A New Kind of Smash

My first bake this fortnight was some pops for a friend (well more extended family really!) who was giving us some ballet bits for baby cakes and wouldn't take any money so I offered to make some cakes for the kids! Nothing too technical but I had a spare box of 8 left and have left them with a local tea room for them to try and may get order off them to sell in the shop and put on afternoon teas! Watch this space!

I had an order for a little girl to take in on her last day of nursery before going up to big school with absolute free reign again on design I took the leftovers into my little boys nursery along with some leaflets for the staff but bless them they've only gone and stuck one up on the door for everyone to see!

Amongst these cupcakes I tried a new style flower and put that on top of new style piping the buttercream could have done with being a bit firmer so it held its shape better but the effect is there and with practice this could be a lovely style

It was my mother in laws birthday (just a week after my sister in laws!) as we'd had quite a bit of cake the week before (I don't want people to get bored going oh look she's made cake again!) so used her favourite chocolate as initial inspiration to bake these delicious malteser cupcakes using a recipe from primrose bakery's Christmas cookbook!

Next up smash cakes was the order of the day the first wax a girly pink creation which went to a lovely photographer who I haven't worked with before Emily at Emily Frances Photography and this was her first smash, she decided on two shades of pink and I added the flowers which I think lifted the whole cake.  I don't usually use premade embellishments but these were just sat in the drawer I think they work well

This is a bit of a rubbish photo but these are my new presentation boxes for the giant cupcakes and tall layer cakes!

Then finally my favourite cake so far (especially when Debbie photographs it) was for the little boy you may remember we had to cancel as he had chickenpox

Thanks to Debbie at Ollie & George Photography for the amazing pic

I think mum liked it she was so excited she sent me a snap after the shoot and given me permission to use it,  look how cute he is, apparently he'd only eat it with a spoon! (Wish my 2 were so delicate!!!!)

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Post pop shop come back!

After the highs and lows of the pop up shop I've picked myself up, dusted myself down and put my pinny on!  It's been a busy old fortnight with nerves shredded I swear it's one of the scariest feeling sensing off your bakes without knowing what they're going to be like until somebody cuts into them and then you get feedback and it's like a huge weight lifts and you can breathe again!  The first to leave the 'nest' was this fun minion creation, I love it, I sometimes think the simpler the design the more effective they can be!

Next on the agenda was some pops for a christening for a little boy after discussing some designs we decided on a mixture of effects which I think work really well all together rather than them all being the same especially as they were going on display

This week was my sister in laws birthday and she asked me to do some cupcakes and pops to take into work given complete free reign on design, after much deliberation and many hours on Pinterest I decided to go design them around Cath Kidston colours and flowers.  The cupcakes themselves were a mixture of chocolate, chocolate with cherry filling, vanilla, vanilla with strawberry filling and lemon with lemon curd

Here's a close up of my favourites!!

I tried to get the pops to match but they're slightly more pastelly but very pretty!  These went down a storm apparently - even asked if I was married!!
I made extra main ones and took them round to my next door neighbours for a play date and got a lovely text saying how yummy they were!

 

Then finally we were invited round today for her birthday so it'd be rude not to take cake! I'd decided I wanted to do a surprise inside cake and initially was thinking rainbow cake but found a fab tutorial on you tube on leopard print and thought right I'm doing that, now it didn't all go to plan! I used my 5layer kit I picked up earlier this year I got a bit carried away with my piping into the tins and realised I should only have used half my black to start off so some didn't come out as actual leopard spots but the effect was there! Then piping I was searching for something else then came across this effect so gave it a go, not bad for a first attempt it was a little hot in the kitchen and the buttercream started melting a bit in the piping bag from the heat in my hand and the atmosphere so I had to work fast but I think it ended up quite pretty and would work really well as a smash cake too!

Pop up Pop Shop!

This week has been filled with ups and downs, monday was the first official day of trading for Smashing Cakes, Environmental Health visited the other week and my liability insurance kicked in on monday.  No turning back now!  Sunday my facebook page got to 100 fans I'm completely overwhelmed by the support which meant i had to make some cupcakes to give away to a winner picked at random, when I contacted the winner it was by chance her dads birthday the next day so I did two boxes of 6 so she could give a box to her dad.

It all nearly went to pot when I was baking the cakes just getting the mix into the cases, and little cakes came running into the kitchen saying that baby cakes was touching my cakes!  Confused as there were no cakes I ran into the dining room and there she was with one of the cake toppers I'd made the night before and left in the middle of the dining table to dry out, absolutely no idea how she got them as she's not that tall!!  The little tinker!!!!!!!

The evidence

Anyway I quickly had to make a new one then deliver the finished cakes.  Next on the agenda was cake pop mania ready for my pop up stall on the friday, it was all going so well apart from I got new sticks which were very hollow and for those of you who are a little squirmish best stop reading now!  There are a few gross things associated with cake pops one being if theres a hole even a pin prick in the coating it will ooze what I can only assume is fat!!  And since my new sticks were hollow it came down the sticks via capilliary reaction (get me showing off my scientific knowledge!)  Don't worry I haven't taken any photos!  So anyway I'd made some 100 cake pops 20 of which were for a baby shower and had to re stick them all!!! which led to a very late thursday night

Check out the time on the cooker thats am!!!

So after about 3 hours sleep I set off for my stall, I knew it wasn't going to be that busy as it was a pop up te room not like a craft event, and I thought it would break me in gently.  I got there at 10 and set up ready for them to open at 11

 I met some lovely other stall holders including Vicki from phoenix trading, Catherine from temple spa then the lovely Del from Del's home designs who was so lovely after being there quite a while and not selling a single one she told me not to get down and give up sometimes its just like that just keep going.  Anyway it got to 2pm and I'd sold 7!  I have to say after staying up all night I was a bit disheartened and as nobody had been in for a while we all decided to start packing up.  I was just taking a box out to the car when my amazing friend turned up full of smiles asking how it had gone I literally could have cried and I'm starting to well up now typing this.  She bought a box of 8 off me I was so touched and said she didn't have to but was so grateful, as it now meant at least I'd got my stall fee back, but not covered ingredients.

So I got in the car and sent Mr Cakes a text just on the off chance anybody wanted some at work, then he rang me, and again I nearly cried, finding out how many I had left and he'd see what he can do.  By the time I got to the supermarket and started sorting them all out into mixed boxes I got a text saying he thought he'd got rid of them all I was like how many is all of them as I wasn't sure how many I had! Anyway turned out I had 8 boxes of 8 and god love the staff at his work they bought the lot!  I can't begin to express the relief and the love I felt then I though we'd be eating cake pops till they came out of our ears!

This whole experience hasn't put me off doing stalls they're a great way to get your name known but maybe pick my venues a little more carefully.  And thanks to the amazing guys at his work I finished my first week in profit! Not enough to pay a wage but profit!!!

Here's some close up pics of some of the pops I took

Raspberry flavoured sugar coating

Frozen inspired

These are coated with popping candy and cruchy bronze!

This next week I've got a surprise birthday cake and some christening cake pops

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Pop Practice for Next Weeks Stall and Other Bakes.

Had lots of practice this last fortnight, I tried some new designs which I want to take to the pop up tea room at Hesketh Bank next friday.  I sent them to Mr Cakes work and they sold them in aid of Derian House.  The vintage inspired rosebud ones seem to be the most popular so will be taking plenty of those.  Just got to work out now how many of each to take now!!

This week has been a break from pops, with cupcakes being the order of the day some being for new grandpaernts to celebrate their new grandaughter!

And this weeks big bake was a 10inch vanilla cake for a diamond wedding anniversary, (I don't think I'll get to celebrate mine I'd be about 94 if we got there!!)  This is the first cake of this style with so much writing on I've done and I did have reservations but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, my only regret is I wish I'd used a larger cake drum as the design is a little lost once the cake went on!  I hope they like it, there is this worry that takes over with cakes until somebody has taken it away and cut into it to make sure its ok! 

It is 100% edible the flowers are made from sugarpaste and covered in edible glitter (here's a close up!) - I remade them as I first used some glitter which when I read it said could be used on cakes but for removable decorations! - whats the point in that if it goes on a cake I'm of the opinion that you should be able to eat it!!

Next week I was supposed to have a cake smash to make (which I'm very excited about as its a different design that I think you'll all love!)  but unfortunately the little boys come down with chicken pox so will be rearranged for a later date! Then theres the pop up tea room stall we'll see how my stress levels cope with that!! - I'll keep you posted!

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Busy Old Fortnight, lots of cakes!

Wow what a busy fortnight, so busy I didn't get around to blogging last week, starting off with a quick catch up on the kitchen I now have a complete working kitchen! (Yay!) there's a sink (with taps - not in pic below!) and dishwasher - whoopee no more washing up in the bath!!!!! Just need bits of tweaking, flooring and tiles then were done!

So as I said I've been busy in the kitchen alately which I love! First off was a paw patrol inspired Skye cake for Emily's birthday I definitely need practice writing on cakes but overall I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I received nothing but compliments over it which has really helped my confidence!

Then there was some pretty pink pops that was my brief so I used two shades of pink to create these swirly pops displayed in a stand I made myself - using the packaging from the kitchen units - quite impressed for a first attempt!

Here's a close up!

Next on order a smash cake - official pics not released yet till his birthday!!!  I struggle with blue as you seem to need so much colour to get anywhere and I'm especially wary for smash cakes in overdoing the enumbers for the wee ones! - they already get enough sugar in the buttercream lol!

Then a lovely surprise delivery from a happy customer - made me cry it was such a lovely gesture and so unexpected! - but very much appreciated non the less!

It was the last week of school for many this week, though our local primary school is still in for another week!  Thank you cupcakes and pops were the order if the day for teachers and office staff!  I chose purple and yellow for the cupcakes bit disappointed with camera as shown up the purple buttercream more blue on some, I had another practice at the hand formed roses and starting to get the hang of them

As for the pops I made use of my birthday present (I used it above just didn't take any pics!) and what a difference it makes to the whole process not having keep going back to microwave and then overheating the candy which is what's caused all sorts of problems previously!  I absolutely love it!  Don't think hubby so keen as he walked in looking for the rejects! I turned and smiled "there aren't any dear!"

This is the finished pops three finishes a swirl, sanding sugar and mini pearls, regretfully I only took this pic late at night under the harsh kitchen lighting and didn't take a better one in the morning but you get the gist!

Finally my inlaws have been inundated with strawberries and passed a load on to us when I weighed them I wasn't too far off 1kg for a batch if jam so bless them they picked more the next day and once hulled (which took forever I might add!) there was just 1kg.  As a non strawberry (or any berry to be more precise) eater I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this process I just know it needs to be done, is it inedible or poisonous I don't know, maybe somebody in the know will tell me!  Anyway, I digress ALL that fruit made three jars of jam, I mean three come on it took me hours to prepare the fruit surely I deserved a better haul!  Anyway I've returned some to the inlaws after all they supplied the fruit! I hope it's ok it tasted good off the spoon!

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Starting to look like a Kitchen

What a lovely week weather wise!  Though far too hot to be in the kitchen baking with the oven on and creaming butter and sugar by hand as my mixer decided not to work properly - the motors running but the sticks don't go round - maybe it was just too hot too!  It was only a cheap one but if anyone would like to chip in for a kitchen aid for me I wouldn't decline!!!!  Especially this one or red one ( or any colour to be honest!) as they both go with my new colour scheme!  Anyway all the beating was done with the kids tiny wooden spoon (as mine is still packed in a box somewhere) and it kept digging into my palm!  The things we do for the love of baking!  I did the icing in the evening mostly because the kids were in bed but also it was a bit cooler so didn't get sloppy icing!  This was the end result for a cake smash for Ollie and George Photography Debbie will have taken much nicer photos than me, this is definitely an aspect I need to brush up on though I have attempted a background in this one! - maybe lighting next time!

I didn't go on about the kitchen last week do t want to bore you all (that and we didn't really do much to it!!) this week has been filled with minor catastrophes as seems to be the case with this kitchen maybe it's a sign! Drilling holes for handles all was going well till came to the big doors on the tall cabinet and just where we'd been marking them up there was a hinge hole pre cut out this was not realised until Chris actually drilled straight into it!!!!!!!

So now we have to return to ikea for a new door! At least we can use it meantime! You gave to laugh!!

But even with the mishap and a few others, I won't go on about the fun we've had actually trying to fix the units to the wall, it is starting to look more like a kitchen with doors and drawers on and we even managed to get the dishwasher in admittedly it's not plumbed in but it's there! We also have worktops - in the garage but we have them in our possession Chris won't let me get in touch with the fitter until he knows we're ready! I think we need a deadline!

Next week is quite busy there's another cake smash for a boy this time and and birthday cake with coordinating cake pops for a special little girl - can't wait to use my new melting pot!!

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Birthday Celebrations and Holiday Fun

After my last post the weekend got worse when Chris was fixing up the hole on the wall he had to knock out to fix the drilled through cable, the dog escaped we had 24 hours of worry, somebody had picked her up and taken her to find owners, anyway we got her back in the end but I've had an insight into what it feels like if one of the kids goes missing or runs away from home and I hope we never have to go through it!

Then things started looking up I was able to celebrate my birthday as Holly was home, I made my own cake just a simple daisy design but I was pleased with how it turned out

 

I got a selection of baking presents which I can't wait to try out soon

We've been away this last week with some family to the east coast I love it that way reminds me of being a kid and glad I can share that with my children. We had fantastic weather and the kids loved playing on the beaches every day with a particularily lovely day in Bridlington

This week I've another fab smash cake to do before a busy week after, I've also booked my first craft event in august selling cake pops at a pop up vintage tea room which I'm really looking forward to

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Meltdown!!

I'll start off with the good side if this week

I made a cake for my brother in laws mum for her 70th so back to my mother in laws to bake.  I got inspiration from cakes in bloom by Peggy Porschen and again tried out some new sugar flowers, I used a different icing this time which I probably won't be using again it stuck straight to itself so ended up with some creases around the cake which I wasn't happy with but I live the yellow roses and the lily of the valley worked quite well too!

So I've officially had meltdown! In the two weeks since my last blog hubby patched up the hole in the floor, as you can see Button (our cat) tried to help!

Then we had to get plasterer back because there wasn't enough room for the two units in the alcove!

Starting to look a bit like a kitchen!

I have a cooker so excited till I cooked our tea and it wasn't done! Fan doesn't seem to be going round on plus side top oven works!!

Finished this unit last night just needs door handles and a couple of shelves sticking inside!

We had plumber yesterday to sort pipes out to comply with ikeas bizarre system it wasn't until we came to find bits in garage to build unit that we discovered the power was off and fuse kept blowing, anyway looks like he's drilled through mains wire for the garage when drilling for waste pipe!!!!!! Electrician co info back tonight!

And in other bad news the worktop we ordered isn't going to be deep enough for the units so off back to ikea to pay over the odds for their deeper worktop and get some extra wide stuff which saves us having to box out because of all the pipes behind the units! Only hope can send others back as no delivery note, ordered online and doesn't look like the joints arrived either can't prove it as lack of paperwork!  With one thing after another this wS just too much this week and completely broke down one night this week, but I've picked myself up and trying to be positive now or just pretend it's not happening!

Plus side is looks like its meatballs for lunch!!