Week Eight - Caramel Mud Cake times two

This weeks cake was found on www.taste.co.nz. White chocolate melted with butter, brown sugar and water! The smell of caramel is awesome and filled our kitchen for hours. I made this
cake twice as the intention was to give a cake to my friend Julie, but the family didnt want to miss out either!


If you like caramel then you will enjoy every bit of this weeks cake. The kitchen was buzzing this afternoon. I was cake making, and also threw together a chicken lasagna for tomorrow nights dinner. Emma was busy making vegetable salad for Julie and a very special chicken dish for tonights dinner...really lovely. There were a couple of bacon and egg pies in the oven too.

So we were utilizing every available piece of bench space....a hive a industry.

It is very fulfilling making food for others to enjoy.

This cake is truly delicious!

Week Seven....Lemon and Yoghurt Cake

Hi there on week 7. Mum and Dad popped around last week armed with a heap of lemons from there large abundant lemon tree. This weeks recipe comes from 'The Best of Annabel Langbein....Great food for Busy lives', page 293, Lemon Yoghurt Cake.

Lemon juice and zest, eggs, sugar, oil, yoghurt, flour and a little something else, it was all thrown together and poured into a 26cm round cake tin (thanks for the lend Trud) and cooked for 1 1/2 hours. Looks devine, and should look a whole lot nicer with cream cheese icing.

This is a massive cake so the family will need a hand in polishing this off.

Hope to see you this week sometime!

Valentine Cake tasting!!

Well the family were sitting around this afternoon when I presented them all with a piece of cake announcing at the same time...Happy Valentines Day! Ben managed to escape for the afternoon and that was a good move too, as I discovered when testing the cake!

Hubbys view....inherent design issues, would possibly work better served upside down. Cake was dry. Daughters view....passionfruit and icing was lovely. My view.....really horrible, didnt like it at all.

So I think the word disaster sums up this weeks cake.

Better luck next week!

Week Six - Its Valentines Day on Sunday!

During this last week I have had a lot of tasters for the Hummingbird cake and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

I had a surprise visit from darling Georgia vT on Tuesday. She bought me a present from a second hand book store. 'Cakes and Cake Decorating' published in 1974. The first recipe that I noticed was on page 88....Valentine Cake. How appropriate considering V Day was 5 days away. Reading through the recipes in the book I was amazed at how they referred to using 'fat'. At the front of the book they speak of fat...."A note here on fat. Margarine, lard or cooking fat (shortening) may be used in rubbed-in cakes, with equal success, but if preferred, a mixture of fats - such as half margarine and half lard - is just as good."

Anyway, on to the cake for this week. The Valentines Cake. Chocolate sponge filled apricot preserve and cream and topped with Cornflakes smothered in melted chocolate!

Look out for the photo.....

Hummingbird reactions..

Wow this weeks cake has been a hit with Bens friends. Offical taster was Gaff who while over for some rowdy BYC in the weekend, was given the job of critic. He said the cake was very lovely but the icing extremely sweet. Today, Kinga (junior) turned up and was very eager to try it. He loved the sweet icing and the cake was 'seriously good'. Until Uni starts in about 2 weeks, I think the cakes will be devoured by unemployed back yard cricketers! All good.

Saving you a peice Mary.

Week Five Things are a humming!

This week a lot of friends have been sharing their recipes with me and one that I really liked the sound of was from my lovely friend, Trudy. She leant me her 'Celebrate - a calender of cakes for special dates' recipe book. Page 118 Hummingbird Cake. A humdinger of a cake, packed full of delicious tropical fruit flavours.

Today, after a marathon cycle ride and the mercury up in the late 20's, the kenwood was put into action once again. Bananas, pineapple and passionfruit (sorry Ben!!) were thrown together with four eggs, butter, flour and hot milk etc and viola, 60 minutes later, a large 26inch square cake smothered in cream cheese icing and passionfruit drizzle is adorning my cake ta da plate.

This cake is made to share.

Pop in for Cake!

The Sponge

As I mentioned last night, it is Johns birthday today and he loves sponge. I have heard many horror stories about disasterous sponge making so I had myself physically and mentally ready, with a clean bench, apron donned and oven set on 170degrees. I had raced into Ballantynes earlier in the morning and bought a couple of 20cm sponge tins, so they were sitting pretty and lined, so I was ready to go.

As I was making the sponge I got an email from my friend Kerry (mentioned last night) asking how the sponge was going, so I was giving her a blow by blow as it was being made and cooking. I am delighted to say that the said sponges were rising beautifully and had a lovely light tan and they came away from the tins smoothly.

I spread some passionfruit curd (barkers) on the first sponge, then a thin layer of cream, then the next sponge and some more curd and cream.

Dinner time came and it was demolished with speed and the birthday boy gave the nod of approval. Mission accomplished.