Monthly Archives: June 2013

Popcorn Cake !

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Yesterday I made a birthday cake for one of my closest friends, for their birthday today. So I made a popcorn cake that would look like a popcorn an old fashioned popcorn box, (the red and white stripy ones )

Popcorn cakes 004

It uses toffee popcorn, and alot of it at that, 200g to be precise! But I can tell you that it is totally worth it and it tastes, soo good !

Popcorn cakes 001 Popcorn cakes 002

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 70g butter
  • 210g plain flour
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 210ml whole milk
  • 2 large eggs

Icing Ingredients

  • 500g icing sugar
  • 160g butter
  • 60ml whole milk
  • 60g toffee popcorn, chopped
  • more toffee popcorn, to decorate

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 170*C/ 325*F/ Gas mark 3 and line two 9-inch cake pans.
  2. Put all cake ingredients in to a free standing mixer (or a bowl, but make sure you mix througherly) mix all ingredients in well, until light and fluffy.
  3. Pour in to the cake pans, and bake for about 30 mins, or until golden on top and when a skewer is inserted, it comes out clean.
  4. Again  mix all the ingredients for the icing together in a new bowl.
  5. When the cakes are cooled put a good dollop of icing between the layers, and then spread it evenly, all over the cake.
  6. Top off the cake with popcorn.
  7. Optional – Add red and white stripes of fondant to the sides complete the effect of a popcorn box.

Popcorn cakes 005

Happy Baking !

 

The Bear Cake

The bear cake is as it sounds, a two layer cake with a bear head on the top. This cake I designed, after being inspired by the new life spring should bring us. However as this is England, I’m not going to hold my breath.

I used a basic chocolate cake, my favourite is the hummingbird bakeries, when I had made it, I split the mixture between two 9inch cake tins. After they had cooled, I prepared a piping bag filled with chocolate buttercream. I used the buttercream to create the fur, for the bear, and I did this by piping in, soft spikes. To achieve this you have to get the buttercream into soft peaks (like with egg whites) and then pipe spikes all over the cake.

For the face I white fondant which I coloured different shades of brown using different amounts of coca powder. I then used a large round cutter or a round shape to cut around, such as a lid from a round box, to cut out the face. And then I used different sized cutters for the mouth, eyes, and ears, and then I hand shaped the nose.