Saturday 5 January 2013

Cakes

I have never been a cake maker, apart from the odd chocolate torte for pudding.  However, when to my surprise and delight I found myself planning my wedding in June, and someone suggested that I should make my own wedding cake, I took up the challenge.   The  last fruit cake I had made was from a reduced Waitrose Delia kit after Christmas, and before then it must have been about 1975, so it was not plain sailing.

Wedding Cake

After much discussion and dithering I finally made a 10 inch square fruit cake - again a Delia recipe



The quantities were huge and I had to mix everything together in a washing up bowl.  It turned out rather well and I fed it with brandy and stored it for a couple of months.

I didn't have the courage to try and decorate it myself but fortunately a friend, whom I had first met on a food forum and lives fairly locally, just happens to be a professional cake maker and offered to do it for me.  Many thanks to Tracy who is Enchantment Designer Cakes.




Birthday Cake

In August it was my mother's 80th birthday and, as I now had several cake tins (due to dithering over what size wedding cake to make), I decided to have a go at making a birthday cake.  The one I chose was Lorraine Pascale's I Cant Believe You Made That cake, but my friend Sue L suggested a more interesting cake mix so I used this one from Dan Lepard. 

I bought the chocolate cigarillos and pearls on line and was very pleased when they arrived intact.  I bought milk and plain and alternated them around the cake, fixed on with a simple chocolate ganache.  

I was very pleased with the end result - and it really was easy to make.


And it looked even better when the restaurant served it with cream and ice cream.



Christmas Cakes

I then got a bit carried away when it came to planning for Christmas.  My parents asked me to make them a cake, and then I saw a recipe for 4" cakes and I have two 4"" cake tins, but the mixture also gave enough for a 6" cake, so I made one of those as well.



This time I had a go at decorating them and I am amazed at how well they turned out.   The fruit topped one I gave to my parents, and a friend at work swapped the 4" holly cake for a bottle of Chateau Neuf du Pape - win!

The other two cakes are sat in the office:  I admire them daily but need to decide what to do with them.

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