Hope you’re all having a wonderful start to 2017! We can be nostalgic looking back at last year, excited thinking of new experiences to come and hopeful for greater peace, love and understanding. And of course I’m not obsessed with cakes, perish the thought (lol), […]
All posts filed under: Cake news and fun
The mojito lemon drizzle loaf, how to paint on a cake and the May cake collection!
Once you start making lemon cakes it’s hard to stop. When people ask what my favourite cake is I say lemon tart, well tarte au citron which is so tangy and fresh you hardly notice the sugar. But lemon drizzle cakes are sublime too and […]
Introducing: a baking picture dictionary!
Preparing for my first baking workshop last weekend in Barcelona gave me the impetus to create a baking dictionary helpful for following recipes in English, especially if you’re not a native speaker. You can of course teach kids with these drawings but adults love doodles […]
How to make a beach cake – easy! :)
Beach cakes are such happy creations, fun and easier than you’d think using your favourite sponge cake and frosting. Cream cheese frosting works perfectly and there’s a recipe for this and the decor below. Though considering the decorations involve digestive biscuits (aka Graham crackers), blue […]
A comedy of errors at the Cordon Bleu, the final vote and Xmas recipes
Learning from my baking mishaps during the last week of the Cordon Bleu pâtisserie course, we’ll be looking at what not to do with a croquembouche but first can you spot what’s wrong with my Triomphe de noix? The walnut caramel mousse cake hiccup If […]
Cakes with some savoury petits fours – at the Cordon Bleu Paris
Yes, we had a savoury break and discovered the wonder of inverted puff pastry. You make it by hanging it out of the window upside-down. Sorry, I meant by having the butter on the outside of the dough instead of inside as in classic puff […]
Cakes and chocolates – at the Cordon Bleu, Paris
A run-down of last week’s cakes and chocolate you can vote for if you’d like to see them up on the blog with adapted and simplified recipes! 🙂 There’s the delicious multi-layered Opera cake with joconde sponge, coffee buttercream and syrup then chocolate ganache and […]
Cakes from le Cordon Bleu pâtisserie course in Paris! Please vote! :)
Last week’s cake production was a little crazy, even by my standards! I gave some away to my landlord for his family and friends and to the homeless in the street, who looked happy to be given cake. One started eating a macaron immediately. This […]
Week (31) of cakes, icing and climbing! And another festival!!!
It’s nice to make little treats but as a master pâtissier recently said it’s easier to create a strong visual impact with BIG cakes so it’s good to bake those too. Another thing I discovered was the huge difference icing can make to appearance and […]
Our challenge soufflés little party! With soufflé tips! And are you procrastibaking?
… I am! And will tell you what that means later. For now it’s time to talk soufflés. When readers were invited to make one so we could have another little baking party together I didn’t fully comprehend the awe that soufflés inspire even amongst […]
Lamingtons – the greatest discovery ever! A gluten-free recipe! :)
She’d had serious doubts but unexpectedly fell in love at first bite. Swooning at the cloudlike gluten-free genoise sponge made with cornflour and flavoured with vanilla, merging as one with the chocolate icing and delightful dessicated coconut, she instantly realised why Australians and New Zealanders […]
Spelt croissants – or unspeltified! :)
Did you know croissants didn’t originally come from France? Apparently they were invented following an attempted invasion and some helpful bakers! Will tell you the exciting tale later. But today’s recipe is for croissants that have been ‘speltified’. You can make them with plain or […]
‘Lighter’ coconut, pineapple, lime and rum tres leches cake recipe! For the cake challenge! :)
A tres leches cake should be pretty easy to make, right? A sponge drizzled with three kinds of milk (tres leches) and left in the fridge to absorb them and become a deliciously moist treat! Hmm, will tell you about the ‘issues’ later! My dream […]
Our tres leches challenge cakes! :)
Are you curious to see how everyone did with their tres leches cake? They can be quite a challenge! You need a certain consistency of sponge so the liquid doesn’t bounce off it! And the right quantity of three kinds of milk to produce a […]
Lemon mousse and raspberry charlotte royale recipe – and the cakometre!
Want to impress your family, friends and stomach? Come into the world of les charlottes royales. They’re easier than you’d expect, striking and delicious. And my new invention the cakometre will calculate the number of slices you’re allowed so you can fully enjoy the beautiful […]
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