Mum came round today and we made the Christmas cake together!  Just taken it out of the oven and it smells amazing!  Can't wait to start making decorations for it.  Off to google Christmas cakes for some ideas :)

I have finally got round to posting a picture of the xmas cake from 2011!!  Its almost time to make this year's cake.  Oops!

Homer simpson cake

This is my most recent cake which I made for my sister's boyfriend.

Thursday 27th October 2011
Today I have been busy making the Homer Simpson model and duff beer cans for the top of the cake.  Here they are:

My favourite cupcake recipe

I found this recipe on the Good Food website.  These cupcakes are lovely!!

Ingredients

• 150ml pot natural yogurt
• 3 eggs , beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 140g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 175g unsalted butter , melted 

• 100g white chocolate
• 140g unsalted butter
• 140g icing sugar 

1. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. In a jug, mix the yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Put the dry ingredients, plus a pinch of salt, into a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
2. Add the yogurty mix and melted butter, and quickly fold in with a spatula or metal spoon - don't overwork it. Spoon into the cases (they will be quite full) and bake for 18-20 mins or until golden, risen and springy to the touch. Cool for a few mins, then lift the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely. Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze as soon as possible.
3. White chocolate frosting: Melt the chocolate in the microwave on High for 1½ mins, stirring halfway. Leave to cool. Beat the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in the chocolate. Cover and chill for up to one month.
4. Up to 48 hrs before serving (or the day before if it's really hot), bring the frosting back to room temperature, then spread over the cakes. Put the ribbon around the cakes now if you like, tying or glueing in place. Keep cool, out of direct sunlight.

Karate cake

And here it is....

This is the first time I've used mexican modelling paste but I followed some instructions from Sugarpaste magazine to make this karate cake topper.  I'll be making the cake tomorrow so will put the next photo up then.

Cupcakes

I got bored one evening this week so decided to bake some cupcakes :)

Christmas Cake

I made this cake last Christmas and just found the photos so I thought I'd upload them.  I think I overfed this one a bit as it was very boozy!! 

My Wedding Cake

My friend Jo made this cake for me, but I helped make the fruit cakes and she taught me how to make the flowers, so some of the ones that went on the final cake were made by myself and my mum.  I was so happy to see the whole thing put together as it was stacked on the morning of the wedding at the venue.  Beautiful cake and it tasted so good.  We used the waitrose recipe for rich fruit cake.

A 60th wedding anniversary cake for my grandparents

I made this fruit cake for my nan and grandad's wedding anniversary.  I covered it in white fondant icing and decorated it with white blossom flowers made using sugarpaste.  It went down really well, making my nan cry when she saw it!  Hopefully happy tears!!

My first cake decorating attempt

I made this cake for my God daughters christening.  I used a template from a magazine and made the pink booties well in advance.  This is a two tier madeira cake.