I wrote recently about my acquisition of Bake and decorate by Fiona Cairns. Without a question this has to be the best cake book that I own. Fiona Cairns has years of experience as a cake decorator and supplier (you can find her website here), and the whole book is scattered with helpful advice for the cake baker. The first half of the book is a collection of fantastic cake recipes, such as this carrot, orange and pecan cake with maple sugar and orange buttercream icing, and other wonderful recipes which I am keen to try such as orange drizzle cake and Very lemony crunch cake, in addition to old standards such as a variety of different sorts of sponges and fruit cakes. The second half of the book builds on these recipes and shows you how they can be utilised for a variety of occasions to make truly spectacular occasion cakes. I don't really have many "occasions" to bake for, but I would love to have a go at the gold leaf gilded fridge cake or the chocolate Christmas cake decorated with model sugarpaste Penguins. There is a fantastic recipe for mini tiered cakes made out of cupcakes which is definitely on my "must-bake" list.I did make these rather gorgeous mini fairy cakes, which enabled me to utilise my new sugarcraft cutters - they use the crunchy lemon cake sponge that I mentioned and are baked in mini petit four cases, so are just little mouthfuls of loveliness! (Although mine aren't quite as beautiful as the ones pictured in the book).
Your post had my daughters and I baking this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWe made banana and chocolate muffins and real honeycomb. Yum! Thanks for inspiring us on a wet and cold half term holiday.
Those fairy cakes are gorgeous! I always enjoy your baking posts so much too :)
ReplyDeleteWow! There's a lot going on in that cake...there's a flavour for everyone there! Your fairy cakes are so pretty and a more perfect plate to match I can't imagine.
ReplyDeleteThe only adventure in baking I've had recently is the flapjacks you inspired me to make last week. But I did try my first eccles cake on Sunday! Not baked...just bought.
That cake looks fabulous and I love the fairy cakes too! I want this book! Off to check it out on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteVivienne - baking is JUST the thing for a wet afternoon.
ReplyDeleteSkirmish of wit - I think my baking posts are my favourite ones :)
Darlene - it was quite a mix of flavours, but I am told it was successful. I've never made eccles cakes (and indeed don't like them very much).
Mrs B - this is my favourite baking book EVER I think.