The Little Mermaid Cake

So a little while ago, I ended up making two identical Ariel cakes for the very same day... it was very bizarre. I guess the Little Mermaid is the theme to have for little girl birthday parties these days. I can't believe it's lasted this long!

So I thought that maybe to kick-start me getting back into things, I would start off with a my very favourite chocolate cake recipe. I like it primarily because of the taste, but also because of it's simplicity in both method and ingredients, all key factors in my book.

If you want to get my marshmallow fondant recipe, you can check out a previous post I did about a Barbie Cake. I did make it by hand this time though.

Before the fondant went on, this cake was iced with the Wilton Buttercream recipe. For the filling, since it was a two layer cake, I took about a cup of icing, and mixed in a big ol' spoonful of dulce de leche, and then chopped up two milky way bars finely and mixed it all together. That turned out really nicely... although you can't REALLY go wrong with those ingredients, now, can you?

So this cake recipe come from allrecipes.com, and it is now the only one I use for chocolate cake. It sort of has an Oreo taste to it if you can imagine. It's a soft, delicate cake with rich colour and an intense chocolate taste. I often find chocolate cake not as chocolatey as you'd expect it to be, but this recipe will not disappoint.  In this particular cake, I double the recipe and bake off two ten inch square cakes, which is different from the usual. I just lowered the temp and extended the baking time.

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Also makes great cupcakes in about 18-20 minutes!

Here are a couple of alternate views of my cakes, everything was hand made by moi, well, except the candle.

Have a great day!

Barbie Cake Part 3 - The Decorating

So this is the third and final part of my Barbie Cake series. Today I'll be giving you some tips on how to actually decorate a barbie cake, and how to use fondant. One thing I'll say is that I mis-measured, and so my barbie dress ended up too big for the cake base, so I ended up with two separate cakes, but I did tie them in together. But before I begin, don't forget to check out my giveaway! Sit back and have a cocktail, this is going to be one long post! 

Ok, so as you saw in parts one and two, I made the marshmallow fondant and rice krispie base ahead of time, just to make life easier. Decorating day required me to make a batch of buttercream icing. Now, in the past couple of years, I've switched my recipe for something a bit different if I'm actually decorating. Often if I'm just making cupcakes for the family or something like that, I'll use the Betty Crocker Buttercream Recipe. Actually, taste wise my hubby prefers it. However, the Wilton Buttercream Recipe is a much better recipe for decorating, because of the consistency. It really does whatever you want it to, and sticks in place. I think it's because of the Crisco. I know, it's gross to think of putting vegetable shortening in your icing, but it just works, and I think it tastes just as good personally. That being said, on to the decorating.

I made the icing purple, because I figured if I did the whole thing pink, it would look like a hot pink mess... toooo much. After baking and cooling an 11" cake, I iced both the cake and the rice krispies with what's called a "crumb layer" of icing. This basically means a very thin layer of icing that you let set for a while. This serves a few purposes. First, it means that when you're doing your properly icing your cake, it puts a barrier between messy looking crumbs and your icing. Second, it gives the fondant or piped icing something to stick to.  

At this point I'll explain the dress first, then the cake later on. So I've often been asked how to make the dress look like it has waves in it. The secret? Big hunks of fondant rolled into a sort of cylinder shape, but rolled really thin at one end. I made five of them, just because.  

I wanted to make sure I spread them out at least somewhat evenly, so I made small marks with a knife on the icing, and then stuck them on with a bit of a firm hand. 

Next was the cover. To make this, first knead the fondant you will be using for a few minutes to make sure it's good and malleable. What I do is measure the cake from one end to the other, bottom to top to bottom, and then make sure my rolled out fondant gives me a few extra inches. BUT: make sure you roll it out on icing sugar, and that you lift the fondant very frequently to re-spread the icing sugar. I do this, but I tend to always just take it a bit to far without lifting, and I end up ripping my fondant off the table. I think this has happened to me just about every time I've made a cake... Argh!!!

Once the fondant is the right size, lift it up and try to centre it over the cake, or in this case rice krispies. One tip I heard when I first started really helped me out. My instinct would have been to try to smooth down the fondant over cake, but instead, you should be sort of pushing up and making the fondant cup around the cake, not spreading it down, because it will stretch and tear. You'll see what I mean once you do it. When shapes are not following the natural progression of the fondant, like the waves, always lift the fondant a little and cup it in, forcing it to fit the shape properly. It will do this as long as you don't stretch it out, even if it seems unnatural. If there are large surfaces that need smoothing, you can use a fondant smoother, I usually do, they do a great job!

Trim the fondant, but not too close to the cake, because then it will peak through. Then you can dip your finger in a little water and smooth out the rough edges. 

I decided to have a bit of a flowery theme here, just because I have some flower shaped fondant cutters. So I decorated the base with 5 leaves. Then I added a couple of flowers to the base to tie it all in. Some people won't like this, but I've found the best way to make fondant stick on fondant is by rubbing the tiniest amount of vodka on the back. Sorry peeps, it just is. I do mean tiny though. Nothing that would hurt anyone.

For the actual Barbie top, which you can find in most good decorating stores, that part is a little challenging. What I did was cut out two of the same shape that connected at the shoulders. Then I stuck them together and smushed them. Another blogger, I'm really sorry but I don't remember who, gave the tip that a little Crisco will smooth out imperfections in fondant, so I used that to make the shoulders a little smoother. I was sure I took pics of this process, but apparently not. I tied it all together by using some of the darker fondant to make a twisted looking waste type thing (that's the technical term, I think) and then put a flower on the chest to finish it off.

As for the actual cake, I used a technique that I love, in which you pipe little star shaped flowers onto the cake, and it makes everything look a little bit fluffy. I've done other cakes like this and generally find them less stressful than fondant, like this superman cake I made for a good friend some time ago.

So what I did was put some more icing on the top of the cake, and smoothed it out as much as possible with a knife made for icing cakes. Then I piped the icing on the sides.

Again, wanting to tie in the two cakes, I decided to print out a pic of a crown, which I used to trace onto some rolled out fondant and cut around it.

Instead of the circles on top of the crown pic, I added small flowers to match the dress, and stuck it on the buttercream. I used a pic to trace where I wanted to pipe the words out, and then piped it on. I added two fondant hearts because Katie is two years old, and then I just topped it with some crown candles.

I also had a fondant crown for the Barbie, but that seems to be missing too.. Me thinks I forgot to download a couple of pics of the ol' camera, but this post is getting way to long, so I think I'll stop here. Hope this will help some novice cake decorators out, I had lots of fun sharing. Now back to the Mediterranean Diet!!!!!

Have a great day!

Barbie Cake Part 2 - Rice Krispies!

Welcome to part 2 of my Barbie Cake Project! It's been a few days, because I've been so busy decorating that I really didn't have any energy left to post. Today, I'll be showing you how I made Barbie's dress. It is really not complicated at all. But first, just a reminder. I am one week in to my two week giveaway! You should check it out here. All you need to do is become a follower, and up for grabs is this cute skittles picture frame idea I came up with:

On to the Barbie cake. So, as I was saying last time, this is my second Barbie Cake. Last time, it was a bride, but this time is a princess. So I actually have the cake pan for the dress mold, which looks like this:

You'll have to excuse the cake mess in the background, but whenever I make a cake it's like a tornado hits. I should have a post just about the mess it makes!!! Ok maybe not, but I'll be for sure showing you the messy pics. It's too ridiculous not to.

This is a Wilton pan. Wilton makes all the good stuff, and has all the good recipes....don't ya think? Anyway, last time, I tried to make an actual cake in this pan, following all the directions, only to have the cake rip in half as I was carefully taking it out of the mold. My cake was too delicate. After wiping of the tears, I realized that this was one of those cases, just like you see on Ace of Cakes, that it's not worth using cake, and rice krispie treats are a much better way to go. Anyway, who doesn't like rice krispie treats? And since it all goes on a cake base anyway, you end up with two desserts in one! 

If you want the official Kellogg's recipe, you can get it here. 

Ok, so there is no genious work in making rice krispie treats (I keep wanting to say squares, but this is not a square at all!) I melted up my marshmallows in the microwave with some butter.

Once they were melty, I added in some pink food colouring just for fun. Then I used a huge bowl to mix in the rice krispies. 

I buttered my pan, lined it with plastic wrap, and then buttered the plastic wrap too. I then dumped the mix into the pan, and with buttered hands (ok, so just deal with it, it's not that bad), I patted it down hard. 

With a little cleverness, I made just enough to get myself an 8 x 8 pan filled with extras, most of which was gone by the time I dropped off the cake last night. I actually just had some more for breakfast... mmmm... Isn't it weird how the lighting of these two pics makes such a difference in the colour?

Ok people... I wasn't going to do this. But I just can't wait to show you what the barbie part of this cake ended up looking like. Since I ended up with two cakes, I think I can justify doing this.. Here it is... one of two big reveals!!!! 

The best part of this cake was, aside from my friend's reaction, that three people stopped me (actually one couple stopped their car in the middle of the street to ask) where I got the cake and they freaked out when they found out I made it. It's a great feeling, and makes it all worth the effort.... 

That's all for today folks.. Oh. Did you notice more of my cake-making-mess? I told you... It's impossible to avoid. 

Have a great day, and to my Canadian readers, enjoy this Labour Day Weekend!

Barbie Cake Part 1 - The Fondant

Making Marshmallow Fondant In The Bread Machine...

So I haven't shared this aspect of my culinary skills with you yet, but I sometimes decorate cakes. It's something that I really love to do, but also something that takes a lot out of me, so I don't get to do it all that often anymore. I am currently in the process of making a cake for my good friend Elizabeth, who's daughter is turning 2. She is, like so many two year old girls, having a princess birthday theme, and so Mommy really wanted me to make a kind of pink version of this cake, which I made for another friend's bridal shower when she got married. 

So I decided that, although it is not at all in the theme of the Mediterranean Diet, I would share my cake decorating experience with you as I make this cake, because it would be nice to pass on some of the tips I've picked up along the way. This is really a live and learn kind of project, and I usually end up in tears at some point while decorating, just because I'm a perfectionist and this is really intense work. 

Today, as there were no subbing jobs, I tackled the fondant. I have a love/hate relationship with fondant. On the one hand, it makes a beautiful, polished looking cake, but on the other hand, it's one of the most tedious element of decorating. Most fondant cakes that I make take at least 6 hours to decorate. I always make Wilton Rolled Marshmallow Fondant, so if you want the recipe, you should check it out. It is much cheaper and tastier than store-bought fondant. If you've never worked with it, it's much like working with play-doe, but more on actual decorating in future posts about this cake. I'm sooo not there yet. 

As I said, the actual making of fondant is far from my favourite part of decorating.. You have to basically need it like bread, but for a really long time, about 10 minutes or more. If you've been paying attention to my past posts, you know that my bread machine is my favourite kitchen tools. So the last time I made fondant, I realised it would be a great idea to make the fondant on the dough cycle, and let it do the work for me. This turned out to be an excellent idea... I doubt I'd ever make it by hand again. It was painless!

So here's what I did:

First off, because I didn't want to overload my machine, I halved the recipe and did it twice. It was still much easier than doing it by hand. You start off by microwaving your marshmallows with a little water for thirty seconds at a time, and stirring them, until they are completely smooth and melted. If you want all (or half in this case) of your fondant to be one colour, because maybe you're topping your cake with it, this is the best time to add your colour, which I actually forgot to do. Oh well! A word from the wise: Don't use those liquid food colours, use the gel based by Wilton. They are far better quality, and have a much bigger selection of colour. Yes they are more expensive, but you also use way less. ANYway....

I essentially dumped in all of the ingredients, marshmallows first, followed by crisco and icing sugar, and let it run! I actually started with a little less icing sugar and then added the rest in later, just to test, but it definitely still needed the full amount, so the second time around, I just added it all in. 

If you do end up adding more icing sugar, watch out, it'll jump back out at you!!! What a huge mess!

That's basically it! You know it's a good consistency when it's not tacky anymore, but you can sort of stretch it out without it ripping. If it is tacky, add a little more icing sugar. If it won't pick up all the icing sugar and rips when you try to stretch it a little, add water 1/2 a tbsp at a time. 

Like I said, I tried to add the colour at the end of the second batch, but the machine wasn't fast enough for me, I ended up needing it in by hand. I think the dough kind of looks like a Campino... When your colouring is done, wrap up the fondant tightly and stick it in the fridge overnight. 

That's all for now. Stay tuned for making the dress mold. What it's made of: pink rice krispie treats!

Have a great day!