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.  

A Weekend of Baking...Red Velvet Cupcakes and Oreo Cupcakes

When we returned from our fantastic holiday in Rome I decided to do some baking to cheer myself up as I was so sad to leave. It was my fourth trip and every time I go it just gets better and better, it really is my favourite place in the world!

I decided to try red velvet cupcakes and also experiment with some cupcakes i've seen pictures of but never a complete recipe, Oreo cupcakes! Who doesn't love an Oreo! The red velvet recipe I found was in The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook (which can be found here) Their speciality is red velvet cake, so I though what better place to start.

As the name suggests, the cakes should be red, so I experimented with Dr Oetker bright red gel food colour which can be found in supermarkets. I used the whole tube, however when mixed with the cocoa powder and into the sponge mix, the cake was more maroon than red which was a shame, so I will have to keep looking for a richer red substitute. 

Once the red velvet cupcakes were baked, I started on the Oreo cakes. I placed an Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake case and then made up a chocolate sponge that I know is always delicious, and filled the cupcake cases up and baked them. When I pushed a cake tester in to the cakes to check, the cookies at the bottom had gone completely soft, however when left to cool they did firm up again.

The frosting for both cakes was quite different. The red velvet cakes called for a cream cheese frosting, whilst for the Oreo cupcakes I experimented again. I blitzed up some of the broken Oreo biscuits in the blender and had bought some mini cookies for the decoration. I made up a basic vanilla butter icing and then tipped in the broken Oreos, which gave a lovely mottled colour and a different and tasty texture to that of normal buttercream. 

The cream cheese icing had a looser consistency than I expected, so I decided to use a palette knife to smooth it on intend. I then added gold stars and shards of red glitter to the tops to make them sparkle. The Oreo buttercream had the same texture that I had expected, so I used a star nozzle to pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake and then top with a mini Oreo

Red Velvet Verdict: If you have never tried one before you might be in for a bit of a shock. Nowhere near as sweet as a normal cupcakes, with vinegar in the batter and cream cheese on top, the taste is closer to a cheesecake than that of a cake. I actually found the taste improved with a couple of days, but still as delicious fresh.

Oreo Verdict: People couldn't get enough! The popularity of the Oreo biscuit is undeniable, but people really loved them! The surprise cookie at the bottom gave everyone a surprise and they loved the chocolatey sponge with the slight crunch in the buttercream icing. The cookie on top will go a little soft if you keep the cakes in an airtight tin, but I think this is a small price to pay for something so yummy!

30th Birthday Chocolate Fudge Cake

For my boyfriend's birthday he requested a chocolate fudge cake, of which I was more than happy to make as we both have an undeniable love of chocolate. He debated a novelty character cake, but in the end decided to stick to something simple but completely delicious, and who do you turn to for that, why Nigella of course! 

I found a recipe on Nigellas fantastic website that is always packed with delicious and delectable treats (never look if you're hungry!) and found the perfect one. If you want to have a go you can find the recipe here.

It's a wonderfully rich cake and the added sour cream in the sponge gives it a moist kick, so you're not overcome with a sickly sweet flavour. The recipe does call for corn oil but I couldn't find this so I substituted Sunflower oil instead. If you cannot find an oil specified in a recipe, generally an unflavoured vegetable oil or sunflower oil will work fine, and you know that you can use it up for other things. I hate having a buy a large pack or bottle of something for a recipe that I know i'm going to struggle to use before it goes off. 

The cakes will rise like nobody's business in the oven, so make sure that when you line the tins you leave 3 - 4cm overlap from the top of the tin. This will make sure that none of the yummy mixture escapes and ends up burnt to the bottom of your oven. When it came to icing I gently levelled the tops, spread a quarter of the icing into the middle to sandwich the cakes and inverted the top cake to give a lovely flat surface to work on. I was excited to use my new turntable as I hoped it would make icing the cake easier, and it most certainly did! I dolloped the icing on top and spread it over the sides using a large palette knife, smoothing it back and forth over the top to give a bit of a pattern.

Unfortunately I had developed a pretty bad cold a couple of days befre my boyfriend's birthday, and had to box up the cake and give it to him to take over to his parents and friends whilst I crawled into bed. Luckily they saved me a bit and I was able to sample a sizeable slice curled up in a blanket. 

Chocolate is most definitely medicinal, did you know that ?

A Weekend of Baking...Chocolate and Raspberry macaroons

Since trying these tasty little delicacies in a Ladurée shop in Paris, it has always been a wish of mine to bake them myself. The soft crunch of the shell, the slightly gooey but fluffy interior and a delicious filling all add up to a little piece of heaven, so as I had some time off over Easter I decided to give them a go. My uncle had bought me the Ladurée recipe book one Christmas, and armed with that recipe, I thought what could possibly go wrong!

I started by drawing out my macaroon sizes using the smallest cutter I had. Draw on the back of the greaseproof paper then your macaroons won't taste like pencil lead!

The first step is to blitz group almonds and icing sugar in a food processor until they form a fine powder. I didn't know icing sugar could get any finer but apparently so!

The next step is then to sieve the mixture to get rid of any large lumps of almond that may remain. Once you have done that your icing sugar and almond mixture is ready, called a 'tant pour tant' apparently (Answers on a postcard as to why please!)

The next part needs to be done quickly, so whisk the egg whits until they're frothy, then gradually mix in the granulated sugar for a minute after each addition. Fold in your sugar and almond mixture and you're ready to pipe! Make sure you have a big enough piping bag to fit all of the mixture at once or use two. I was slightly over zealous and tried to fit all the mixture in one and some of it rather oozed over my hand (and a little on the floor but we'll skim over that...!)

I bought a macaroon mould from Lakeland a little while ago, so I decided to test it alongside my greaseproof paper piped ones. I was very proud of the consistency as it was thick enough to hold its shape and was lovely and glossy. I think the greaseproof paper ones may have been a little large, but who doesn't like large ones of anything baked!

The macaroons were rising nicely in the oven and developed 'feet' as described which I was very proud of. The macaroons on the silicone tray looked lovely and glossy, however unfortunately the ones on the greaseproof paper did crack, but I was prepared to let that go being my first attempt.  

I took them out of the oven after their allotted time and left them to cool on the rack. I poured a little water under the greaseproof paper onto the hot baking tray as apparently the steam helps the macaroons lift off from the paper more easily. 

And that's when I stopped taking pictures...!

I don't think I baked the macaroons for long enough as all of them were very gooey and refused to come away from the silicone or the greaseproof paper! In fact I had to abandon all hopes of those beautiful little domes and had to resort to scraping them away with a palette knife, they were not pretty. They are current residing in a box in the kitchen to be snacked on when fancied. They may not be pretty but they're definitely delicious! I shall be trying these again, so keep your eyes peeled for more attempts in the future that will hopefully look better.

Easter Baking...Chocolate cupcakes and Key lime pie

As is the tradition at Easter, we all overindulge on chocolate a little, but when it's in cupcakes it doesn't matter...right? 

I decided to make some chocolate cupcakes to give to my neighbours, and used a recipe that I have used before, so I know how good it is! I ordered some two compartment cupcake boxes and decorated each cake with an egg or a fluffy easter chick (Unfortunately those aren't edible!) and a hand-stamped tag. 

For Easter Sunday lunch, my mum requested a Key Lime Pie which I was really excited to get stuck into. I love strong citrus flavours, especially refreshing with a hint of spring in the air, and with a recipe from a Waitrose magazine I got started. 

The recipe had crushed ginger nut biscuits (I had forgotten how much I liked those!) and butter for the base, baked in the oven until golden. The filling comprised of the zest and juice of 6 limes, a can of condensed milk and 4 egg yolks whisked together. When I put the filling into the pie and started to bake it I was worried that there would be a similar issue to the baked cheesecake experiment, but it firmed up beautifully and cut perfectly. I decorated it with rosettes of whipped double cream and lime slices, and it was the perfect dessert to a delicious leg of lamb. 

It may be tempting to bake your key lime pie in a traditional flan tin to get a nice fluted edge, but for ease of shape and to make sure that it came out properly, I used a metal pie tin which made it much easier to press the biscuit mix up the sides of the tin to create an even layer