Twinkle, Twinkle Little Lily /-/Ultimate Tiered Star Themed 1st Birthday Cake

 

A long time coming but I finally post my niece’s! Year Old birthday! Sorry I lost the photos in my files. Anyway, enough with me Lily once again is the super nova of this post ( ha-ha I am being Pun-astic). You will understand when you see the theme is twinkle twinkle little star. So let me photo bomb you with lots of pretty cake pictures!




 A light box for the event.



Dessert and cake table.



 

Close up the cake plus final assembly.


 

We had a WHOLE roast pig. Seriously yum for the meat eatters.



We had a stir fry bar where you could customize your own salad. Very Very good.

The other things we had the  party were White chocolate rocky road, fairy bread, lemon punch, chocolate coated fruits, blue velvet cupcakes( made by me!), Stars rice crispyies, candy jars, fruit skewers and straw berry mousse.  Of course all these were lovely provided and home made her friends.

Such a happy party!

 



Well for an event like you will need a cake which is easy to do and almost no fail. This is the first time I have tired the butter, sugar and flour emulsion before adding the eggs and milk (or liquids). 

Verdict? Completely sold! The cake comes out nicely risen but flat enough to not have to cut off extra bits for layer cakes. The texture is firm but not as heavy as a butter cake, with evenly distributed crumb making for melt in the mouth eating. Also you do not have to do it in a stand mixer as rubbing in the butter to the flour and sugar is just as good.



I used this type of butter cream as it is tasty, taste of vanilla and stable as a rock. I have keep this butter cream out for 4 hours in hot temps and it is still holding up.

You will need a few extra things for this cake as layered, tiered cakes require more support and tools.

• These things are
• Wooden dowels
• heavy duty cake broads
• off set spatulas
• turn table
• butter cream ( one that is very stable)
• Piping bags
• A lot of disposable clean cloths like Chux
• Sharp knife
• Ruler

I got a lot of help from sprinkle bakes tutorial for her cake to feed 100. This is more suited for people in the USA as the products are all found in the Northern hemisphere however I adapted it to make it more Aussie friendly. You will be able to find all of these products from Aussie cake suppliers and most websites ship to Australia. 



The pans I use here are a 10 inch spring form pan, 8 inch spring form pan and 5 inch pan. I lined them all with baking paper ( bases and sides). The stars are made from fondant and coated in edible glitter.
 This cake is over the top and grand. If you like one layer I have included how I done it. All techniques are very forgiving and easy with stable butter cream. 




Perfect one bowl vanilla cake

360g all-purpose flour
400g granulated sugar
18g baking powder
6g flake salt
120g unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs plus one egg white
180ml sour cream
180ml milk
3 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 160C degrees and line baking pans with baking paper.
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl, and mix on low speed to combine. It should take the texture of fine bread crumbs.
Add the eggs; one at a time. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix until combined. Remove from stand mixer.
Add the sour cream, milk and extracts. Stir and Fold in well until fully combined. Do not over mix. It is easier to not over mix by hand mixer than doing it in the stand mixer.
Fill the pans half full and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the middle of cake comes clean and the sides are pulling away from the pan.
Cool in tin then turn out on a wire rack.


Italian Meringue Cream Cheese Butter Cream

240g plus 115g caster sugar divided
160g water
300g egg white
620g butter, cubed
350g,cream cheese, soften And cubed
2tsp vanilla extract

At the same time, in a sauce pan combined sugar and water. Place on stove on medium heat. You are making sugar syrup. Place in sugar thermometer.
Once the sugar syrup has reached 113C.  In a stand mixer beat egg whites yolks until foamy and fluffy ( soft peak).
Heat the syrup, swirling to evenly distribute heat. Bring the sugar mix to 118C.
Once it reaches this temperature,  remove from heat. With the stand mixer running on high, drizzle the syrup into the bowl of egg whites. Make sure to pour down the side to avoid the beaters.
Continue to beat until this mix is room temperature. About 7 minutes
Change to paddle.
Add the butter slowly on medium speed. Scrape the bowl often. Continue this process until all butter is added.
Add cream cheese and vanilla flavour beat on high medium until fluffy. Set aside.


For the outer coating butter cream
 
Italian Meringue Butter Cream
240g plus 115g caster sugar divided
160g water
300g egg white
900g butter, cubed
7g sea salt
2tsp vanilla extract

At the same time, in a sauce pan combined sugar and water. Place on stove on medium heat. You are making sugar syrup. Place in sugar thermometer.
Once the sugar syrup has reached 113C.  In a stand mixer beat egg whites yolks until foamy and fluffy ( soft peak).
Heat the syrup, swirling to evenly distribute heat. Bring the sugar mix to 118C.
Once it reaches this temperature, remove from heat. With the stand mixer running on high, drizzle the syrup into the bowl of egg whites. Make sure to pour down the side to avoid the beaters.
Continue to beat until this mix is room temperature. About 7 minutes
Change to paddle.
Add the butter slowly on medium speed. Scrape the bowl often. Continue this process until all butter is added.
Add salt and vanilla flavour beat on high medium until fluffy. Set aside.

 
Assembly 

One recipe of Cream Cheese butter cream
One recipe of Plain Italian Meringue Butter Cream
Triple recipe of Easy, One bowl vanilla cake (you will have extra depending on how full you fill the cake pans.)
All the equipment listed above
Food colours
Glitter spray
Glitter powder
Tutorial from Sprinkle Bakes, for a large dowel cake.

Once you have all these things, I recommend you do Exactly what sprinkle bakes has wrote in the tutorial as it includes pictures. Please do not be intimated by the large amounts listed. The cake is simple 3 normal layer cake staked on each other. Of course because of the weight you will need extra support but she goes through that in her tutorial.  After this you if you want the three textures I got on this cake follow the instructions below.

 For smallest cake
Place on turntable With White butter cream do the final smooth coat of butter cream
With a glitter metallic gold spray, spray the top with a light coat of the gold working your way done half way to achieve an ombre affect. Continue to layer it until you get the colour you like. Once it is dry, sprinkle glitter on the top of the cake.


 
For middle cake
Place cake on turn table. Do the final layer coat in light pink. Fill a piping bag with a ruffle tip (Wilton #103). Hold bag vertically to side cake; with middle pressure move the piping bag side to side up the cake until you reach the top. The ruffle should sit on top of each other. Continue to do this until you have covered the whole cake.
Fridge for 40 minutes





For the largest cake
Do the final coat of butter cream making it as flat as possible. 
Finish the cake by holding the tip your offset spatula at 160 degree angle. Warm up you blade. Pressing gently on the frosting at the bottom of the cake. Smoothly spin the cake turntable while simultaneously dragging the spatula up the side of the cake, stop when you get to the top. Wipe the spatula clean with a towel whenever needed and continue again.
To finish the top, press the spatula tip in to the centre of the top of the cake. While turning the turn table, move the spatula slowly to the outer edge of the cake; creating a continuous circle. Fridge for  40 minutes
Finish off the cake by placing all the layer on top each other. Fix any edges or boos-boos with pink or white butter cream. Place the toppers which are simple cut out fondant, piping glue brush over and coat it in the glitter. You will need to make these 7 days ahead.

Right to Brag /-/ Mini(ish) Pistachio fudge chunky cookie cake with Sea salt butter cream

Today I am not going to be deep and meaningful. Not that my regular post are true D&Ms but you hopeful understand)

This post is about being selfish and having a humble brag.

 In most societies bragging is considered bad form but I have always wonder why are people making us feel bad when you truly have an achievement to boast about? Not today! Not here! I want you go out today or (tomorrow) and tell people about something you have achieved. Seriously.

 

As much as I love having humble pie constantly on my selves, I have a few things today I can tell you about that I have achieved. 

From this food blog not only have developed a passion for photography but I have improved my skills in baking and writing. Sure passion for sweets will always be there however a lot of my favourite blog have inspired me to be more adventurous with cooking savoury meals. From a girl who could not fathom cooking Christmas a dinner for 7 nor prepare a meal for two of delicious pasta; 

I am preparing to make crispy skin pork belly for Christmas this year with all the trimmings.  Also!! I have eaten very well over the past year with the numerous recipes for grilled cheese too. God, cheese is good.

This month I have receive a number of achievements as well!

•  I am about to finish my culinary course this month graduating with a certificate 3 and 4 in pastry. FYI; looking for a full time job too, so contact me!
• While this happened a while back; I graduated university last year but my ceremony is occurring later this month! I think my comment sums up what I expect on the day and consider I have to wake up so early to get to it, I deserve it!
• Lastly and most recently, my first full colour photo has been publish in a magazine! If you didi not see the instagram, it is in a coffee magazine called “Perk” from the US. I can not describe the amount of joy it give you to see a piece of your photographic work in full, HD print. Ahhh… I will never live this down.

So Today make yourself a cookie cake and brag about it! Not just any cookie cake, this one with brown butter, pistachios, fudge and sea salt butter cream 

 

Layers of pistachio fudge chunk cookie layered with butter cream sounds good but it is the detail you need to know about. I am against anyone ever labeling a cookie the “best” mainly because it is always changing and I guarantee you have not tasted ever single cookie on the planet. This one is adapted from Jessica at "How sweet it is" who is not only known for her savoury but sweet, sweet trashed up desserts. One of biggest inspirations and here blog is always a constant inspiration food photography; so I guess this cake is inspired by her cookie.

 

Due to the rare occurrence of all these good things I felt the need to make the cake just for me and base on the Cakeblog’s cookie cake which I have been infatuated with.  Also another source of inspiration for this cake comes from"Ladyandpups". Mandy has been one of my inspiration ever since I was little one month old blog with her food that puts meat on the map. Who knew being ravenous would result in such delicious recipes? Anyway sandwiched between these chewy, nutty cookies is a sea salt butter cream. DO not skip on the sea salt! The cookies are only lightly salted and you need it to balance the out fudge in cookies (I find fudge by itself too sweet). 

This cake generously feeds two people but I ate it by myself over a few days; so no hard done!

This probably the only way you can celebrate all these achievements (yours and mine!) So grab yourself a pot, butter and get cooking this weekend! Oh make sure you brag extra hard for me too.

 

Mini(ish) Pistachio fudge chunky cookie cake with Sea salt butter cream

Inspired by Thecakeblog 

Cookie recipe adapted from How sweet it is.

Butter cream recipe adapted from Ladyandpups.

Serves 2 generously

300g plain flour

4g baking soda

190g butter, browned and cooled ( look on how to prepare brown butter here)

2g salt

200g brown sugar

100g raw caster sugar

1 egg plus one yolk

1 vanilla bean scraped

1 cup or 150g-200g Pistachio Chocolate fudge, cut up into 1 cm piece.

Pre heat oven to 180C. Line two trays with baking paper.

Shift over large bowl flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl whisk butter and sugars until combined. Add egg and yolk, whisk well. Add in vanilla pod scrapings and whisk until well combined. In three batches, mix in the flour mix until a homogenous dough forms. Add fudge and make sure they are well mixed.

I used a single cookie spoon (1.5 tablespoon) to make the cookies. With each cookie shape into a flat round disc ( about 1cm high). Make sure you work the dough enough to make the fudge stick in the cookies. Freeze them in a sealed bag or fridge them for up 2 days.

Place the dough balls on the tray, leaving about 6 cm in between each cookie ( better safe than sorry!) Bake for 14 minutes until the cookie is set and develops a golden edged crust. Once out of the oven, gently press the middles of the cookies that have risen too much. Cool on tray.

Buttercream

250g unsalted butter, soften

3-5g fine sea salt

5ml vanilla extract

450g icing sugar, shifted

20ml-30ml sour cream

In a stand mixer place butter and sea salt. Whip with paddle mixer to light and fluffy, this helps it to dissolve. I normally do this for 7 minutes, scraping the bowl well.

Add vanilla and beat well. In small batches all the icing sugar and beat. Make sure it returns to the creamy, white texture before adding the next batch. Use the sour cream to thin out the mix if yours is too thick.

Assembly

Make sure all cookies are cool. You will need 12 cookies for this cake. Place a cookie on the base of piece of baking paper. Spread  under a table spoon of butter cream on the top of the cookie, place another cookie right side up on to the butter cream. Continue this process until you get a 12 level cookie stack. Fridge for at 30 minutes before serving for yourself.

Shopper Habits /-/ Toasted Snickers Rice Crispy Dippers

What are your habits with buying Chocolate? Are you those who pick up unique treats from a faraway land, piling them up only to use them for something show stopping? Could you be one of those impulsive buyers who picks up the candy bars from the checkout, petrol station stashing them in a private box for comfort? Maybe your one those who snob anything that is less than a 35% cocoa butter and then under 70% is too sweet.

I am neither one nor the other in this situation because I fall into the last category of chocolate shopper. As cheap as this might be anytime there is a sale on the high quality chocolates or high cocoa butter chocolates, I am on it like a fly to honey. It doesn’t even have to regular block chocolate. Easter chocolate, Christmas chocolate, Halloween chocolates; the list goes on with the amount of chocolates being marketed to as gifts. All chocolate is equal when it melted into a delicious molten pool of re tempered chocolate. However I almost never buy chocolate a full price; unless I am using them in ganache for fondant covering cakes or my very special dark chocolate.

I justify my buying habits as saving money because I always seem to be eating my chocolate as I am cooking it. In all honestly it is probably my hoarding in a controlled sense; what can I say I had a long break from eating chocolate at one point in my life. 

Of course this does not cover my habits with buying breakfast cereals where I probably have a collection to rival Christina Tosi. Currently I have 10 types of breakfast cereal in my pantry not including the single grain “health” muesli and un cooked oats. Yes these are all just for me! My mum hardy eats these cereals. I call it my cereal addiction but really it just practical. So I am currently fueled by cereals and coffee for a majority of my teens to now. Do not judge! How do you think the crazy ideas come from?

So this Halloween I guess I had the idea to try and combine the two. While this holiday is not my favourite on the list, it does provide lots of chocolate and lot of candy. These are my adult party treats which have all kid loving taste. If you are too embarrassed to admit you love rice crispy treats or ICMs (if you are in Australia); never fear these are fancy enough to serve to even your snobbish guest. 

The combination of rice bubbles in a cereal bar have long been a lunch box favourite as a small child these were my favourite snack to find in the box. While those days have long past that I pack a lunch box; my love for crispy bar will never die. These were my first taste crispy treat in about 5 years. Sad I have been separated from this from so long. 

Snickers are always a winner; the crunch of peanuts and the oozy caramel that dips from the edge of thinly coated milk chocolate. The pillow, sweetness of marshmallow with that powder corn flour outside; charred under the grill to make sure you get every bit of raw flavour out of them and replace it with warming smoking under tones. 

 

Combine them with your rice bubbles and push into the pan of choice. Finally top with a layer of chocolate and top with more nuts and snickers; a beautiful sight.

Cut into bite sized pieces and serve with a store brought chocolate sauce (yes I buy stuff too!). You can actually get good sauce in stores now that have a high percentage of chocolate in it with a cream. However you can make your own if you are bothered. From child hood treat to adult party snack; you have dessert canapé of dreams!

 

Toasted Snickers Rice Crispy Dippers

Makes a 26cm round pan

210g White mini Marshmallows

40g butter, chopped and melted

5g salt

200g snickers bars save about 70g for topping, chopped

340g rice bubbles or puffs

30g toasted whole almonds or buts of choice

140g dark chocolate

Store brought chocolate sauce

 Pre heat your broiler. Line a baking tray with grease proof baking paper. Place marshmallow and chopped snickers bars in a single layer across the baking paper. Toast until golden brown or dark brown.

Place rice bubbles and salt in large bowl. Combine. Tip the melted marshmallows and snickers in to bowl with melted butter. Combine with grease spatula then tip in the large bowl with cereal. Mix until homogenous.

Straight away tip and push into the time of choice. Fridge for 30 minutes or until set.

Remove crispy treat from fridge 1 hour before ready to serve Melted chocolate over pan of simmer water. Set aside to cool. Pour over the chocolate to coat the top well. Finish with chopped snickers and extra nuts if using. Allow to set (or not! Warm chocolate is best) and cut in pieces. Serve on skewers with chocolate sauce.