Kathy's Daisy Cake

Eliza what a great job we did (I must say)
& thanks Tessa for the photo.

How we did it:

Cake - vanilla butter cake, cooked in a small deep round tin
Icing - fondant - coloured yellow. then buttercream piping around the base
Daisies - we used special daisy cutters and modelling paste, to create the stunning three dimensional look.

Sushi!!!

Friends and family are probably shocked that it has taken me so long to add sushi to the blog. It is a staple of mine, and, a constant party pleaser.

The fabulous thing about these tasty little morsels, is that, they're only limited by your imagination (and patience).

 Pictured are simple tuna/mayo/avocado/cucumber done two ways. (the tradiitional rice on the inside, and trickier, rice on the outside - these are coated with sesame and nori strips)

Tips to remember:

Always give yourself plenty of time
A rice cooker is the easiest way to get perfect sushi rice
Use a sushi bamboo rolling mat for wonderful results
Never over-fill your rolls
Experiment with different flavours

Enjoy!!

Lv L xx

More experimental creations

Cake decorating Experiments

Piping experiments: Using piping equipment, butter (vienna) cream and 100's&1000's

Flood work experiements: a technique using royal icing

Valentines Day Caramel Slice

Citrus Tea Cakes

These are delightful for afternoon tea... or anytime really.
Quick and Easy!

Cakes
Start by combining 1/2 c coconut and 1 c milk - set bowl aside for 1 hour
Beat 125g butter in a bowl with 1 c caster sugar and 1 TB of rind (lemon, orange or lime)
 until fluffy.
Add 2 eggs, one at a time.
Stir in 1/2 of the milk miture along with 1 cup of SR flour, follow with the rest of the milk mixture and another 3/4c of SR flour.
Spoon into 15 muffin tins and bake for around 30mins or until lightly brown and cooked through.

Icing = simple 

beat 15g butter, 1 c icing sugar and 1 TB of citrus juice until combined spread onto cakes.
I finished with a little yellow icing by piping it on!

Enjoy  with a nice cup of tea

Lv L

profiteroles

make these when you have a bit of time on your hands!
These have a bit of twist -- instead of a dark chocolate topping I made a milk chocolate ganche.

choux pastry - pronounced 'shoo pastry'

• 1 c water
• 80g butter
• 1 c plain flour, sifted
• 3 eggs, lightly whisked

Bring water and butter to boil in sauce pan, remove from heat. using wooden spoon beat in flour until combined. return to heat.  continue to stir until flour is cooked ( comes away from side of pan).  cool for five minutes. gradually add eggs, small amounts at a time, stirring to combine, until dough is glossy. spoon dessert-spoon fulls onto lined trays, bake in 200 degree celcius oven for 30-35 mins (until puffed and golden brown). turn oven off, leave them to dry out for 10 mins, turn on wire rack to cool.

crème pâtissière - a twist on custard

• 1 3/4 c milk
• 1tsp vanilla 
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1/3 cup plain flour, sifted

 warm milk and the vanilla in a saucepan, remove from heat. Whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick. Whisk in flour, then milk mixture. Return to pan and cook, whisking, over low heat for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill.Pipe creme into cooled pastry

chocolate icing 

melt 200g chocolate, 1/4c cream in a glass bowl over simmering water, whisking. add 1/3 cup of icing sugar -whisk. cool in fridge and then dip profiteroles into icing.

ENJOY!!

Lv L

A house made of cake - housewarming

Recently, I was invited to a housewarming party, I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to try my luck at making a 'cake house'.

How I did it

The Cake - its a basic butter cake recipe. I made a double batch, and spread it evenly into two square cake tins. Once cooked and cooled I cut it like this:

The decoration:

Purple house:  I brought white fondant and kneaded blue and pink food colouring in to get the right consistancy/colour (about 350g of fondant). Roll out the fondant so it will fit over the whole cake. Once in place, smooth down the edges and trim off the excess icing.

Brown Roof: I made a chocolate butter icing, and piped it on in the shape of tiles. (use a flat piping attachment)

Black door: I had left over black fondant from another occasion so I used this and rolled out a rectangle.

White window: Easy - just roll out a bit of white fondant

Green grass:  You could colour white fondant, however I had green left over. The roses I made using a mould and different coloured fondant. (make sure you oil the mould so the flowers come out easily)

And finally I used a butter icing coloured purple (by mixing blue and red) to finish off the edges.

I hope this cake works for you and would love to see some pictures of your creations!
Lv L x