Fool-proof family cake recipe

All celebrations, be they birthdays, engagements or weddings tend to require cake- so I thought I’d share our family ‘standard cake recipe’ which makes a lovely moist spongecake, ideal for cupcakes or celebration cakes.

Its very simple, and can be adapted and modified as necessary to give a whole host of flavour variations. The beauty of this recipe is it really has never failed me.

You will need:

eggs, sugar, baking margarine (I find Stork works fine!), self raising flour.

The difference between this method and most usual recipes is that you make a decision on the size of you cake, choose the number of eggs required, and measure everything else against the weight of the eggs.* As a guideline:

2 eggs = 24 cupcakes

4 eggs = small victoria sponge

6 eggs = larger celebration cake

So, for a small celebration cake (half size) I chose 3 eggs and weighed them (in their shells):

I then put in the same weight of marg’ and sugar, ‘creamed’ them together, added the eggs and flour- and mixed together (wooden spoon or a blender are fine).

You should end up with a ‘dropping consistancy’ mixture (add a few drops of milk if it’s too stiff). Put into cupcake cases/lined tins, and you are good to go!

Bake for around 12-15 min if cupcakes and 30-40 min for larger cakes (this mix wont drop, so feel free to open the oven and check if your cakes are done).

Like I said, you can adapt the recipe to any taste/occasion. Here’s a ‘berry and almond’ twist, with frozen red berries, 1 oz flour substituted for ground almonds, plus a drop of almond essence.

Almond and berries: for decoration add flaked almonds to cupcakes, or cover in marzipan and berries for a celebration cake

*This method works because eggs vary massively in their weight/ moisture content and you may end up with a very dry cake following standard 2 eggs = 4 oz recipe

Cupcake delights!

Cupcakes are all the rage nowadays. Whether its in a trendy west london eatery like hummingbird bakery, or at a local fete– these finger-food sized sweet treats have definately made a come back.

Ideal for all kinds of parties, from a kiddie table to a sophisticated soiree, their adaptability means they can look both fun and chic. Cupcakes are also very easy to display and are perfect for large gatherings and buffets, or the back of a village hall.

To top it all off, I just discovered these delightful ‘supercook’ cupcake wraps:

They give a very pretty lace look to your baking, and if you are getting different people to contribute a dozen or so cakes each, would be a perfect way to tie them all together.

Here seen with berry and almond muffins, they come in a pop out flat pack, and wrap around any standard cupcake case.

Best of all they were under £1 for a set of 12 at my local Sainsburys- Bargain!

Combine these with lacy bunting and doily lighting and you have an instant teatime party treat with a pretty delicate feel. Perfect for a garden party or church hall.

And one with icing

Sweet rainbow colour!

I am completely in love with this rainbow cake idea from sweetapolita.com . Originally for a child’s birthday I can see so many applications to the plan: A fun themed wedding cake, that has a colourful surprise when you cut it? Maybe just one tier of rainbow colour? Why not get guests to ‘doodle’ on or sign the cake before you cut it?

from http://sweetapolita.com

Or maybe, as a twist on the ‘sweet table’ or cupcake trend you could do ‘decorate your own’ cupcakes? I can see plates of multicoloured cupcakes, covered in white icing, and a whole load of writing icing tubes and sprinkles at tables…

Ask guests to take polaroids of their cakes before eating- and collect them on a board for a twist on the traditional guestbook. Oh yes, the possibilities are endless

Anyway- these colourful pics should be enough to inspire your creative juices!

How can you use this idea?

Wedding cake wonderfulness

The average wedding cake can set you back hundreds of pounds, but thankfully I have a sister who is gifted in the baking department.

For a number of years her particular speciality has been a tweaked version of Nigella Lawson’s ‘Chocolate Guinness cake‘ which is a moist, dark, rich taste of heaven, offset wonderfully by the fresh, slightly bitter-sweet, cream cheese frosting. Yum!

It is my fiance’s favourite cake of all time and as such, my fabulous sister offered to make three tiers worth for our wedding cake. (plus an extra ‘cutting slab’ to cater for the numbers)

Guinness cake also keeps well for a few days and actually tastes even better a day or so after baking, which can’t said for some sponges, so its ideal for what we want.

She’s also been experimenting with some stiffer frosting (nigella’s tends to be quite runny) and has borrowed a cake stand from a colleague who recently got married, so with the addition of some ribbon and a few of those wooden roses around the outside of the stand, I think we are good to go!

The finished cake (and it tasted amazing too!)

The story of the clown and the bride

My husband to be, is as my dad loves to point out ‘a bit of a clown’.

My dad is not being cruel when he says this, the fact is that as a key player in froggle parties  my intended does indeed make a living through entertaining children, and has been known to don a wig and a red nose in the name of fun.

It was early on in our engagement that he came up with the idea of having him as a clown on our cake.  Bespoke cake toppers  seem to be all the rage nawadays, but also carry a hefty price tag, so I thought I’d buy a £2.50 piece of modelling clay and have a go. (We wouldn’t want them made of icing anyway as we like the idea of keeping them).

They turned out ok- with a cute sense of fun, so we decided to feature them on invites/stationery etc and in a way, they became the ‘theme’ to our wedding- with primary colours being used in the decorations and flowers.

Buy some clay and do it yourself!

* We didn’t put these directly onto the edible icing- they had their own little icing platform to sit in.

On top of our homemade 'chocolate guiness' cake