tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17546539215352341132024-02-07T18:24:26.623-08:00The Parker CupcakeryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-1188619242320002542013-05-06T02:44:00.000-07:002013-05-06T02:44:01.414-07:00Alice in Wonderland Birthday CakeIt's been a while since I posted, far too long, but unfortunately the end of my time in school has taken up a massive chunk of my time recently and despite being far more preferable than A2 coursework and exam mocks, blogging had to take the backseat! But I have one of my favourite cakes to show you all, so I do hope I'll be forgiven! <div>
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I have never read Alice in Wonderland, but thanks to the miraculous magic of Disney animation I know it pretty well :-) I adore Alice cakes because they always seem to have such a fun and creative decor and I had been waiting to make one for ages when I was asked to by the lovely Lucy for her 16th birthday, and here's the result: </div>
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I made all the decorations from sugarpaste in the week running up to Lucy's fancy dress house party, the cake featured the White Rabbit, his Pocketwatch, the (disappearing) Cheshire Cat, the door to Wonderland, and the Mad Hatter's tea party: </div>
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I was really happy with the result of the fondant tablecloth, it was such an easy technique and I think it really made the top tier flow into the bottom one. </div>
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The White Rabbit was my favourite figure to model- he got quite a good reception too! I think he looked suitably panicked :-) </div>
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I hope to blog a little more often, and I should have a couple of interesting cakes coming up in the next couple of weeks!</div>
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Hayley x </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-78984831837530220802013-03-13T09:03:00.000-07:002013-03-13T09:03:06.122-07:00A Three-Cake Catch Up! It's been a little while since I posted, terrible I know, but it does mean that I have a bounty of birthday cake goodness to share with you! So here we go:<br />
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First up- What's better than a friend's birthday party? Yep, when two of your friends join forces to create one amazing party- which obviously requires the presence of a big sparkly birthday cake! Harry and Kate (Yep- same Kate whose first 18th cake featured in my previous post!) had all pink and blue decorations for their joint birthday bash, so the cake colouring was fairly obvious! both tiers were chocolate orange sponge and buttercream- a new favourite among my lot! (I went for stripes to break up the colours as we all thought that straight pink and blue might look a little "Fisher-Price") plus a massive sparkly 18 on top to pick up all the glinty party lights.<br />
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It sat, in a fairly ornamental fashion, for the evening before being divvied up and demolished by the birthday boy and girl.<br />
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Secondly, a commission from one teacher for another- and an incredibly fun one too! Like -I can only imagine- most people, I have fond memories of the Mr Kipling French Fancy, and I spent many a teatime at my Nan's house plucking the super sweet icing bobble from them- and it had to be the pink one. It would appear that my colour preference is something I share with the teacher who was the lucky recipient of this giant version a couple of weeks ago. Inside was all vanilla fluffyness to replicate the light cake and icing of the Kipling original- and before you ask, for structural reasons (not to mention protection from sicklyness) the lump was cake rather than icing!<br />
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And finally, this cake is only from last weekend, and was for one of the most special birthdays to occur in our family for quite some time, my Nanny turned 90!! Needless to say we celebrated in on a massive scale- roast beef and all the trimmings for 21 people is no mean feat- a massive well done goes to my Mum for feeding everyone with our far less than normally functional oven! The occasion obviously called for a cake, and I jumped at the opportunity to craft it, Nan has an amazing collection of traditional teddies, so the theme made itself evident; and for as long as I can remember (and much longer before) she has had her cup of tea every afternoon, to the extent that we don't even ask if she'd like one anymore, we just diligently deliver a cup; so the Teddy clearly had to be teacup-in-hand. I went for ivory fondant, pale pink flowers and pale blue ribbon to create a pretty springtime pedestal for the teddy bear figurine I had sculpted in advance, I also added a '90' in sugar pearls on the top tier as a nod to the occasion! I was pretty happy with the finished result, and it would seem that so were the 21 of my family who were gathered to celebrate with us- it was such a lovely day!<br />
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The interior was all orange flavoured, and went down really well, I've never seen one of my cakes disappear so quickly!<br />
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I hope you enjoyed these three, I should have another couple of birthday cake creations coming up, the year everyone turns 18 is a busy one!<br />
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Hayley x<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-11439759280550010242013-01-20T06:08:00.000-08:002013-01-20T06:09:25.451-08:0018th Birthday Sparkles It's another super late post! This cake dates back to New Years Eve, which is an important day for all of us; but it was even more special for my lovely friend Kate who was not only celebrating the beginning of 2013, but also her 18th birthday!<br />
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We had many discussions about the design and flavours for Kate's cake; in the end we took inspiration from some cupcakes I had made for my English class.<br />
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The cupcake toppers that inspired that cake</div>
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We are studying The Great Gatsby at the moment, and loving it! the cupcakes were made to be all 1920's-ish to fit in the the setting of the novel and Kate really liked the little art deco fan decorations, so I upped the scale a bit and made them in various sparkly blue hues: </div>
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The finished product</div>
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The bottom tier was really fun to make, as it gave me the chance to try out my new airbrush! it allowed me to get a really lovely bright blue colour rather than the pastel style of pale blue that i'd have got from colouring the fondant, and I didn't have to alter the texture of the fondant to achieve the colour. As well as the main fan decoration on the front there were 4 smaller ones that you can just about see on the sides of the top tier; some swirly silver piping on the bottom tier, and just to up the glam there were a few jelly diamonds here and there! </div>
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Diamonds and small fans are more visible here</div>
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The bottom tier of the cake was chocolate orange cake and chocolate orange buttercream, and the top one was hazelnut cake with salted caramel buttercream- and I've been told that Kate's family were trying to think of an event for which they could order another chocolate orange cake! </div>
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So, a belated re-happy 18th to Kate; and I hope you're all keeping nice and warm in this snowy weather! </div>
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Hayley x</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-72485869515363480412013-01-09T08:16:00.001-08:002013-01-09T08:16:07.969-08:00Superb SugarpasteI posted yesterday about my first wedding cake, and I just wanted to recommend the sugarpaste I used to any of you who have a similar project in the pipelines. <br />
The sugarpaste is called sweet silk, from a lovely company in Nottingham called Sweet Success. I picked up 5kg at the Cake International show at the excel centre in London, but you can also mail order their products here: <br />
www.sweetsuccess.uk.com<br />
I haven't been asked or paid to do this recommendation, but I was really impressed with how easy it was to work with, and the smooth finish it was so easy to achieve. Also, the fondant stored excellently and the texture did not alter in the weeks between buying and using the fondant. I would recommend this sugarpaste to anyone with a big project soon, it was so easy to work with! Once again, here's the finished result, just cause I wouldn't want to subject anyone to a word only blog post! <br />
Hayley x <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1Oml74jTAKSdCuwrdHJ6J4cdVEvNt_dGHny2oUQSi4zTRo2BELzmkEAl4OecBayRzk6pNeqixorENrKm-Tww8gJ_JV8PvFFIyvVzRKiZORC0iYKzggmoFIOUEcHesI81nq6CSGcac8Sk/s640/blogger-image-63137569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1Oml74jTAKSdCuwrdHJ6J4cdVEvNt_dGHny2oUQSi4zTRo2BELzmkEAl4OecBayRzk6pNeqixorENrKm-Tww8gJ_JV8PvFFIyvVzRKiZORC0iYKzggmoFIOUEcHesI81nq6CSGcac8Sk/s640/blogger-image-63137569.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-53489310675829726792013-01-08T12:01:00.000-08:002013-01-08T12:01:00.770-08:00Purple Prettiness Wedding Cake<br />
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I cannot believe it’s taken me so long to blog this cake,
time has certainly flown recently! Either way, many months ago, my sister Katie
put my name forward to a colleague of hers who was looking for a wedding cake
baker; I had a tasting and designing meeting with the lovely Vickie and Paul,
and in November their special day arrived! This was the first wedding cake I
have made, and the process was somewhat nerve wracking (I really didn’t want
Vickie to have a mess of a cake after trusting me!) but I quickly got into the
flow of baking and decorating. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpcXIQs1_le-Co0F8s8Ocww_a0bVjlv2Qk6r2-D6LZMMmk3sASJ6Bs-YputPLIEja2Nzukor5_W6amg-253SsoICdJCnSi8WUovDPWVl-pPBtRRE4-AkVw_6Rk83WshLmFv9tDMVucPlT/s1600/P1130374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpcXIQs1_le-Co0F8s8Ocww_a0bVjlv2Qk6r2-D6LZMMmk3sASJ6Bs-YputPLIEja2Nzukor5_W6amg-253SsoICdJCnSi8WUovDPWVl-pPBtRRE4-AkVw_6Rk83WshLmFv9tDMVucPlT/s320/P1130374.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are all the tiers when they were plain pure white</div>
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I made a very nervy trip to Bristol with four decorated
tiers boxed up and surrounded by duvets, pillows, towels and all other
available soft and protective materials in the boot of my Mum’s car, with both
of us cursing at every bump and sharp turn we came across. Though it was rainy
and nasty we made it to Katie’s flat in good time, the assembly station for the
cake, and got all of the tiers safely up the many stairs to the thankfully
spacious breakfast bar where they would be staying for the night. The cake’s only
disaster happened at this point, the fondant mystically gained a worrying stickiness-
I panicked completely but luckily, with the aid of a wondrous dehumidifier, the
cakes were returned to their original dry loveliness. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqHBZM1-w-lf64Zjz507913uZBAKl34G0fK1SHPhaWi9SszfpSuKDTglomiGbYPs4Y1-JXxfwcs52RXC4W7NvIpE87mQMoXtWyeh834aYPtchWIUza7iHYYsobPcm6v8Ggfa78T4P4dm6/s1600/P1130387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqHBZM1-w-lf64Zjz507913uZBAKl34G0fK1SHPhaWi9SszfpSuKDTglomiGbYPs4Y1-JXxfwcs52RXC4W7NvIpE87mQMoXtWyeh834aYPtchWIUza7iHYYsobPcm6v8Ggfa78T4P4dm6/s320/P1130387.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
being carefully stacked and secured<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOe0dZOqWpU-myTNlGybv4Q1yBHIQtNiQHFyS3a7ceAzXeQRdXeCvrsmIQUydjIG4GHZJ8W6p7ixv5RfcVW2hnhEb0QoTBrj7PeK1QpOzW_-yibZTJ9b1NRt3Vbk_N7EfUvu80VVnBF15/s1600/P1130389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOe0dZOqWpU-myTNlGybv4Q1yBHIQtNiQHFyS3a7ceAzXeQRdXeCvrsmIQUydjIG4GHZJ8W6p7ixv5RfcVW2hnhEb0QoTBrj7PeK1QpOzW_-yibZTJ9b1NRt3Vbk_N7EfUvu80VVnBF15/s320/P1130389.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I stacked the cakes in two pairs, ready for transport, and
we headed off to the venue, with Katie and I grasping weighty boxes as we
headed off precariously through the Mendips- a nervy drive but one that went
well in the end. Here’s the finished cake, and I’ll give you a rundown of the
cake and decor </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NoCj8t-AWlEry_HR9RCEhJZVnNapFJoDb3TAUFZs7sciQOroUfQT45ToKOQdUY8ZhDpunQyxYhGnRK8vhMLnQKoJmWrY7YDI0_gHQSnmaJ75LTqzXN0oG-R84_ExltDlhpRLwo1cLeJD/s1600/P1130419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NoCj8t-AWlEry_HR9RCEhJZVnNapFJoDb3TAUFZs7sciQOroUfQT45ToKOQdUY8ZhDpunQyxYhGnRK8vhMLnQKoJmWrY7YDI0_gHQSnmaJ75LTqzXN0oG-R84_ExltDlhpRLwo1cLeJD/s320/P1130419.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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All finished and under a very helpfully placed spotlight!</div>
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The bottom tier was 12 inches, chocolate with chocolate buttercream;
the second was 10 inches, light fruit cake with cinnamon buttercream; third was
an 8 inch coffee cake with coffee buttercream; and the top tier was a 6 inch
lemon sponge with lemon buttercream. They were all covered with white fondant,
had a lace trim, a central border of (for want of a better word) squiggly
piping; and an upper border of large lilac and small purple buttons moulded in
white chocolate. The cakes were dusted with pearl lustre, the third tier adorned
with a wide purple ribbon and brooch. The final touches were three white and
lilac fondant roses on top and white diamante beading around the bottom tier. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtO1jzwaERQ6kY44Lj1jdnq5j8WllKrRwCjbbxz6EFgiflBwWr3KQToxi4V7sZJjGCnNQ-OAmMBS8HImiIAEyTIoKUBcY8ZPpaJlNGo6HmOdms1cv_o9BEP3IW-9aRg-06lh9wFuDJADb/s1600/P1130394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtO1jzwaERQ6kY44Lj1jdnq5j8WllKrRwCjbbxz6EFgiflBwWr3KQToxi4V7sZJjGCnNQ-OAmMBS8HImiIAEyTIoKUBcY8ZPpaJlNGo6HmOdms1cv_o9BEP3IW-9aRg-06lh9wFuDJADb/s320/P1130394.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This cake definitely had the groom’s touch, at Paul’s
request I hid ‘Spurs’ in the piping on the third tier!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-gPY1yZlL_RqZiAXDIsa_YehE10UiSXyB8qQRGcN8QuzWQFzT4bQgEIBHdANUXI1qhKmo5N25vYOCNk2fm2StWada27YDo-pUk5U7SWRUwtvnfDGgsXFLGofr3B8hYG0vA0p7E3vv0h2/s1600/P1130404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-gPY1yZlL_RqZiAXDIsa_YehE10UiSXyB8qQRGcN8QuzWQFzT4bQgEIBHdANUXI1qhKmo5N25vYOCNk2fm2StWada27YDo-pUk5U7SWRUwtvnfDGgsXFLGofr3B8hYG0vA0p7E3vv0h2/s320/P1130404.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was extremely grateful to this lovely couple for trusting
me with such an important cake, and happily I was assured that they and their
guests enjoyed the final product! </div>
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Hayley x </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-67014041885063061572012-12-12T11:34:00.001-08:002012-12-12T11:34:12.888-08:00I'm Back!Hello! <br />
I'm sorry that I've been so much of an absentee blogger recently, it's been a fairly busy time! I've just decided to blog a birthday cake I made a couple of weeks ago. It was actually ordered by one of my teachers for another of my teachers, lemon sponge with lemon buttercream and a gold/ivory colour scheme. <br />
I have a few other posts to write soon. Including a very exciting project from last month! <br />
Hayley x <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVnMT6OQESwaC97wVD1m4jJUB3TnyZP_cltyJ3yqkCsIE3LM1zgnlvVzBM5kZzbpX4O3_tS5cHmQMs84q-dcrdArIZPkJh51Ydu0WRDLnhRUus9bIIgESlKuAu-NbB8DNBjk5rdiaeC1V/s640/blogger-image-139511525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVnMT6OQESwaC97wVD1m4jJUB3TnyZP_cltyJ3yqkCsIE3LM1zgnlvVzBM5kZzbpX4O3_tS5cHmQMs84q-dcrdArIZPkJh51Ydu0WRDLnhRUus9bIIgESlKuAu-NbB8DNBjk5rdiaeC1V/s640/blogger-image-139511525.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-75929563605960364092012-10-22T12:58:00.000-07:002012-10-22T12:58:39.715-07:00Celebrating in style- Afternoon Tea at Pearl<br />
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So I guess most people head straight for a club to
celebrate their 18<sup>th</sup> birthdays- not me! I’m far too much of a foodie
to miss an opportunity for edible celebrations, and I was excited about going
for a lovely dinner with my parents on my 18<sup>th</sup> birthday (which was Sunday
the 14th). However, The foodieness of my birthday weekend was completely ramped
up when I got an amazing surprise on Friday night; my sister Katie and her
boyfriend Chris (who live in far away Bristol) came back to surprise me- they
had previously said that they couldn’t make it back! So they arrived late on Friday
night and told me they were taking me to afternoon tea the next day!!! Not just
any tea- the Chocolate afternoon tea at restaurant Pearl in Holborn; this isn’t
just a beautiful restaurant in an exceptionally gorgeous hotel building</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1J83GSVPMr_uGeuZqJmxZ5GzUW5rV3ZSRHW6suYmm0nCBdINTF4ftGPsK-RJqfIu3cZf15Ffo7d7YoP7O-E-1hSasgaZkidV2keoKG-LUxDY0T1btl1CvwPEfgWCVfUFP9yT93Ck6-Ro/s1600/DSCF4396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1J83GSVPMr_uGeuZqJmxZ5GzUW5rV3ZSRHW6suYmm0nCBdINTF4ftGPsK-RJqfIu3cZf15Ffo7d7YoP7O-E-1hSasgaZkidV2keoKG-LUxDY0T1btl1CvwPEfgWCVfUFP9yT93Ck6-Ro/s320/DSCF4396.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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...but it
is also where I did my work experience under Jun Tanaka 2 years ago, it is an
excellent restaurant and it holds a very special place in my heart. Though Jun
has now left the restaurant for a very well deserved break, it is still
brilliant and home to so many lovely pearl chandeliers- and chocolaty treats!! </div>
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We were presented with this fancy box of Twinings teas to
choose from, we shared a pot each of Earl Grey, Russian Caravan and the
fascinatingly delicate Silver Tip. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKmFzDMTOrul4oG0x8gWBd3_qeeys3x84jBszrxgRTS4kt0cmkF7rTA9I2Ldu2IyVhdOryHokYRIl_cCBRnU23AUxDkY8PqNkziMtLlfmWG8JZOfrnVjjqMqP22IaDV2jgUFKf96tgqPJ/s1600/DSCF4412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKmFzDMTOrul4oG0x8gWBd3_qeeys3x84jBszrxgRTS4kt0cmkF7rTA9I2Ldu2IyVhdOryHokYRIl_cCBRnU23AUxDkY8PqNkziMtLlfmWG8JZOfrnVjjqMqP22IaDV2jgUFKf96tgqPJ/s320/DSCF4412.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The first “course” was a very filling selection of finger
sandwiches, miniature smoked salmon and egg mayonnaise rolls and fluffy scones-
we definitely thought that skipping breakfast had been the right decision at
this point! Call me clichéd but I absolutely love cucumber sandwiches at tea-
they make me feel all Victorian! But my favourite of this selection was the
rare roast beef and very subtle horseradish- yum!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QgRQ-lqr217hwl0qSL1At1J5XudeCRyoe48GW5Edkmp5owVPRQ4aSUWzQauNhyyAotcDkbqYIEEOo-hwWGxKc-ZE2mrzirahKTfkSys6y0hIzmZqP-F3Hj1ql5Rd23EbaqE5Il5NCGlH/s1600/DSCF4440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QgRQ-lqr217hwl0qSL1At1J5XudeCRyoe48GW5Edkmp5owVPRQ4aSUWzQauNhyyAotcDkbqYIEEOo-hwWGxKc-ZE2mrzirahKTfkSys6y0hIzmZqP-F3Hj1ql5Rd23EbaqE5Il5NCGlH/s320/DSCF4440.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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(apologies for the blurry photo!)</div>
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We were set loose on the chocolate buffet after our sandwiches,
yep- a chocolate buffet, it was absolute bliss. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0dq13GLv04JhlYbXcsPaO-wGOt19LDgZ4gGgDKOQThJzlhzBiAwj1T_6OP6Jo7K5cHEyY1aH4g8otJLLmMSy-0TjebHg76Q14MyO6cSPm72rH-zEaG-4qOVw__DaG0IYNNk3jX40WM1t/s1600/DSCF4436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0dq13GLv04JhlYbXcsPaO-wGOt19LDgZ4gGgDKOQThJzlhzBiAwj1T_6OP6Jo7K5cHEyY1aH4g8otJLLmMSy-0TjebHg76Q14MyO6cSPm72rH-zEaG-4qOVw__DaG0IYNNk3jX40WM1t/s320/DSCF4436.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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There were two (white and dark )
chocolate fountains with lovely ripe strawberries and pineapple, but the
highlight was the beautiful selection of patisserie that was available, between
the three of us we managed to try one of each! </div>
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Here’s plate of pastry goodness, a white chocolate and
pistachio torte, raspberry and dark chocolate tartlet and a milk chocolate earl
grey mousse, all of them were extremely yummy, the glaçage on the pistachio
torte was sheer and shiny, with a cute little macaron on top, but my favourite
was the earl grey mousse, the delicate perfume and airy mousse was the perfect
break from the super sweet and super rich of the other pastries on my plate! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksUQsvrDnklJohTaH2etRYG8c_E62aANvpouGZacqTETp8irmRhLUcADSxxzl88fQk06r5_Gnpmo2CB_i-Fkzu4-gFXqohbrB4l566r2eRUtZDTAv6b0IYGumtoZhkyxPr_Ty7ZwGl0IX/s1600/DSCF4450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksUQsvrDnklJohTaH2etRYG8c_E62aANvpouGZacqTETp8irmRhLUcADSxxzl88fQk06r5_Gnpmo2CB_i-Fkzu4-gFXqohbrB4l566r2eRUtZDTAv6b0IYGumtoZhkyxPr_Ty7ZwGl0IX/s320/DSCF4450.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is Katie’s first selection, layered strawberry shot and
mango, lime and white chocolate mousse; both had the perfect balance of creamy
chocolate with the fresh fruity flavours, and the accent of the lime was
brilliant, all the fragrance with no harsh sourness or bitterness- mmm! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYO1D4MYnU8MmHiIUUP11_tdN2Bzsg2zUNg0msuEPZzcAOxvDJnrTXqHlzsRy-A8lvoalkbTyZYkD6rrd1nuS98knYWhDFrgIHNCQ9O-sUDle9z113qu4hKz-1hYJwIYbpQXCoHSezirb/s1600/DSCF4453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYO1D4MYnU8MmHiIUUP11_tdN2Bzsg2zUNg0msuEPZzcAOxvDJnrTXqHlzsRy-A8lvoalkbTyZYkD6rrd1nuS98knYWhDFrgIHNCQ9O-sUDle9z113qu4hKz-1hYJwIYbpQXCoHSezirb/s320/DSCF4453.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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And finally Chris’ very chocolaty choices, a rich brownie
with whole hazelnuts and a gorgeous icing sugar pattern; a layered chocolate pave
and a hazelnut gateau l’opera, with perfectly even and amazingly thin layers. All
of them were so rich and indulgent, with so many textures of mousses, biscuits,
sponges and crisp tempered shards. The best was the opera, classic coffee and
chocolate flavours. </div>
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It was a wonderful afternoon, we actually ended up spending
3 whole hours lounging and grazing and supping, it was a wonderful celebration
and I would recommend the chocolate tea to anyone, the staff are lovely and
wonderfully attentive, and you couldn't wish for a better setting. </div>
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Hayley x </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-62422368251828241092012-10-15T14:20:00.001-07:002012-10-15T14:20:37.279-07:00Special People, Special birthdays, Special Cakes!<br />
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This is a very important year! Not only on the national
level with the Olympics etc, but it’s also the school year that my friends and
I all turn 18! I had an amazing (and foodie!) 18<sup>th</sup> birthday this
past weekend, which I will blog about soon, but for today I have a couple of
cakes that I’ve made for friends recently. Very recently in one case! </div>
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First of all- Aimee: my amazing best friend of 14 years who
became a fully fledged adult in September. She is such a Francophile, and she
loves Paris in particular (who doesn’t?) and so I had to go with a Parisian
theme on this cake, complete with Eiffel Tower, Leuvre Pyramid, baguettes,
croissants, macarons and metro tickets (that Aimee has all over her bedroom
wall :-) It also had a tricolore ribbon trim and tricolore coloured cake layers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NqhleQqxcy65Z2K5m31aXHGsaaQ_tn-7sGUO_J3vWLSKc4fr986_48-twDZUpMG3JeADpAUEs0OZ9skSAJnWe5Ne6QMN95N9hLg-FwQq9s5pO21uqbD6viisn21qO8L3YMq55pwLEMk_/s1600/P1130105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NqhleQqxcy65Z2K5m31aXHGsaaQ_tn-7sGUO_J3vWLSKc4fr986_48-twDZUpMG3JeADpAUEs0OZ9skSAJnWe5Ne6QMN95N9hLg-FwQq9s5pO21uqbD6viisn21qO8L3YMq55pwLEMk_/s320/P1130105.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I was quite happy with this Eiffel tower- entirely royal icing :-) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5e9jNLawkXOvbHUqZMGcpGadrlntZRCMFHJC64RTVvdE-NJNE9mqOfw52DV_L_halbozPMX_ea-lmyIRx9eYGuRRWEbM7iPDHV1GNJNPSNPwWLYr9uySfYvDn_ssyjZTv7fVyIQ8_8P5/s1600/P1130110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5e9jNLawkXOvbHUqZMGcpGadrlntZRCMFHJC64RTVvdE-NJNE9mqOfw52DV_L_halbozPMX_ea-lmyIRx9eYGuRRWEbM7iPDHV1GNJNPSNPwWLYr9uySfYvDn_ssyjZTv7fVyIQ8_8P5/s320/P1130110.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSs-kpxQ9UjSH1WXsZCavLArKrHN_jNkKkPSWObhl49Hrgv6FWSTKwEXrpTvHGJF3HY_PGcjEBLExgM5c8GWhKgDgl30sDVkcZ9BpeutmTTEWDPoxuw6NY1VsDvelSG1SsjvUYXwqqHQD/s1600/P1130114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSs-kpxQ9UjSH1WXsZCavLArKrHN_jNkKkPSWObhl49Hrgv6FWSTKwEXrpTvHGJF3HY_PGcjEBLExgM5c8GWhKgDgl30sDVkcZ9BpeutmTTEWDPoxuw6NY1VsDvelSG1SsjvUYXwqqHQD/s320/P1130114.JPG" width="117" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQnathvvyp2pjJ5OZ_qFWkHzIotM4I7YKEHbfmfyF5CT04NPxFCgbZ-sWS2GUGTMRVouL3J7JiEu9hDGGYbRVPPX31OHjP94KgpabYnukN06LrKfOdiEbTJPqXtkwnPkz8sPO3aR58XKq/s1600/P1130116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQnathvvyp2pjJ5OZ_qFWkHzIotM4I7YKEHbfmfyF5CT04NPxFCgbZ-sWS2GUGTMRVouL3J7JiEu9hDGGYbRVPPX31OHjP94KgpabYnukN06LrKfOdiEbTJPqXtkwnPkz8sPO3aR58XKq/s320/P1130116.JPG" width="250" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_T7XJ-0YhJ5g4l0HvouuRzbJ_YhbxcEELuSOamG8aQxdIP5NQD8OQtBDqsb9kiyc_YXaRmcVt4zKT8GmZ4UAcvlfUuXtFAUpBnIM135WEW4cqSUwOY7Cfh5pR7A6aaazuiezFJB8aMzvZ/s1600/al.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_T7XJ-0YhJ5g4l0HvouuRzbJ_YhbxcEELuSOamG8aQxdIP5NQD8OQtBDqsb9kiyc_YXaRmcVt4zKT8GmZ4UAcvlfUuXtFAUpBnIM135WEW4cqSUwOY7Cfh5pR7A6aaazuiezFJB8aMzvZ/s320/al.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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this lovely photo was taken by the birthday girl herself, she is an amazing photographer with an brilliant camera!</div>
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I think the cake went down quite well, the Eiffel tower is
still in Aimee’s glass cupboard! She even blogged about it on her wonderfully cool fashion blog, you can see the post here: <a href="http://fashionicing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/a-parisian-style-birthday.html">http://fashionicing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/a-parisian-style-birthday.html</a></div>
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The second cake in this post belongs to Liv, not only a best
friend but also an almost birthday-twin! Her 18<sup>th</sup> is today, and mine
was yesterday! We have so many silly jokes between us, it was tough to decide
which to present to her in cake form today! I went for one of our favourite
Youtube sensations in the end, the amazing Potter Puppet Pals- if you havn’t
watched them I suggest you follow this link straight away! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/potterpuppetpals?feature=CBwQwRs%3D">http://www.youtube.com/user/potterpuppetpals?feature=CBwQwRs%3D</a></div>
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The cake was decorated with gold and silver stars, a copper
glitter ‘18’, but most importantly sugar versions of the Harry, Hermione, Ron,
Neville, Voldemort and Dumbledore puppets (I will point out that Neville is
represented by a butternut squash!) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfXVGU7JYSA-RTND-yw8solm2bOhdkM_E4sp2Ui2GDYdF6jzvp4aI_BQQYMHYgo8nE_8kRsTG9Zw60hwIZrnvF0QihGqFthb7ik7Oze15B9kdtINdxABoXl_d3FP9kffhAL2993lTC374/s1600/P1130233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfXVGU7JYSA-RTND-yw8solm2bOhdkM_E4sp2Ui2GDYdF6jzvp4aI_BQQYMHYgo8nE_8kRsTG9Zw60hwIZrnvF0QihGqFthb7ik7Oze15B9kdtINdxABoXl_d3FP9kffhAL2993lTC374/s320/P1130233.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWw1jsTXEXXEqVSSS6YJKK54gtzlBPuXj2P0ficw7i6TRt7VNJYgTCoxbQQZy-qUS6u8q_OCd8Ylk1jfJdt07bTjUoCwCIQP2o6NbfxTJ_ORbkHYZZxAjUOpg3zZt8V6cKjAo17U0Pu-sE/s1600/P1130224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWw1jsTXEXXEqVSSS6YJKK54gtzlBPuXj2P0ficw7i6TRt7VNJYgTCoxbQQZy-qUS6u8q_OCd8Ylk1jfJdt07bTjUoCwCIQP2o6NbfxTJ_ORbkHYZZxAjUOpg3zZt8V6cKjAo17U0Pu-sE/s320/P1130224.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj76icE1Ulq_8DiaVW1Bu6uChu5V3juck79Ts21TfHAxcbSYkRC6s-lcy0hDc8NvYV6Sb5rm-B9A5Pu_J48r2c9bTX1JUuTTB2gzcNXZq8kqpquTRDUoQiz9IdlnXgkXedFUF3ephQpWdn/s1600/P1130226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj76icE1Ulq_8DiaVW1Bu6uChu5V3juck79Ts21TfHAxcbSYkRC6s-lcy0hDc8NvYV6Sb5rm-B9A5Pu_J48r2c9bTX1JUuTTB2gzcNXZq8kqpquTRDUoQiz9IdlnXgkXedFUF3ephQpWdn/s320/P1130226.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Neville, the slightly lonely butternut squash</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlGi0O2TRJGFcWxYV14bc99BLg6u-v5AJ-gTNQGbi98BdOKfbeAvYT3AETlPfD4B7RtrzYs3adxO66fAtz8MP4Is5HPC7_aKhzNrot2RhiVJDugzqFKymIEkQD1h_IHDtdKMg2vZhpOZ1/s1600/P1130229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlGi0O2TRJGFcWxYV14bc99BLg6u-v5AJ-gTNQGbi98BdOKfbeAvYT3AETlPfD4B7RtrzYs3adxO66fAtz8MP4Is5HPC7_aKhzNrot2RhiVJDugzqFKymIEkQD1h_IHDtdKMg2vZhpOZ1/s320/P1130229.JPG" width="260" /></a></div>
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Voldemort had to hide at the back- he's too evil for the front!</div>
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Liv cut the cake this afternoon, and I was told that it was
very yummy! (chocolate cake with Nutella and marshmallows as the filling- a
favourite combo of ours! )</div>
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Happy Birthday Livla!! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-48273065251160034212012-09-13T07:44:00.000-07:002012-09-13T07:44:15.078-07:00A Big Surprise<br />
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While we were on holiday, my parents celebrated their 30<sup>th</sup>
wedding anniversary. The day before when my Dad joked that I should remind him,
I told him that I had almost forgotten, and then on the actual day I just said
“happy anniversary”-what a negligent daughter they must have thought they had! Little did they know that my sister Katie and I had been
planning a surprise anniversary party for them for some months, and I was
extremely nervous that I would let it slip! The latter stages of planning
happened almost entirely over iMessage and FaceTime, with me in Switzerland,
Katie in Bristol, and the party happening 2 weeks later in London! In the end,
after lots and lots of cover ups and little white lies, the plan all worked out
and they were suitably surprised! Here’s a picture of my parents with me, my
sister and our family friend Sue when the lift doors opened into the function
room at the Valley (our football team Charlton Athletic’s home ground) full of
their friends and family! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7i98t3p5qoTqThQ0oJuQHFXFRy_LUX9fRn0-YspJx60m_CiQKecbD_13IZULxHfPPEAIl5mu5GVICW7gzImFo5ExZigAin7UTmtTPpqsjl1J_Ctb1D1Q-mBKrDlMpv27Jgz8CD_vm80u9/s1600/040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7i98t3p5qoTqThQ0oJuQHFXFRy_LUX9fRn0-YspJx60m_CiQKecbD_13IZULxHfPPEAIl5mu5GVICW7gzImFo5ExZigAin7UTmtTPpqsjl1J_Ctb1D1Q-mBKrDlMpv27Jgz8CD_vm80u9/s320/040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course, even though it was all undercover this occasion
definitely required some serious cake action! Luckily, my friends parents were
lovely enough to let me use their kitchen to create the main cake; and my Aunt
and Uncle lent us their kitchen to make the rest of the food for the party,
including a stand of lemon and vanilla cupcakes that went down a storm! </div>
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Here’s the main cake, the bottom tier was a 10” chocolate
and the top a 6” coffee, both sugarpasted. On the join of the two cakes was a
line of edible pearls, the glittery red “30” was made way in advance, I just
cut the letters from fondant, covered them in glitter and left them to dry
until they were sturdy enough to stand up against the top tier. On top, there
was a small cluster of white roses which I dusted with pearl shimmer powder, as
my parents’ original wedding cake was topped with roses, and 30 years is the
Pearl wedding anniversary. The reason for the cake table decoration is probably
quite clear, we are massive Charlton fans! I must point out- my sister actually
made the Charlton flag in this picture- I thought it was amazing! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPAwvcJOFyXGAFwk_2RHY-uBeGPeikzNM04tPCX5N7_9pVCyqnKUSn64o3ZSI-RseYNdJWmSx3zPbx7M2WLe_QcWLNG1wEYuM7FVavfnzmR_Lkfbt9YhyphenhyphenhVnd9zbp801oVGkwgD96LnD4/s1600/108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPAwvcJOFyXGAFwk_2RHY-uBeGPeikzNM04tPCX5N7_9pVCyqnKUSn64o3ZSI-RseYNdJWmSx3zPbx7M2WLe_QcWLNG1wEYuM7FVavfnzmR_Lkfbt9YhyphenhyphenhVnd9zbp801oVGkwgD96LnD4/s320/108.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXP9NLw0rbt4dw5Io7nP2q0VU3XYKwaVGTjzOLJL1j6VG46UCx5mq9wjqiw5E477le0PvINqvqbA27L_RgpZP-oWF7wa-VMeQ2YfvPYO2DTDsiyMto_tD2SQQfpK2MpStrNOq_JfCwuyzK/s1600/275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXP9NLw0rbt4dw5Io7nP2q0VU3XYKwaVGTjzOLJL1j6VG46UCx5mq9wjqiw5E477le0PvINqvqbA27L_RgpZP-oWF7wa-VMeQ2YfvPYO2DTDsiyMto_tD2SQQfpK2MpStrNOq_JfCwuyzK/s320/275.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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As I said, I also made cupcakes, just to absolutely make
sure that we had enough cake to have a few leftovers ;-) the red glittery
cupcakes were vanillas, and the white pearly cakes were lemon sponge filled
with lemon curd with vanilla buttercream, they all went by the end of the
night, with the exception of 2 we managed to get home to make sure my parents
had tried them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDSQ0VeC5bS72pBG1lwPiM12vz97D95_eOCkJP0-mZ5nFztEJpk0Tn6ypYcrh0xDgaYuAJqV3PlSnWlz1ob4Ix6SiVs8TcEvH_ortkZmcU05yoq9I5XJokdDQNn8QFtxH319cqOaTQ-IX/s1600/107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDSQ0VeC5bS72pBG1lwPiM12vz97D95_eOCkJP0-mZ5nFztEJpk0Tn6ypYcrh0xDgaYuAJqV3PlSnWlz1ob4Ix6SiVs8TcEvH_ortkZmcU05yoq9I5XJokdDQNn8QFtxH319cqOaTQ-IX/s320/107.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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The party was definitely worth all the planning and the
sneakyness, it was a lovely evening and Mum and Dad were well and truly
surprised! Also, if anyone (Charlton fan or not) is looking for a good party
venue in South East London, the Valley was wonderful. The rooms are lovely, quite
reasonable in price and the staff are all lovely and so helpful, definitely
worth a look around!</div>
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Hayley x</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-36859563287236822562012-09-10T14:35:00.000-07:002012-09-10T14:35:28.169-07:00Marscapone GnocchiMy mum is a great shopper, and she usually returns from the supermarket with more than just bread and milk! This week's surprise buy was a tub of marscapone that she found for 35p, bit of a steal really! So I decided to knock up some gnocchi, using the cheese for moisture rather than potatoes. The flavour of the gnocchi is lovely and rich. And they're lovely light little pillows (I use a sneaky little bit of self raising flour to add some extra lift) :-)<br />
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So the ingredients are:<br />
250g marscapone <br />
2 eggs<br />
1 egg yolk <br />
(about) 300g plain flour<br />
(about) 150g SR flour <br />
1/2tsp salt <br />
Generous 1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg <br />
<br />
So put the marscapone, eggs, salt and nutmeg into a bowl and beat them well- you don't want marscapone lumps really. <br />
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_F9BdLF867jdbtUy9Yb2d_uWaeIwxA-LYvVcPL7cmtGZzrRBC6njo4ojEMXVu909DYaDZcq-cuuWQoHyk16WvO2GkZZ05rpkW8kzohw3mr1VLUTy-DU-clGMGJzN-RLdFz0Rw1wY1BOa/s640/blogger-image--1158966972.jpg" /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_8GEk1AUijihiKXtbWl2EcuTClyCQ2u5bVNtAjRZw8y5MJcSqTIgX53PYfxxE3W8JMYuOD9z5Wty4ugTugAkcE7UNYnb5kU8WFIiW89efEgP6rSxCc74vRDvBfbXC98Gqs_nRG3nE8lB/s640/blogger-image--2055013362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_8GEk1AUijihiKXtbWl2EcuTClyCQ2u5bVNtAjRZw8y5MJcSqTIgX53PYfxxE3W8JMYuOD9z5Wty4ugTugAkcE7UNYnb5kU8WFIiW89efEgP6rSxCc74vRDvBfbXC98Gqs_nRG3nE8lB/s640/blogger-image--2055013362.jpg" /></a><br />
Start adding in the flour, you want a fairly soft dough; don't add all the flour at once as you might need slightly different amounts. Bring the dough together and try not to work it too much. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxY3iXUq3w6JFrm8mmcTC_mGg_U6FN14uRjaZi7tmpNxBfp6NW4zYa-_qkITbqyh-eQgoctO3DMzH1aycaqPGz0W4Jb28FX3asn6aOmdQCRuWP381Py_ekhVTaQENnQ4GAwIM-qds_a3Wn/s640/blogger-image--1131657598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxY3iXUq3w6JFrm8mmcTC_mGg_U6FN14uRjaZi7tmpNxBfp6NW4zYa-_qkITbqyh-eQgoctO3DMzH1aycaqPGz0W4Jb28FX3asn6aOmdQCRuWP381Py_ekhVTaQENnQ4GAwIM-qds_a3Wn/s640/blogger-image--1131657598.jpg" /></a><br />
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Split the dough into 6 pieces and form them one by one into sausages, then cut the gnocchi from the sausages. I like quite generous big gnocchi cushions, but you can make yours smaller if you prefer. <br />
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Et voila! Just boil them for a minute or two until they float, then serve up! For some lovely texture, I like to fry off the boiled gnocchi, getting a lovely crunchy goldenness :-) <br />
I served them up with a garlicky tomato and spinach sauce, and they got pretty good reviews from my parents! <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqpmvW1NTSR0POFDvEIrEE3eIdQZpMRmwlX5_13zn5U2ufslqb1qfZOKfeO5xXvtRnpM3T6J4knaJAoztu1GC9IcL6xSrwdfzDAg6krUuMk7MlJghe7VtStDXn2myuxlGW3T5fCzKpEdI/s640/blogger-image--683829991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqpmvW1NTSR0POFDvEIrEE3eIdQZpMRmwlX5_13zn5U2ufslqb1qfZOKfeO5xXvtRnpM3T6J4knaJAoztu1GC9IcL6xSrwdfzDAg6krUuMk7MlJghe7VtStDXn2myuxlGW3T5fCzKpEdI/s640/blogger-image--683829991.jpg" /></a><br />
enjoy! <br />
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Hayley x<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-71043568740470284542012-09-02T15:02:00.000-07:002012-09-02T15:02:02.867-07:00A Culinary Tour of (some of) Switzerland <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love Switzerland. We’ve been going on family holidays to the Bernese Oberland for years and years, we even have pictures of my Nan in our favourite town, Interlaken, decades ago; and my Great Grandmother had visited decades before. We decided to mix it up a little this year, as my Mum had wanted to see the famous Matterhorn for years, partially due to its appearance on Toblerone packaging! So this year, we spent a week in the mountain town of Zermatt, before moving on to our old favourite Interlaken for the second week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swiss food is delicious, often very rich and with a wonderful emphasis on CHEESE!! There are also lots of lovely bakeries in Switzerland, so here are a few of the delights we sampled on our trip </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This first product is called Bergführerbrot, and it came from a lovely little bakery in Zermatt called Fuchs, there were multiple branches of Fuchs in Zermatt, we stumbled across one and bought this, a product that was voted the best bakery product in Switzerland in 2010. It was a very dense, spiced fruit and nut cake; and it reminded me of a cross between a bread pudding and a malt loaf. The name means something along the lines of mountain-leader bread, with Bergführer referring to the brave mountain climbers and dwellers of the Swiss alps; this is the reason for the heavy texture and the dried fruits- it was created as sustinance for those heading up into the harsh peaks around Zermatt. Though it was really yummy, I don’t think it was the best bakery product we tasted- really interesting to try though. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQAVZqvyP9fUyqF_TGX0gZO0yxii1KwQiEkK1xyhioH39pXd3jJF-4tVhM6XyTUKgu7OGsKtEQwKxyHu1XBYrZXu5zb312-z2o2aEhNBrzvH_z519L-mi3SC4Ab4ydJxtOCWvLaMqP_dQ/s1600/P1120062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnQAVZqvyP9fUyqF_TGX0gZO0yxii1KwQiEkK1xyhioH39pXd3jJF-4tVhM6XyTUKgu7OGsKtEQwKxyHu1XBYrZXu5zb312-z2o2aEhNBrzvH_z519L-mi3SC4Ab4ydJxtOCWvLaMqP_dQ/s320/P1120062.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A random picture, but a fun one- here is a slightly different range of mountains!! Toblerone, even yummier in the country of its production!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtHKP4wC2uMalbKlTzOQeMx0u8dUb9efaiZ9lC30lYoC3zehj9WufYSQkF5HFtw0aEQIP1ONFy-LovWaHuJQKz0eI7Gc_OL_mQiuW9tIy5ui1_byc15uAmhRZVqbUI1UVUGhcOeIF9-NrL/s1600/P1120659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtHKP4wC2uMalbKlTzOQeMx0u8dUb9efaiZ9lC30lYoC3zehj9WufYSQkF5HFtw0aEQIP1ONFy-LovWaHuJQKz0eI7Gc_OL_mQiuW9tIy5ui1_byc15uAmhRZVqbUI1UVUGhcOeIF9-NrL/s320/P1120659.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is one of the loveliest bakeries we go to, it’s in a town called Grindelwald. We’ve been going to this bakery for ages and the cakes are gorgeous! The thing i’ll point out is the plaited loaves on the top bread shelf, they’re called Butterzopf, a rich buttery plaited bread similar to Challah, and they’re absolutely delicious.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujXAb68ig4OrS9ow_BoVB97dEwfxoIO72Tt01GI3KIWf4LRQPFx3S0uAKQkLnwPis4BHy9Xc31OjLa44jdGioS48pas8PuALZXTqd_WaocEYyiTd2sobeeZB05kGta6lSmXyMf-g1bEyU/s1600/P1120711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujXAb68ig4OrS9ow_BoVB97dEwfxoIO72Tt01GI3KIWf4LRQPFx3S0uAKQkLnwPis4BHy9Xc31OjLa44jdGioS48pas8PuALZXTqd_WaocEYyiTd2sobeeZB05kGta6lSmXyMf-g1bEyU/s320/P1120711.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And finally, that cream covered monster there is a delicious apple cake, packed with juicy apples, grated up core and all. It’s from a bakery at Kleine Scheidegg, from where you can get the train up to Jungraujoch- “the Top of Europe”. The cake is so moist, and is absolutely smothered in whipped cream- yum! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluCelgkP0ToFm7b3qFcVDDHTmxKsoSTXNwYuUCeWfxWEqG3tr5qc_E9w7puvlzz29YPq9YlRWidABtcGsnmyYSD9wNPkyxrkBPy96UJpVQznm5izKbkTjHtJG3hcGT2wvvCrEhJcI9PE7/s1600/P1120387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluCelgkP0ToFm7b3qFcVDDHTmxKsoSTXNwYuUCeWfxWEqG3tr5qc_E9w7puvlzz29YPq9YlRWidABtcGsnmyYSD9wNPkyxrkBPy96UJpVQznm5izKbkTjHtJG3hcGT2wvvCrEhJcI9PE7/s320/P1120387.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And finally, (I am counting this as a baked product as after all it was bread we were dipping!) this wonderful, bubbly, wine laced unctuousness of a cheese fondue *drools*. Yep, it's about as Swiss as it gets, particularly when enjoyed in a mountaintop restaurant with cowbells clinking in the background... ahhh bliss... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, before I spend my savings on rushing back, i'll wrap it up. There’s a very brief view of the Swiss delights we gobbled up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hayley x</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-34226270798213555752012-08-31T08:20:00.003-07:002012-08-31T08:20:49.896-07:00Colourful Cupcakes for a Brilliant Wedding!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The weekend that I went on holiday this year was extra special, I love travelling and so i’m always really excited to be going on holiday; but I was also super excited this year because the day before I flew to Switzerland was the wedding of one of one of our closest family friends! The wedding was amazing, it was such a laid back and fun day (we’re talking a bride in shorts, and a BBQ and Bouncy Castle reception!) and I made a few cupcakes to put on the food table. These were all vanilla cupcakes (a pretty safe bet for a crowd usually!) decorated with glitter and very brightly coloured sugar flowers. I made the flowers in lime green and orange, bride Heather’s favourite colours when she was younger, and I made lots of different styles of flowers to make sure the display was varied and colourful. The cupcakes were on my 36-cupcake stand. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QZ_3uuKc06K915s3DvvSgr1qjsiE59tkFiE_15SvAcVTwSuEf65Lki132SZdj9c-rjbBsYevDzfWeDLv-92QkG6XcX-e0XteCzdP6RtnjDxDGuNOx5wyQvb1HoV5zxW9G72d6TETRynB/s1600/DSCF3100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QZ_3uuKc06K915s3DvvSgr1qjsiE59tkFiE_15SvAcVTwSuEf65Lki132SZdj9c-rjbBsYevDzfWeDLv-92QkG6XcX-e0XteCzdP6RtnjDxDGuNOx5wyQvb1HoV5zxW9G72d6TETRynB/s320/DSCF3100.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was quite happy with how they turned out, and they went down quite well, I was informed that many of them were finished off at breakfast time the next day! However, they weren’t really needed at the wedding, as Heather, the bride and also another keen baker; had created her own stunning wedding cake, with the theme of sea, land and sky. The cake was absolutely gorgeous; I had a slice of the chocolate-with-nutella-ganache bottom tier, which was rich and super chocolaty- as lovely on the inside as it was on the outside </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The day was incredible, but I did discover one thing- bouncy castles are hard work when you aren’t a little kid any more, we were all exhausted! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hayley x</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-2852279839223514752012-08-29T12:50:00.003-07:002012-08-29T12:51:39.886-07:00Apple Pie<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I said in my last (very brief) post, I recently went to Switzerland for a couple of weeks. Before we went away, we had a glut of apples (we don’t have a tree, just a tendency to over-buy on fruit and veg!) that I decided needed turning into a pie. I love baking pies, it’s such a 50s housewife/Snow White thing to do and so so yummy! I made a basic (all butter- I swear that the apples even out the unhealthiness of the butter :-S) shortcrust pastry, then made the filling by slicing the apples and coating them with: caster sugar, muscovado sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, a little salt and a couple of tbsp of cornflour to thicken up the juice released by the apples. I filled the pie (very very generously- those apples needed using up!) with the apple slices and the sugar and spice coating. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After putting the lid on the pie (the most Snow White-esque part of the process for me) I decided it needed some sprucing up, so it was time to whack out the blossom plunger cutters and make it a more fairytale-pie, I covered the top with pastry flowers before glazing with milk and baking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I probably should have cooked the apples down before baking to get some of the juices out, but I went for the quick option and filled the pie with the raw apple filling, the pastry was still baked through properly and had a crisp base, but as soon as I cut out a slice the tin was flooded with appley sauce! It was yummy and syrupy but there sure was a lot of juice! We weren’t complaining though, especially when it mixed in with a little of the double cream we ate it with ;-) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The pie also made for a pretty good rushed breakfast the next morning, you’ll get to find out what the rush was all about in the next post! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hayley x</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-61727234490795377692012-08-23T11:02:00.001-07:002012-08-23T11:02:40.285-07:00Be back soon!Sorry it's been all quiet on the cake front for a few weeks, but be assured that there will be lots of posting going on next week! In the meantime, enjoy this picture of the Matterhorn, one of the most gorgeous and imposing mountains I've seen, wish I could be back on holiday, Switzerland has great cake as well as great scenery!! <br />
Hayley x <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYryM8ZPRtOGHF0hTDIsizpC34WHkvUZuuDlz62qCDOn3mBBj7B4AeaShdO0RmXKZGV3Kh93qk0cuqlhAY9hdM9E9G4lcM30Dj7caN0VluRS2L849Y8iEdHM4XWKusEyGBKx7EUPHOEPxS/s640/blogger-image--922662029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYryM8ZPRtOGHF0hTDIsizpC34WHkvUZuuDlz62qCDOn3mBBj7B4AeaShdO0RmXKZGV3Kh93qk0cuqlhAY9hdM9E9G4lcM30Dj7caN0VluRS2L849Y8iEdHM4XWKusEyGBKx7EUPHOEPxS/s640/blogger-image--922662029.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-2473775185679832412012-07-29T14:39:00.001-07:002012-07-29T14:39:40.465-07:00An Ode to FroYoJust look at this beauty! My oh so yummy Snog frozen yogurt from Snog in Covent Garden this evening, natural frozen yoghurt with toasted coconut, raspberries and brownie chunks mmmmm. And why does this deserve such praise? Because the yoghurt is so so creamy, and it's 100% fat free! Just imagine how healthy it would have been if I had resisted the brownie joy :-) the yoghurt at Snog is sweetened with Agave nectar as well, so no refined sugar (if you get nice healthy toppings) so there it is, I didn't make it but it needed a little shout out cause it was just so innocently yummy :-)<br />
Hayley :-)<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlx4MR-62aGQhH4uNCRiem5y_UuBoqaOHJea9Yzm2fYmb0CAvg2DhlGmWlEy3TrR13Y1pDAg-VFeKOvLyqXKjf4vxytXC-qGApZFQSkywvlFgRyEULKD7rkvbDS30Sa0whmB46mqwWZiF/s640/blogger-image-2031321594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlx4MR-62aGQhH4uNCRiem5y_UuBoqaOHJea9Yzm2fYmb0CAvg2DhlGmWlEy3TrR13Y1pDAg-VFeKOvLyqXKjf4vxytXC-qGApZFQSkywvlFgRyEULKD7rkvbDS30Sa0whmB46mqwWZiF/s640/blogger-image-2031321594.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-83178742964305159532012-07-19T11:27:00.000-07:002012-07-19T11:27:22.793-07:00Pretty in Pink<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hiya! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rather absurdly, my summer holidays began today (the absurd part being that on the way back from school I was under an umbrella, some summer eh?) This means the end of term, which provided me with a decent reason to bake up some cupcakes; a dozen for my German teacher who is leaving and 2 half dozen boxes as little gifts for my 2 of my mum’s colleagues (she’s a school teacher so the end of term is doubly busy in our household) I went for pretty pink flowers as my “theme” to try and bring a little summery-ness to this slightly gloomy British July. These were basic vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, topped with glitter galore, various shapes of pink fondant flowers and little edible pearls- very girly and colourful enough, I hope, to bring a little summer-energy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtigHRouM3c3YF07TYd7JTzY0ykcm-zXcossYdv1kYu8jlq3wNsse0O9HpRw_Oi1T7aL8dOv0zUXfnuEumahYcYY5C6wjhyphenhyphenF-sqO9oIFc4FOMnwdKXmknHbB71L-y_vy_TiUn6R5cIMsl/s1600/P1110763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtigHRouM3c3YF07TYd7JTzY0ykcm-zXcossYdv1kYu8jlq3wNsse0O9HpRw_Oi1T7aL8dOv0zUXfnuEumahYcYY5C6wjhyphenhyphenF-sqO9oIFc4FOMnwdKXmknHbB71L-y_vy_TiUn6R5cIMsl/s320/P1110763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The dozen for Mrs Lee, I went for a fairly concentrated pink glitter circle so that the outer petal detail on the paler flowers would show properly. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgX3i-FaPYeNOEbqn61QrC4dfVXotqhQ5n1m4D1QYGeyx6X4opiczvB8s96ham1oo-dsJTJKKY6Gk2PgWNqs1xKny64iUAJu3vx1ui-JRlNkDZPQU8UYdUUUoZRLylhe3LEprZrlwPJOe/s1600/P1110765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgX3i-FaPYeNOEbqn61QrC4dfVXotqhQ5n1m4D1QYGeyx6X4opiczvB8s96ham1oo-dsJTJKKY6Gk2PgWNqs1xKny64iUAJu3vx1ui-JRlNkDZPQU8UYdUUUoZRLylhe3LEprZrlwPJOe/s320/P1110765.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And a half dozen box, one of the two for Mum’s colleagues.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4RCMC5HoM9HrfA5YEPKwUrrE2w0ZPG48w5po663N1Eb_FFTHRyas-nWbvLqVWk0tISjL4S3WY7fB867pqc6zneE1eAEPFgC3dWyouFidew7DjLaqtPWgU2RyE6GyWF_n2uoFacUC0-iK/s1600/P1110767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4RCMC5HoM9HrfA5YEPKwUrrE2w0ZPG48w5po663N1Eb_FFTHRyas-nWbvLqVWk0tISjL4S3WY7fB867pqc6zneE1eAEPFgC3dWyouFidew7DjLaqtPWgU2RyE6GyWF_n2uoFacUC0-iK/s320/P1110767.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And a closer look at one of the flowers, cause I like to poorly imitate fancy magazine photos! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So now its “summertime”, hopefully the weather will clear up soon cause at the moment it really doesn’t feel like the holidays! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Hayley x</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-15875026877413103492012-07-06T13:41:00.000-07:002012-07-06T13:43:16.340-07:00Lovely Leaves (and creepy monster eyes!)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Heya! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent lots of my food technology lessons decorating cupcakes! It’s been lovely and relaxing to have these little cakey interludes to my normal day of studying, and –even better- I’ve been able to teach some of my friends some leaf painting goodness! I used PME plunger cutters- ivy and rose leaves as well as multiple size daisies; and they were painted with Kroma airbrush paints (though I wasn’t actually using our airbrush) and Rainbow Dust metallic paints (I’m very lucky with my school’s sugar craft supplies!) We had so much fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First up- this gorgeous rainbow-leaf cupcake was made by the wonder team of my friends Liv and Kate: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3g5AHBFHQfb0p_4fW386QAI3KFTYrP42SehZH665TrIHXZ66FzloMIlWPUamQt9aXenzaZB_7DDuKFbSIGMkLqWjVPTNCS92i7AG0vyFnlds6RqH3cNHJvIw-1nEeRBm9mNCYxizSlai/s1600/kate+and+liv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3g5AHBFHQfb0p_4fW386QAI3KFTYrP42SehZH665TrIHXZ66FzloMIlWPUamQt9aXenzaZB_7DDuKFbSIGMkLqWjVPTNCS92i7AG0vyFnlds6RqH3cNHJvIw-1nEeRBm9mNCYxizSlai/s320/kate+and+liv.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And second, this beauty was created by the aforementioned Kate and also Alex- this was their first go at leaf painting and I think this is a pretty cool result! The colours of these leaves were so magic, and I added on a couple of tendrils as well as their initials to finish off the cupcake- and I’d say the result was pretty cute! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisP0TOJlO-UW4s3kGwr8VkZll3ExhYE_BhcFj8l953fUO4ed87uTTQG1NtVb954t8su1TB9ODKGLfuCIHDk91yBm_uis7m3TpkeOq5rsAIp52Vw9HG_Elj3XeCCCN7OZUoBD-pxZtutq3s/s1600/kate+and+alex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisP0TOJlO-UW4s3kGwr8VkZll3ExhYE_BhcFj8l953fUO4ed87uTTQG1NtVb954t8su1TB9ODKGLfuCIHDk91yBm_uis7m3TpkeOq5rsAIp52Vw9HG_Elj3XeCCCN7OZUoBD-pxZtutq3s/s320/kate+and+alex.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is what I was up to while Alex and Kate were working their magic on the leaves and flowers above, just a few simple ivy leaves and tendrils</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pL26B9ceKkFa3P1lR0ldHNOGk3nNgiqFkIrkGBTed9VLjbVEi9G8A_v2Z4TLHo7KrWT3ecDfrjCti_lUKcfT3Yn500ix3sBaocOE_g5kpimTYd5-dE4SI_AkDL7VrWGKpsO1j5pmIhBo/s1600/ivy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pL26B9ceKkFa3P1lR0ldHNOGk3nNgiqFkIrkGBTed9VLjbVEi9G8A_v2Z4TLHo7KrWT3ecDfrjCti_lUKcfT3Yn500ix3sBaocOE_g5kpimTYd5-dE4SI_AkDL7VrWGKpsO1j5pmIhBo/s320/ivy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And finally, this is what I was doing when Kate and Liv were painting their rainbow leaves, this is inspired by our recent visit to Alton Towers, more specifically the ride Nemesis. The back story of the ride revolves around an alien, and the sign of the ride is a big creepy eye with what looks like redweed from War of the Worlds all over it, so I decided to immortalise the ride on a cupcake. I don’t think it’s the most appetizing design- but suitably creepy! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguE_lf7xNftYoak6dZcB1EpEXahGZTCkmjVfr2wPYnRF8zSR2EWeZpG71-VlHj17yI1GWYPnYPi49PwyTbwnXuR6EEAC9IK5L3YfgJ7sIWLuoo9cI5P9319O2YrQsNuJdLMdMjAM2u-0B9/s1600/nemesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguE_lf7xNftYoak6dZcB1EpEXahGZTCkmjVfr2wPYnRF8zSR2EWeZpG71-VlHj17yI1GWYPnYPi49PwyTbwnXuR6EEAC9IK5L3YfgJ7sIWLuoo9cI5P9319O2YrQsNuJdLMdMjAM2u-0B9/s320/nemesis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Weekend! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hayley x <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-40190824145653252962012-07-01T11:01:00.000-07:002012-07-01T11:02:46.072-07:00Peanut Butter Fudge<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hello! Welcome to my first proper recipe-post. As I had a free Sunday today I decided to celebrate by making a batch of fudge. I had wanted to try making peanut butter fudge for a while, so that was what was on the agenda for this morning; when I started looking for recipes none of them seemed all that great to me, so I decided to ad lib and this recipe was the result- and it turned out pretty well! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4OMZikgcxeHm-9SLYvL5SVah-IbXmTMpxhKDEY4dYXye-fGu4v_iNSdKBK9ZJSOhRCDY39JW8Xy0XTCpkSGR8l4mmZHiH34ccFKDRUuBEc7MAN2zep6DADMTWalkasAmQKvYl3hWSuon/s1600/P1110753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4OMZikgcxeHm-9SLYvL5SVah-IbXmTMpxhKDEY4dYXye-fGu4v_iNSdKBK9ZJSOhRCDY39JW8Xy0XTCpkSGR8l4mmZHiH34ccFKDRUuBEc7MAN2zep6DADMTWalkasAmQKvYl3hWSuon/s320/P1110753.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So you’ll need:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">800g granulated sugar (I always use unrefined for the yummy fudgy flavour it has already)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200ml double cream </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">100ml milk (whole or semi-skimmed, doesn’t matter)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">100g salted butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1/2tsp salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">150g crunchy peanut butter (you could use smooth but I like the crunch in the fudge)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And pretty simply, you just weigh out all the ingredients except the peanut butter, and put them into a heavy based pan with a lot of room for the syrup to bubble up (also, this is the best time to grease your tin with a little flavourless oil, sunflower etc- I used a 7 by 11 inch, 1 inch deep tin)-</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8KzC5oZA4Wqw9xami_SbBPZXTCRHY8o0TlaZKN5pcyNKY0PmzQ5u4ynBiQpXZDpyZYJF_5oe07LSudN9aod7Ga0ltNTzmDqo_-zYlTNOTOC8pWzZaeh6_3dJhjfuaory2uGXLDUG8lVT/s1600/P1110737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8KzC5oZA4Wqw9xami_SbBPZXTCRHY8o0TlaZKN5pcyNKY0PmzQ5u4ynBiQpXZDpyZYJF_5oe07LSudN9aod7Ga0ltNTzmDqo_-zYlTNOTOC8pWzZaeh6_3dJhjfuaory2uGXLDUG8lVT/s320/P1110737.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then put over a low heat to dissolve the sugar with the cream and butter-</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSDVSm1T2TMVlLEZfnaj4t4p4UskmTZ4tQjAOfW5VE-DiKU0M9pGOaUjbH9UJDbx7FQh4nKjWCBTvmDRf1WozSD_wwfI9gc0cGrit6fldsj55IDmtOPGhKQWjrHIFCSraDuuEllrzq3Z7/s1600/P1110739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSDVSm1T2TMVlLEZfnaj4t4p4UskmTZ4tQjAOfW5VE-DiKU0M9pGOaUjbH9UJDbx7FQh4nKjWCBTvmDRf1WozSD_wwfI9gc0cGrit6fldsj55IDmtOPGhKQWjrHIFCSraDuuEllrzq3Z7/s320/P1110739.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once dissolved, the mixture needs to boil. Obviously be careful of the sugar-napalm you are working with here- no fingers! And you should use a wooden spoon so the heat doesn’t conduct and burn your palm. The fudge doesn’t need constant stirring, but do give it a mix here and there. It needs to get to just above soft ball (testable the traditional way with a glass of water, or preferably with a sugar thermometer. Or in my case two because I’m a little paranoid since my Christmas fudge disaster of ‘08) my batch took just over 10 minutes to do this-</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0d0mRsoxa88VWEFCtbGGrw9we2nbQdkzx_YKPhXbJnzh-Oz5X8mKCt7xxbzicDQjinYr1X-OwQd4z6KBJXZCCf99GqauFFsQYNMmBExLeaYb2aHPZ4DFVpnLclDp1bqusO3aMmI1iDGK/s1600/P1110741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0d0mRsoxa88VWEFCtbGGrw9we2nbQdkzx_YKPhXbJnzh-Oz5X8mKCt7xxbzicDQjinYr1X-OwQd4z6KBJXZCCf99GqauFFsQYNMmBExLeaYb2aHPZ4DFVpnLclDp1bqusO3aMmI1iDGK/s320/P1110741.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once it has reached the correct temperature, leave the mix to cool for a few minutes, so the bubbles die down, and then beat the syrup until you can feel that it has become grainy, and it isn’t glossy anymore. Then add in the peanut butter, giving it a final beat.-</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIoNGYhEmsYupMQdTGufFgmeq7k8FxLMIAlYmZjV0fMyh1nPUXzCwtboYpPZ1mC46fbzx5Cy6DraSWPdqNU790usRTLribyw8OwckC1vyZmTKe_YP-8b3cuQ3D5adTsXPugNxbSIoOLB8/s1600/P1110746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIoNGYhEmsYupMQdTGufFgmeq7k8FxLMIAlYmZjV0fMyh1nPUXzCwtboYpPZ1mC46fbzx5Cy6DraSWPdqNU790usRTLribyw8OwckC1vyZmTKe_YP-8b3cuQ3D5adTsXPugNxbSIoOLB8/s320/P1110746.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then transfer the mix into the greased tin and leave to cool. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK37rG300xDgABu8SqOyE4SzcU8xy6L1k3EP-DWDIFvjP5h4IukH8DMZ5Ta-n1LjX_w7Lw3Kqm8tcQ6SOibK51T66rPXuetNuaI_1VSLSI5X0SoO6eLi_6spd1eB9JrY3tFMIUZAP3KXkc/s1600/P1110747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK37rG300xDgABu8SqOyE4SzcU8xy6L1k3EP-DWDIFvjP5h4IukH8DMZ5Ta-n1LjX_w7Lw3Kqm8tcQ6SOibK51T66rPXuetNuaI_1VSLSI5X0SoO6eLi_6spd1eB9JrY3tFMIUZAP3KXkc/s320/P1110747.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once it’s cooled, tip the block out onto a board and cut it into pretty little squares- and dig in! I keep my fudge in the magic that is Tupperware, anything airtight will do the job (and it would look lovely in a Kilner jar) </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oooh and when you’ve poured the fudge into the tin, don’t throw the pan straight into the washing up, scrape the set fudge from the pan and make yourself some yummy yummy fudge sprinkles! And then you can make this pretty dessert by scattering them over bananas and crème fraiche </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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Hayley x </div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-39750297944213425612012-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:002012-06-27T11:32:35.915-07:00BirthdaysAnother catch-up post, I thought today i'd show you a couple of birthday cakes orders that i've had recently, so here goes!<br />
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Number One: This is a chocolate cake that I made for a 50th birthday; and the rose and calyx design was inspired by a wedding cake I saw ages ago (on one of my fairly sad sit-and-google-image-wedding-cakes sessions, which are probably far too frequent!) I have a serious love for the combination of pale pinks and greens, especially since one of my oldest friends (more like my adopted big sister) used them as the colour scheme for her wonderful wedding last year; and I quite liked how they turned out in rose form on this cake! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirM0rTfgeynIW5QXmlVYRNTR9DnxPJGsnLOuM_zRLQgbHNlPdkntB100_H6NTUm5qb8dKkTIMCAcCXKZHROOQ74-DYvJOgXPeXW1EpPg3FzmVLAOWxhcMPFM0NO6m62DzfDRNvSFfo6TMS/s1600/P1110188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirM0rTfgeynIW5QXmlVYRNTR9DnxPJGsnLOuM_zRLQgbHNlPdkntB100_H6NTUm5qb8dKkTIMCAcCXKZHROOQ74-DYvJOgXPeXW1EpPg3FzmVLAOWxhcMPFM0NO6m62DzfDRNvSFfo6TMS/s320/P1110188.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the second; a 70th birthday cake for one of my best friends' Granddad. The decoration was inspired by the design of a vintage cinema that he is involved with the running of, and I have it on good authority that he loved it! The cake itself was a light fruit cake packed with citrus, to make it a little more summery than a traditional fruit cake (not that the boozy element was forfeited!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj348q8ceJGJhz7X7ac_KCS_loHSNnwd4GCt4HFmH15t027GunhQnbXt3N4l1X00_ef78IaI-ThbSm9G0RpV2UpKYSJJMYZAfZbRC-HjgxljYOscl_m51lEoqtmi37iNRIzBhtSYkLeXFyL/s1600/P1110591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj348q8ceJGJhz7X7ac_KCS_loHSNnwd4GCt4HFmH15t027GunhQnbXt3N4l1X00_ef78IaI-ThbSm9G0RpV2UpKYSJJMYZAfZbRC-HjgxljYOscl_m51lEoqtmi37iNRIzBhtSYkLeXFyL/s320/P1110591.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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excuse the still-wet paint on the "70"</div>
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so there we go, happy wednesday!<br />
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Hayley x<br />
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-16971150317617932772012-06-21T13:24:00.002-07:002012-06-21T13:24:41.710-07:00Cupcakage!I do love a good cupcake! Here's a few of mine, some made for orders, and some just for the fun of it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKveIgHGmHwh2BBnOtU55BR4rjP2eApL5-aHyQbahrlAKB0vcCK_5p5uf93MsPdtzcnH1yKbvWvUsyVoSyptX9ug8SvmArHnUW0YtQW1751VvKJxBz8JFUBZhQ98o5ID7uyGm4x2hwiCn/s1600/P1110215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKveIgHGmHwh2BBnOtU55BR4rjP2eApL5-aHyQbahrlAKB0vcCK_5p5uf93MsPdtzcnH1yKbvWvUsyVoSyptX9ug8SvmArHnUW0YtQW1751VvKJxBz8JFUBZhQ98o5ID7uyGm4x2hwiCn/s320/P1110215.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
These were vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, all prettied up for a christening. I went for tiny fondant baby booties in blue and white to fit the occasion, as well as fondant lettering (and the little sprinkle of glitter that somehow ends up on all my cakes!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvqlwBO-Mgm4sVqGCcG_ey0fWISGL4bW6mQltYfCY_ZEuVfGTCUQKTQw-m4C2VVLhWrn_zTsmB1a5Gvwy0IJJNE6EABePhBPb0m4sXoh1_nG200ikrx-R5ekP-mfA4JLyNmb5yuAeqHR8/s1600/P1110508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvqlwBO-Mgm4sVqGCcG_ey0fWISGL4bW6mQltYfCY_ZEuVfGTCUQKTQw-m4C2VVLhWrn_zTsmB1a5Gvwy0IJJNE6EABePhBPb0m4sXoh1_nG200ikrx-R5ekP-mfA4JLyNmb5yuAeqHR8/s320/P1110508.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
And next, my little addition to the flurry of patriotic jubilee baking that we experienced a few weeks ago; vanilla sponges with a whole fresh strawberry in the middle and vanilla cream cheese frosting, and a special glitter hat-tip to her majesty with red, white and powder blue glitter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkSOxL2zLrJtowk2rZ_l_abUUTGVwvHAFxfTFv82OvhJyfxPliRFeMh6D3YC4_X8Sn64SrptwGEmrqZgXI60mNRSsSXGR8CxCJ8qc8psrw76JBE5nHcoNN69TF4CzW4GakZEJo6tYy24y/s1600/P1110271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkSOxL2zLrJtowk2rZ_l_abUUTGVwvHAFxfTFv82OvhJyfxPliRFeMh6D3YC4_X8Sn64SrptwGEmrqZgXI60mNRSsSXGR8CxCJ8qc8psrw76JBE5nHcoNN69TF4CzW4GakZEJo6tYy24y/s320/P1110271.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some more birthday cupcakes, this time a lemon sponge with lemon zest buttercream; sunny yellow fondant lettering, lemon curd swirls and, you guessed it, some gold sparkly goodness!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvt0VNhiLRky9zhhvYJWdJDFZr4QmIRHmGPc0SyUqIn_X8RVYjlKAdzuulWjJ1ZGA5g5tygp8E_fe_ud7BlyyBaB_h87lb-QVrfjNERa7W3oy_CWrCJjnL6w_kTW7-ZXY0khCgYUdRrxps/s1600/xmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvt0VNhiLRky9zhhvYJWdJDFZr4QmIRHmGPc0SyUqIn_X8RVYjlKAdzuulWjJ1ZGA5g5tygp8E_fe_ud7BlyyBaB_h87lb-QVrfjNERa7W3oy_CWrCJjnL6w_kTW7-ZXY0khCgYUdRrxps/s320/xmas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And finally a photo of my biggest order to date, 100 christmassy vanilla cupcakes- and operation so great the decorating had to move to my dining room table! all topped with a magic sparkly sprinkle; some with handmade fondant candy canes- that was one busy day in my kitchen!</div>
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So there's a wee sample of my cupcake production! I'm hungry... </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1754653921535234113.post-6033198528597056462012-06-21T12:51:00.003-07:002012-06-21T12:51:36.769-07:00Welcome to the Parker Cupcakery blog!Hello There!<br />
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Welcome to the Parker Cupcakery blog, allow me to introduce myself: I am Hayley Parker and I have loved baking since I was tiny. I was 7 when I proclaimed to my parents that I would one day be a chef, and now that dream has only slightly altered- in that I am now an aspiring baker and food writer. I read many fantastic blogs, and have decided to create my own to share the fruits of my baking labour, some recipes, and "reviews" of any interesting foodie things I happen across here in London. As for the "Parker Cupcakery"- I have recently started making cakes for people under the name, and I hope that this will grow over the next few months into a little sideline. For now, I'll write some less wordy and more interesting posts, and show you all some of my cakes!<br />
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Hayley :-) <br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12853003915142988968noreply@blogger.com0