Roses and Hearts...all in a cake!!

When it comes to valentines roses, red and hearts all spring to mind....so I put them all into a cake!

 First I made a red velvet cake in a 10 inch round tin. When it was fully baked I cut it in half and filled it with cream cheese icing. I doubled the icing mixture that I would usually make because you could never have too much!! I then covered the cake in a 'crumb layer' of icing and left in the fridge for about half an hour. I made the flowers on top using the exact same icing as I filled the inside with but used a small nozzle to create the 'rose effect'. The colour of the cream cheese icing by its nature is a little bland so I sprinkled it with little sugar hearts, and of course sieved some edible glitter over it! I made it for my housemate's birthday and she loved it but it also the perfect Valentine's cake or desert. This technique could also be used for other types of icing, basically anything that you could use when piping icing on cupcakes.

The technique itself is so simple. All you have to do is start with a little 'dollop' and then continue working in circles.

Love is in the air

So the much anticipated/dreaded Valentine's Day is fast approaching and while many are fantasising about roses and everything imaginable in heart shape I decided to get about making some Valentine's Cupcakes. These are only the first batch but there will be plenty to come in the next few weeks. I will be making some different flavours and experimenting both for him and her because after all what else do you get a guy for valentines?! These cupcakes are just like any other with piped icing on top. These little hearts I picked up really add to the occasion as does the box. At the time of making these alot of the Valentine's materials were not in stock but I hope to get more appropriate cases/tulip cases and boxes. Stay Tuned.

Can you tell me how to get to Seasme St?

My post on the Giant Cupcakes was an unbelievable hit I could not believe how many people got involved and read it!! I mentioned on the bottom of it that I would follow on with a piece about my Elmo cupcake.

 As I mentioned before I invested in a silicon cupcake mould for this. I have heard of people making them using normal round sponges and carving them and there are Youtube tutorials detailing this but I find this to me alot handier and I have also used the base of it when making round sponges so I find it doubles as a really deep tin. I was very wary of silicon at first but I have now grown to find it so handy as you can release cakes alot easier by turning them upside down onto a wire tray and almost pealing it away slowly. There are traditional tins available in this shape too and I know Wilton makes a particularly good one however they were all out the day I bought this and I was eager to try out the silicone phase that has been sweeping through the world of baking.

Another aspect I really like about this as you can see below is that there is a lid that goes on top of the base so that you can have an indent to fill with extra icing/frosting (because you can never have too much!)

 To make Elmo I used a normal Victoria Sponge but separated the mixture just before putting it into the oven I put some of the mixture into another bowl and added some red dye and then added 'blobs' of this to the normal mixture while filling the mould to give a marbelled effect. Unfortunately I don't have  pictures of the inside of the cake but the next time I make one I will post it. the cake iteself was made using red butter cream, covapaste dyed to requirements and then carefully made. This picture below was after it was made a little while and the eyes started to move, making the nose run down into the mouth. This happened mainly because the kitchen was very hot at the time. Also when your hands are very hot it can have a bad effect on sugar paste (just like with pastry).

Back to basics

Some people seem to think you need countless pieces of apparatus to create something both fabulous and incredibly tasty but the answer is you really don't. With the exception of tins, a icing bag and a rolling pin these are the tools I use:

Baking is an incredibly easy and cheap hobby to get involved in. I know a lot of people have kitchens full of equipment but this is all I have used to make anything you will see here and also on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/

First off is you NEED to invest in some food dyes. I usually use either Squires Kitchen or Wilton dyes but it  is very important to use the more gel based ones rather than a liquid one as they change the consistency of the icing/sugarpaste. It is important to only use tidy quantities also when using these as they are unbelievably strong.

A icing paddle is another essential for smoothing out the sugarpaste, I also use it for some shaping, pressing really almost everything. The cutting wheel is another thing that I believe should be in everyone's 'toolbox' . The control you have with it is almost like using a pencil and for myself is a lot easier than using a knife.

Cutters are such good fun and a great way of effortlessly decorating a cake, I do intend to get more espically  some letters, but I find them wonderful and can be incredibly effective. I love dusting things that I made using cutters with some edible glitter to really make them stand out and give a really polished finishing touch to the cake/cupcake. And where would we be without gels? I generally do my writing freehand and also use them for a finishing touch, like always I could not leave the red Wilton sparkle gel behind me and I have had great fun using it.

One of the strangest and most useful things I have in my little collection is a paintbrush (size: no.2). Not only is it great for using gels and glitter but can be so useful for 'dusting off' a cake when you are finished. It is the perfect size for getting rid of any tidy fragments of sugarpaste or glitter particles.

Many of you will already use crimpers and they really are a great finishing touch. I am not as mad about them as some cake makers which almost use them as a trademark however they are fabulous on simple, elegant, classy cakes. I especially like them on cakes for older people many of who admire the technique. When used right they are very effective...when used in moderation!

Something from Tiffanys......

My house-mate's birthday was coming up just as she was heading off to New York so a Tiffany's Cake seemed the most apt idea for a cake for her.

I generally start of with white icing and use dyes to make the exact colour I need as I never seem to find the right ones. The exception to this is black as it takes a lot of black/black extra dye to get that a jet black colour. As this cake consisted of 2 square cakes, both of which had to be covered in the exact same colour I had to make a lot of the same colour. For icing it is advised to use 2 paddles to ensure a very smooth edge and also to help with those tricky corners.

I was originally going to stack these cakes and make it like a box. However, I got a bit of a crazy idea to turn them slightly as if the box has already been open. I loved this idea as a lot of cakes have to be so precise that it was fun to make a cake in a little more casual style. The white icing which I made to look like tissue paper really added to it in my opinion.

What would a present from Tiffany's be without a bow?? The trick with bows is to let them set before placing on a cake. The style of the logo is a really iconic one and one that is very hard to copy free hand. I really need to invest in some good letter moulds which I feel would have finished this cake of so well. I also wished I had used a slightly bigger drum to show it off a little better. Out of all the cakes I have made this is still one of my firm favorites.

Deliciously Yours,
Laura x

Giant Cupcakes

I grew up in a house where buns/fairycakes/queencakes were made every weekend so when 'cupcakes' became popular I was so excited to get involved. I love the cuteness of a cupcake with piped icing on top it looks so dainty and elegant. A lot of my friends are turning 21 and have been looking for cupcakes but the idea of icing enough to feed an entire party is a little daunting so I decided to invest in a giant cupcake mould (I will post a pic of it later). I got a silicon mould and having never worked with silicon before was a little apprehensive and have visions of it melting away in the oven. I was nervous to the extent of putting a yorkshire tin to contain the mess I was sure was going to be created in my oven. To my delight this did not happen. The first one I made was a going away cake for my friend Donna:

I made a chocolate sponge with chocolate fudge filling. My mould makes an indent so that there is lots of room for filling. I attempted to ice both the sides and pipe the top using the same chocolate fudge icing however it just would not sit correctly and being as fussy as I am I insisted on trying everything to get a good result. In the end I made normal buttercream icing and added in some cocoa and some Oreos. If you have a blender use it to break up the Oreos. I originally had some trouble getting the lumps of Oreo through the piping nozzle.

Since this giant cupcake was such a hit I was then asked to make a similar one for a 21st. After having trouble before with the fudge icing I stuck with the Oreo buttercream again as Carmel who I was making it for loved it. To make this a little different I sieved some edible glitter over it and added flowers.

While the giant cupcake mould it brilliant for its primary purpose of making larger than life cupcakes it is also fantastic for making characters. I made this using a marbelled effect victoria sponge. I will devote an entire post to this cake as it is one of my favorite ones I have made and no picture I have of it truly does it justice.

Deliciously Yours,

Laura x

Nanananana Batman

Batman Cake

During the week I got asked to make a 30th cake and the only request was it had to be batman and be ready for Saturday. The idea of plain cakes is something I never liked and I always aim to do something entirely different. If you look at the actual cake itself it is a plain round 10 inch cake covered in yellow with the symbol,its the board that makes all the difference. For anyone wondering, it is 18 inch drum (cake board) which is absolutely huge. A tip for anyone transporting cakes who doesn't know already  is to get the box the exact size of the board, regardless if round or square, to stop it moving and help it reach its destination safely .I got a lot of positive feedback about it but the concept  itself is so simple. I had plans to make some stars as well for the city night skyline (any excuse to use my trademark edible glitter) but due to time constraints this did not materialise. 

 

The Beginning

Welcome to Pixie Fairy Cakes!

Anyone counting calories, not a desert person or doesn't get excited by the idea of edible glitter please look away now! I am a final year Commerce student with a love of baking and cake decorating and I will be posting all my cake and desert related adventure here and reviewing the good, bad and not so pretty equipment, ingredients and ideas I come up with. Please feel free to comment any questions or suggestions you have.

Deliciously Yours,
Laura x