Sparkling Rose` Layer Cake: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope everyone had a wonderful NYE, I found myself taking in the local fireworks at Reid Park a little sleep deprived and slightly cranky but I enjoyed it all the same. It was a good time to reflect upon the year that was and all the great things that happened. Highlights for me included:

               - Starting Sugarbuttacream!
               - Buying my first car
               - Starting my Bakers Apprenticeship

           
For this occasion I decided to bring out the big guns (ie my fancy piping skills and a layer cake!) and make this gorgeous Sparkling Rose` Layer Cake. I've seen this recipe at Whiskitforabiscuit and I knew I just had to try it and when I received a bottle of Sparkling Rose` from my boss around Christmas time I decided to save it for this very recipe. Sweetapolita gave me inspiration to decorate it with ruffles! I got the sides alright but I think I need to work on the top ruffles, it might be time to invest in a bigger petal tip!

Well I can't do a new year post without mentioning some goals for 2013. I plan to work harder on this blog to bring you more creative and adventurous recipes, at least once a week. I also want to learn more skills in baking and decorating wonderful cakes and sweets and how to photograph them beautifully.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me out this past year and supported me in everything i've done. My family, especially Mum, who follows my blog and tries out my recipes. My partner D who helps me eat all the sugar loaded foods I create so that my pants don't get too tight. And the whole blogging community who inspires me with their creations and stories. THANKS :)

Sparkling Rose` Layer Cake

(Adapted from Whiskitforabiscuit)

What you will need

3 cups plain flour, minus 3 tbsp
3 tbsp corn flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
170g butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 egg whites
2 cups Sparkling Rose`
Red gel food colouring

For the buttercream filling (and crumb coat)
2 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp Sparkling Rose`

For the buttercream icing
750g icing sugar
400g butter
2 tsp vanilla
Red gel food colouring

What you will need to do

Preheat oven to 180*C and spray two cake tins (the same size) with oil and lightly flour. Beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy then add the red food colouring to reach desired tint. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Gradually add egg whites to butter and sugar mix and beat on medium. Don't be alarmed if the mixture looks curdled, it will be alright. Add to this the dry ingredients alternately with the Sparkling Rose` and mix until completely incorporated.

Divide mixture between the two cake tins evenly. Place in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes or until set. Once cooked, remove from oven and cool in tins for about 10 minutes. Use a knife to loosen cakes around the edges and jiggle and tap tins on bench to make sure they are loose on the bottom. Turn cakes out onto wire rack and cool completely. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place in freezer until frozen. I find cakes are easier to cut and ice when they are frozen.

To make the buttercream filling, place ingredients in a bowl and beat until creamy and light. Remove cakes from freezer and using a large serrated knife cut each into two layers. Place a blob of buttercream on a cake board or plate that cake will be presented on and place the first cake layer securely on top. Cover this layer in buttercream about 5mm thick. Place next layer of cake on top and repeat until all layers are filled. When you get to the top, use the remaining buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake, this will be your crumb layer to hold all the crumbs in. Place cake in fridge to set.

To make the buttercream icing, place ingredients in a bowl and bet until creamy and light, use as much colouring as needed to achieve desired tint. Remove cake from fridge. Cover the cake in a thin layer of the pink buttercream using just using a palette knife or spatula. To create the ruffle effect, put a petal tip in the end of a piping bag and fill bag with buttercream. Place tip at the bottom edge of the cake with the thin end of the petal tip facing out and the fat end touching the cake. In a side to side motion pipe the buttercream from the bottom to the top of the cake. Repeat this all around the outside of the cake. For the top, start on the outer rim and put the fat side of the petal tip towards the outside and the thin side of the petal tip towards the middle of the cake and pipe in a forward and back motion around the edge in a big circle. Repeat with consecutive circles getting closer to the middle. For a great tutorial just hit up you tube :)

Moist and Light Banana Cake

If you like Sara-Lee banana cake, you will LOVE this recipe! When I think of banana cake, I want something light and moist and full of banana flavour, oh and of course cream cheese icing! I am pretty proud of this recipe because I pretty much developed it myself. I used my no chocolate brownie recipe as a base and turned it into a delicious banana cake.

I swear you will not be able to stop at one piece, it is so light you could eat the whole cake before feeling weighed down and sluggish. Cream cheese icing is the perfect match for any banana cake and normally I would make my own from scratch. However I found Philidelphia Cream Cheese Frosting on sale at the supermarket and thought I would give it a go. It tastes exactly the same as the icing I make and because it was on special it turned out cheaper too.

I sometimes think this would make a lovely pudding. If you made it in little ramekins and served it with warm caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream, mmmmmmmm yum! I'll have to give it a go one day :)

NOTE: Using the ripest bananas is best as the flavour is much stronger and creates a better texture in the cake. Also its a great way to use up over ripe bananas that are no longer good for eating. 

Moist and Light Banana Cake

What you will need

3 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

170g butter, melted

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1/2 cup walnuts, crushed

Cream Cheese Frosting

What you will need to do

Preheat oven to 180*C. Line a square cake tin with baking paper. Beat eggs and sugars in a bowl until sugars are dissolved. Add vanilla butter, plain flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined. Fold in the bananas and walnuts. Pour cake mix into prepared tin. Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the middle is no longer wobbly. The middle will be very soft to touch and probably won't spring back when it's cooked but as long as it is not wobbly it will be fine. 

Take cake out and cool on wire rack. Once cool, wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer (the cake is so soft that it is a lot easier to ice when it is frozen firm). When the cake is firm to touch, take out of freezer and ice with cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

So as you are all aware halloween was just the other week. I personally don't celebrate it, I never have and I don't even know the real story behind it. I acknowledge that others celebrate it, but I don't think it is something that will ever be a part of my life, but that's just me.

In saying that though, I had my first trick or treaters come to my house this halloween and they did look super cute. I felt bad when I said "I'm sorry but I don't have anything for you". One of the trick or treaters was the little girl next door and I felt especially bad. I decided to make her some little cupcakes the next day to make it up to her.

I really tried to make the icing purple, but my red-blue combination didn't exactly work :(. They did look a little ghost-like though (and a little dog-poop-like :S) but they tasted delicious, just ask me I ate about half the batch!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

(Recipe adapted from BestRecipes.com)

What you will need

3/4 cup self raising flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp instant coffee

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

80g butter

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

For the buttercream icing

(Recipe adapted from RaspberriCupcakes.com)

4 egg whites

1 cup caster sugar

250g butter, room temperature

Food colours

What you will need to do

Preheat oven to 180*C. Prepare cupcake tray with cupcake papers. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add butter, milk and eggs. Beat on medium speed until combined and smooth. Fill cupcake papers to about .5cm below the top. Place in oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

For the buttercream icing, place the egg whites and sugar into a clean dry bowl. Place over saucepan of simmering water and whisk until mixture reaches 160*C and sugar is dissolved. Place mixture and food colour into the bowl of a mixer and whisk on high speed. Mixture will turn thick and cool down after about 5 minutes. Reduce to medium speed and start adding butter a spoonful at a time. Beat until completely incorporated then add another spoonful. At this point my icing was runny :( so I put it into the fridge for 10 minutes then beat it again until thick. Place it into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle and pipe onto tops of cupcakes.

Pina Colada Checkerboard Cake

I am an amateur photographer, emphasis on the AMATEUR! These photos do not do justice to this delicious and beautiful checkerboard cake. I made this cake to enter into a cake decorating competition but wasn't satisfied with my effort so it didn't make the cut. It was still a fun cake to make and the end result of the checkerboard look is pretty impressive. I learnt how to make a checkerboard cake from my favourite food blog Raspberri Cupcakes.  

The cake itself is just a basic buttercake recipe split into 3 flavours. To one I added lime juice, to the other I added crushed pineapple and to the last I added coconut. I colour coded them to match their taste, lime is green, pineapple is yellow and coconut is white. Although in a moment of absent mindedness I actually coloured the coconut batch yellow instead f the pineapple :(. Ahh close enough, no one will ever know... In hindsight, I would have maybe added a bit more depth of flavour to the cakes using more ingredients such as liquers and coconut cream. 

If you are wondering how to get the checkerboard effect (as I was when i first saw it), I've included step by step photos.

So its basically cutting 3 circles out of 3 cakes, alternating the circles and then stacking the cakes on top of each other (that photo is absent, but im sure you get the idea).

For the Cakes

(recipe from taste.com Homemade Buttercake)

What you will need

• 125g butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• Green and yellow food colouring
• 1/4 cup crushed pineapple
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup coconut

What you will need to do

• Preheat oven to 180*C and grease 3 round cake tins of the same size.
• Beat butter, vanilla and sugar until light and creamy (HEAVEN!)
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Stir in flour and milk until combined.
• Split mixture into 3 bowls. 
• Add lime juice and zest to one bowl and colour it green, pineapple to another and colour it yellow and add coconut to the last bowl. Stir each bowl until well combined.
• Pour into cake tins and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
• When cakes are done, allow to cool slightly then remove from tins and cool completely.
• Wrap cakes in plastic and put into freezer preferably overnight or just until frozen.
• Prepare the cream cheese icing just before you take the cakes out of the freezer. I used the recipe for the cream cheese icing from this Macaron recipe but just left it vanilla flavoured.
• Take frozen cakes and unwrap. 
• Cut out circles as shown in photos above. My cakes were 18 cm in diameter so I cut out a circle 6 cm in diameter then 12 cm in diameter on each cake. Alternate the circles so each cake has one of each colour.
• Place a blob of icing on your serving plate and place one of the cakes on top. Spread the first cake with a thin layer of icing and place the second cake on top of that. Spread again thinly with icing and place the final cake on top. Spread the whole cake with a thin layer of icing then put in the fridge to set for at least an hour.
• Take the cake out of the fridge and cover with the rest of the icing. I decorated my cake with the Lemon and Lime Macarons.