Welcome 2013

Hello, I really intended to post this yesterday so I had a post for the first day of the year.  Sadly my days don't always go as planned with a eleven week old boy. I don't know how the ladies with more then two children do it. 

Carter is a awesome contented baby and easy, he doesn't complain much. If he does it is for only two reasons, feeding and put me to sleep please.

I just realised in New Zealand we are a day ahead so the date of this post is still the first, yippee.

So I thought what better way to start the new year then a nice chocolate cake. Since Carter has been born and I was able to function again I have wanted cake. Michael has been to the shop to buy it which was great. But there is nothing like home-made cake.

It is a chocolate cake filled with fresh cream and because it is summer what better then fresh Strawberries. Topped with a ganache.

My piping nozzle kept getting blocked by chunks of chocolate I may have chilled it too quick, so I ended up just squeezing it out in a random pattern.

It didn't effect the taste, which was beautiful not too sweet and just right. Goldilocks would have loved it.

Blast from the past.

Hi, well I thought I can't take photos of anything I am doing at the moment but I have heaps from the past before I started my little blog. So here it goes....

This is the first cake I ever made with fondant.  

I wanted to put real roses on top but couldn't find the same colour so second choice - cupcakes.

I made these matching cupcakes too, they were fun to do, as I really like working with royal icing and piping.

Oh and these were my every first fondant covered cupcakes too.  I am starting a cake course soon so I really hope to learning a heap of cool things.

Mini Cake.

This cake had given me trouble from the first time it came out of the oven.   I covered it in fondant 3 times, the piping work I had decided to do looked like my four year old niece did it, I thought I can cover the whole thing in royal icing or take the fondant off and cover it for the fourth time.  I couldn't bear the thought of covering it for the fourth time so out with the palette knife and BAM... A fondant royal icing cake.

So I went out and got some Gerbera's to see if I could make it look beautiful so I could give it to the intended person.

It was pouring with rain in the morning so what better way to feel better about the day then a cup of coffee and Caramel slice for Michael and Berry crumble slice for me.

I looked at a few options before I settled on this end result.

It kind of looked like a little Pav, If only pavlova looked like this.

I think it ended up cute, and I was told it was delicious so mission accomplished.

Ruffle.

I saw a picture of a ruffle cake a couple of months ago and knew that I had to try it. I didn't think it would be so soon. I was asked to make a red velvet cake, (which I don't like) there is just something about a red velvet cake that makes me not like the taste. Anyway I never want to disappoint. First baking of the cake total disaster, didn't bother to ice it. But second one looked good.

So I present my first Ruffle cake, oh and I didn't ruffle top as I ran out of icing. Opps will fix that next time, as this was only a test cake.

I put random red colouring thru icing bag to give a ripple effect.

Keeping this one small as it is blurry, but I had to show the inside as a friend said it is all about the red inside.

I was happy with first attempt, second and final cake will be another layer higher and will have the ruffles on top.

Now I may take a break for a few days as I have hit another snag on beanie.  Confusion on which row I am at. Can't wait for knitting club.

ALL FINISHED

It is all done and after wrapping the presents I started to delete the photos and realised I hadn't download the photos.  I wasn't happy I will have to take a photo tomorrow after it is opened. I did save one photo from destruction.

I also made my brothers birthday cake as it is his birthday tomorrow.  I must say it looks rather good.  But when I woke up this morning some of the ganache has gone a light brown colour Damn humidity I am guessing as I have made this ganache before and that has never happened.  Lucky I got photos of that before it turned bad. It is still edible.  It is only my second decorated cake so I feel good about it anyway.

I got asked for chocolate so chocolate he got, it is a mud cake with chocolate butter cream then layered with chocolate fondant with a chocolate ganache.  I also made fudge and put them in a mould and poured chocolate on top. Also the big pieces of chocolate is fudge dipped in you guessed it chocolate.

I thought I should write happy birthday as well, so he knows I made it for this birthday and not our christmas get together.

 I cut out fondant hearts and piped ganache around the edge.

Anyway that is about it. Christmas comes early tomorrow, yum good food and family laughs.