A Cake in a Shape of a Burger?!

As mentioned in a blog post, (that was a while ago now), I have taken up a challenge in making my boyfriends 21st birthday cake. I know it's a month late but at least I managed to get it posted!

And yes it was a challenge and theres tons of buttercream involved!

I decided on a burger cake, not only to test my decorating skills but to celebrate my boyfriends birthday and celebrate our silly coupley in joke.
My boyfriend is a huge fan of comedy and adores the comedy style of Lee Evans. We both love his style of comedy and we have a little in joke of just saying:
"Burger"
So I made cake in the shape of a burger! Pretty simple really!
The original recipe and the tutorial was originally published by My Cake Decorating Magazine 

Recipe: Basic Chocolate Cake

•        4 Eggs
•        225g  diced unsalted butter, room temperature
•        225g  cup of caster sugar
•        175 self raising flour
•        1 teaspoon baking powder
•        50g  cocoa powder

Equipment:

•        Sieve
•        Bowlx2
•        Mixer
•        Measuring jug
•        Scraper
•        Cake tins 20cm/8inch x3
•        Angled palette knife
•        jug

1.    Preheat oven to 180c/350c/Gas Mark 4. Line and grease cake tins.

2.    Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl.

3.    Beat the butter, and sugar until light and fluffy using a mixer. Stop occasionally to scrape down the bowl.

4.    Crack all the eggs into a jug.

5.    Add the eggs a little at a time with the mixer on a higher speed. (if the mixture splits add a little bit of flour)

6.    Fold in half flour using a wooden spoon.

7.    Fold in the rest of the flour and fold in well.

8.    Divide the mixture between the two tins and smooth it down with an angled palette knife.

9.    Bake for 15 to 25 minutes.

Recipe: Decorating Materials 

•        200g buttercream
•        300g/1 pack of pale yellow sugar paste
•        150g/1 pack of brown sugar paste
•        20g/ 1 pack yellow sugar paste
•        25g /1 pack green sugar paste
•        15g/1 pack of red sugar paste
•        Chocolate brown blossom tint
•        Deep yellow blossom tint

Equipment:

•        Cake carving knife
•        Non stick cake board
•        No stick rolling pin
•        Cake smoother
•        Fluting and veining tool or a toothpick
•        Kitchen paper towels
•        Flat paintbrush
•        5/6cm round cutter
•        Small knife

     1.Once your cakes have cooled. Place them in the freezer to make them easier to carve. I left it overnight but you can leave it for about 2 hours.

    2. Using a cake carving night, trim around the top and bottom edge of the cakes to create a smooth rounded shape. Once edge of two of the cakes should be more rounded than the other, so that they look like a bun.

    3. Carve the third cake so that it’s rounded on both edges. Once trimmed, cover each cake with buttercream to crumb-coat and put in the fridge for an hour.

   4. Roll out the pale sugarpaste to about 2-3mm thick and place it over one of the bun cakes. Use hands to smooth it over the top of the cake down and around the curved sides and tuck it under the bun. Tuck it in as neatly as you can. Smooth over the cake with the cake smoother, using a circular polishing motion. Do the same with the other cakes. Cover the second cake with pale yellow sugar paste and the third more rounded cake with brown sugar paste.

   5. Using a fluting and veining tool or a toothpick, make tiny little holes in the burger cake, press it into the side of burger to make pitted details in varying shapes and sizes. Make it look as random as possible.

   6. Tip a little chocolate brown blossom tint onto a kitchen paper towel and dip in a clean flat paintbrush. Sweep it over the sides of the burger to make it look more ‘greasy’.

   7. Tip a little bit of the deep yellow blossom tint onto another kitchen paper towel, tint the sides and top of the ‘top bun’ cake. Brush around the edge of the ‘bottom bun’ cake as well.

   8. Spoon a little buttercream onto the top of the ‘bottom bun’ (This is the unfinished side and should be facing upwards) and spread it out. Place the brown burger on top. The buttercream should glue it in place.

   9. Roll out the yellow sugar paste as thin as you can, about 1mm thick. Cut out a square using a cake smoother to get a straight edge. Roll out the paste again and roll out 3 more squares.

  10. Smear more buttercream on top of the burger and place the yellow squares on top of the burger, so that corner of it drapes over the edge to look like cheese slice.

  11. Roll out green flower paste as thinly as you can (it should ideally be a bit thinner than the cheese and larger diameter). Cut around the edge to make a wavy line and neaten it up. Dab a little more buttercream onto the cheese slices and place the green paste on top of the cheese. Pinch the top to create folds and make it look like green lettuce. Make 2 more lettuce leaves using the same technique.

  12. Roll out the red sugarpaste to 2mm thick and use a round cutter to cut 4/5 circles. Attach each one to the top of the lettuce with a smear of buttercream. Position them near the outer edge of the cake so that they can be seen. 

   13. Now put a decent layer of buttercream onto the tomatoes and lettuce, then carefully stick the top layer of your burger bun onto the cake.

i 

   I've got to admit that I'm very proud of this cake! I took a ridiculous amount of photos and even decorated the cake long into the night. 

   That's why I'm in a dressing gown and looking very tired. Not the best picture ever. 

   I used white chocolate letters to spell out 'Happy 21st Birthday Rob', which I stuck on with some more, you guessed it, buttercream!

   

   This cake is not for one person. Don't be greedy with it Grandad. It must be a generational thing.  

    

    My boyfriend and his house mates loved it so much the cake didn't late long. It was eaten so quickly I didn't get the chance to take a single picture!!

   Bake On!

   Penny x

Limoncello Valentine Creams and Valentine Heart Shaped Biscuits

Valentines day is only one day away. I finally managed to make both  Limoncello truffles and Valentine Heart Biscuits. I didn't think that I would be able to make anything this year as I've been busy with work and home life etc etc. 

But I managed so woo!

Limoncello is a lemon based liquor originating in Italy. It's a really nice drink with lemonade in summer or neat but I don't recommend it! I know a certain friend, that can't stand the smell of limoncello because she got drunk and I wont name name's. Right Sof? Haha. 

You will need about 3 days to make these but that's because the truffles go into freezer twice. 
Day 1: Make truffle centre, pop in freezer
Day 2: Roll into balls. Back in freezer.
Day 3: Cover in chocolate and place in fridge to set. 

Before you go steaming in with this recipe, there's a little warning. Work with the truffle filling as quick as you can, as it's prone to melt at room temperature and at hand temperature. I wrapped some in little bags to give out as gifts, which were tied with floss, because I couldn't find any string. 

Recipe: Makes 36  

      ·   200g/7oz white chocolate

      ·   4 tbs double cream

      ·   Grated zest of 1 lemon

      ·   4 tbsp limoncello liqueur

      ·   100g/4oz butter

      ·   600g/22oz white chocolate, for tempering

      ·   Sprinkles/glitter

      ·   Pink food colour paste (optional)

Equipment:

     ·   Heatproof Bowl

     ·   Saucepan

     ·  Wooden Spoon

     ·  Whisk

     ·  Sealable container

     ·  Tablespoon

     ·  Teaspoon

     ·  2x Boards or plates covered with parchment paper

     ·  Fork 

    1.    Heat 5cm/2 inch water in a saucepan. Put a heatproof bowl on top of the pan, making sure the bottom of bowl does not touch the water. Place the 200g of chocolate in the bowl with the cream and heat gently to allow the chocolate to melt. If using put the food colouring into the mix at this stage.

    2.    Take the bowl off the heat and toss in the lemon zest, limoncello and butter. Whisk until the mixture looks like lemon curd.

   3.  Spoon into a sealable container, put the lid on and chill in the fridge overnight.

    Now go read a book or have a nap or just go about your business.

    4.    Scoop small teaspoons of the mixture and roll into balls. Put on a board lined with baking parchment and freeze overnight.

   
   Once again go outside and play in the snow (It's been snowing here in London again but now it's all slush by now.)
  
  5.   Temper the 600g chocolate by chopping it into pieces, then place it into a microwavable bowl and melt at 800-1000W, checking it 15 seconds and taking care that it doesn’t overheat. When the chocolate looks nearly melted but there are still a few bits bobbed on top, take it out of the microwave and stir in the chocolate gently until smooth.

    

   Look at the intense concentration on my face as I coat each truffle. I don't do photo's that well and it was on my bad side, of course. 
   6. Using a fork and spoon dip each truffle into the chocolate. Toss about to coat then lift out and place back onto the parchment paper, roughing the chocolate with a fork for a textured effect. Decorate while still wet. Repeat with all the truffles.

    7.    Place them in the fridge to set.
    8. Eat or wrap in bags to give away.

These biscuits are easy to make and make great gifts for that special someone. They will need a few hours to completely dry. I recommend that you make them a couple of days ahead of when you need them. 

Recipe: Makes 20 biscuits

    · 125g unsalted butter

    · 125g caster sugar

    · 1 medium egg

    · 1 tsp vanilla extract

    · 250g plain flour, sieved plus a little extra to flour your work surface.

Equipment:

   · Electric whisk

   ·      Bowl

   ·      Sieve

   ·      Heart shaped cutter

   ·      Whisk

   ·      Cling-film

   ·      Baking sheet lined with parchment

   ·      Rolling pin

   1.    In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.

   2.    Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix together.

   3.    Sift half the flour into the bowl and mix in, then sift in the other half and mix again.

   4.    Knead the dough until smooth, then wrap in cling-film and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

   5.    Pre-heat your oven to 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4.

   6.    Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to around 4mm thick and cut out into heart shapes.

   7.    Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool before decorating.

Recipe: Stiff peak royal icing

    · 500g icing sugar/confectioners’ sugar

    · 2 medium egg whites

    · 1 tsp lemon juice

    · Red and pink food colouring paste

Equipment:

    ·  Electric whisk

    · Bowl x 4

    ·  Sieve

    · 6 disposable piping bags

    · Scissors

    · Forks x 3

    · Toothpick

    · Tissue

    · Tablespoons x 3

1.    Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.

2.    Add the egg whites and the lemon juice to the icing sugar and mix together for about 5 minutes.

3.    The mix should look smooth and shiny. If it looks a little dry then add one drop of lemon juice and mix for a minute.

4.    Once your icing makes a stiff peak put it in 3 clean bowls.

5.    Colour 2 of the bowls of icing red and pink. Leave one of the icing bowls coloured white.

6.    Quarter fill, 3 of the piping bags with each colour. Snip a small hole in the top of each bag.

7.    Take a heart biscuit and starting from the top centre, pipe an outline around the inside edge of the biscuit to the tip of the heart. Stop and move the bag away from the biscuit quickly. Then repeat on the other side. You can do this in a combination of colours including half and half colours.

8.    Make sure there are no holes or missing gaps in the hearts, if there are fill them in with the correct colour.

9.    Once all the hearts have been outlined, add a teaspoon of water to each of the colours until the consistency of each icing is runny. Keep adding water, carefully, until it reaches running consistency.

10.  Fill each 3 more disposable piping bags and cut 3 small holes in the ends.

11.  Flood the inside of the biscuit starting at the edge and zigzagging up and down until completely flooded.

12.  Working as quick as you can, decorate your biscuit with other colours, by holding the tip of the bag just above the iced biscuit using a gentle pressure.

  13.  If you pipe 2 lines of icing on your biscuit and then using a toothpick drag lightly through the icing to create a marbled pattern. Wipe the toothpick with tissue to clean. You can even put dots instead of lines to make mini hearts.

I hope you all have a lovely Valentines day! Happy Baking!
Bake and Love On!
Penny

The Valentines Rant!

Ok it's not really a baking post but I wanted to make my opinion clear.
On T.V, social media and shop windows are covered in red decorations as Valentines day is approaching. I see people around me getting really excited about Valentines day but to be honest I can't see why.
I have very mixed feeling about Valentines day, I mean, its nice to see shop windows wonderfully decorated and its a fab excuse to make heart shaped biscuits (I'm hoping to make those this weekend). Also to consume a silly amount of romantic based food such as white chocolate popcorn. Not that I need a good excuse. 

Vanilla cupcakes decorated by me.

But I also have a problem with it.

The issue I have is that, why on the 14th of February is the only day that couples get be romantic and show their feelings through tacky cards and teddy bears? 
Surely, if you really are in love with someone shouldn't everyday be like Valentines day? Or if you want to make someone feel really special then maybe its worth reminding them how special they are?

Image from. The Guardian Official Website.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/09/gender-women

Fellas, I feel sorry for you. I truly do. If you forget the day in question. Your are in so much trouble that you get ignored for 2 days. You are put under some serious pressure on Valentines that it becomes a joke. 
Your girlfriend says: "That's ok you don't need to get me anything. It's just a stupid day." 
and you think: "Phew! Pressure is off!"
But when the 14th comes around.... and she looks at you expectingly. "Well? Where's my Valentine present?!"
"Oh crap..."
Yet if you did get her something just in case she says: "Why did you get me something? I told you not too. I didn't get you anything! Now you've made me feel guilty! Thanks a lot for ruining Valentines day!"

Image from the Vancouver Observer Official Website
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/girls/2012/02/01/bad-romance-bracing-un-romantic-valentines-day

Girls. Take the pressure off. Seriously. It's not lady-like to scream at your other half because he didn't get the right chocolates. 
Also, don't be silly in getting him a red teddy bear that says: "I wuv you." on the heart. I don't think he'll like it as much as you do.

Girls, especially, expect gifts because its Valentines. Now it's escalated from silly gifts to weekends away and 5 star fancy dinners. All these things are lovely. But it shouldn't just be for Valentines. It's not a contest between you and friends who got the best Valentines. Be grateful that you have someone to share it with!

Who doesn't want to go away for a romantic weekend? It's a sweet gesture and it's very romantic being whisked away for a mini break but it doesn't just have to be for Valentines day. It should be because, as a couple, you're in love and you don't need a special date to show each other how much you really care about each other. Even mundane things that we all take for granted like, making your partner a cup of tea, just the way they like it (Strong-ish, with milk and one tsp small sugar) is one of those things that show that you love them everyday. Even a random text or surprise phone call, taking the time to really chat. The smallest gesture can show that you truly care. 

Take it from someone who knows. While you maybe seeing your girlfriend or boyfriend all the time and saying "We never do anything romantic!" Be happy that you're with your loved one! I know people who are worlds away from their partners. Including myself. I wish I could see my boyfriend everyday but at this moment in time we can't always be together (lack of money, studying and work are all serious relationship killers). Does it stop us from seeing each other? No, we text, phone and Skype. Do we miss each other? Well duh all the time! Does it put a strain on our relationship? Yeah it can, but you know what? We are one of those deliriously in love couple and we appreciate the time we spend together and when we part, we're more in love then before. That's what everyday should be about. Not just Valentines!

Look, what I trying to get across is that whatever you get on Valentines day is great, but look beyond that day. As it is just that, just a day. I'm not coming down on people who like Valentines or trying to ruin peoples day, that is not my intention. (So no silly comments such as OMG u ha8 luv') Because, lets face it, those valentine chocolates need to eaten by someone! What I'm trying to say is that: Don't focus on where you go or what you get. Focus on spending the time with the person you love the most. 

Whatever you do, Wherever you go and whoever you spend it with. Make sure that it's someone who's just as special as you are. 

Bake On! and Have a Great Valentines Day

(My own artwork that I did in high school. Don't steal ;p)

Penny

The Magic of Homemade Bread

There truly is something magical about homemade bread. 
The smell, the taste, the fluffiness. The 'bread' in the supermarkets doesn't compare to the real stuff. THE GOOD STUFF!
It's almost Valentines Day and we should be writing poems about the people we love but I'll be writing about my love for homemade bread. Why people don't write love poems about bread and bakers I don't know. 

Thou art more satisfying with some butter spread upon your warm crust.

Ok it's a little creepy. It's hard to tell whether I'm hungry or horny. But I don't go around writing poems about bread. But it's been ages since I've had really amazing homemade bread. What really made me change my outlook on baking was t.v's, The Fabulous Baker Brothers. If you get the chance definitely watch it if you get the chance.  

The method that my pastry tutor swears by is the 'Richard Bertinet' method. I was a non-beliver to begin with but when the bread came out of the oven. My mouth was watering!

Homemade white bread and Focaccia bread made by me in pastry class

Basic White Bread

•        500g strong flour
•        10g fresh yeast
•        10g salt
•        350ml warm water (plus a little extra)
•        Olive oil for greasing the loaf tin

Equipment:

•        Bowl
•        Scraper
•        Sieve
•        Pastry brush
•        Loaf tin
•        Tray filled with water

1.    Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 9/475f/250c so that is very hot. Place the tray with warm water into the oven at this stage.
2.    Sieve the flour into the bowl and rub the fresh yeast into the flour. (Make sure that the salt doesn’t make contact with the yeast.)
3.    Add the salt and warm water, once the yeast has completely rubbed in.
4.    Using your scraper, mix the dough until smooth. It may need a little more warm water just add a little bit at a time so that its sticky but not wet.
5.    Remove from the bowl and place on work-surface (without flour on the surface). Fold the bread like this. Pick it up, slap it on the surface of the table and fold it over itself and repeat until it forms a smooth lovely dough. (It looks like it's gone wrong but trust me it works)
6.    Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to proof for about 30 minutes.
7.    The dough should have doubled in size. Lightly scrap the dough onto a work surface and knead it a little again. And fold it to shape it to fit the loaf tin.
8.    Proof again for another 30 mins.
9.    Turn the oven down to Gas Mark 7/425f/220c and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Foccacia meaning 'hearth, place for baking' was thought to have first been made in ancient Rome and is similar to a tradtional pizza dough. It is seasoned with salt, olive oil and often Italian herbs. 
In this version, its simply done with rosemary and salt.

Homemade white bread and Focaccia bread made by me in pastry class

 Foccacia

•       500g strong flour
•        20g semolina
•        15g fresh yeast
•        10g salt
•        50g olive oil, plus extra to decorate on top and to oil the tray
•        320ml water
•        Rosemary and salt to decorate

Equipment:

•        Baking tray
•        Sieve
•        scraper
•        Bowl
•        Pastry brush
•        Tray with warm water placed in the oven.

1.    Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 9/475f/250c so that is very hot. Place the tray with warm water into the oven at this stage.

2.    Sieve the flour into the bowl, add the semolina and rub the fresh yeast into the mixture. (Make sure that the salt doesn’t make contact with the yeast.)

3.    Add the salt, olive warm water, once the yeast has completely rubbed in.

4.    Using your scraper, mix the dough until smooth. It may need a little more warm water just add a little bit at a time so that its sticky but not wet.

5.    Remove from the bowl and place on work-surface (without flour on the surface). Fold the bread like this. Pick it up, slap it on the surface of the table and fold it over itself and repeat until it forms a smooth lovely dough.

6.    Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to proof for about 30 minutes.

7.    The dough should have doubled in size. Lightly scrap the dough onto an oiled tray and dimple the top using your fingers. Proof again for another 30 mins.

8.    Brush the top with a little olive oil, place some rosemary sprigs into the dimples and sprinkle some salt on top.

9.    Turn the oven down to Gas Mark 7/425f/220c and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Homemade white bread and Focaccia bread made by me in pastry class.

Bake On!
Penny