Angee's birthday cake

I made this cake for my step mum for a special birthday and as a thank you in return for doing me a big favour a while back.

We discussed ideas for the cake and took some inspiration from Google images, then I was left to my own devices to surprise her.

The finished cake has a theme of Mexican day of the dead and of love and friendship.We, as a family have been through some hard and testing times losing people we love, but friendships and family ties support us and enable us to carry carry on, and have hope in the face of adversity.
We wanted the cake to symbolise these things, but also create something over the top that had a gothic girlie over the top kitschy feel.

This was a challenging cake for me to make, as parts of it had crucial timings especially the chocolate components and the rose making ,so had to be on the ball and work quickly. I watched a couple of You Tube tutorials to help master a couple of techniques, to try to get a professional finish.

For the base I baked 2 x 10 inch Madeira cakes with pink and back stripes running through the sponge which gives a zebra print effect when you slice into it. You divide your cake batter into 3 bowls:

Then dollop the cake batter one spoon full at a time one on top of the other and it settles into the cake tin like this..

 I levelled the cakes off then filled with strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream which is piped round in a circle on one sponge to create a dam , so the icing doesn't spill out of the sides of the cake.

 I then added thick buttercream into the sides of the cake to fill out the edge. Then  I scraped a thin layerof buttercream on the whole outside of the cake which was levelled with a scraper to ensure a smooth finish to the purple fondant icing covering it.

I bought 6 kg of white ready roll fondant  in total which I dyed with colour gels. It Took ages dyeing blocks of icing with the different colours. Takes a lot of elbow grease!

I rolled the purple fondant out quite thin and draped over the cake and smoothed it all out with a plastic smoother.  I trimmed off the excess with a pizza cutter. I stuck 7 straws into the cake to anchor the top tier cake or the weight would just collapse in the bottom one. Just trim the straws once their in.

I then got to work scrolling...with black icing in a pipe bag cut with the teeniest snip on the end.

The consistency has to be not too runny nor too thick,  little things like this make or break it...You can imagine it all running  down the sides and not setting as you scroll :(..... Practice first on the side of a  tin. ;)

The top tier is an 8 inch rich chocolate fudge cake, with an amaretto ganache, covered in black fondant.

It is crucial to let the chocolate cake set in the fridge at this stage for an hour before you ice it.

I covered this cake in black fondant and used my scraper to score some diagonal lines and then stuck pearls in between.

All the roses, leaves and hearts are handmade. The skulls are made from a chocolate mould kit, which I dusted with a silver grey lustre powder. Sadie gave a helping hand dusting these.

The sugar roses are the most time consuming part of the cake, though quite relaxing to sit and make as you get into a rhythm.

The leaves were made with a leaf cutter in different sizes.

I found it best to let the roses and leaves have some drying out time after you make them, to harden off which doesn't take long... approx an hour, or they don't hold their shape when you pin them. If they are too hard they snap as the petals are very thin and fragile, so timing is everything!

The skull  for the top of the cake on the top is a plastic one which I painted in white acrylic and coloured in with felts and paints in a  Mexican day of dead style. I placed a sugar rose in the eye and circled it with silver balls.

The cake was placed on a 16 inch board which I painted with black acrylic. I used a glue gun to stick the black spotty ribbon on with. I finished off the other tiers with silver ribbon and black.


Next  I got to work placing all the roses and leaves on, I placed them throughout to make sure I was happy with the colour and size balances, before securing them to the cake with small splodges of buttercream behind each leaf or flower.  Some of the roses had to be pinned on with thin gauge crafting wire and cocktail sticks (Mainly to the sides of the cake) you snip a piece of wire approx 5 inces long bend over to form a prong then insert through the centre of the rose being really careful not to damage any of the petals. I did damage some of them but most of the roses had a pearl in the centre which hid this and looked pretty anyway.

The roses all had a dusting of edible glitter.

The Ta Dah moment....

Angee was really delighted for the reveal which I was really glad about :) We took the cake to the venue and once in situ Angee supplied the black feather which just finished it off perfectly.

Finally how the cake looked when first piece was cut....The funky pattern worked!

I had lots of lovely comments form the guests at the party, and some recipe requests!

Shame to cut it but it's meant to be eaten! :)

30th birthday kitsch cake

I made this for my brothers girlfriend for her 30th birthday, It made her smile! This has to be my biggest challenge yet in the cake department. I really enjoyed making it, and was well pleased with the result, especially the  sugar roses!

Here's how I did it:

I made 2 square sponges, one smaller than the other, to make a tier and sandwiched them together with buttercream and jam, then covered them with more buttercream for the fondant icing to stick to.

Top tip- Spread some buttercream on the foil cake base, so the cake doesn't slide around.

I covered the  base cake first with white icing, then inserted 5 straws into the cake to act as a strengthener for the top cake to sit on. I then rolled out the black icing really thinly and cut out random strips with a pizza cutter for the zebra stripes, I  brushed the icing with a little water with a pastry brush so the strips adhere well.

I got the cake looking nice and smooth with a cake smoother, forgot to photograph it, it worked
 wonders!

I covered the top tier with pink fondant icing, then placed black ribbon round the edges to give a neat finish.

I made all the sugar roses by copying from a You Tube tutorial. They are very easy, but look  very complicated. ;)  I made these a few days in advance so they hardened up before decorating the cake.
I cut out the hearts and starts with little metal cutters, the leaves were cut by eye, and I used a sharp knife to draw the veins. I brushed with water again for the leaves and shapes to stick to, I used cocktail sticks to secure the roses into the cake.

 The heart and star shapes were made a week in advance so they were completely dry and hard.
I inserted 22 gauge craft wire into the shapes , which had first been twisted around a pencil to coil it. Insert a straw into the top cake then stick all the wire through that so it doesn't make contact with the sponge.

Finished with a light sprinkling of glitter.

It will be my 40th birthday this year think I will be making my own cake!

Projects and preserving

I'm loving these last days of summer, the weather is just perfect,warm sun, lovely cool mornings, with the smell of Autumn in the air, and the relief of of cooler evenings and nights,I've had my fan on full every night for months! I like it when it gets dark earlier too, the garden looks really pretty with there fairy lights on.

 I'm already preparing for winter, making Jam's, and chutneys and  pickles, I really enjoy this, and find it very satisfying looking at a stash of homemade jars in my dresser. The market was selling strawberries and raspberries cheap today, they needed to be eaten straight away, but I made jam , delish it was too. Will make some nice Xmas gifts!

I still have more pickles and chutneys to make, I'm just waiting for all my chilli plants to turn red , the ones that have fallen off the plant I have put into the banana bowl, and they are ripening quickly, I'm storing them all in a sandwich bag in my fridge and once I have enough I'm going to make a massive batch of chilli jam or 'Chelly' we get through a lot in this house, very yummy with cheeses, and very versatile for use in cooking and dipping sauces, mixing in with mayo, endless uses...Another favourite chutney of mine is caramelised  onion, so will be making that soon too , I will post up pics and recipe.

Chilli plant

Those bananas have seen better days, banana cake tomorrow me thinks.

I have also been  painting some old pieces of furniture, and picture frames, still have a few more to go.
It's very therapeutic, transforming junk into something special. This old table used to sit in my nan's hall, I think it's one of her oldest pieces of furniture originally purchased in the1950's, from where I have no idea, I have been after a table for a while, but thought I would have this from my nans house clearance, It's nice to keep something of hers in the family, and it was made to fit! but No matter how old or frumpy a piece may look, a lick of ivory paint transforms it into something elegant and beautiful.

Before at Nan's house

After!

Boot sale frame 15p

Revived

We are off to our beloved Cornwall on Monday morning, just for a few days, and I can't wait! We are staying in Looe, we haven't been to this part before, as always go to St Ives,  I'm excited about exploring new places, such as Polperro, and Fowey, think we will still have to spend at least one day in St Ives though, need my fix, can't resist the shops! So will take a drive down just before we come home, buckets, spades nets at the ready!

My little one starts school full time, when we get back, don't know where the time has gone... :(

On the up side this means I have many hours of total peace and quiet during the day, and can now resume with my oil panting, I'm bursting with ideas and can't wait to get started! My aim is to be doing this for a living so I don't have to go to work, and can be at home with my child, I want to be my own boss, It's just a case of building up my portfolio, and good marketing, networking.  Fingers crossed...

My eldest starts college, and and am hoping he settles in well and gets stuck into his studies as he's had a bit too much relaxation and free reign this summer!

Purchasing roses was most definitely a good decision this year, I got so fed up with slugs eating everything I planted, they don't touch these they have flowered all summer and are still doing so.

Warm wishes

Twice in a blue moon

Ena Harkness

I took cuttings from my nan's pink blush roses and yippee they have taken!

My garden is a mix of all styles, people had said you can't have cottage garden mixed in with contemporary plants such as the bamboos and maples, I don't care and don't conform to me it all works fine, roses are my fave thing of all, great to cut and bring in they add cheer.

Enjoy the last days of summer everybody. xx

Fun in the sun ☼ Apple tree's and Roses

I have been really busy the last few weeks, not even caught up on reading my fave blogs.

My children have have a busy time too, my little girl  attends ballet classes, and performed in a show for 3 nights on the trot and did amazingly well, considering she's still 3, never got stage fright at all, she was in her element, she dressed up as bumble bee, and sung and danced to the ugly bug ball {Disney} and Chu Chi Face, I was SO SO proud if her!!

Elder son went away to Dorset for his rugby tour, all lads and dads together, :O They had good weather and a great time,  and they won the tournament, so he was a happy bunny! Then both  of my sons went on to Oxford for more camping with there dad, no pool on site though, don't think they were too impressed with swimming in the lake....and youngest son cannot get by without Laptop, PS3, Ipod etc, don't think they are keen on charades for entertainment!

We have had the most amazing weather here in the south East, it has been like mid July,  we already have our gazebo up on our decking{can't sit in full sun!} looks very pretty at night with all the fairy lights.

We made many trips to the garden centre over the weekend, and bought tomatoes, strawberries, chillies and a variety of herbs. I'm not growing them outside this year, as fed up with the slugs eaten them, so am keeping them in my conservatory, wish we had room for more in here though.

Homegrown tiers

We also bought some roses, I love them, and can't be bothered with planting annuals as the slugs munch through them too,  waste of money. I  bought 3 different colours which are stunning can't wait to see them bloom, one is a a silvery lilac colour, another a peachy pink, and a burgundy, all will look gorgeous together. A good investment as they will come up every year. I also have climbing pink rose which has gone mad this year, will post some pics when in bloom.



Beautiful roses


Our most special purchase was our very own apple tree, its 'Lord Derby' variety, it is a cooking apple, and is four years old and has loads of blossoms which means lots of fruit this year!! It is said to be very hardy and disease resistant, and will  produce crops up to November -December, I can't tell you how excited we are about watching her grow, B has always wanted an apple tree since he was a child, and it was him that went on and on, we saw this one and thought that is the one!! Here she is.. I'm going to have to paint that ugly wall being it though, very grotty looking, and next doors fence has seen better days, hoping he will replace this year.

Miss Derby

She doesn't look like much at the moment, but will flourish in 2-3 years:) We don't have a very large garden but we had a perfect space to plant it, and will control the size.

 I have been most jealous of Mrs Quince Tree {one of my fave bloggers} she has masses of fruits from her Quince tree and gets to make all kinds of delicious things, so I think I will post on progress once in a while too :)

We had a lovely Easter weekend spent with family and friends, had 2 BBQ's, drinks, all in all very enjoyable. The very early egg hunt {6. 30 am!!}took  daughter nearly 3 hours! Little one then  preceded to spend most of the weekend in her cossie in the paddling pool, and  running through the sprinkler!!

Fun in the sun!



Happy with her stash :)

Here are lots of pics of my beautiful tulips : most impressive this year, I especially like the black ones, lovely colour combos,and other parts of my garden, the Tamarix looks like candyfloss!

A blaze of gold at the local park







Candyfloss pink

Easter flowers

I love my garden and feel very lucky to have one :)

Here's to another sunny weekend!