First Christmas Cake is done and dusted!

                                                         First Christmas Cake of The Year

I'm not too sure if I've previously mentioned but I have had 5 fruit cakes enriching in my kitchen cupboard since September now and I can't tell you how good it felt to finally decorate the first of them! I made this for my Aunt who asked specifically for an early cake (Also full of alcohol) as she wanted to consume it all before Christmas. Well she almost consumed the reindeer before taking it home from work, my Mum stopped her out of want to show off.

Simply a christmas fruit cake stacked with brandy and whisky, a layer of marzipan followed by chocolate fondant 'bricks' and white fondant 'snow'. A mini chocolate cake chimney (Also covered with the chocolate fondant), Coloured fondant santa legs and parcels, chocolate fondant sack and a modelling chocolate rudolphe-who I sense is no longer with us. RIP.
   I finished with some writer icing colours and a quick icing sugar dusting. Voila et bonne noel!

Lilac Food dye!

                                                         Purple Buttercream Cupcakes

Whenever I'm asked to bake vanilla cupcakes I always face the deliberation of palette for the buttercream. I was in Sainsbury's and never before had I seen lilac food colouring so what choice did I have but to experiment?

Not very wintery but just in case you were wondering-lilac food colouring is on the market people!!!

HAPPY SNOW DAY! Hot chocolate...

                                             HOT CHOCOLATE....

So what better a way to celebrate the fact that instead of being at school learning stuff or whatever I am sitting at home writing a cake post about hot chocolate than by sitting at home writing a cake post about hot chocolate?!

My favourite is Cadbury's dairy milk but I would definitely recommend Aero bubbles as a close second!


I've also heard of some pretty interesting alternative hot chocolates and so if you, like me, are ever stuck at home on a treacherous cold day longing for education and the comfort of school uniform-try them out!

Basic recipe:
Just heat 2 cups full fat milk on the hob until just below the boil...


Why not try a homemade nutella hot chocolate?

whisk in a 1/3 cup Nutella, take this off the hob and voila! Obviously it's imperative to top with whipped cream and marshmallows!


White hot chocolate?

Same recipe, just with 50ml whipping cream, no nutella, and about 60g white chocolate melted in! You could even add a drizzle of raspberry sauce!

Peanut Butter hot chocolate?

Just add a packet mix hot chocolate and 1-2 tablespoons peanut butter! Or even try some peanut butter cups! (Even just as a garnish or on the side!)

Mint hot chocolate?

Regular packet mix+ Mint chocolates (E.g After eights!)

Honeycomb hot chocolate?

Regular packet mix+a few snaps homemade or shop bought honeycomb or even a bar of honeycomb chocolate! (E.g Crunchy bar)

Caramel hot chocolate?

Add 1/4 cup whipping cream, 200g milk chocolate, 3tbsp caramel sauce and a few of your favourite caramel chocolates (May I recommend those little Galaxy ones I can't remember the name of?) 

Black Forest hot chocolate? (If you're lazy you could just stroll down to Costa Coffee...)

Regular packet mix+a few drizzles raspberry liquor+Creme de Cacoa with a sweetened cherry to decorate.



Gingerbread hot chocolate?

1 inch fresh ginger grated, 10 cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, 8 ounces dark chocolate, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. (And in case this isn't completely obvious-a gingerbread man to dip in!)








And if you're stuck for decoration ideas because let's face it you are spoilt for choice-DON't CHOOSE!!!

Chocolate Mousse (Sort of with recipe)

                                                          Chocolate Mousse

Quick, simple and decadent! Throw a big carton of whipping/double cream in a bowl (Or small if you don't have enough) melt about 300g of dark chocolate and 200g milk chocolate and mix together. Leave to cool whilst whipping the cream. Mix it all together and add a little flavoring I recommend a tablespoon coffee but there's no harm in trying a little orange zest, mint, liquor etc...

My Nan's Birthday sponge cake

                                                 My Nan's Birthday sponge cake

I have to say, as wrong as favouritism is-being the grandchild who makes your birthday cake really does get you high in the rankings. Simple vanilla sponge cake with traditional jam and buttercream, topped with my first ever use of luxury sugar paste in pale blue, fondant hearts, chocolate writer icing and piped pink buttercream.


I made this in about three hours on a Tuesday afterschool, so it's not my neatest masterpiece. However, you cannot deny this looks like good sponge:

Christmas Cake

                                                            Christmas Cake

You may say it's a bit early to start posting christmas cakes but in my opinion, it's December-that counts as Christmas. So here's the Christmas cake I made with four friends last year for a charity WOHAA bakesale.

The problem with designing Christmas cakes is there are so many ways to go; snowflakes, santa, penguins, presents, trees, polar bears, reindeer, candy canes, gingerbread men, angels... Too much choice and not enough cake! So we went for throwing as many possible christmas themed items together and I must say it worked-the year four girl who won it was very pleased.

I currently have five christmas cakes being fed generously with whisky in the cupboard and am onto several christmas cake designs, so keep an eye out! :)

Perfect Heartbreak Cake

                                                          Perfect Heartbreak Cake

Not particularly spectacular but what more could you want to mend a broken heart than to destroy a perfect one made of chocolate cake? Rich chocolate sponge lathered with nutella buttercream. Simple. Delicious. Satisfying.