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I Did It All For The Cookie

Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake

It was my godson's second birthday this week and I was asked to make his cake.  Last year he got a 3D teddy bear cake (he was named Henry and we felt very bad about cutting into him when the time came, sorry little guy!).  So this year I turned to my good friend, Google image search to find inspiration for his cake.  He is a big fan of the Very Hungry Caterpillar book so it was my first search, and after scrolling for pages and pages I finally found one that would fit the bill.

The actual cake is pretty straight forward: 2 tiers (any kind of cake you want, this one was red velvet and vanilla with green vanilla buttercream), white fondant covering.  It's the bits after that you get to have fun with and use your imagination for the finishing touches.

 

You can use fondant to make a caterpillar for the front of the cake (I use edible glue to stick all the decor on, but if you use a paintbrush to dab water onto the fondant it will stick too).  Around the back and sides I used fondant in a variety of colours to make fruits lollipops to decorate.  I invested in a collection of writing gels as well which is what I used for all the detail on the fruit and to draw on the lollipop stick, and the face on the butterfly.

For the topper, I bought sugar balloons on wires from a cake decorating store, as well as a number 2, which was white, but I used edible paint to colour it green to tie it in with the caterpillar.  Using my writing gels I also spelled the birthday boy's name out on individual balloons.

The tiers are finished off with Skittles candies which are glued in place with the edible glue.  You don't have to use Skittles though, Smarties, M&Ms, jelly beans would all do the trick too.

Tiffany's Box Birthday Cake

Who doesn't love the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's?  It's a classic, right?  Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard are totally cute in that movie.  My friend also loves this film so I was trying to find a way to incorporate that into her birthday cake.  At first I was looking into Audrey cake or cupcake toppers but decided to go with a simpler approach and have the cake look like a box from Tiffany's instead.

What you need for the cake:

Cake of your choice

Frosting of your choice

Duck egg blue fondant

White fondant

Pearl lustre spray

Once you have your cake(s) baked leave them to cool completely then trim them into the shape you want (I did square).  Frost the cake on the top and sides, and in between layers if applilcable.  My cake was four cakes high, I just really wanted some height to it.

Next, roll out your duck egg blue fondant, then cover your cake, trim and smooth.  Roll out more of the blue and add another layer to the top to form a lid for your box.  Use a scapel to get a good sharp edge on the lid.

Roll out your white fondant and cut out your ribbon for the box.  This is where I used the lustre spray to add a satin ribbon effect to the fondant.  Allow to dry before lifting the ribbon otherwise you'll get fingerprints in the lustre and also your fingers will look like you've manhandled Tinkerbell. 

You can leave the cake like this, it looks pretty.  Your can also go a step further and make a bow out of fondant (and lustre spray) to top the cake.  I had no clue how to do this so I took to Youtube to find a video to learn how.

And this was my finished product...

Valentine's Day Cake

I stumbled across the design of this cake last year when I found myself going through a load of old posts on Bakerella's website.  I decided to make it for my wee mommy for Valentine's Day since for as long as I can remember she has made me a bag of goodies every year (usually consisting of socks, a keyring, chocolate or other V-Day themed items she finds in the stores) so I figured this year I'd surprise her with a little something for her.

Basically, this can be any kind of cake, but my mother's personal favourite is red velvet.  I got myself a moderately-sized heart shaped cake tin from ebay (though this design would work in other shapes too).

To make this you'll need:

Your chosen cake tin

Another cake tin for the excess batter (or another batch of batter, depending on the size of the cake)

At least 1 batch of frosting (again, it's up to you what kind you use)

Chocolate (milk, plain or white)

Decorations for your cake balls (sprinkles/ glitter/ candy melts)

Red fondant (or white fondant and red food colouring)

Mini cupcake cases

Bake your cake as normal.  Leave to cool and then take the extra cake, crumble it into a bowl and then mix in enough frosting to bring all the cake crumbs together, but isn't too sticky.  Roll your mixture into walnut sized balls and place on greaseproof paper on a baking tray.  Once you have rolled enough, place the baking tray into your freezer to help them firm up.  This will make the coating process much easier later on.

Roll fondant out over a cake board (I use edible glue to keep it in place) and centre your cake on the board.  Spread your chosen flavour of frosting over the top and sides, any messes can be cleaned up later with some kitchen paper.  Roll out some more fondant and cover the top of your cake and trim any excess fondant off for a clean line around the top.  Roll out even more fondant in a long strip, this will form the sides of your "box".  Make sure the fondant you roll is thick enough to stand up and not flop over, it should also be slightly taller than the side of your cake.

Melt your chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan.  Take the tray of cake balls out of the freezer, and using 2 teaspoons, roll them in the melted chocolate until they are covered and place them back on the tray.  Add sprinkles or glitter now before the chocolate sets.  Once you are happy with your cake balls, place them either in the fridge or freezer so that the chocolate can set completely.

Finally, place your cake balls in some mini cupcake cases and arrange them in your box cake.

Original idea from Bakerella website 

Cake balls technique also from Bakerella website 

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I had bought a couple of tins of pumpkin purée just before Christmas and instead of making pumpkin pie I decided to get a little more creative, since I liked the pumpkin bread I made a while back I thought I'd go with some pumpkin cupcakes.  The spices in the cupcakes made them super Christmasy, but they are tasty all year round!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup pumpkin purée

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4.

Line a cupcake tin with cases.

In a bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar a butter until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time mixing well between each addition.  Next, add the vanilla extract.  Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the pumpkin purée, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cases and bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until firm and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted.  Place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

I topped my cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting, but orange cream cheese would also work (and taste so good) or plain cream cheese is always a classic choice.

Ingredients:

115g cream cheese

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 tsp lemon extract (or orange or vanilla)

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth (don't over beat the cream cheese or your frosting will become runny).  Add the butter and mix until well incorporated.  Next add your chosen extract and icing sugar.  Pipe or spread the frosting onto your cupcakes.  Top with chopped nuts, toffee pieces or sprinkles of your choice.

Bake A Cake In A Mug In Your Microwave!

Whilst on lunch break at work I often look through Google images for cake decorating ideas, or amazon for new recipe books, or baking blogs for anything and everything.  I stumbled across this recipe yesterday and I did try it last night but wasn't satisfied with how it turned out so I tried it our again tonight and got much better results.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp plain flour

4 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)

3 tbsp chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

(I would've included flour in the photo if only the bag I had weren't a huge 25lb sack, lol)

First, put all the dry ingredients into your mug (try to find a mug that's slightly larger than normal, I used a normal sized mug the first time I made this and there was a little overspill).  Mix the dry ingredients with a fork until well combined.

Next, beat your egg and add to the mug.  Mix well, it will be very sticky.

Stir in your milk and oil.  The mixture will become much easier to mix.  Make sure you scrape the bottom of the cup with your fork to get any unmixed ingredients.

Add in your chocolate chips and vanilla.  If you don't want to use chocolate chips, get creative!  I used mint chips the first time I made this, for this attempt I used butterscotch chips and toasted pecans.  For a more colourful cake add M&Ms, or use peanut butter chips.  Try toffee pieces or fudge!  Whatever your sweet tooth is craving, throw it in there!

Mix the ingredients again, then move it to the microwave!  Cooking times are around 3 minutes for a 1000W microwave or 4 minutes for a 700W microwave.  To be safe (and to save on clean up time) put a plate under your mug when it's in the microwave.

When your cake is done, remove from the microwave and use a cake tester to see if it is cooked properly, it should come out clean when you insert in into your cake. The cake will also deflate slightly as it cools.

And there you have it!  A perfectly sized individual dessert ready in about 10 minutes!  It's great if you want a quick sweet treat and don't have a lot of ingredients on hand.  The cake is really hot so even though it might smell super yummy be careful when you tuck in.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Meringue Roulade

Every year I go back to my parents' house for Christmas and the last couple I have started baking something to bring with me for us to indulge in after our Christmas Eve dinner.  Last year it was cheesecake brownies with raspberry whipped cream, this year it was chocolate meringue roulade.  I just happened to be watching morning television while I was spending the weekend with a friend of mine in Birmingham and in between our geek out sessions this was on a cooking show.  It looked so good I just had to try it!

Ingredients:

5 eggs whites

150g caster sugar

2 tsp cornflour, sifted

1 tbsp cocoa powder

400ml double cream, whipped into soft peaks

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 vanilla pod, split with seeds scraped out

Preheat oven to 150°C

Line a 33x28cm swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper.

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gradually add in the caster sugar and continue whisking until nearly stiff peaks form.  Use a spatula to fold in the cocoa powder and cornflour until everything is well combined.  Spoon the meringue into the swiss roll tin and spread evenly.  Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and is still pliable.  Keep the meringue in the tin to cool.  In another bowl, mix the whipped cream, icing sugar and vanilla seeds together.  Spread another piece of greaseproof paper onto your counter and sieve icing sugar over it.  Turn the meringue out onto the new piece of greaseproof paper and then spread the cream over the top.  Use the greaseproof paper to help you lift the meringue and roll into the roulade. 

Don't worry if the meringue cracks, it is meringue after all and I have a suspicion that if you can indeed roll meringue without cracking it you are in possession of some strange and mystical power of kitchen prowess!

Using your greaseproof paper, lift the roulade onto a serving plate and dust with more icing sugar and cocoa powder to serve.