The Cake Escape

It would appear I am not the only one with baking skills in my family.

My sister is a teacher and a member of her schools cake club. Every Tuesday one of the members will bake a cake and they each get a slice.

Last week my sister sent me this picture message:

This was a trial run of a pistachio cake she is going to make for cake club.

Lucky for me I got a slice, and the cake didn't just look good, it was delicious. She even made her own crystallised rose petals!

I enjoyed it so much, I decided to make my own pistachio cupcakes following a recipe from the "Cupcakes" book by Susannah Blake.

This was the first time I'd made Royal Icing but I really like its glossy finish so I will use it again.

Last week I attended my work Staff Awards evening.

To my surprise I was nominated for the "Team Player of the Year award", even more to my surprise I actually won it jointly with one of my colleagues.

Perhaps the baked treats I have brought in to work got me nominated? I'm not sure but it felt fitting to bring in more and so I did.

I baked my chocolate cake because it always goes down well, and an Orange and Almond loaf from the "The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days" book. Here they are along with my award, which you can just about make out in front of my certificate.

I have learnt to pre-slice cakes for work as I have seen people cut some pretty generous portions, you know who you are :)

All in all it was a good evening and it was nice to meet some of my colleagues that I only get to chat with on the phone.

Spring is my favourite time of year, I love to see baby lambs skipping around in the fields, gardens full of daffodils, and eat lots of chocolate at Easter.

Inspired by my Mums favourite flower, I made these little Easter treats for my family.

My Mum would buy daffodils throughout the spring for herself and my Nan, a tradition she has passed down to my sister and I. I love them because they remind me of her and I'm sure she would have loved these cupcakes.

I also decided to make some Easter cake pops as I was pleased with how the Owl pops turned out.

My sisters friend Verity lent me the Cake Pops book by Bakerella, so I attempted to recreate the chics and Easter bunnies. I have to admit I did rush these so I wasn't overly pleased with the result.

My obvious mistake... I used left over chocolate icing to make the pops which then coloured the sponge. When coated with the white and yellow chocolate the dark sponge showed through, hence my bunnies are grey. I expect I could have given them a second coat but I was feeling lazy.

Also, I couldn't find anything to use for the bunnies ears. I ended up using flattened marshmallows but I don't think they quite did the job.

I've had some free time so I decided to flick through my recipe books and find something new to try.

I landed on Cola cupcakes from the book "The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days: Recipes to make every day special".

The recipe was pretty obvious really, simply adding a dribble of cola syrup (the kind you would use in a Soda stream) in to the cake mixture.

I'm a big fan of the Hummingbird recipe books but I have to be honest, I wasn't too keen on these. They weren't horrid, just a bit odd really, almost like the flavour didn't belong in a cake. Perhaps I used the wrong type of flavouring? Or maybe it was just me as Mr Chris was still happy to eat them.

I thought I'd get off lightly for my Dad's birthday as he doesn't have a sweet tooth and isn't a great lover of icing (fondant or butter cream). However he does like my Coffee and Walnut cake and I have made this so many times it is easy peasy and stress free. What I didn't count on is my Dad, still looking for moments to push me in to reaching my full potential, setting me a challenge and being quite specific about what he wanted for his birthday cake.

Dad's challenge:
As a lift engineer my Dad requested a cake with stairs and a banister, and a stair lift. He also wanted a little model of himself repairing the lift. Personally the last thing I would want is a cake that reminds me of work but this was his challenge.

Challenge accepted!

From my experience (or should I say Mr Chris' experience) carving the spiral cake for Mr Chris' Dad, I know it is important to have the right type of sponge. The sponge for the spiral cake was a little tricky to carve as it was very light and fluffy, and chunks would crumble away during the carving.

This time I did a bit of research and found some good carving tips from Lindy's Cakes. Following the tips I made a madeira sponge using a square cake tin as I thought it would make it easier to cut out the stairs. FYI, Lindy's Cakes also provides a handy chart to calculate recipe quantities for different size and shaped cake tins.

I didn't freeze the cake as Lindy's tips suggest because it wouldn't fit in my freezer, but Mr Chris tells me it was indeed easier to carve (yes, I chickened out). The unusual shape made it harder to cover with fondant but I took it slow, working from top to bottom and smoothing small sections at a time. It did tear in a couple of weak spots around the stairs, but these were covered with the stair lift so I wasn't too bothered.

As for modelling my Dad, this was not a problem because I've done it before. I remember as a child making a similar model out of plasticine for Father's day, the only difference now is the belly has got a little bigger :D

Some quotes from my Dad:
"I've got more grey hair then that"
"What model stair lift is that then?"
"My tool box isn't red"

Overall I think he was pretty chuffed with it.

Ok, I know I'm a little late for Valentines day but Mr Chris has come to expect this from me. He knows I live in a different time zone to everyone else. As it happens it worked out better this way as Mr Chris was still working his way through my Lemon Meringue cupcakes on Valentines day.

To be honest we don't normally do anything for Valentines but I had this idea and I really wanted to give it a go.

Again putting my stencils and impression mats to good use - I don't think I can do cupcakes without them now.

But where is the hidden heart?

It's baked inside....

Lucky for me I wasn't the first to have this idea and found lots of helpful tips out there. If you want to give these a go I can highly recommend following instructions from Made with love by me. I don't think mine would have turned out so well on my first attempt without them.

These little treats were made as a belated birthday gift for my friend Stephanie - very belated as her birthday was actually on the 25th December :/

I wanted to try something completely different for Steph as she is incredibly creative (very talented with a needle and thread!) and always encouraging my baking. So scoping out the latest trends on the baking scene I discover cake pops are all the rage, and they look like fun too.

I decided to make Owl cake pops as they're pretty cute and Owls are cool. I didn't follow it exactly, but I used a tutorial from Dessert Decorating that gives a great demonstration on how to construct the cake pops.

I got 16 cake pops from a regular batch of cupcake mixture that would usually make 12 cupcakes. Only 8 passed quality control as I was too eager at the start and attached their features before the chocolate had set. I could only laugh when I opened the fridge to find a bunch of mutant Owls whose eyes and beaks had slid down to meet their feet. My tummy wasn't too concerned with their mutant appearance though and they tasted like gooey chocolate brownies.

I wasn't entirely confident with my gift of cake pops so I made a batch of backup cupcakes. I used my stencils again as they were such a success last time, but I also gave my newly purchased impression mats a go.

I think Steph was pleased with her gift, all I have to do next time is deliver them on her actual birthday :)

Mr Steves birthday, what to do? Some sort of igloo cake with fondant penguins? Nope, forget that, just bring on the chocolate!

This is probably the easiest cake I've made but definitely my favourite - maybe because I got to eat all the left over sweets that wouldn't fit on top :)

I'd love to know how many calories are in a slice of this bad boy, actually, probably best I don't...

This really is for chocolate lovers, Mr Steves being the only person I'd place above me on the chocoholic scale, this should go down well...

Chocolate sponge, filled and covered with chocolate butter-cream icing, topped with white mice, chocolate flakes, and slices of chocolate orange, and surrounded by chocolate fingers - two and a half packs of chocolate fingers.

But wait... Mr Steves shares his birthday with his mummy Babs. I couldn't possibly give Steves a cake without whipping up a little something special for Babs too....

Probably my finest cupcakes to date, I owe my thanks to Lindy's Cakes for the inspiration, the stencils and gold dust. I swear I could shop forever at Lindy's... so many cake gadgets :)

For a while now I've been telling Mr Chris I can make a very nice crème brûlée, so this weekend I decided to prove it.

Every time I make these I forget just how easy they are. I use a recipe from the BBC GoodFood website, I've tried some others but this is definitely the one that works and gives the perfect consistency. If you don't have a chefs blowtorch you can place the ramekins under the grill to caramelise the sugary tops. The blowtorch is much more fun though!

If you are a crème brûlée fan, you must give these a go, Mr Chris was not disappointed.

And what follows brûlée? Meringue!

I hate food waste so I used the left over egg whites to make some Lemon Meringue cupcakes. Mr Chris was full of brûlée so he struggled to make his way through these but I had no trouble giving them away.

I took some to work but as I didn't have enough for all of my colleagues it was first come first served. They were gone in less then a minute :)

Lemon flavoured sponge, filled with lemon curd and topped with tasty meringue.

So the other day I spotted a business card on the notice board at work for a lady making and selling cakes from home. I had a little peep at her website and found something new to try... cupcake bouquets (at this point I would love to add a link to her website but sadly I didn't save the url and the business card has since been removed).

I found a couple of ways to create these. One is to place a styrofoam ball in to a vase or plant pot, then attach the cupcakes with cocktail sticks, spearing one end in to the cake and the other in to the ball. I couldn't get my hands on a styrofoam ball so I used the cup method instead...

I stapled together 7 tall disposable plastic cups in to a flower shape, clued them on to a cake board and wrapped with crepe paper. Each cake gets its own little home in the top of one of the cups. And the end result:

It's not great but it's not bad for a first attempt either.
I'm not sure about the leaves but they helped to cover the gaps between the plastic cups.

I also learnt how to use another of my many icing tips following a nifty tutorial on YouTube, which demonstrates how to create the begonia type looking flower.

It's a sad time for my sister and a difficult time for her to celebrate her birthday, nevertheless we did the best we could.

As children we had our fair share of squabbles (she always started it of course) but these days I feel very fortunate to have such a great sister. I'm very proud of her and she deserves a special cake.

This idea came to me at Christmas during the traditional viewing of Charlie and the Chocolate factory with my sister quoting every word and singing along. It wouldn't be Christmas without it! She is probably the biggest Charlie and the Chocolate factory fan in the world so this cake seemed most appropriate:

Based on the scene where Willy Wonka sings "Pure Imagination" this cake includes the chocolate river, lolly pop trees, mushrooms, gummy bears and a little addition from Mr Chris - the flower teacup and saucer.
Willy Wonka was a little beyond my modelling skills so I featured a cheeky Oompa Loompa instead. His facial expression was very appropriate when he's hands fell off the following day...

A touch of super glue and he now sits happily in his new home on my sister's bookshelf.

And it would appear my sister is not the only fan, currently this picture has clocked up an amazing 61,924 views on Mr Chris' flicker account.

Happy 4th Birthday to Mr Chris' niece, Connie.

A cake that represents two of Connie's likes, ballet and the colour yellow. Underneath that yellow fondant is a scrummy chocolate cake and definitely no jam!

When asked who was sitting on top of the cake Connie replied "me", so I think it's safe to say my models are improving.

Stepping away from the usual madeira sponge, I decided a chocolate feast would be a nice birthday treat for Mr Chris' sister, Ruth.

As a chocolate lover I thought this would be delicious... a light chocolate sponge with a chocolate buttercream filling, and covered in a thin layer of chocolate fondant.

It was yummy - even if I do say so myself :)

I also want to highlight the success of my letter cutters. These are called "funky" letters and are known for being a bit tricky as they are large and loose their shape easily. For me the letter would stay inside the cutter and when I tried to tap it out only part of the letter would release. Eventually it would stretch or break as I tried to remove the rest.

On this occasion I put my success down to a newly purchased non-stick mat. Ironically, when I pulled the letter cutter away, the letter would remain on the mat and not in the cutter. This works for me.

I also discovered it's better to leave the letter to harden for a minute before transferring it to the cake so it doesn't loose it's shape. Don't leave it to dry completely though, as it'll become brittle and very delicate.

This cake was to celebrate the long awaited arrival of my beautiful niece Lottie, born on 6th December 2011, and to celebrate her life although it was much shorter then any of us wanted and prayed for.

To my brave little niece Lottie, you are always in my thoughts.

You held on long enough to give me a cuddle and I kept my promise to make you the best cake I possibly could, with all your little friends around you.

Everyday I wish things could have been different but I find comfort knowing you are safe with Nanny Thorn and your great "Little Nan", and we'll all be together again one day.

Love you always,
Your Aunty Chel xxx

Flollie the Elephant Vert the Penguin Mrs Bear

The moment when I held my niece for the very first time. Although I was full of sadness it was briefly pushed aside as this was, and will always be, the most precious moment of my life. I hope she felt nothing but love and comfort in my arms.

The answer to all my problems: THE MAT.

After all my struggles covering cakes with fondant, I started looking for tips online and stumbled upon "THE MAT". With a very important cake due next month to celebrate the long awaited arrival of my niece, it has to be perfect so the pressure is on to prefect the icing.

Some pros may refer to this as cheating but I'm happy to be called a cheat if this mat works as good as the video suggests:

Of course I'm sceptical, it wouldn't be the first product I've bought that looks great but in real life doesn't work. However, for £24.99 I think it's worth a try. I also like the hygiene aspect of it and not being left with a table covered in icing sugar to clean up at the end.

A Primus cake for a Primus fan and Mr Chris to the rescue again, what would I do without him!

This cake was going well until I fell ill mid creation with suspected food poisoning (not my own cooking I'd like to add!). Fortunately I had baked the cake and made the models the previous evening, but I had to leave Mr Chris to cover the cake and put it all together the next day. I think he did an amazing job and he still managed to take care of me at the same time.

The fondant astronauts are based on the huge inflatable ones from their tour and t-shirts. I like to think they show an improvement in my modelling skills thanks to the magic ingredient, Tylo powder, and a nice set of modelling tools from Mr Chris.

After making a few fondant models and finding it quite difficult to work with, I have discovered the fondant needs a little something extra in order to turn it in to modelling paste, or gum-paste as some refer to it.

This YouTube video gives a really good demo on how to create modelling paste by adding Tylo powder:

I picked up a little tub (85g) of Tylo powder for £3.65 from my local cake decorators shop. I consider that a bargain as it'll last a considerable time and I now have a little stash of modelling paste ready for when I need it.

Firstly, I have to confess I stole this idea from CakeCentral, but it was the perfect cake for Mr Chris' Dad who is a very keen walker.

The cake consists of two Victoria sponges, one on top of the other, and the spiral path has been carved as detailed in the link above.
Cutting in to the cake was a little frightening but actually went quite smoothly.

The icing as usual was a nightmare, especially as the cake was so large, but Mr Chris stepped in to lend a hand and we got there eventually.

The final result with all its trimmings...

Not my best modelling work as it was a warm evening and with the added food colouring my fondant was too sticky, but I did find a nifty tutorial on YouTube for creating the trees (even if they did turn out to be the same size as Mr Fred).

A little treat to congratulate my colleague, Azra, on her well deserved promotion.

There are a few ways to achieve the rainbow icing but this is how I do it:

1. I make a regular batch of non-coloured buttercream icing.

2. Separate the icing in to two or three bowls (depending on how many colours I want).

3. Colour the icing in each bowl by adding a couple of drops of food colouring.

4. Place my piping bag inside a glass and open it out over the top of the glass.

5. Load the different colours in stripes in to the piping bag e.g. add one colour down the left of the bag, another down the right, and maybe one down the middle. It can be a bit tricky to add all of one colour in one go so I do each gradually until the bag is full.

6. Squeeze a little of the icing in to a bowl until all of the colours start to show, then it's ready to go :)

I found the butterflies at a county fair but I've not seen them anywhere since, which is a shame as I think they look really pretty.

These were a birthday treat for my friend Lou. We've known each other since we were little kids and she lived just around the corner from me. She still does in fact!

As usual I was short on time (I seem to live in a different time zone to everyone else) so I needed to make something quick that still had that personal touch.

Always engrossed in a book, Lou has been a keen reader as far back as I can remember, so I decided to reflect that in her cakes.

These are chocolate cupcakes, with chocolate frosting and little book worm toppers made out of fondant.

A third niece for Mr Chris!

Congratulations to Steve, Ruth and Connie on the newest member of their family, Kitty May.

My second attempt to cover a cake with fondant icing - still a very frustrating experience but a better result then the first attempt.

Again I had trouble with the icing sticking to the surface but in addition to this I failed to roll it thin enough to cover the whole cake, hence the piping along the bottom and decorations around the edge hiding the gaps and bodged bits :/

I also cheated with the decorations on this one. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to make my own so I bought these.

Mr Chris surprised me with a little gift... a cupcake recipe book by Susannah Blake.

After working my way through some of the recipes it has definitely become one of my favourite books. The recipes are easy to follow and the results are scrummy.

Here are some of the ones I have tried so far....

Banoffee
The cupcake version of my favourite dessert. These have banana and chunks of toffee in the sponge, then whipped cream, sliced banana and a drizzle of dulce de leche on top. They go down well!

Orange and Almond
I think these should have risen more but unfortunately I couldn't get my hands on one of the ingredients, potato flour, and as a substitute I used grounded potato flakes used for instant mash. They may not look impressive but they were still very tasty.

Coffee and Hazelnut Praline
My first time making praline, which is actually a lot easier than I thought and fills the kitchen with a very nice aroma.

Rose Water

I didn't know what to expect from these as I hadn't come across Rose Water before. I thought they might taste like the sweets, Parma Violets (most people would think that's a bad thing as they taste a bit perfumey but I like them).

They were actually very similar to vanilla cupcakes with just a slight hint at the Rose Water flavour.

I'm a big fan of the Studio Ghibli films and my favourite has to be 'My Neighbour Totoro'. They're not to everyone's taste as they can be a little "out there" so imagine my joy when Mr Chris also fell in love with Totoro and instantly went online to find me some Totoro friends.

I've lost track of how many times we've watched the film but it seemed like the obvious choice of cake for Mr Chris' 25th birthday.

This was my first ever attempt at covering a cake with fondant and making fondant models, so although it has its flaws I am very pleased with the result.

I used a white ready to roll fondant and tried to colour it myself. After several hours of kneading it was eventually green, not the green I was hoping for but green enough. One frustrating hour later it was eventually on the cake.

Prior to making this cake You Tube tutorials led me in to a false sense of security that fondant icing is easy peasey. Despite the amount of icing sugar I threw down my fondant didn't want to leave the kitchen surface, and the times it did I'd roll it too thin and it would tear. Nevertheless, I am persistent so I got there in the end.

As for the modelling, I seemed to be a natural at this which I can only assume is thanks to my child hood days playing with plasticine, and I guess Totoro's aren't particularly tricky.

Mr Chris loved it, and I think our friends approved too. I'm also very pleased to say this led to Totoro becoming a favourite of Chris' niece.

Spreading the Totoro love :)

The Cake Escape

It runs in the family

Team Player of the Year

Easter Treats

Cola Cupcakes

The challenge, should you choose to accept it...

Valentine's Hidden Hearts

Owl Cake Pops

Chocolate Overload

Brûlée and Meringues

Roses and Begonias

Burp Charlie burp, it's the only way!

Connie Ballerina

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Lottie Mercy Thorn-Pointer

THE MAT

P R I M U S

How to make Modelling Paste

Spiral Cake

Rainbow Icing

Book Worm Cupcakes

A New Arrival

Cupcakes - Susannah Blake

My Neighbour Totoro

Reading List

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