Spiderman Birthday Cake

Hi Guys,

This is the last up the group updates and this is the cake that prompted me to update the blog! After the success of my panda cake at work my boss asked me to make a spiderman themed cake for her son's birthday, so last week I got to work! (I don't have many photos of the process of this cake but next time I will take more!)

The cake was to be delivered on Thursday so I make the cake on Tuesday, I used a 10 oz home made cake recipe split between 4 layers of cake, once they were cool I wrapped them in cling film to be iced the next day.

I made a some batch of simple syrup and brushed it over the sponge, I then layered the cake in this way starting from the bottom; cake, jam, red buttercream, cake, jam, blue buttercream, cake, jam, red buttercream and cake. Phew that's a beast! I then crumb coated and chilled the cake. I then covered the cake in buttercream and smoothed and levelled it to create the perfect base for the fondant. I worked out the size of the explosion I needed, cut out a circle of black fondant, place it on the top of the cake and out a circle of baking paper on top of it yo protect it. I rolled out Renshaw Atlantic Blue fondant and used it to cover the cake, I then used two cake smoothers and marked out where I wanted the fondant to curl back. I cut the top of the blue fondant into 8 sections, carefully peeled them back and removed the piece of baking paper.

Using Renshaw Black fondant I cut out several buildings to cover the outside of the cake, I don't know if anyone else has has trouble with this icing but I found it incredibly sticky and quite hard to use. I then attached the buildings using water and made the moon and windows. Once they were attached I started on Spiderman's head.

What I love about this cake is that it can be adjusted for any superhero, the only part that makes it Spiderman is the toppper! For the topper I decided to make it out of rice crispies and marshmallows as it would be lighter than entire fondant, I melted the marshmallows, added the cereal and shaped 3 heads (I wanted backups just in case!) I then rolled out Renshaw Poppy red in to a small disk and started to stretch it around the head. Once I was happy with the shape I painted the web design, in hindsight I should of mixed the food colouring with a bit of clear alcohol to help the drying process. I then made his eyes, glued them and painted them. The decoration process took about 6 hours to complete.

The next morning I cut three skewers to size and placed them into the bottom of the topper and placed the topper on the cake. Once photos had been taken I removed the head leaving guideline for my boss to replace it when displaying the cake. I did this because the cake wasn't being served until over 36 hours later, the cake was boxed up and the topper was then wrapped in baking paper and bubble wrap for safe storage.

Sorry for all the text but enjoy the cake! If you want to see more cakes but without the wall of text, consider having a look at my Instagram! I post photos of my bakes there and maybe a few selfies too! @TheAlmightyKat

Keep Baking!

~Kat

Panda Birthday Cake

Hey Guys,

In March 2016 I attempted my first ever fondant modelling, I suggested at work that I could make a cake for one of the girls and they suggested something panda themed. I racked my brains and came up with two designs; one very simple with the cake being the face of the panda (very similar to my minion cake) and the other consisting of handmade fondant pandas, EEK!

So I decided that I would give the pandas a go and if they looked awful I had a backup plan! So off I went designing and they turned out so much better than expected! I posted a few on Snapchat (@TheAlmightyKat Slight plug, sorry!) and they were really well received!

 

I then made and covered the cake, once that was done I coloured some fondant green and some pink to plunge cut some leaves and flowers. I then set to arranging the cake and adding her name and a finishing touch.

Also I should point out at this point; I had my kitchen redecorated and the new work-surface and lights are amazing for cake photography!

Keep Baking
~Kat

Huge Gingerbread House!

Hey Guys,

This gingerbread house was probably my favourite thing I made in 2015, It was a monster!

The recipe I used was:

• 1.6kg plain flour
• 500g unsalted flour
• 2 cups of packed dark brown sugar
• 6 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 6 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups of golden syrup

I mixed the brown sugar and butter together in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy, then added in the eggs, spices and golden syrup and mixed until combined. The flour and salt was sifted and mixed in until just combined. I made the dough into 2 disks, wrapped them in cling film and let them rest for 1 hour. I then rolled out the dough to my desired thickness and began the crazy juggling process! 

I'll try and make this as clear as possible, I preheated the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and began cutting the walls and roof out of the dough, this was done in stages as the kitchen was really warm. E.g. I cut out the two roof pieces then placed them in the fridge to set for 15/30 mins, they were then placed into the oven and I began working on the next two pieces and this rotation kept happening until I had all 8 house pieces and about 20 gingerbread men baked. This was only due to the size of the house I wanted to create! Most people could do this in one or two steps.

Once the pieces had cooled down I made up a batch of royal icing and 'glued' the four wall pieces to the cake board, I then let it set overnight (about 12 hours), filled the house with sweets and then glued the roof and the chimney to the house.

I let this set for 24 hours and the next day I was ready to decorate. I used an assortment of sweets and chocolates that I knew the kids liked and arranged them to my own liking!

I was so pleased in how it turned out, the royal icing covered ice cream cones are a personal favourite. I then turned my attention to the 14 gingerbread men I had to decorate (one for every person in our family) eventually it turned into a royal icing war with my sister but the whole thing was done!

Keep Baking!
~Kat

Minions Birthday Cake!

Hey Guys,

In November a friend asked me to make on of her daughter's a minions themed birthday cake, I used my standard cake recipe (I'm not including the recipe here as I am back dating these cakes) but I made the cake dairy free as her youngest is lactose intolerant. It took approximately 7 hours for me to make it completely from scratch, a bit slow but it was one of my first novelty cakes!

There were a few spare cupcakes left over that my Niece's and Nephew appreciated very much!

Keep Baking
~Kat

Random Summer Bakes!

Hey Guys,

Just a quick collection of a few things I (attempted) to bake over the Summer of 2015!

Keep Baking!
~Kat

Sorry! (again)

Hey Guys,

Slight apology for not updating this blog in such a long time! There are quite a few posts of previous bakes coming today and then I am going to continue updating regularly!

Keep baking

~Kat