Buffy Cake

I think that small cakes make great presents, and this week I made two of them.  One was a birthday cake for a Buffy fan, and one was to say thanks to someone.  Bet you'll never guess which one is which :)

The Buffy cake was made after a quick search on the internet for ideas, and combining a couple of different designs that others had made.  My hubbie did the writing and outline for me which was a big help.  To get the image, I printed a picture off the internet and then reduced it to the right size so that I could trace it onto baking paper.  Then I lay the paper onto thinly rolled fondant and cut around the tracing with a scalpel, and stuck it in place on the cake with a little sugar water.  The black outline was added with a food-safe pen once the fondant had dried.  The flowers for both cakes are really simple - I will blog about tips for making flowers soon.

Both of these cakes were made using a new chocolate mudcake recipe - you can find it by Googling for 'Pam's Chocolate Mudcake'.  Apparently it a recipe that a lot of cake decorators use as it is quite dense, but also moist.  I have found a couple of different versions, and so am working my way through them to see which is best!  The layers of ganache within the cake are particularly tasty :)

-N-

A New Cake Class

I didn't realise that it had been quite so long since I last blogged, until I went through the photos of cakes that I have made, but haven't written about yet!  So, I might start off with the most recent and then make my way back.

Last weekend I spent two days at www.cakelovecouture.com.au learning how to make this two tiered cake.  It was a lot of fun to make, and I learned heaps.  I found that this class spent a lot longer on the preparation side than other classes that I have been to previously.  I have covered square cakes before, but the corners have always turned out a little rounded, and now I know why!  It's all to do with the super-smooth layer of ganache underneath.  It took me a while to get the hang of the corners, but I got there in the end.  I also learned some handy tips on how to tier the cakes so that they don't collapse, and how to get the 'ribbon' of pale fondant to go on in one strip.  The flowers were fun to make too - I will be making them again as they were really easy and look effective.  When I use some of my new tips on my next cake/s I will take photos along the way and share ideas.  

On another note, I have put in an entry form for the Perth Royal Show!  As this stage I will be trying decorated biscuits and a celebration cake.  Eeeek!  What have I gotten myself into???

-N-