Cake #36 - Party Cakes

Friends First Friday Cake - Party Cakes!

For my wonderfully crazy daughter and her wonderfully crazy friends.

My younger daughter who turned 12 years a couple of weeks ago wanted to have a birthday party after all. Happy Mommy! At first she just said coffee at Starbucks with a few friends would be enough at her age. I am so happy she changed her mind. Proper party with a bouncy castle, fourteen guests and gorgeous weather! What could anybody ask for more.  More sleep for me, yes, as I was baking the cakes until 2 a.m. but, hey, YOLO! [LOL]

I baked 20 little sponges just to make sure we would have enough. Only one cake fell onto the floor by one of the guests when she was decorating it and the rest of the cakes we decorated and ate ourselves later on. 

My recipe was a very basic one: per cake 3 eggs and 150 ml sugar beaten and then 150 ml plain flour and 1/4 tsp baking powder added to the foam. I had four pans of Ø 15cm in use as four pans I was able to fit in the oven at the same time. That phase was quite boring, to be honest. Especially after midnight.



To fill and decorate the cakes we had raspberry jam, strawberry jam, home-made caramel sauce, home-made vanilla creme, whipped cream, plain buttercream icing, buttercream icing coloured blue, buttercream icing coloured purple, red and yellow icing in piping bottles, fresh blueberries, fresh mint leaves, M&M's, sprinkles and mini marshmallows. 

I had three girls at a time decorating their cakes. I just showed what we had and what the ingredients could be used for and then let them design and implement their designs.

And they all did a great job! No messing around but serious business with a smile on each and everyone's face. Creativity. Inspiration. Yes, perspiration, too. Fulfillment. Joy. Laughter. Fun!! YOLO!

Do try this at home!

The total for all ingredients was about 3€/cake which I think is very reasonable. Instead of a goodie bag you take home a cake you have made yourself and can be proud of.

A few of the girls said they had never decorated a cake in their lives and a few said they are never allowed to cook or bake at home. What? Seriously?

I do not mind busy moms serving beans and toast for dinner. And I kind of understand how busy moms buy cupcakes from the shop to take to the school bake sale. But I do not understand if they never-ever let their child cook, bake or decorate a cake at home. Even once. Please! 

Cake #35 - The Paw

Thursday Cat Theme Cake - The Paw.

They say cats leave pawprints on your heart. Nowadays they seem to leave them in shops, too. 

They also say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. 

So if I bake a pawprint cake for The Husband and he eats the cake, on his heart there will be a pawprint so powerful that he will insist getting a little kitten in the house right now. Right?

The kitten's way to the house is through the man's stomach. 

Women's logic is flawless!


The Paw

Sponge
See the recipe for Victoria Sandwich.

Caramel Sauce

500 ml fresh cream

250 ml dark brown sugar

250 ml (golden caster) sugar

3 tbsp butter

1. Place cream and sugars into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugars have dissolved.

2. When the mixture starts bubbling, lower the heat and keep mixing until it thickens. Usually this takes 10-15 minutes.

3. Add butter and let cool down just a little - the sauce spreads better when still warm.

Pink Sugar Paste

Icing sugar for rolling

Cake #34 - Lemon and Almond Cake

Wednesday Natural Ingredient / Healthy Cake - Lemon and Almond Cake.

Almonds belong to my favourite baking and cooking ingredients because they are so versatile. With ground almonds you cook the perfect Chicken Korma or mix a tasty Xató sauce. Of ground almonds you can make yummy marzipan. Toasted flaked almonds look festive on a cake or on sweet buns. A whole blanched almond can a lucky one find from their traditional Finnish Christmas porridge made of rice and fresh milk - and keep being the lucky one the following year. 

The recipe for this cake I found again on Nigella's webpage. Again, yes. To be honest, I am not a huge Nigella fan - nor am I a huge fan of any celebrity chef. Homebakers and chefs are the ones that rule! Of course we need inspiration and sometimes the celebrities are the ones to bring up important issues which need urgent attention - Jamie Oliver vs. school lunches, for example. And sometimes, simply, a celebrity chef's website just happens to be the one where you end up when googling  for a recipe with almonds and lemon. Like in this case. Nigella. Again. 

Despite of/thanks to Nigella the cake turned out great. There is no flour at all in the recipe so if you have wheat allergy, this will suit you, too. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream and black espresso!

Cake #33 - The Yolk's on You!

Tuesday Humour Cake -  "The Yolk's on You!"

How would you like to have your egg? Boiled, fried or scrambled? Five minutes or eight minutes? 

How about your cake? Would you like to have it ten minutes...?

Yes, it was one of those days that both my mind was blank and my fridge nearly empty. Too late to go to the shop any more and what would I even buy with a blank mind? I had all day kind of waited for the idea to pop into my head - like it always does!! And finally it did - like it always does [I told me!].

How to assemble Humour Cake in 10 minutes:

- Take the leftovers of the cake you baked the previous day  (amazingly we had some as there are a few family members who do not like mocha that much), crumble the slices, add some black food colouring if you like and press the crumbs inside a springform frame.
- Take a round scone shape and cut out four holes for the "eggs".
- Mix together some cream cheese and sugar and fill the holes with it.
- Make little egg yolk -look-a-likes of yellow fondant icing (or use peach halves, maybe) and stick them on the egg whites.
- Take some more cake you baked the previous day and shape it in your hands to go as the handle of the pan. I preferred a square shape because a round handle looked like dog poop.

Cake makeover can save your day!! 

Cake #32 - Banana Mocha Cake

Monday Mood Cake - "Tired", Banana Mocha Cake for caffeine and energy boost.

It is not a cliche or an urban myth that Monday mornings always come too soon and in an inhuman way, too! They need to be stopped!

On Saturdays my inner clock usually wakes me up early and eagerly as, although there is usually a lot to do, there are no fixed schedules. Then, towards the end of the day, when my to-do list is not that long any more, I let myself finally relax. Usually that is amazingly just in time to start watching the X Factor, around 8 p.m., and around that time The Husband usually starts cooking Saturday dinner so I need to be off the kitchen anyway.

On Saturdays I even may go to bed earlier than during the week and then let myself sleep in on Sunday mornings. Heavenly! And if I am lucky, I may be able to have a nap on Sunday afternoon, too. Luxury! 

So by Sunday evening I have let myself unwind and that is the reason why the early and busy Monday morning feels so unfair. I would love to have one more day to enjoy the energy saved, to actually do things 100%, with no lack of sleep. Four Monday bank holidays a year is way too few. Four a month would be grand! Sigh. 

While waiting for that to happen, I just need to stick to latte and cake. 

Banana Mocha Cake

3 bananas

100 g butter

200 ml strong coffee

2 eggs

200 ml caster sugar

500 ml plain flour

50 ml cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 175C / 350F and grease and flour a 2 l loaf pan (or bundt cake pan).

2. Mash bananas.

3. Melt butter and mix it with coffee, or let it melt in hot coffee.

4. Beat eggs and sugar until white and fluffy.
5. Mix all dry ingredients, and together with coffee, butter and banana, fold into the egg-sugar mix.
6. Pour into cake pan and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
7. Let cool before icing the cake.

Icing

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp strong coffee
2 tbsp cocoa powder
200 ml icing sugar

Melt butter and mix all ingredients together. Spread evenly on cake. Decorate with sprinkles or chocolate coffee beans if you like.

Eat a slice or two and freeze the rest for the Mondays to come.

Cake #31 - Date Cake

Sunday Traditional Cake - Date Cake.

Traditional Finnish Christmas Cake, to be exact. Summer is gone so it is about time to start getting on the Christmas mood! 

Already a week ago you could see Christmas stuff in many shops in Dublin. Brown Thomas had their Christmas Shop open  and Penneys was full of the cutiest Christmas jumpers ever. In my kitchen you can hear Christmas carols already and in October - the latest - I usually start buying stocking stuffers for the family. 

Buying stocking stuffers is a demanding job and you really cannot do it in a hurry if you want them to be a success. For me the stocking stuffers are also a very personal thing. You want to surprise but you also want to be 100% sure the family member loves what they get. Very often the little gifts  I stuff the stockings with may refer to some inside story or they are meant to touch deeper...

During  the past years I have, for example, bought a Pacman mug and socks for The Husband [to remind him in a retro-kind-of-way what a good game is all about];  a jar of caramel sauce for Daughter #1 [who has always dreamed of eating a whole jar by herself and not having to share it with her three siblings as usually], and a set of dice for Son #2 [who used to steal all dice from my Yatzy box]. These gifts may sound dull and ordinary and that is what they would be without the story behind. 

So, Dear Family, it may look to you that I am just baking Christmas cakes and listening to Christmas songs in my kitchen but, in fact, I am also reviewing the past year and hopefully getting some marvellous and witty stocking stuffer ideas!

Date Cake

250 g pitted dates

300 ml water

200 ml caster sugar

200 g butter

2 eggs

350 ml plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla sugar

1. Boil the dates together with sugar and water on low heat until mushy. Add water if needed.

2. Remove from heat and add butter. Mix well so that the butter melts.

3. Add eggs.

4. Add all dry ingredients.

5. Preheat oven to 175C / 350F.

6. Grease and flour a 2-litre bundt cake pan. 

7. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes.

Cake #30 - Tomato and Mozzarella Cake

Savoury Saturday Cake - Tomato and Mozzarella Cake.

After spending half of the day outdoors I wanted to bake something quick. Simon Cowell was calling my name from the digibox and I also needed to make room in the kitchen for The Husband who was about to cook some ragu and spaghetti for Saturday dinner. It sounded like Italian to me so I immediately thought about turning the little Mozzarella balls I had in the fridge into a cake to go with the dinner. 

I admit, Mozzarella, tomatoes and basil are a very safe combination but when the time is limited you do want to play it safe. So safe that this cake does not come with a story at all as the story would be something as dull as I wrote above. And it does not come with a recipe of my own, either, but with a link to one.

The recipe for this savoury cake is from Nigella's website. Quick and simple! Moist and gooey! I did not use any bacon, though, and I used grated Mozzarella instead of Cheddar. I baked the cake in a large Ø 30 cm springform pan and for that I multiplied all ingredients by 1.5.  And I roasted about 50 g of pine nuts to go with the cake. 

I just love pine nuts and especially the smell of them roasting! I love to see them roasting slowly and I love breathing the smell. If there had not been The Husband  reminding me he would want me off the kitchen soon I would have just ignored Simon and continued sniffing my roasted pine nuts...

Cake #29 - "Smiley"

Friends First Friday Cake - "Smiley", Almond Cake with Vanilla Creme and Fresh Berries

A computer scientist called Scott Fahlman invented the :-) emoticon 19 September, 1982. In social media emoticons seem to be equally loved <3 and hated >:(. They can be used in a funny :D way, or, you know, in a funny ;) way... An emoticon in a wrong place at a wrong time can lead into a disaster :(. And at this point I am not even talking about emails -  business ;) or pleasure :p. 

I would love ;) to see people showing their feelings more openly - which is not easy because one has to be tactful, too, how to express their feelings.

I would love to see people showing their feelings more openly - which is not easy because one has to be tactful, too, how to express their feelings.

Feelings can never be accurate and exact but there is one thing for sure. If you are hungry, eat first and then reconsider. How much they try to convince us that wifi is nowadays the most important human need, you would not even be able to type a smiley on Facebook without a good piece of cake! :D

Almond Cake with Vanilla Creme and Fresh Berries

Base

2 eggs

100 ml caster sugar

80 g ground almonds

50 ml cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 175C / 350F and grease and flour a Ø 23 cm springform cake pan.

2. Beat eggs and sugar until white and fluffy.

3. Fold in dry ingredients.

4. Pour into pan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

5. Let cool completely before decorating.

Topping

Vanilla Creme

400 ml milk

3 tbsp sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp corn flour

3 tsp vanilla sugar or 2 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg whites, whipped until stiff

400 g fresh berries

1 gelatine leaf

100 ml raspberry juice

1. Mix all ingredients together except vanilla in a saucepan.

2. Heat over medium heat until the mixture thickens but does not boil.

3. Let cool down and add vanilla sugar/extract.

4. When the creme is cool, fold in the whipped egg whites.

5. Soak the gelatine leaf and melt in hot raspberry juice. Put in fridge to set a little - not too much as you need to be able to brush it on top of the berries.

To compile the cake

1. Place the base inside the springform frame straight on your serving plate.

2. Pour the vanilla creme on the base.

3. Place the berries on top  - you don't have to ;) make a smiley of them.

4. Brush the berries with the juice and gelatine leaf mixture and let set in the fridge for an hour.

5. Send all your friends a message with lots of  :)'s  and <3's, We all deserve some true emoti(c)ons every now and then.

Cake #28 - Black Cat

Thursday Cat Theme Cake - Black Cat.

Volevo un gatto nero [I wanted a black cat] is originally an Italian childrens' tango and, sung in Finnish, it was one of my favourite songs when I was a child. The first Finnish recorded version is from 1971 so nearly my age. As I believe there are no English recordings of the song let me share a more recent Finnish one with you. Goes well as baking music, too - how about a little tango with your spatula?

For me, black cats do not represent anything superstitious. Nor do I believe in any myths related to baking. So, on this rainy day I bake a black cat cake. If it fails, it is me and myself to blame. If it turns out great, I may give myself a little reward like get a kitten praise.

Black Cat Cake

Sponge

4 eggs

200 ml sugar

150 ml plain flour
2 tbsp potato or corn flour
3 tbsp dark cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

Filling

200 g cream cheese

50 ml sugar

100 g black cherry jam 

Icing

300 g icing sugar

28 ml bottle of black food colouring

(water)

1. Preheat oven to 225C and line an oven tray with baking paper.

2. Beat eggs and sugar until white and airy.

3. Mix flours, cocoa and baking powder and add to the egg-sugar mix.

4. Spoon evenly on the baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool.

5. When the base is cool cut it carefully into cat shapes - as many as you can get (depends on the shape of the cat and the size of the tray).

6. Mix together cream cheese and sugar.

7. Spread a layer of jam and then a layer of cream cheese on each cat when compiling the cake.

8. See that the cats are placed evenly on top of each other and press firmly on each side.

9. Mix the icing and spread on top. Let set before serving.

PS If you happen to have any kittens I would love to have one. Any colour.

Cake #27 - Pear and Oatmeal Cake

Wednesday Natural Ingredient / Healthy Cake - Pear and Oatmeal Cake.

I got a 1 kg bag of pears for 49 cents. Gotta love these offers:  Aldi "Super 6" and similar promotions in Dunnes Stores and Tesco. And now even in my local Londis they have (bags of) fruit and veggies for 49 or 69 cents. With these prices we never run out of vitamins! Plenty of carrots to be put in the sons' lunchboxes, bags of spinach and kale for smoothies to be made by the daughters, apples to take to the teachers and potatoes for the rainy day.

Apples and oats go well together so why not combine pears and oats to make a cake. This time I simply googled for a recipe and found this Pear Oatmeal Cake from The Australian Women's Weekly website. I followed the recipe with a few exceptions:

- I used 4 fresh pears instead of canned ones.

- As I did not have syrup from canned pears I added 100 ml of apple juice to the dough. I did not heat the juice with the oats but added the oats simply together with the flour and soda.

- Also, I only used white self-raising flour.

And it worked great! This is definitely one of the tastiest cakes I have made during the past month. The ginger makes it sophisticated in a way and pouring some dark baking syrup on top just before serving gave the cake some extra moist. Maybe it would have been more moist with the canned pears - but, again, why to use canned fruit when you have fresh ones.

When I had got the cake fresh from the oven and poured some syrup on top I suddenly smelled a wet dog in my kitchen. Now that I finally got used to the smell of my herb pots and have stopped blaming the cats, another pet episode comes up? - We do not have a dog but there is one or two daughters in the family who would love to have a dog. So it was time to get suspicious again. Any little wet dogs smuggled into the house? Wardrobes, check. Toilets, check... No barking, it was my healthy cake and the combination of its earthy aromas this time... 

Cake #26 - Haggis

Tuesday Humour Cake - Haggis.



On the eve of the Scottish independence referendum I am sitting at my dining room table in Ireland and enjoying a piece of Haggis. Which is actually this ugly cake I made of sweet bun dough, Nutella and nuts. 

I have enjoyed real Haggis in Edinburgh some years ago and it was delicious. At a restaurant on the Royal Mile the Haggis, together with neeps and tatties - turnip and potato - was neatly put on my plate and probably had never been even close to a sheep's stomach. A tourist version, clearly, but still delicious.

Whatever the voting result in Scotland is, something will change in the United Kingdom as a nation and in people's minds. Chain reactions expected? Will Northern Ireland be the next?

I am not taking sides in this but I can easily visualise a map in my mind. On that map the independent Scotland has cast off the rest of Britain and is floating on the Atlantic Ocean. The winds will then decide where it will end up...

Haggis Cake

300 ml lukewarm milk

25 g fresh yeast (or 1 bag / 7 g fast action dried yeast)

100 ml sugar

½ tsp salt

1 egg

100 g melted butter

about 800 ml plain flour

200 g Nutella

100 g chopped nuts

1 egg

1 egg for glazing

(silver food colouring)

1. Dissolve yeast in warm milk.

2. Add sugar,salt and egg and mix well.

3. Start adding flour gradually.

4. After you have kneaded in about half of the flour, add melted butter.

5. Knead in more flour until your dough is not sticky any more but still soft. It is better to leave the dough a little too soft than make it too dense as the cake will be too dry and hard after baking.

6. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until double in size, for about half an hour.

7. Preheat the oven to 200C / 390F.
8. Mix together Nutella, nuts and egg.
9. Roll dough into an oval shape, about 10 mm thick.
10. Spread the Nutella filling in the middle.
11. Roll the cake carefully into a sausage shape and make "knots" in boths ends.
12. Let the cake rise for about half an hour.
13. When risen, cut a hole in the middle of the cake so that part of the filling can be seen.
14. Glaze the "Haggis" with egg and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
15. When cooled down, brush the "knots" with silver food colouring.
16. Listen to bagpipe music and have a slice of Haggis with your Scottish Blend (tea, that is)!

My Haggis Cake turned up too flat. I expected it to rise more in the oven but it didn't. The shape should have been more like a ball than a flat tyre. (Maybe somebody ate all the delicious liver and other intestines when I was not watching and that is why I got such a flat Haggis?) 

- Flat or not, I do recommend this recipe, especially if you are a Nutella fan! Just leave out the Scottish flag.