A Floral End to 2011

It's unusual for me to dedicate a whole blog post to one cake but I spent hours and days and days on just making the flowers alone that I think I need to document the process and remember the challenge.

Making sugar flowers is an extremely long process... You are trying to create something in nature that is so delicate and consists of lots and lots of layers and details. It is truly an achievement when I see some artists who have created flowers that are so realistic that you would not even think for a second that they are made from sugar. Hopefully that will be me one day :D

So anyways, although my sugar flowers were more stylised, it took two full days just to create them all. Cutting out hundreds of petals and wiring and sticking them all together. It may bore some people but I find it quite relaxing... it is quite a repetitive process so I do get to watch some TV in the background which is a bonus :)

Peonies. I love these flowers but with each petal wired on separately, these take such a long time to make and assemble.

Filler berries.

Lots and lots of leaves. I actually thought I made too many but in fact I could have used more!

Rosebuds.

Colouring dusts... I love rainbow colours :)

Burgundy peony buds.

Filler berries.

Dusting trays.

Group shot!

The hours and days all lead up to this point... when everything is ready to be assembled on the cake. This is my favourite part but by far the shortest. It goes by too quick :(

So this was the last wedding cake of the year... and certainly the one I am most proud of due to the challange of having to match the flowers to the ones the florist was providing. The bride and the stylist had such a clear vision of how they wanted the cake to look like in their midsummers garden theme and I was so honoured to get to be part of the magic.

After all that, we headed off to my cousin's new place to welcome in the New Year with the rest of my family. 

How cool is this?! It's ice cream! From Messina

Flynn getting into the New Year spirit with her paper crowns.

Honey chicken... yum :)

Welcome to 2012! I can't wait to start my cakey adventures with all of you and get though my long list of 'to dos'!

My Top 10 Cakes of 2011

As we approach the last hours of 2011 I thought it would be a nice trip down memory lane if I looked back at all the cakes I did this year and picked out my top 10 favourite ones. Much like how the news channels will do the 'year in summary' segment, I present to you my cake year in summary...


Number 10 - This 3D bear was created for teaching... I wanted to make something challenging and all out of cake. I can't wait to teach this next year :)

Number 9 - I just love the colours on this topper, it was based off the invite and is such a fresh approach to the traditional Noah's Ark theme.

Number 8 - This is one of my favourite wedding cake toppers. It's so cute and personalised. The couple both met while studying dentistry and I can only assume the bunnies represent a personal sentiment. So, so sweet :)

Number 7 - One of the grandest wedding cakes I made this year. I'm personally not a fan of gold but when this cake came together I absolutely loved it!

Number 6 - This cake is one of my favourite wedding cakes. I loved it so much I have it blown up on a canvas :)

Number 5 - Because I can't have a puppy, I decided to make one for my first entry into the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It was just a bonus that I got second prize... I was very flattered!

Number 4 - One of my favourite kids cakes this year. This was made to match the invite and although the design was simple, I just loved how cute it was.

Number 3 - I'm pretty proud of the piping on this cake... mainly because it took me a good 6 hours + to pipe all that detail through a 00 tip. Ouch! It really taught me a thing or two about perseverance.

Number 2 - This cake is just so sweet, cute and romantic! I also think it best represents my caking style. I made so many of those birds this year but somehow I think they work best on this cake.

Number 1 - And finally... The last cake of the year and my current love :) Hours and days went into just the creations and colouring of the flowers. A blog post about the challenge of this cake is coming up soon.

That's it, my top 10! I had so many more I loved but I had to cut them all out or else this list would have been 3 times as long.

Hope you all are enjoying the last hours of 2011 and are as excited about 2012 as I am. There is so much I want to do and share with all of you. So for now, thank you for your continued support and enjoy ringing in the new year with some bubbly and yummy food!

Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake Parcels

I'm not a fan of the traditional fruit cake. I'm not exactly sure why but perhaps it's the fact that it contains so much fruit, has those glazed cherries or is usually soaked in alcohol. And when I was younger the alcohol burned when I ate it so I think that never gave me a good impression.

So for all of you out there who are not fans of the fruit cakes during Christmas time, I came up with something similar... but different. Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake. It's a rich chocolate mud cake with dried fruits folded into it and because of the chocolate, it doesn't really have a strong fruit flavour.  If you are not a fan of the dried fruit, you can always leave them out and perhaps use nuts instead. Although it will then be a Chocolate Spiced Nut Cake :)

I initially made a batch to cut, wrap and give away as little presents to my friends and suppliers but the boyfriend liked it so much he devoured about a third of it so I now don't have enough and will have to spend this weekend baking more.

On the plus side, he did suggest that a cinnamon whipped cream would go really well with it and oh boy... it was SO yummy!

Ingredients

Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake (approx 10 servings, will fit an 8in square tin)

- 150g Dried Fruit (You can use your favourite dried fruits but I used 50g of cranberries, 50g of figs and 50g of raisins)

- 40ml of Brandy (if you are not a fan of alcohol, you can always just soak the fruit in a syrup made from jam and some water)

- 110g Butter

- 110g Dark Chocolate

- 70g Flour

- 70g Self Raising Flour

- 30g Coco Powder

- 1/4 teaspoon Bi-Carb Soda

- 200g Caster Sugar

- 3 teaspoon Oil

- 2 eggs

- 40ml thickened cream (you can use milk but cream was all I had the day I made this)

- 1 Tablespoon Mixed Spice

For Brushing

- 40ml Brandy

- 1 teaspoon Mixed Spice

Topping (optional)

- 50g Milk Chocolate

- 50g White Chocolate

Cinnamon Vanilla Cream

- 300ml cream

- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (optional, you can use vanilla essence instead)

Instructions

Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake

1. Soak the dried fruit with the brandy over night or for a couple of hours. Until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

2. Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line the tin with baking paper. Melt the butter and chocolate together.

3. Sift the flours, spice, bi-carb soda and coco powder into a large bowl and add the sugar. This forms the dry mix.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, cream and oil.

5. Make a well in the middle of the dry mix and pour in the chocolate mix and egg mix. Using a whisk or a wooden spoon slowly start mixing by staring from the middle and going outwards.

6. Once the mix is incorporated, fold in the fruits and any leftover liquid.

7. Once the mix is in the tin, tap it against the table a few times to even everything out.

8. Bake for approx an hour or until a inserted skewer comes out relatively clean. Note that the skewer will not come out absolutely clean due to all the fruit in the cake.

Brushing

1. While the cake is still warm, poke lots of holes on through the cake with a skewer or fork.

2. Combine the spices and brandy and brush generously over the cake.

Topping

When the cake is completely cooled, place on top of a newspaper (with baking paper still underneath, this helps to contain the mess) and drizzle melted white and milk chocolate over the top. Allow it to set before cutting and wrapping.

Cinnamon Vanilla Cream

Whip cream until soft peak stage and then mix in the cinnamon and vanilla. Serve on the side or on top of a slice of cake!

For a really decadent option microwave the cake for 10 - 15 seconds and then serve with cream... yummm! 

Gift Idea

As a cute little gift idea, you can cut up little slices, place in a plastic bag and wrap with paper and ribbon.