My two nieces and nephew, Clodagh, Diddi and Lochlan, have been with me this week for another holiday in Blackpool. We have been really busy out and about but we managed to squeeze in a morning to create this beautiful butterfly cake. It is a vanilla sponge with jam and vanilla butter cream in the middle. The kids helped to make the sponge and the butter cream and then I iced it using sugar paste. I then left the kids to decorate it however they wanted and I think it looks ace! We took the cake round to my brother's house to share with my other nephews, Jack and Thomas, I have never seen a cake disappear so fast, they all loved it!

I was at college last night and here is my cake that I decorated, I'm pleased with how it turned out as I have never iced a cake before. The only thing is I think it kind of looks like a hat but this is the way Brenda showed the class how to ice the cake.
Brenda started by showing, how to make butter cream and how to fill the cake with jam and butter cream. We all then did this to our own cakes and put a thin layer of butter cream round the whole cake, which helps the sugar paste to stick. We then rolled out the sugar paste and covered the cake completely, then gently pressed the sugar paste onto the cake and smoothed the top and the sides of the cake using a smoother. Then I trimmed off any excess sugar paste and used a crimper to make the little heart shapes around the cake. I finished off the cake with the ribbon and bow and then added the little flowers, that I had already made. The cake was delicious, there is half left but it probably won't last long! Next week we will be making a model of a figure of either a baby or a teddy bear.

As I am picking my niece, Avila, up today from school, I decided to make her some cakes, I've not seen her for a bit so I thought these would be a nice little treat for her.
The cakes are just vanilla sponge with royal icing and dolly mixtures and razzles for decoration. They are pretty simple cakes to make but ideal for kids, I'm sure she will love them!

18th Birthday Cupcakes.

Here are some cupcakes that I have done for a lady, Jane, who my mum works with, as her daughter was turning 18. I made her 24 vanilla sponge with strawberry flavoured butter cream and 25 double chocolate sponge with chocolate fudge butter cream.
I made the number 18 and all the little flowers from pink and lilac sugar paste and used lilac sugar sand for the sparkles.

I gave Jane my 6 tier stand to put the cupcakes on for her daughter's party, these stands are a great way to display cupcakes and they do look good for a party!

I had just purchased 2 cupcake couriers, each holds 36 cupcakes and has 3 trays which can be removed and then can be used for a larger cake. These couriers came in very useful, as I was wondering what I was going to put 50 cupcakes in!

I went to college last Wednesday and Brenda, the tutor, was there this time! Brenda started by showing us how to make royal icing, then we were shown how to make a icing bag from parchment paper and then we had to make our own, my mum had a little bit of trouble with hers but we got their. We then put a nozzle in the end of the bag and filled it with royal icing, she had given out sheets with lines, lettering and numbers on them, to practise piping work. This week we have to bring in two 8 inch vanilla sponges, as we will be covering the cake in sugar paste and she will be showing us basic skills for decorating the cake.

Well I started my cake course last night, it was due to start a 7 but there was no sign of the tutor, Brenda and when someone went to ring her, we were told that she was told it started next week and was sat at home eating her tea, watching Emmerdale!! When she arrived she was about an hour late and full of apologies, so she made the decision to extend the course by a week and to start properly next week, oh well never mind!
We were given a list of things we will be doing from week to week so I am looking forward to getting started properly!

Dennis' Carrot Cake.

My friend, Mel, asked me if I would make her dad, Dennis, a carrot cake for him to take away when he goes on a fishing trip and here it is!
I have made a two tier carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting, chopped walnuts around the side and little carrots, made from icing, for decoration.

This is the first time I have used this recipe, so I used some of the cake mix to make a couple of cupcakes, so then I could have a taste and they were delicious. The recipe asked for chopped tinned pineapple to be added to the cake mix and I was unsure as I have never used this in a carrot cake before but it definitely made a difference, as the cake was very moist.

Dennis leaves for his fishing trip tomorrow and I hope Dennis and his friends enjoy the cake and I hope that it makes it there in one piece! Fingers crossed it will!