Place Your Bets....

It was my OH's Grandad's birthday yesterday so we are visiting at the weekend to drop his birthday cake off.  He likes to place a bet does Grandad, so this is my homage to him!  I got the idea from a cake that www.jennyhuntcakes.co.uk had done and I thought it looked really good so decided to give it a go!

 Everything on the cake is edible including the coins....good old chocolate coins!!

I can hear a Gruffalo........

I've been asked to do a Gruffalo cake and this is a sneak preview of my Gruffalo!  I got the idea for the cake from www.cutelittlecupcakes.co.uk who have done a brilliant Gruffalo cake.  Hopefully my finished one will look just as good as theirs!

I have to say, they do some fab looking cupcakes on their website but jeez, they charge alot for them!  £2 per cake with a minimum order of 12.....thats £24 a box!!!  Hmmmm, maybe I should put my prices up?!?!?!

Anyway, introducing Gruff the Gruffalo!!

Millie's 1st Birthday

Another 1st Birthday cake this weekend was dropped off on Saturday   A beautifully simple cake which looked lovely when finished with a cute bear peeping round a number one with daisies and a heart with Millie's name on it.  Millie's mum said the cake didn't last longer than half an hour......a good sign?!! Lol!!

Peppa Pig

A little girl whose 1st birthday cake I did last year (a number one shape) has just turned 2 - how time flies by so quick!  Her mum said she was mad on Peppa Pig and so she wanted of course a Peppa Pig cake!  We decided on a flat cake as opposed to a 3-d model and I did cupcakes in the same theme to match.

Neon Icing Toy Story Cupcakes

Just a few vanilla cupcakes for a little boy who is mad on Toy Story.  I decided to do neon coloured buttercream and the colours came out very well.  Using gel paste's are far better than liquid food colouring as they are a more concentrated colour.  Even though they are more expensive, you use less of it which makes them more cost effective!  The toppers are little rice paper discs with Toy Story characters on them.

Spiced Butternut Squash Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I am 'trialling' cakes at the moment in preparation for attending a Clandestine Cake Club meeting at the end of the month.  The theme is Spooky / Trick or Treat.

The cake is called Pumpkin Cake but you can use butternut squash instead.  I made this the other week with Mr & Mrs S being the 'Tasters of the Day' and both had good positive reactions to it.  Neither of them could guess the 'secret' ingredient (i.e. butternut squash).  The cake itself is very moist and very similar to carrot cake.  It definitely needs a cream cheese frosting topping to it and adding orange zest to it gives it a nice twist.

Do try it, it really is delicious.....next one on trial this weekend is Toffee Apple Cake......

PS, the Clandestine Cake Club is a great idea and I am very excited to be going to an event.  Basically its all a big secret!  You join the club (nothing more than a few email details) and then you are notified of events happening in your area.  If you wish to attend you put your name down to go and a few days before they email you with where the venue is.  You as the baker have to bring a cake (they usually set a theme) but you can bring a non-baking guest with you.  You cannot just turn up though as a non-baker.  Most of the venues they hold the events in do not charge but they do ask they you buy refreshments from them (most of the venues are cafe's, tapas bars etc).  The idea is its not a competition and no cakes will be judged in any way but its a chance for other bakers at whatever skill level they are to swap recipes, have a chat and generally just eat cake!...Cannot wait!!

Anyway, this is trial one.........

The recipe is from the Goodfood website (www.bbcgoodfood.com)

Ingredient

• 300g self-raising flour
• 300g light muscovado sugar
• 3 tsp mixed spice
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 175g sultanas
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 eggs , beaten
• 200g butter , melted
• zest 1 orange
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 500g (peeled weight) pumpkin or butternut squash flesh, grated

• 200g pack soft cheese
• 85g butter , softened
• 100g icing sugar , sifted
• zest 1 orange and juice of half

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking or small roasting tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice, then mix with the dry ingredients till combined. Stir in the pumpkin. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.
2. To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice till smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge. When the cake is done, cool for 5 mins then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.
3. If you like, trim the edges of the cake. Give the frosting a quick beat to loosen, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake in peaks and swirls. If you're making the cake ahead, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins or so before serving. Will keep, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Try this

Pumpkins can vary dramatically in water content, so keep an eye on the cake towards the end of cooking - yours may take less or more time to cook through. If you're not carving out a pumpkin this year butternut squash works brilliantly, too

I also added a good handful of chopped walnuts to the cake as well