Birdhouse Cake

Happy Birthday Mum!!

Actually my Mum's birthday was at the start of August so I'm a little late in posting this, ah well I'm doing it now.

Mum really likes birdhouses (and so do I) so I though it would make a fun theme for a mini dessert table. I wasn't able to spend the amount time I really would have liked to on this but I think it still turned out cute.

Mum requested her favorite kind of cake, orange and poppy seed so I used the same recipe as her Cake-Slice Cake last birthday. The recipe makes a beautiful moist cake with a good hit of orange flavour. Double the recipe made two round 8 inch cakes and six cupcakes.

The birdhouse on the top of the cake was made from a 50/50 mix of fondant and gum paste. I glued the fondant pieces together with royal icing, much like a gingrbread house.

I iced the cake with a pale yellow orange buttercream (which melted a bit in the car on the way there) and covered it with a sprinkle of pink fondant flowers.

Blue Heart Cake

I've been so lucky to make so many cakes over the last month, this was the first. I was asked to do an engagement cake based on my valentines day heart inside cake. The couples invitations featured a big blue heart and they wanted to continue the theme in the cake. It took me some time to work out how to make a cake for 40, with each slice having a blue heart inside but I think it worked out great.

I ended up making three round cakes which were iced and stacked on top of each other using dowels and boards. The entire cake was then given a final coat of yummy white chocolate buttercream to hide the separate layers and topped with a big blue fondant heart. The outside of the cake looked pretty and simple and I was told everyone loved the hidden hearts inside.

Here is a little update with a peak at the inside of the cake. (Thanks Steph for the photos)

Passionfruit Cheesecake Slice

I seem to have a never ending supply of passionfruit, for at least a few months the fruit bowl on my bench has not been without them. This last weekend I picked the last few off the vine outside my door and decided to make something yummy while there were still some left.

I really wanted to make passionfruit meringue tarts but had used up all the eggs making cakes so that didn't work out, but luckily for me I had everything needed for a chilled cheesecake. Yum!

I really loved how simple this recipe was, the only thing I'd change about it next time is the amount of gelatine. The cheesecake didn't set quite as firm as I would have liked, so I'd probably add another half or tablespoon of gelatine. It really is tasty though, the slightly tart swirls of passionfriut pulp were perfect with the sweet cheese filling.

Passionfruit Cheesecake Slice (from Good Taste Magazine)

• For the Base
• 250 grams Butternut Snap Cookies
• 100 grams butter, melted
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• For the filling
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon gelatine powder
• 9 passionfruit (1/3 cup of passionfruit juice plus seeds)
• 500 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
• 250mls (1 cup) thickened cream
• 155 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar

To make the base-Line a 16 x 26cm slab pan with non-stick baking paper.

Place the cookies in a clip lock bag and crush with a rolling pin (or use a food processor if you have one). In a small bowl mix the crushed cookies and until well combined.

Using a spatula spread and press the biscuit mixture firmly over the base of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To make the filling- Sprinkle the gelatine over the hot water in a small heatproof bowl. Stand the bowl in a larger heatproof bowl or pan, fill the bowl/pan with boiling water until it reaches halfway up the side of the bowl. Stir until the gelatine dissolves, set the bowl aside to cool slightly.

Cut and scoop out the passionfriut, using a fine seive seperate the juice from the passionfruit pulp with the back of a spoon. Set the separated juice and seeds aside.

Add the soft cream cheese, cream and sugar in a large bowl, beat with an electric beater until smooth.

Beat in the passionfruit juice and the gelatine mixture.

Spread the cheese filling over the prepared cookie base, smooth with a spatula.

Spoon the reserved pulp over the cheesecake mixture (I dont love passionfruit seeds so only used a few tablespoons).

Swirl the passionfruit throught the top of the cheesecake using a flat blade knife.

Tap the slice tin on the benchtop a few times to smooth the mixture. Place the cheesecake in the fridge overnight to set. Cut into squares to serve.

Enjoy!

Jet Ski Cake

Just a quick post to share some pictures of the second cake I made last week. I was asked to make this cake as a gift, inspired by the giftee's love of his stand-up jet ski and heading out to the beach. I don't know anything about jet skis, it was news to me there are stand up and sit down models so you can imagine I found this cake challenging.

Despite some troubles modelling the ski and man, I am really happy with how the whole cake turned out. The inside was a super yummy chocolate mud cake (I had enough off cuts to snack on for a few days), I'll share the recipe soon.

Cars Cake

I have never ever had a busier baking week, not even at Christmas time. After making 3 big cakes this week I have to admit I'm more than a little relieved its all done. I'll work backwards and share the last cake I made first, a birthday cake for my boss's son Jake.

Happy Fourth birthday Jake!

I've have not seen Cars so had a bit of trouble knowing exactly what to do with this cake, I did a little research and found lots of inspirational pictures.

I love how the little cartoony car characters turned out. Especially the little truck 'Mater' I think he's my favorite, he's so cute.

I have been a bad blogger lately, this is my first post in over a week and haven't had a chance to catch up on eveyone else's posting, but I'm working on it. I promise i'll have some more cake pictures and some new recipes to share soon.

Harry Potter and Holidays

I'm so very excited about the final Harry Potter movie, I'm off to see it in the morning. I really wanted to make some Harry cupcakes after seeing fantastic little themed cakes all over the blog world this week but have been a little preoccupied. I didn't get a chance to make anything for the occasion but did have fun with this Harry Potter cake mix I picked up a little while ago. It was quick and easy and reminded me of every single birthday party I went to as a child, there were always cupcakes with edible images on top, mostly Mickey Mouse I think.

I have a pretty good excuse for not baking, I really do...

We've enjoyed the last week in a lake-house on Lake Weyba on the Sunshine Coast. It was such a pretty spot, right between the Noosa beaches and the hinterland.

I've been busy relaxing...

By the beach... even though it is the middle of winter it was a beautiful warm sunny day.

This wasn't us swimming but I was super jealous. I did get to play in the water but because it was cold there was a lot of squealing and no swimming.

By the lake... each lake-house had its own private little lakeside area.

In the mountains... The views from Montville were amazing and the town itself is the cutest place ever.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

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• I haven't had a lot of luck making whoopie pies, my first two attempts making chocolate whoopies didn't go very well. The second batch were an absolute disaster, they weren't so much cakey cookies as they were miss-shaped chocolate puddles. Lucky for me and my whoopie pie making confidence these pumpkin ones turned out great.
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• I really love pumpkin baked goods and their yummy spiciness, they're so prefect for winter. The cake cookies are quite dense and packed with spices that pair perfectly with the slight earthy flavour of the pumpkin. The cream cheese filling is absolutely dreamy, the kind of frosting I'd happily sit down with a bowl and spoon. I'm sure I'll be making these again.
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• For the Whoopies (from Martha Stewart)
• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups brown sugar (firmly packed)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree ( I used home made, allow to cool before using)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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• To make the whoopies- preheat the oven to 180 degrees c. cover two baking trays with baking paper.
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• Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves into a bowl and set aside.
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• In another bowl beat the sugar and oil until combined, add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating until they are thoroughly incorporated.
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• Sprinkle the sifted dry ingredients over the top of the pumpkin and mix until combined.
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• Spoon generous tablespoons of the mixture onto the baking trays about 3 cm apart (try to keep them similar size and shape so they match up when sandwiched).
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• Bake the whoopies for about 15 minutes or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking trays.
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• Once the whoopies are cool, pipe the filling onto the bottoms of half of the cookies, sandwich with the remaining halves.
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• Now I skipped this next step and just tried one straight away, but I'd recommended leaving them to set in the refrigerator for a short while to stop the filling squooshing out the sides.
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• For the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling
• 60 grams unsalted butter (softened)
• 250 grams cream cheese (softened)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-4 cups icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
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• Beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy and smooth, mix in the vanilla.
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• Add the cinnamon and the icing sugar a cup at a time until smooth and spreadable. If the filling isn't thick enough add a little more icing sugar at a time to get the desired consistency.
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• Whoooopie!