Dark chocolate cake truffles

When is a Cakepop not a Cakepop?  When it doesn't have a stick... 

Darling boy, little brother and I went for a lovely visit to the marvellous mum and dad.  Whilst there we had a family dinner to which I bought along some 'dark chocolate cake truffles'...I knew that something chocolately would always go down well after a big dinner.  So, simply make your cake pops are usual, but eschew the stick and pretend they are a grown up treat instead.  Oh, and if you do a double coating of dark chocolate, it's all the better.

A minnie mouse birthday cake for a grown up girly

After making the caterpillar cake recently, one of the mums at the party got in touch and asked me to make a cake for her little sisters 21st birthday.  The brief was 'anything chocolate, Spice Girls, or Disney-she loves Disney'.

Off I went and brainstormed.  I couldn't find anything in my imagination that could represent the Spice Girls via the medium of buttercream.  The Disney idea had more possibilities.  As it was a 21st, I wanted to keep it playful, but a bit sophisticated.... or as sophisticated as you can get with giant chocolate ears.

It's always slightly nerve-wracking presenting a cake (will they like the design? will they ike the flavours?  will it get there in one piece?....actually, I'm normally fairly confident about the design and taste- its the logistics of transporting that gives me the willies), but I delivered the cake this morning and it was happily received...phew.  I've never really made anything like this before, but I'm learning all the time.

The ears are giant cake pops made in the form of flat discs moulded onto 2 bamboo skewers, then coated in dark chocolate and then a layer of buttercream and golden chestnut glitter.

Caterpillar birthday cake

 One of my lovely Devon friends asked me to make a joint birthday cake for her super lovely children.  Her eldest is a boy who is 4 years old today (and incidentally, one of Darling boy's most favourite of friends) and her little girl, who is a total cutey pie will be 2 years old in a few days.

The only request was 'with your yummy buttercream icing and glitter please' as both are so popular with the birthday boy and girl. I racked my brains thinking of something I could do for a joint cake.  Trawling google images didn't bring much joy.  I thought animals might be popular and was trying to think of two animals that go together, but are a bit boyish and girly in their own way.  Genius struck and the idea of a caterpillar and butterfly theme landed in my head. The body is made from two vanilla bundt cakes, cut and shaped.  The legs and feet are made from CakePops, shaped into feet and moulded onto chocolate fingers for legs.

I finished the cake late last night and was so pleased, I was very tempted to wake up Handsome husband so he could come and admire it too.  Luckily good sense prevailed (I don't think he would have appreciated being woken up, however pretty the butterfly cupcakes, or how jaunty the caterpillar's antennas)  He did however admire the cake in its glory this morning and was suitably impressed.

The party was today and the cake went down a storm.  It is such a joy to make things that are such fun to create, and that delight and please the people it is made for.

Adventures in Cake goes POP

I have never made CakePops before, and this year, as my news years resolution was to do something new each month, and was on my way to visit friends with Darling boy and little brother, a flash of genius sparked in the little grey cells.  Ah ha, I thought, CakePops!

For those of you who aren't familiar with this fun cakey things, they are basically a crumbed cupcake, bound together with butter icing, then moulded into a ball, dipped in chocolate and decorated.  They are sugar on a stick and totally yummy.  They are also definitely for children and they went down a storm.  I would probably make them again, as they are a fun way to use up cake that is surplus to requirements (if there is ever such a thing?)

My top tip for making them is to either have some handy playdoh to hand (mouldable clay stuff that kids play with) or, even better, some oasis (the stuff that florists use to make displays)

So, i took some photos thinking the CakePops looked a big like funny little trees. Then i got silly and added one of the boy's toy dinosaurs, just for a giggle.