A Weekend of Baking...Birthday bunting cake

It was my grandpa's birthday in May and to get all of the family together to celebrate, we of course had a little party! I was asked to make the cake, and as it is his favourite I made a Victoria sponge with a few little extras!

I used a Nigella recipe which I have found gives lovely light, fluffy and tall sponges, and then filled the cake with buttercream and fresh strawberries. I then also decorated the top with buttercream swirls, a decorative strawberry and a dusting of icing sugar.

To add to the decoration I decided to make some cake bunting that has been everywhere this year, especially for weddings. You can buy it ready made, but I decided to make mine as for an added handmade twist. Here's how I did it...

I used calico fabric remnants to stamp the letters onto, and then cut them out individually to make the little flags. I used some thin ribbon and cut a length so I had enough to leave long tails, then glued all of the flags onto the ribbon to make the bunting. Depending on how thick or sturdy your ribbon is you could sew the flags on, but as mine was so thin it kept getting caught up in my sewing machine, so in the end I had to revert to glue.

If your flags are different sizes don't worry, it all adds to the rustic charm! In fact I like mine a little higgledy-piggledy, I think it adds to the vintage charm of a 'naked cake'!

Pinning the flags in place will let you see if they are centred on the ribbon before you tie it to your skewers

 I then tied the ribbon onto two wooden kebab skewers, making sure that the flags were centred and secured the knots with a little dab of glue. Once dried you can then insert them into your cake to create a pretty decoration and to add some height to your bakes. It also adds a lovely party feel to your cake, and makes it stand out on any dessert table or buffet spread.

VW Camper Van Cake

I was asked to make a VW Camper Van cake for a colleague earlier this month, and I have had great fun working out how to make all of the different bits that go together to create a camper van! My original thought was 'Oh no I've got to carve a cake!' but from doing a bit of research and a chat with my client we decided that a flat decoration was best for this cake. I have been able to experiment with lots of techniques and different materials, and have made a list of 100 other bits I need, but I've thoroughly enjoyed getting into back into my stride with sugarcraft again.

As with all my projects i start of by making detailed lists, timetables and sketches days before I even start so I know exactly what needs to be done. Only when I am happy with a plan do I start kneading!

I first cut out all of the letters required for the cake and then the daisies, topped with small pearlescent balls for the centres. 

I made a small indent in the centre of each flower using the end of a paintbrush so the balls have a little dip to sit in when attached.

Next I made all of the small bits for the front of the van like the headlamps, numberplate, windscreen wipers,  wing mirrors and of course the badge. I picked up some edible silver paint to use for these metallic parts and I'm really glad I did, they wouldn't have looked as good if I had just used lustre dust. I used a gold shimmer for the centre of the indicators and painted the numberplate using dark brown food gel to give a slightly more vintage look. 

The next step was to cut out the large parts of the van. I used a small knife for this part but even so it snags the icing and can pull your design out of shape. I think I may have to invest in a scalpel to stop this from happening as it can throw out your detailed design if the icing stretches. I built the van up in layers and added each piece separately to make sure that it was correct. My favourite part is watching it all come together so I was very excited to stick on all the fiddly bits I had made. The background of the cake is a lovely grass green, so I am hoping that all of my elements will stand out against this colour when added to the cake and it is all assembled and ready to go. 

I used the textured edge of a lid to create the tread on the tyres which gives the design an extra little piece of detail. 

I used a mix of professional grade red gel food colour and a Dr Oetker's gel for the red velvet cakes this time, and was amazed at the results! The cakes were so vibrantly red and when I filled and put the crumb coat of cream cheese frosting on, I was really pleased with the finish. It was beautifully smooth and perfect for it's sugarpaste cover. 

Once the cake was covered I decided to hide the baseboard as it was larger than the finished cake.

 I cut strips of icing in different lengths and cut into them with a knife to create grass. 

Then to assemble (my favourite part!) I placed the letters on the baseboard to check the spelling and then stuck them on. The camper van was then stuck on top of the case and I placed the daisies at random across the sides of the cake and the baseboard. 

A silver ribbon around the cake board finished the design perfectly. 

I was really pleased with the outcome of the cake, however I hadn't released how much the camper van had stretched whilst making! Although I had used a template drawn inside the circumference of the tin, it still came up bigger than the top of the cake. In future I will have to make sure that I scale down any decorations to make sure that they fit onto the finished cake, as the original design saw the camper van sit neatly in the middle with no overlap.