2011 Gallery

I apologize for not keeping up with this blog as often as I should, ideally, as soon as I make a new cake. But, for your enjoyment -- or childish amusement, whatever the case may be -- here is a quick Reader's Digest update of the rest of what I've been up to in the kitchen in 2011. In voice of Julia Child: "Bon Appetit!"...

18th Birthday "New Car" cake for my cousin-in-law Jess S. Thankfully, I wasn't asked to make the cake look exactly like the car she got as her present. Especially since she received a Ford KA and the cake -- as you can see -- looks more like Herbie the Love bug in drag. Lord knows how much edible glitter went onto the #18 and racing stripe, but Jess reported that it tasted great and was a cool surprise.

"Thortons Chocolate Box" birthday cake for good friend, Alex W., a milk-intolerant chocoholic.

What's better than a cake made to look like your favorite brand of chocolatey goodness?

A cake made to look like your favorite brand of chocolatey goodness that OPENS, of course!

(Yes, the chocolates inside are real ones from the Thorntons Continental collection -- hence the design of the box.)

Complete with edible (and removable!) lid and fondant bow.

Well folks, as December 31st is rapidly approaching, the only other cake to look forward to in 2011 is whatever birthday cake my handsome man wants for his 27th in a few weeks' time. Happy upcoming holidays!

Does this cake make my nose look red?

That's right, folks. Friday, 19th of March, was Red Nose Day 2011! In order to contribute to this lovely charity, my handsome man's office hosted a cake competition to raise money. I don't know the Latin translation, if there even is one, but let's put it this way:

I baked, I competed, I won!

And what, pray tell, was the elusive prize? Well, besides helping to raise money for every slice eaten, I won a certificate for "Most Inventive", a Cadbury Creme Easter Egg and a plush giggling red nose name Honkus (who is also featured on my cake!)

For all the Diabetic Bunnies Out There

As my mom would move a huge forkful of double chocolate fudge cake towards her mouth, she'd exclaim 'Ha! I laugh in the face of diabetes!' It only seems fitting that she was diagnosed as a Type II diabetic a few years back. However, it's always what the world says you can't have that ultimately ends up being what you want the most. So, for both my diabetic mother and mother-in-law [that's what they get for being so sweet], here's one of their favorites done just for them: A low sugar version of carrot cake.

This is a very filling, moist cake. Nuts give it extra bite but can easily be removed if someone suffers from an allergy.

Ingredients:

• 200g (7oz) butter
• Five tbsp honey
• Four large eggs
• 500g (1lb 1oz) grated carrots
• 150g (5oz) chopped walnuts
• 300g (10.5oz) plain flour
• Two tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• One tsp ground allspice

For the Filling and Topping:

• 250g (9oz) cream cheese
• Four tbsp sugar free apricot jam

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 180 deg C/350 deg F/gas mark four. Grease a 20cm (eight ins) cake tin.
• Melt your butter and honey in a small pan over a low heat.
• Place your flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and allspice in a large bowl. Mix in your hot liquid. Beat your eggs then add to the mixture too.
• Grate your carrots then stir them into the batter, along with your chopped nuts.
• Pour into your tin and bake in the centre of your oven for about 40 minutes or until cooked all the way through, and a skewer comes out clean.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Beat your cream cheese with your sugar free apricot jam. Once cool, cut your carrot cake in two. Spread your cream cheese mixture inside and on the top.

*Photos to be posted later this week*

It's Just a Jump to the Left...

Briony's Rocky Horror Picture Show Birthday party was fantastic...some would even say it was 'astounding'! [sorry, couldn't help myself]

Everyone was in on the cake surprise, except the birthday girl of course, and they all pitched in to prevent her from seeing the chocolaty masterpiece before it was songs-and-sparklers time. Equally, everyone was also in corsets, stockings and glitter makeup -- even the guys! [minus my handsome man, though, who didn't want to destroy any remaining dignity by adding stilettos and holdups to the mix, and therefore dressed in normal clothes] There were Rocky Horror themed cocktails, decorations, and karaoke on the TV in the living room, all of which equalled an epic night.

We all kept Briony upstairs until a letter 'B' sparkle candle was lit, surreptitiously placed betwixt the cake cleavage, and we started singing 'Happy Birthday'. This is what she was met with upon descending into the kitchen:

Chocolate cake with Chocolate Almond buttercream on the inside, complete with the hand-piped lyrics to 'The Time Warp' around the border!

You've Got E-Mail!

I figured it was about time to have an email address for this blog, so folks can send in their questions, comments and requests.

So, voila!

Click here to email The Sweet Life.

I Heart You

Thanks to the wonderous world of eBay, I am now the proud owner of a flexi-mould silcone heart cake pan! It may seem triviable and silly to get excited about such things, but c'est la vie. Go ahead and laugh, I'll be in the kitchen baking up a heart-shaped storm.... :)

Engineered Layers

This is from 2009, as yet another birthday cake for my handsome man. As a civil engineer, he had recently completed a bunch of road works projects, so I was inspired to raid the shelves of the local stores in search of a construction set [complete with worker men, pipes, signs, barriers... even a working crane!] and also discovered traffic cone candles and chocolate "rocks".