy</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> For the mud, I used the same method that I used for my Easter chocolate cake. The chocolate ganache recipe can be found <a href="http://bakergirl-x.blogspot.com/2010/04/easter.html">here</a>. I added dark chocolate chips, just so it didn't taste like the Easter cake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9b04I4BRLUHs_4nh8jQlsZL-oI1nZbTvqE-39uS0iBHcEH8YWICZIa77su9Qwd5HCv64siE1__11rWQ5GbD2BcXCXN-J2rZmx-sO4lNOCAofZa92mjgcDdwQS0-lAlY7R54Pms9aIxE/s1600/PICT0546+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9b04I4BRLUHs_4nh8jQlsZL-oI1nZbTvqE-39uS0iBHcEH8YWICZIa77su9Qwd5HCv64siE1__11rWQ5GbD2BcXCXN-J2rZmx-sO4lNOCAofZa92mjgcDdwQS0-lAlY7R54Pms9aIxE/s320/PICT0546+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>i dont even like chocolate that much..</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It turned out really thick (<em>I may have beaten it too much)</em>, but otherwise, the cake was really nice. And it tasted good too :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmU1otdwWLI1dVrZ07PeYmZzS6x273ZB81RkJf_mLrWkuTvmKI90VAyzFI0OFMnKIiA8TNiLo64-3L9OHUdp5hNZoun2fyfPnyuRVazqcOZKevAZlyGAlyopFFlFz4kGbZ0Ci3aKTdE78/s1600/PICT0551+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmU1otdwWLI1dVrZ07PeYmZzS6x273ZB81RkJf_mLrWkuTvmKI90VAyzFI0OFMnKIiA8TNiLo64-3L9OHUdp5hNZoun2fyfPnyuRVazqcOZKevAZlyGAlyopFFlFz4kGbZ0Ci3aKTdE78/s320/PICT0551+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em>mr pigglesworth.</em></div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-79939130398492887892010-04-06T01:40:00.000+01:002010-04-06T01:40:31.887+01:00CASTLE CAKE I did this a while ago, for my friend Sam's birthday. I meant to bake a fairytale cottage, but unfortunately, the cake seeped out the bottom of the cake tin. I was not impressed. So, I cheated. James bought me a cake pan in the shape of a castle, so I did a quick fix in that.<br />
You'll notice that in most of my posts so far, I don't have any pictures of me actually baking & constructing the cake. I've thought about blogging ever since I started baking, but I didnt know if I was good enough. Instead I just took pictures of the final product and put them on facebook.<br />
But anyway. Say hello to Castle Cake.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3IlxXFEtH0Skzhj7B3uZYpbYy-6e4UOtIALXjh3GTGwJY6FIiJJqZ05mUXbqFJJgMZN2hZwUdlmwniRCMxxGZrp-hdo_6h8w9CofdR3TTfa4_tV9lxXowyl71HgE-etrIUgvtHiZkAY/s1600/qef+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3IlxXFEtH0Skzhj7B3uZYpbYy-6e4UOtIALXjh3GTGwJY6FIiJJqZ05mUXbqFJJgMZN2hZwUdlmwniRCMxxGZrp-hdo_6h8w9CofdR3TTfa4_tV9lxXowyl71HgE-etrIUgvtHiZkAY/s320/qef+BG.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>ie castle nightmare</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was an absolute nightmare to fondant, as the cake pan included windows, doors, brick detail - all of which I wanted to cover up smoothly. In the end it wasn't took bad, but I did fill the inside with all the leftover sweets.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wVyigmfwF1foqvAf2wqDYXAn_JVNiY4FceYEmIvRG72wbtUpiOelh6WXJYxgHkz8jIO6yfQbAQr0YbYjnhBKcRlvOn_41BzAdS8LSlr-RZa4VDo5KPTVhhE8BnMwCEsIZ0fE5WluTfw/s1600/we+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wVyigmfwF1foqvAf2wqDYXAn_JVNiY4FceYEmIvRG72wbtUpiOelh6WXJYxgHkz8jIO6yfQbAQr0YbYjnhBKcRlvOn_41BzAdS8LSlr-RZa4VDo5KPTVhhE8BnMwCEsIZ0fE5WluTfw/s320/we+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>i think the middle is better than the actual cake..</em></div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-62738070485733742562010-04-06T00:59:00.002+01:002010-04-06T01:01:44.118+01:00Easter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7Taqgp35HbI17baLwwin5jHa5z_iiqQPvUPVncgPEiEosCSxC6fwG9rId4XFn42lc6XfOQWJy9pdD2p_kxDICyEvy2Os6kNxuABknkQYEWDGQ4J5SeD99shC9hCX2hVLvTikYQ0AMFc/s1600/PICT0523+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij7Taqgp35HbI17baLwwin5jHa5z_iiqQPvUPVncgPEiEosCSxC6fwG9rId4XFn42lc6XfOQWJy9pdD2p_kxDICyEvy2Os6kNxuABknkQYEWDGQ4J5SeD99shC9hCX2hVLvTikYQ0AMFc/s320/PICT0523+BG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwssTbqHSPQqbXOKq6DbqFHVbOsqjnVnohqJcatlBIPyn1QZbFwjWLXXgH-q9hbc5RcWbfUIouXshIRRn4agMPe6yTjgERTlap7LWqshjQHNNAm0cELKiM-UuQYEAxZEGle1BtrmhAvY/s1600/PICT0525+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwssTbqHSPQqbXOKq6DbqFHVbOsqjnVnohqJcatlBIPyn1QZbFwjWLXXgH-q9hbc5RcWbfUIouXshIRRn4agMPe6yTjgERTlap7LWqshjQHNNAm0cELKiM-UuQYEAxZEGle1BtrmhAvY/s320/PICT0525+BG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-AoT2-yNfEaB9dENOo9rwkIME1eVZhKPBInvQUj5M5idKc-dShACzFC7vkcBhH0LpsZC65KkFg4QLy_qfFQwN0NgjcInz_awfof6Qy8YeSx9uo9RziqsMFYmKFOXXK5FzTeJVV6kZLU/s1600/25071_10150166996750147_582445146_11842871_3873210_n+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-AoT2-yNfEaB9dENOo9rwkIME1eVZhKPBInvQUj5M5idKc-dShACzFC7vkcBhH0LpsZC65KkFg4QLy_qfFQwN0NgjcInz_awfof6Qy8YeSx9uo9RziqsMFYmKFOXXK5FzTeJVV6kZLU/s320/25071_10150166996750147_582445146_11842871_3873210_n+BG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I've never really cooked anything for Easter before. It's my Gran's birthday on the 6th, so my plan was to </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">1. Make an Easter cake.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">2. Make Gran's cake.</div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Of course, me being me- I found interesting things on the internet to do. And put myself in a rush the whole weekend. I need to learn how to plan my time. Seriously. </div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">Okay. Project #1. Easter cake.</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">I decided to make a double chocolate/coffee cake, with chocolate ganache, a chocolate shell, topped with a chocolate nest filled with chocolate eggs.</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">I don't even like chocolate that much.</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">I originally got the recipie from <a href="http://www.chocolate-candy-mall.com/easter-desserts.html">here</a>, but it's a Martha Stewart one. I found the one I've linked to more helpful. I used milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, because I really am not fond of dark chocolate. If I'm going to cook something, I had better like it.</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">So yeah - heres the recipie that <em>I</em> used.</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">Ingredients Needed:</div><br />
<strong>Cake</strong><br />
1/2 cup cocoa powder (plus a little extra for dusting)<br />
1 cup of butter<br />
1 Tbsp. of instant espresso powder<br />
3/4 cup water<br />
2 cups of sugar<br />
2 large eggs<br />
1/2 cup of low fat buttermilk <strong>( I use milk & lemon juice left for 15 minutes)</strong><br />
2 Tbsp. of pure vanilla extract<br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1 teaspoon of baking soda<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1/2 teaspoon of salt</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Ganache whipped frosting (recipe below)</strong></div>8 ounces of finely chopped milk chocolate<br />
1/2 cup of heavy cream<br />
<br />
<strong>Chocolate Outer Shell</strong><br />
2 Tbsp. of corn syrup (<strong>I used golden syrup)</strong><br />
8 ounces of milk chocolate<br />
<br />
1 lb. bar of milk chocolate (for nest)<br />
Instructions:<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 7 inch round cake pans by spraying them with cooking spray and lining them with parchment paper also coated with cooking spray and then sprinkled with cocoa powder on top. Tap out any excess coca powder. Set aside pans.<br />
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa, espresso, and water until dissolved. Then add the sugar and continue whisking until smooth. Remove from heat.<br />
Stir in the remaining cake ingredients - eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk until well combined.<br />
Pour the cake batter into the two prepared pans and bake for about 45 minutes or until the skewer (cake tester) comes out clean.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Allow the cakes to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pans. Remove from pans and peel off the parchment paper then allow to completely cool.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Trim the tops of the cakes so that they are level for stacking. Place the first layer (cut side up) and frost with 1/2 cup Ganache. </div><br />
Ganache Recipe<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> To make the Ganache frosting, place 8 ounces of chopped chocolate and 1/2 cup of heavy cream into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (double boiler). Stir together until smooth and then refrigerate it. Stir occasionally over the next 10-15 minutes until it stiffens up a bit (like cream cheese) and then whisk it until it's nice and fluffy and smooth. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Then place the other layer on top (cut side down), and finish frosting it with the remaining Ganache. Refrigerate about 15 minutes until firm.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Melt semisweet chocolate over a double boiler along with the cream and corn syrup and stir until smooth. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then pour it over the cake and refrigerate about 15 minutes until nice and firm.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Make the "nest" by scraping the milk chocolate bar with a sharp knife at a 90° angle <strong>( i used a potato peeler) </strong>to form a nice pile of curls and shards (about 1 1/2 cups). Refrigerate to keep firm until ready to serve. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"> Place cake on a nice cake plate and use the chocolate shavings to form the nest. Then fill the nest with chocolate eggs. You can make your own or used store-bought eggs.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqBKAI8VOrrUnF5f2xDm9Laa8Yb_e676WmV3gDBP_8GglVkxXqY7mK63DifESWcqVho8qsAeg9HrxAqVLTuR14lJF4naEh1Ok05txjk-jFww_sMveFEh7vWBgYSKrAUmcBkSjmKmOJbQ/s1600/PICT0526+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqBKAI8VOrrUnF5f2xDm9Laa8Yb_e676WmV3gDBP_8GglVkxXqY7mK63DifESWcqVho8qsAeg9HrxAqVLTuR14lJF4naEh1Ok05txjk-jFww_sMveFEh7vWBgYSKrAUmcBkSjmKmOJbQ/s320/PICT0526+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>deathbychocolatemuch?</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Project 2. Easter Chicks</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This was pretty simple. Just a normal cupcake recipe.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">3 cups self raising flour</div>12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature <br />
1 1/2 cups sugar <br />
4 large eggs <br />
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract <br />
1 1/4 cups milk <br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated; scrape down sides of bowl, and beat in vanilla.<br />
Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.<br />
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Okay, then you have to cover the cakes with buttercream. My cakes turned out disasterously small, so I had to sandwich 2 together to make a chick. Cover with buttercream, and roll in some toasted coconut. <strong>WARNING- if you have to toast the coconut yourself, do not toast for more than 2 minutes. </strong>I had no idea my grill was so powerful. After your chicks are looking more feathery, stick on some liquorice eyes, and strawberry lace combs. I even did liquorice feet, but it took so long. </div> I felt bad when I had to eat them. I gave them names and everything. At least Harold tasted good.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGOAaaV_8hA9oK4qSkquEZdA-1tUFzqOWCljebd6MRpZa-0WVtpquaqh1IYbkKIbu56DhwQnkltcE-AA0YH_ELRCZrF-Mi3Sl0U8WNVA-ouLpioxTxP4Na5mctpppQ3PLyTjEzkZIui0/s1600/PICT0522+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGOAaaV_8hA9oK4qSkquEZdA-1tUFzqOWCljebd6MRpZa-0WVtpquaqh1IYbkKIbu56DhwQnkltcE-AA0YH_ELRCZrF-Mi3Sl0U8WNVA-ouLpioxTxP4Na5mctpppQ3PLyTjEzkZIui0/s320/PICT0522+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>sad little eyes</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Project 3 - Macaroons</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'd always seen macaroons on the internet- the colourful ones, sandwiched together with buttercream. So when I found the recipe, I got very excited :) I made 6 different colours, and they all turned out really well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Macaroons (makes 20)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">175g icing sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">125g ground almonds</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3 large egg whites</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">75g caster sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the filling</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">150g butter</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">75g icing sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Preheat the oven to 160 degrees, grind icing sugar and ground almonds to make a fine mixture, then sift into a bowl. <strong>Sneaky hint: Use a coffee grinder. </strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in caster sugar until thick & glossy. <strong>For different colours - now if the time to divide the mixture.</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Fold half the almond and icing sugar mixture into the meringue and mix well. Fold until mixture has a thick, ribbon-like consistency as it falls from the spatuala. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Line baking skeets with baking paper. Pipe small rounds onto the paper.<strong> Sneaky hint: Use a circular cookie cutter to pipe into. </strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Leave to stand for 15 minutes, until the macaroon has a skin. - you should be able to touch them without getting mixture on your hands. <strong>Don't touch them too hard. I left a fingerprint in one of mine.</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Bake for 15 mins.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Meanwhile, beat butter until light and fluffy, and beat in icing sugar. Use to sandwich pairs of macaroons together.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-AoT2-yNfEaB9dENOo9rwkIME1eVZhKPBInvQUj5M5idKc-dShACzFC7vkcBhH0LpsZC65KkFg4QLy_qfFQwN0NgjcInz_awfof6Qy8YeSx9uo9RziqsMFYmKFOXXK5FzTeJVV6kZLU/s1600/25071_10150166996750147_582445146_11842871_3873210_n+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-AoT2-yNfEaB9dENOo9rwkIME1eVZhKPBInvQUj5M5idKc-dShACzFC7vkcBhH0LpsZC65KkFg4QLy_qfFQwN0NgjcInz_awfof6Qy8YeSx9uo9RziqsMFYmKFOXXK5FzTeJVV6kZLU/s320/25071_10150166996750147_582445146_11842871_3873210_n+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center"><em>lots of pretty colours!</em></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">longest blog. ever. happy easter.</div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-11334438275597128542010-04-06T00:04:00.001+01:002010-04-06T01:10:20.854+01:00Flowerpot Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0aWS7Go-b4pQ1j9dMYKkcGBrpQD2uEwYKUCqTBUuH2MlXqqZegLPdnB47lNK98n0aOGHTawJ1GKDs9uVl6AYLIch3bOJjIl3Y__ICgzyzvJKxI7HJSNsjZveickA_-PWfwvgNlGIHHs/s1600/2010-03-28+16.49.53+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0aWS7Go-b4pQ1j9dMYKkcGBrpQD2uEwYKUCqTBUuH2MlXqqZegLPdnB47lNK98n0aOGHTawJ1GKDs9uVl6AYLIch3bOJjIl3Y__ICgzyzvJKxI7HJSNsjZveickA_-PWfwvgNlGIHHs/s320/2010-03-28+16.49.53+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> This was for my Grandad's 81st birthday. He's most definitely a gardening fan. This is just a small section of his garden. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsnvmgcYdy3_ix5Etk4R_AI6F2wfrZxzXLt1D6s8DWwb8t6ngHG2NPq-kBWuhHqQYmb2XTcKv0A6XDd_JYYooNvu3zhdtivQ0ivQKD1zRY8MpGAC7atFO1K2ObqUVY3cvE3w8J4_M_Yc/s1600/IMR00009+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsnvmgcYdy3_ix5Etk4R_AI6F2wfrZxzXLt1D6s8DWwb8t6ngHG2NPq-kBWuhHqQYmb2XTcKv0A6XDd_JYYooNvu3zhdtivQ0ivQKD1zRY8MpGAC7atFO1K2ObqUVY3cvE3w8J4_M_Yc/s320/IMR00009+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>as i said, he likes gardening.</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Not only does he do that, he also grows vegetables for the family.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Okay, side story - often, Grandads carrots would not be perfectly formed, and would often look </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">like legs..or have other 'parts' growing. These are referred to as 'rude carrots'</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Back to the cake. I didn't want to have to carve a cake into a flowerpot shape, so I just cooked the cake in a flowerpot. Terracotta pots going back centuries in relation to cooking and all. In the end, I had a flowerpot cake. Fondant was a <strong>NIGHTMARE</strong>. It just ripped in all the wrong places, but I managed to patch it up. I then remembered something i'd heard on the 'Ace of Cakes' programme, about how when there is a flaw in the cake, they just cover it up with something else. Yeah. Thats why I put the leaves on the cake. I made little carrots and peas out of coloured marzipan <em>(i didn't realise how sticky marzipan was. ugh)</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHGPiwKR1_7uvREBdnFI4XaAu65hyOhfOeW-221wpMxADsXnUaQ_m_yL9yu-z9m8KVcLBZGzGna1Q7Q87qewB0nTLncVv6UBtpE080Mu5d-Ed8GfY4HFAOYGr70iq-n7kqVDfw52xaWk/s1600/2010-03-28+15.05.23+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHGPiwKR1_7uvREBdnFI4XaAu65hyOhfOeW-221wpMxADsXnUaQ_m_yL9yu-z9m8KVcLBZGzGna1Q7Q87qewB0nTLncVv6UBtpE080Mu5d-Ed8GfY4HFAOYGr70iq-n7kqVDfw52xaWk/s320/2010-03-28+15.05.23+BG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>spot the rude carrot?</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> I arranged brown sugar around the base of the cake <em>(dirt)</em> and placed all my vegetables around it, before putting my leaves around the cake. The cracks in the fondant didnt really go all the way round the cake. I just got a little carried away trying to be artistic. I didn't make the flowers, but they were only £1, so I had to buy them, don't they look adorable?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8ui2k7RGDd1FL51ySfyEL-YzYLqQNbj6OKuS8eWpCa2l3NyR6poK0_qhm5KAQlh-cjL9IGWTkj2RQbB6iMfgvFcFOtW5NFcqs_Yi7I0SzolhoeRLlWHOrkes07Vnb8VC9WPBAyUFnxY/s1600/2010-03-28+16.50.10+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8ui2k7RGDd1FL51ySfyEL-YzYLqQNbj6OKuS8eWpCa2l3NyR6poK0_qhm5KAQlh-cjL9IGWTkj2RQbB6iMfgvFcFOtW5NFcqs_Yi7I0SzolhoeRLlWHOrkes07Vnb8VC9WPBAyUFnxY/s320/2010-03-28+16.50.10+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>the fondant grass border took about half an hour..</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYYlUXeq9mbAYPeTD6293rRccsITRff3n65nLYaxMhiRzgJDy3G0PKA3lIwupMT3GMHKJwpWB1WK2X5prKClgVFWItZmZVkC11F5KKF-3GO5QkpKjTt8sfcwdYgjCyAT4xCfMyZ4mGLU/s1600/2010-03-28+16.50.17+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYYlUXeq9mbAYPeTD6293rRccsITRff3n65nLYaxMhiRzgJDy3G0PKA3lIwupMT3GMHKJwpWB1WK2X5prKClgVFWItZmZVkC11F5KKF-3GO5QkpKjTt8sfcwdYgjCyAT4xCfMyZ4mGLU/s320/2010-03-28+16.50.17+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>a top view, i really wish i did make those flowers...</em></div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-55185889758924802152010-04-05T23:37:00.000+01:002010-04-05T23:37:52.399+01:00Violin Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4h9qBTC51Sy-v_ybRx_Y6sSUF6qYl7xGXtrVzODCSerPboWRd0t4o5mLcETz12A9xUqyCtM0riQfi3Wz7RxFAESjDDLdp_05H9phzcgkV00FYhCTexvGgV_YH5tZRBaOR_KTy_m-2NIw/s1600/2010-01-27+23.24.20+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4h9qBTC51Sy-v_ybRx_Y6sSUF6qYl7xGXtrVzODCSerPboWRd0t4o5mLcETz12A9xUqyCtM0riQfi3Wz7RxFAESjDDLdp_05H9phzcgkV00FYhCTexvGgV_YH5tZRBaOR_KTy_m-2NIw/s400/2010-01-27+23.24.20+BG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> This was the first cake that someone actually asked me to make, for them. <strong>EXCITING</strong>. I was asked to make a violin cake, to feed lots of people. Seeing I had a violin upstairs, I decided to make a full size violin cake, using the real one as a template.<br />
It is at this point, that I'd like to make clear, that I pretty much make my cakes alone. My mum will help if asked, but I prefer to do the cake myself. I only need help when applying fondant, or doing something ridiculously difficult. <em>(or washing up)</em><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em> </em> So, I began with 2 <a href="http://bakergirl-x.blogspot.com/2010/04/victoria-sponge.html">victoria sponge</a> cakes. I levelled them, using my super-neat cake leveller. <em>(i love that thing), </em>and then traced the real violin onto a piece of paper, then cut the cake into the right shape.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1IwdulSVb3qG9DtuDrapJhsCuOYADd8W0acCV2Nx7uERz8jgw-7fpWcZw3wWIQzG5aUb8w3kq88WCiQ7OiWZKuvGa59UHF60jqtduVxxH1w8Tx77JzD_eRsRcpwJzndlLrewx_LJyKo/s1600/2010-01-24+11.25.45+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1IwdulSVb3qG9DtuDrapJhsCuOYADd8W0acCV2Nx7uERz8jgw-7fpWcZw3wWIQzG5aUb8w3kq88WCiQ7OiWZKuvGa59UHF60jqtduVxxH1w8Tx77JzD_eRsRcpwJzndlLrewx_LJyKo/s200/2010-01-24+11.25.45+BG.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHAL4n7reGf_hCuPRVahxJhs7YrUZmjReAZaUylUu9Bd7hSoLUluy2u0iXeHWNB2Oc8ozR0H8Mq3zSzJsMiQsim-BfUwEqn-9du1pfdt6fial127n_pJJS0i9aqpbCkCyT6UCOvVy2mk/s1600/2010-01-24+12.47.59BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHAL4n7reGf_hCuPRVahxJhs7YrUZmjReAZaUylUu9Bd7hSoLUluy2u0iXeHWNB2Oc8ozR0H8Mq3zSzJsMiQsim-BfUwEqn-9du1pfdt6fial127n_pJJS0i9aqpbCkCyT6UCOvVy2mk/s200/2010-01-24+12.47.59BG.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Hey, it actually looks like a violin?</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Now, actually putting fondant on this baby, was going to be a different story. I don't think I had any serious cracks in the fondant, but it did require a lot of smoothing, and there were some small surface tears in the fondant, but nothing major. I can deal with small cracks, etc. And it still looked like a violin, so everything was going well. Please keep in mind that I have a small kitchen with a rubbish light. Space & lighting issues.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNMKV7mcngENvpFv4o2cd2DCWNEQhN3ZB8qkWvOv-maRE6rYfk1YKqKgGaMfAfzBbS9zAX0jQL9AtldW5oYko11-F2m0Kn0pxJtL_vdVKGQ1hyphenhypheneujcQGzqG3es_WWkSHOVeWiz_FZtuo/s1600/2010-01-25+21.23.28+BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNMKV7mcngENvpFv4o2cd2DCWNEQhN3ZB8qkWvOv-maRE6rYfk1YKqKgGaMfAfzBbS9zAX0jQL9AtldW5oYko11-F2m0Kn0pxJtL_vdVKGQ1hyphenhypheneujcQGzqG3es_WWkSHOVeWiz_FZtuo/s320/2010-01-25+21.23.28+BG.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>the white violin of awesome</em></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Well, now it came to the woodgrain effect. Basically, i just got a lot <em>(a lot)</em> of vanilla essence, and mixed it with some brown food colouring paste. Theres the basic brown colour. This didn't give me the variation in colour I really wanted, so I ended up dipping my paintbrush directly into the colouring paste, Which worked a lot better, and actually looked <em>(ish)</em> like woodgrain!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSI8j-uyXcM_A94SATpMjs0rrw8Vwzhqa7W9Ut3_RYsQ8rQVn5UdVTJF6xviSdjRCv8fHKCfbEa3w7FaOt5NmwQt0tkrmhZ1Lx42JN2Cu0hDxL6JNsRXJ-Tx37kae16yDE_2E6ERxq_gU/s1600/2010-01-26+23.04.03BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSI8j-uyXcM_A94SATpMjs0rrw8Vwzhqa7W9Ut3_RYsQ8rQVn5UdVTJF6xviSdjRCv8fHKCfbEa3w7FaOt5NmwQt0tkrmhZ1Lx42JN2Cu0hDxL6JNsRXJ-Tx37kae16yDE_2E6ERxq_gU/s320/2010-01-26+23.04.03BG.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>i don't like it like this..</em></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Now, when I make a cake, I have to go out of the room, and come back to fully appreciate it. When I saw this the next day, I was not a happy bunny. The woodgrain looked all wrong <em>(it just looked stripey :| ) </em>and I thought I could have done a much better job. Unfortunately, I couldn't start over again, because I had a deadline <em>(like, the next day)</em> So, I had to press on with the fondant decorations, which were painted in the same way.</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Y178Cxlf1KOD3Jeh3nakWNudEE5rC3m46as2F85gjAdPSIcfDRxPxX3fSDyXmKIsZbH_odV46TeV1MMRtEePE9BJwb7uK4skdUlbxd_VHgcAwDSf2pIcRLeNEthBM7YFJO-iLFAzdxk/s1600/2010-01-27+21.31.20BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Y178Cxlf1KOD3Jeh3nakWNudEE5rC3m46as2F85gjAdPSIcfDRxPxX3fSDyXmKIsZbH_odV46TeV1MMRtEePE9BJwb7uK4skdUlbxd_VHgcAwDSf2pIcRLeNEthBM7YFJO-iLFAzdxk/s320/2010-01-27+21.31.20BG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>it looks like a violin again!</em></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> This made me happy. All decorations are fondant. I don't know violin terminology, so i'll let you figure it out. Finally, as my 'client' was musical, I decided to make a fondant songsheet, with "Happy Birthday" written on it. <em>(y'know. as in the musical note version)</em> This is where mum comes in, as i'm useless with real music. Drummers don't 'do' real music. :)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSVBk2hZ8iuwY0ClnIcDWWdMApyeratm8jyPYgnSDcsJNCO9FTL9AlvHpH_tEUyd3HSrjug7MWHM-dpfNZCukjNgDFvgKu_1c6CI5K0JR74o8LwTXegg822B5C1SnWDcXkNfonPgcgwY/s1600/2010-01-27+23.24.52BG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSVBk2hZ8iuwY0ClnIcDWWdMApyeratm8jyPYgnSDcsJNCO9FTL9AlvHpH_tEUyd3HSrjug7MWHM-dpfNZCukjNgDFvgKu_1c6CI5K0JR74o8LwTXegg822B5C1SnWDcXkNfonPgcgwY/s400/2010-01-27+23.24.52BG.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>the final product!</em></div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-12598549978511556882010-04-05T22:54:00.000+01:002010-04-05T22:54:55.526+01:0017th Birthday Cake Possibly the easiest cake I've made so far. I didn't want to make myself a birthday cake. I wanted a nice and simple, off-the-shelf cake. Once I had seen the nice and simple, off-the-shelf cakes, I realised I could do a lot better. So, what could be better than a 2-tier pink cake? Not bad for a 17th birthday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91fwoWtUosyBWnkIXZPmoIhN3M1Vi7Oc61mCXvhgz5UYJk6MaRFGVC8biaFlL7RG5amYzBtNen8LmIh75jjZwv0F8NwIKe5zZOOqg7mtPcu0pUqrSFriDqc_xprE39r_LKwlyJyJ-9cM/s1600/2009-10-28_13.06.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91fwoWtUosyBWnkIXZPmoIhN3M1Vi7Oc61mCXvhgz5UYJk6MaRFGVC8biaFlL7RG5amYzBtNen8LmIh75jjZwv0F8NwIKe5zZOOqg7mtPcu0pUqrSFriDqc_xprE39r_LKwlyJyJ-9cM/s320/2009-10-28_13.06.47.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>pinkpinkpinkpinkpink</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> Okay, 2 basic victoria sponges. I fondanted the top smaller cake, and just decorated the bottom cake with the Betty Crocker vanilla tub stuff. I love pink food colouring. This was my first ever 2-tier, so I wasn't sure how to support the top cake. I ended up cutting a bit of card, the size of the top cake, covering it with foil, and putting supports <em>(pink straws)</em> through the bottom cake to hold it up. This worked suprisingly well.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARhFJLidD3zH-E95-rH-Q0WvpHF7aGnJfYB2CyrNbczzLFgUFeDMujNaYBxfaSjepLiM6-YjSwnvyy43ueyhJTQOnpeX5GSOtaL719KXeLYusJqr3WaG-BV8RzsEFVT6a32M9ZHcKcYs/s1600/2009-10-28_13.17.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARhFJLidD3zH-E95-rH-Q0WvpHF7aGnJfYB2CyrNbczzLFgUFeDMujNaYBxfaSjepLiM6-YjSwnvyy43ueyhJTQOnpeX5GSOtaL719KXeLYusJqr3WaG-BV8RzsEFVT6a32M9ZHcKcYs/s320/2009-10-28_13.17.25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>pink smarties :)</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I did use shop-bought flowers, but I only had myself to impress, really. Cake is cake, so it was all good for me. If its pumped full of sugar, i'm a happy girl.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I'd also never really piped words before. I thought I'd draw a template, lightly in pencil, just to make sure I did it right. <strong>BIG MISTAKE</strong>. The pencil came out way too dark, and I'd managed to mess it up anyway. I just piped over the top of it, and tried to hide it all. Never doing that again..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIdLgeLJYZtmjZaE4AHAnxiTwLOjsnFKqH7xHdTMUa08PKfs-V-2K2qYqJD2kqNEOh-umJ3S0dmCdLb6mnxzRYgcUYL10NYicjhO22QQC5-Kdnjaa5ovRRQCWzP3ZR9XN_aB-zU1E1fI/s1600/2009-10-28_13.36.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIdLgeLJYZtmjZaE4AHAnxiTwLOjsnFKqH7xHdTMUa08PKfs-V-2K2qYqJD2kqNEOh-umJ3S0dmCdLb6mnxzRYgcUYL10NYicjhO22QQC5-Kdnjaa5ovRRQCWzP3ZR9XN_aB-zU1E1fI/s320/2009-10-28_13.36.07.jpg" /></a></div><div align="right" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>altogether, not too shabby!</em></div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-69261833848729995112010-04-05T22:41:00.001+01:002010-04-05T22:41:59.129+01:00Victoria Sponge I have always used Mrs Beeton's Everyday Cookery book. This particular book, is well over 30 years old, but I love the recipies and all the retro kitchenware in the pictures.<br />
I should point out now, that I always work in ounces. Grams just scare me. According to the internet, 1 oz = 28.3495 grams. I'm going to round that to 30 grams. Yes, i'm getting the calculator out.<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Victoria Sponge.</u></strong><br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 180 degrees<br />
<br />
4oz / 120 grams Butter or Margarine <br />
4oz / 120 grams Castor Sugar<br />
4oz / 120 grams Self Raising Flour<br />
2 eggs<br />
<br />
Cream fat & sugar very thoroughly. Add well-whisked eggs gradually, beating well between each addition. Stir flour lightly into the creamed fat and eggs. Mix to a soft dropping consistency, adding water/milk if necessary. Place mixture in a prepared 7-inch sandwich tin, and bake in a moderate oven.<br />
I also throw a bit of vanilla essence in as well. Can never have too much of that :)Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644082066989956573.post-30257098703642536402010-04-05T22:06:00.003+01:002010-04-05T22:19:15.847+01:00The First Cake!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSCHuGARKyldNOLBzyFI3TFYuWKMP2FONeBAzmXxSBltv4CIFOiZ9GcLQdUykJ-bCLuDgNe2u2MuxljNWbhSVI13YN0BF22pm3k27QKRjWKKk-17V3ZFAjvB2PMzqrg7JIc7SYQc-Dv8/s1600/2009-09-04_22.52.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSCHuGARKyldNOLBzyFI3TFYuWKMP2FONeBAzmXxSBltv4CIFOiZ9GcLQdUykJ-bCLuDgNe2u2MuxljNWbhSVI13YN0BF22pm3k27QKRjWKKk-17V3ZFAjvB2PMzqrg7JIc7SYQc-Dv8/s200/2009-09-04_22.52.19.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I had never decorated a cake before. However, it was my boyfriend's 22nd birthday, and I wanted to surprise him. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was really doing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The cake was just 2 basic victoria sponges (I'll write down my recipies later)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7-SaFju3bfWXYAzQbF0gEeqfOVQmeZeWykuj0u5nSmWKeNb7lGeLVvCEr5lS19hWGlFz_p5T2OVs3u4G_b92koNUHkkFiDt9HgBuJ8il01yZlpGtJd2a_z8a4-XCsT8qAmSijkyoS9M/s1600/2009-09-03_16.47.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7-SaFju3bfWXYAzQbF0gEeqfOVQmeZeWykuj0u5nSmWKeNb7lGeLVvCEr5lS19hWGlFz_p5T2OVs3u4G_b92koNUHkkFiDt9HgBuJ8il01yZlpGtJd2a_z8a4-XCsT8qAmSijkyoS9M/s320/2009-09-03_16.47.24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> Okay. <strong>Here goes</strong>. I laid the cakes side by side, and cut out a vague 'road' shape, across them. With hindsight, I would have removed all of the cake crust, before carving it. (<em>I said it was my first cake</em>)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKXSoM4TRUWT8g6b8Qcxe1pmh5iVBu3aLOBfX7ZzJnPAhfcXy7R970EgyDlIRYjRFcxjDCEhNX7BdwtelenMHPA5uzSlUSfClrTGKA6qd5nk6oK8oERi1nurcPcLjQRi4RAkKtWiG60g/s1600/2009-09-03_17.15.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKXSoM4TRUWT8g6b8Qcxe1pmh5iVBu3aLOBfX7ZzJnPAhfcXy7R970EgyDlIRYjRFcxjDCEhNX7BdwtelenMHPA5uzSlUSfClrTGKA6qd5nk6oK8oERi1nurcPcLjQRi4RAkKtWiG60g/s320/2009-09-03_17.15.20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> It does, quite frankly look a mess. But I still had to carve a car out of a third cake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Just to get this straight, my boyfriend loves his car. Adores it. So, in my quest for perfection, I found exact measurements for his car, and scaled them down to cake size. <em>( Yeah, I really wanted to get it right.)</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdchCieWZRHqJ5TsJrlEbKr2OwT1D66kfp5YItq2UnvL2Sxh1pMG7feSwKOqx7Feg2Pe8b-bDPAm7IJA-OZzn8TzCcPfYaFzblcRmhSlCad2OlY0gluHHTtgUzbRKz0epVE-X5UdzDb7Y/s1600/2009-09-03_19.25.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdchCieWZRHqJ5TsJrlEbKr2OwT1D66kfp5YItq2UnvL2Sxh1pMG7feSwKOqx7Feg2Pe8b-bDPAm7IJA-OZzn8TzCcPfYaFzblcRmhSlCad2OlY0gluHHTtgUzbRKz0epVE-X5UdzDb7Y/s200/2009-09-03_19.25.21.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_0qCh8mGeyU4dkvJ7B0s882JRo6nJcVZK9B8cKS05vgp6P9HzXlaF9-wK9XrnABjoCN5qrIFG91T9BdUvFyZODKfF7ebl-2zl931M0MRygbWF9OJV6CthVzslsuaG6TxcIZd9huUq5U/s1600/2009-09-03_20.03.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_0qCh8mGeyU4dkvJ7B0s882JRo6nJcVZK9B8cKS05vgp6P9HzXlaF9-wK9XrnABjoCN5qrIFG91T9BdUvFyZODKfF7ebl-2zl931M0MRygbWF9OJV6CthVzslsuaG6TxcIZd9huUq5U/s200/2009-09-03_20.03.46.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Actually carving the cake was an absolute nightmare. I didn't want to completely ruin the car, but I had no idea how to realistically create a car from a lump of cake.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Then I found <a href="http://sugaredblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-make-3d-car-cake.html"><strong>this</strong></a>. A very helpful how-to on how to make a 3D car cake. A few hours later, and I was decorating it to look like the original.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7LRBHeahZ6NWq6Sh5ojyXwY4oZg9bzBKT_UJBThCxTaxE973nXyL3IiDNj_Qb73j2mjtt4lpxG9tZpkQmwwElI-9bKRlCpfQ07sG4n-Kf6RRSGYLo9fW3oOUZl2Q3t2SJQQoBRh7Ilc/s1600/1955720241_small_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7LRBHeahZ6NWq6Sh5ojyXwY4oZg9bzBKT_UJBThCxTaxE973nXyL3IiDNj_Qb73j2mjtt4lpxG9tZpkQmwwElI-9bKRlCpfQ07sG4n-Kf6RRSGYLo9fW3oOUZl2Q3t2SJQQoBRh7Ilc/s200/1955720241_small_1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpIfkCS_KLyvx-3oMzrHoKMnOhnGNinbO4L9AbloYdTUqYMUerO81W7ftu3DX7wKvEmFqSn-rckcTwPmaCyPNfSWxUTUzS53xSzEaGdaH9IuQubxRlXhExZAeQP8idDSi8VRN_-1mY-w/s1600/2009-09-03_21.51.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpIfkCS_KLyvx-3oMzrHoKMnOhnGNinbO4L9AbloYdTUqYMUerO81W7ftu3DX7wKvEmFqSn-rckcTwPmaCyPNfSWxUTUzS53xSzEaGdaH9IuQubxRlXhExZAeQP8idDSi8VRN_-1mY-w/s200/2009-09-03_21.51.01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<em>Fairly similar, huh?</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> I covered my original cakes in buttercream, and then with some store-bought green fondant. Unfortunately, it was so dry, I was left with huge crack marks down my lovely cake. I had never intended to cover the whole cake with icing, but there was no way that I would ever give my boyfriend a cake with cracks.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The road fondant, I coloured and rolled myself, so it was fine.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MsFQOA6OfQtMBuVj1RYSx5amKjmqyinDO0R5maGZcl4Csg1in-XaO4iAEYGz0PA8yAhsjX5Asy_GolVfhDf20jdwVEpiCrtzfbkOCKOeH3-k4EapJ3YAyYGCxZ0gjfmW_T9skPNDkHo/s1600/2009-09-04_15.39.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MsFQOA6OfQtMBuVj1RYSx5amKjmqyinDO0R5maGZcl4Csg1in-XaO4iAEYGz0PA8yAhsjX5Asy_GolVfhDf20jdwVEpiCrtzfbkOCKOeH3-k4EapJ3YAyYGCxZ0gjfmW_T9skPNDkHo/s320/2009-09-04_15.39.58.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Poor cake.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Then it came to actual piping. Never piped before in my life. I didn't even own a piping bag. So, I used the method from the <a href="http://www.hellocupcakebook.com/">Hello Cupcake</a> book, which involves using a zip-lock bag to pipe. The icing was just the vanilla Betty Crocker icing you get in a tub. Like I said, this was my first cake.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSCHuGARKyldNOLBzyFI3TFYuWKMP2FONeBAzmXxSBltv4CIFOiZ9GcLQdUykJ-bCLuDgNe2u2MuxljNWbhSVI13YN0BF22pm3k27QKRjWKKk-17V3ZFAjvB2PMzqrg7JIc7SYQc-Dv8/s1600/2009-09-04_22.52.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSCHuGARKyldNOLBzyFI3TFYuWKMP2FONeBAzmXxSBltv4CIFOiZ9GcLQdUykJ-bCLuDgNe2u2MuxljNWbhSVI13YN0BF22pm3k27QKRjWKKk-17V3ZFAjvB2PMzqrg7JIc7SYQc-Dv8/s320/2009-09-04_22.52.19.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><em>And then there was grass</em></div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> To create the chevrons, and the road sign, I just rolled out some gumpaste and allowed it to dry. You'll notice that the chevrons are cracked. This is because I am <strike>impatient </strike>a fast worker, and I picked it up too early. The sign was held up by cocktail sticks, because no gumpaste supports could hold the weight of the icing. The sheep in the background was just rolled fondant and icing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Overall, this cake consumed my life for about 4 days, but I think it was all worth it in the end.</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-InYRSE0LJ1ibWc_uvmq2VnNnzB5yJGVDp4mwuTVuTopJwMnDdH_b6KYE_W4RqNfZwE9BcX87z2Tscxu36v_mnizo1KodZmI-hKLym81gABp2UcoXOvyaUcLmRl8A25eR8xqkFHkVpA/s1600/2009-09-05_10.05.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-InYRSE0LJ1ibWc_uvmq2VnNnzB5yJGVDp4mwuTVuTopJwMnDdH_b6KYE_W4RqNfZwE9BcX87z2Tscxu36v_mnizo1KodZmI-hKLym81gABp2UcoXOvyaUcLmRl8A25eR8xqkFHkVpA/s320/2009-09-05_10.05.23.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Who's a happy boy?</em></div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Ellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497989861147096544noreply@blogger.com0