Garden planter

And now for something different from my usual baking and crafts... I made a wooden garden planter!

Last summer B&Q started offering "You can do it" classes, where you could go to your local store and learn how to do a specific job - including plastering, laying laminate flooring, using power tools and putting up shelves and mirrors. I'd already taken an eight-week evening class in basic DIY the year before (a necessity when moving into my own house given I could barely change a lightbulb), but I was about to start doing up my garden and thought their class on building raised beds in your garden would be very beneficial.

The class only cost £10 for three hours of tuition and - as it turned out - construction, in a small group of about six people. The course description led me to believe we would be learning how to create raised flower beds, so I was quite surprised when I arrived and was told "We're going to be making one of these" - a square free-standing wooden planter. I queried what that had to do with raised beds in your garden, only to be told "We don't have the facilities to do that here, so we're making one of these instead". The planter in question was about half a metre wide by half a metre tall, and made of really solid wood.... and I was supposed to be getting the bus home! Luckily I rang my boyfriend and he said his mum would be able to pick me up after the class and take me home.

So we were given some long pieces of wood and had to mark the right length and use a power saw to cut the sections. Unfortunately one of the first people to use the saw broke the blade, and it took the guy taking the class about half an hour to find and set up a new one, so in the meantime we had to use hand saws. Sawing wood by hand is quite hard work and it's also very hard to saw in a straight line (well, I find it hard) so my planter ended up a little wonky.

When we had the correct-sized pieces of wood, we had to fix them together to create a basic frame, using a power screwdriver.

Then we cut pieces of decking to make the side panels and fit them on. It sounds quite straightforward and wasn't too difficult (other than my wonky edges) but it took almost the entire three hours to get to the point you can see below.

There was supposed to be a decorative top section that I didn't have time to finish, though I guess I couldn't complain - the £10 cost of the class covered the materials, as well as tuition, and obviously I got to take home the planter that I had made.

A week later, my boyfriend and his dad kindly added the decorative top section that I hadn't had time to make. You can see the finished planter below, taking pride of place on my patio!

Easter cupcakes

Here's a quick snapshot of some cakes I made last Easter to take to a lunch party with some of my boyfriend's family. They are nutella cakes with a very gooey nutella icing and mini eggs on top. I presented them in a box with some fluffy Easter chicks!

I don't think I'm going to have time to do any Easter baking as I will be away on a hen night, quite appropriately dressed as an Easter chick!

Nonetheless I am going to send these into Tea Time Treats hosted this month by What Kate Baked (her co-host is Karen from Lavender and Lovage) as their theme for April is Easter. I'm sure most people will have far more impressive entries; in my defence I made this a year ago before I really got into baking, and I had planned a wonderful hen cake for my friend's hen night but can't do it now as I have to take the train down to Devon, and carry everything I need for the weekend around with me all day and all evening as there isn't time to drop it off at her house before we go out!

Two-tiered cow print birthday cake

As I mentioned in my previous post, my boyfriend's last name is Cowe and I couldn't resist the opportunity to make a cow themed cake for his birthday! Here it is in all its glory:

I wanted to make a two-tier cake which I had never done before, and I decided to make two different cakes for each tier - though both had to be chocolate! I flicked through my recipe books and decided on Green & Black's Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake and the Hummingbird Bakery's Brooklyn Blackout Cake.

I'm not going to post the entire recipes here although they are available online: this is the Green & Black's Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake on the blog of Natalie Seldon, who created the recipe for the book.
 Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking power, bicarb of soda and a pinch of salt then add ground almonds. Melt chocolate.

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla extract

Add melted chocolate and buttermilk. I can't usually get hold of buttermilk so just use milk with a squeeze of lemon juice but this time I did manage to find buttermilk.

Fold in with the flour mixture

I have a temperamental oven that always cooks too fast and I found that the top of the cake was burning while the middle was still uncooked - grrr. So I covered the top of the cake tin with foil and put it back in for a bit longer.

Then I moved on to making the Brooklyn Blackout Cake, though I forgot to take any photos of the process. It's a reasonably straightforward cake recipe with cocoa powder for the chocolate flavouring. The most elaborate part of the recipe is the chocolate custard that is used as the frosting, but I decided not to make this as I thought it would probably be too runny.

I bought a set of three cake tins on Amazon that decrease in size, so I used the smallest for the Brooklyn Blackout cake and the medium-sized tin for the Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake.

This is the first cake when it came out of the oven and turned upside down

And half of the smaller cake on top. I had read a lot online about how to make a tiered cake, including using dowells and a cardboard circle under the top cake, but I decided the top cake wouldn't be too heavy, and the bottom cake was sufficiently robust, that I could bother without any of that and just place one cake on top of the other.

For the chocolate frosting I decided to use the chocolate heart that my boyfriend and I received as part of our Valentine's package at the Chocolate Hotel as we hadn't eaten it and I thought it would be nice to incorporate into his birthday cake.

I also got to try out my cake wire which you use to cut a cake neatly through the middle, or slice off the top if it's uneven. You adjust the wire so it is at the same height on both sides (there are notches so you can see easily) and then you pull it through the cake, slicing it neatly in half.

I decided to use partly a standard chocolate buttercream with cocoa power and also to make a second type of filling with the melted chocolate, butter and icing sugar.

I spread buttercream over the bottom layer of the chocolate fudge cake and was pleased that it was quite thick and stiff, so wouldn't ooze out with the weight of the other cakes on top

It looked quite neat with the top half of the cake placed on top!

Then I started on the top tier. I spread a layer of the second type of chocolate frosting on top of the base cake, and placed half the Brooklyn Blackout cake on top

In the meantime while I was waiting for the last cake to cool, I covered a cake board in fondant

Then finally placed the last piece of cake on top, with plenty more frosting. You can never have too much frosting!

I then spread a thin layer of buttercream all over the sides, so the roll-out fondant would stick.I also placed it on the cake board but covered the board with foil around the edges of the cake, so when I spread the frosting it wouldn't go onto the board. I then removed the bits of foil so the cake board was clean.

I decided to cover the whole thing in fondant, and realised afterwards I probably should have covered both cakes separately and then place one on top of the other. I found it quite hard to judge how much fondant I would need to cover two cakes and go in over the 'step' of the bottom cake. As you can see from the picture below, the piece of fondant wasn't quite big enough and split slightly on the top.

Luckily this didn't really matter as the plan was to make a cow print cake with patches of black fondant, and I realised I could strategically place the black patches wherever I had some gaps or tears in the white fondant that needed covering.

The crowning glory of the cake was something that unfortunately I have to admit I didn't make myself. I bought a Livingsocial voucher for a class in making edible ornaments for cake decoration, and signed up to the class in March - there was only one a month and my boyfriend's birthday is April 1st. Unfortunately a couple of weeks beforehand, the March was cancelled, and I was told the next available date was April 16th. I emailed the Cake Embassy, and asked for a refund as I said there was no longer any point doing the course as I only wanted it for my boyfriend's birthday cake and the next available date was after his birthday. They said that because I had already paid through Livingsocial, and they were offering alternative dates for the cancelled class, they couldn't give me a refund, but they were willing to make me one ornament of my choice free of charge, and I could also do the class at a later date. That was a very generous offer and seemed a pretty good solution, even though I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't get to make the cake topper myself.

So one night after work I stopped off in Clapham and picked this up from the lovely Timi. Isn't he cute?

I simply sat him on top of my cake

I also made a couple of butterflies out of Mexican paste that I had made for my last cake decorating class and coloured pink. I had an embossed butterfly plunger cutter that made these very simple to make, and I thought the cow could use some friends.

The finished cake - it looks a little rough and ready, but I was really pleased with it!

The cow surrounded by birthday candles - though there weren't room for 35!

It looked pretty good when it was sliced through both tiers

Mmmm... probably one of the best cakes I've made! Happy birthday Ian xxx

Cow birthday card

My boyfriend's last name is Cowe and while he has had 35 years of cow-related jokes and birthday cards, it's still a novelty to me! So I couldn't resist making him a cow birthday card - and cake as you will see later!



I bought a die-cut pack of two different cows where all I had to do was pop out the shapes and glue on the legs, tail etc. I also embellished it with some glittery heart stickers :-)

Alphabakes roundup for March 2012: M

Welcome to the second monthly round-up for the Alphabakes blogging challenge, and the first one to be hosted on my site!
Our letter for March, selected by a random letter generator, was M. A wealth of ingredients and bakes immediately sprang to mind, but some of the entries this month were things that would never have occurred to me! I’m really pleased by the number of entries we’ve had - 39, so even more than last month - and how well everyone’s bakes have turned out.

So with no further ado, here are the M entries for March, in the order in which they were received.

First off the mark this month was my own mother, who I think is enjoying Alphabakes as much as I am! Jacqueline sent us this marmalade and walnut cake, which looks like it would be lovely with a nice cup of tea. And my mum makes a good cup of tea J

Next came these meringues from Dima of Dima’sKitchen. Read her full post for some very informative and useful tips on making meringues- I certainly learnt a few things I didn’t know!

 Laura from Laura Loves Cakes sent us a marmalade loaf cake – very fitting as it was national marmalade week. It looks very more-ish!

Rachel from Blissfully Scrumptious blog entered a Morello Cherry and Chocolate Marble Loaf . I love the marble effect and anything with chocolate always looks good to me! Morello cherry is also an ingredient I hadn’t thought of when I brainstormed the letter M!

                                                                              

Helen from Fuss Free Flavours was another person inspired by the letter M to make a meringue – in this case, she made a green pavlova with elderflower cream and topped with kiwi. It made me green with envy! (groan)

Maple syrup is one of my favourite ingredients so I definitely liked the look of these maple syrup flapjacks, sent in by Laura of Credit Munched. They look lovely and chewy!

 I was very impressed by these mango and chocolate muffins by Mel from Sharky Oven Gloves, as she’d just moved from Edinburgh to New Zealand and hadn’t even finished unpacking when she made these! Mango and chocolate isn’t a combination I’ve ever had before, but I think these muffins look really good.

Marmalade was obviously a popular choice this month – Dom from Belleau Kitchen sent in this marmalade cake he made for Mothers’ Day. The frosting on top looks especially yummy!

Have you ever made marshmallows before? Me neither! I love eating them though, so was very pleased to receive this entry from Corina from Searching for Spice: she made marshmallows with strawberries. Perfect to go alongside a glass of Pimm’s… or is that just me?!

Speaking of cocktails…. Olivia from Liv a Little Bakery sent us these Mint mojito cupcakes. The icing looks so perfect I’m a little jealous… and needless to say a great flavour combination too! Check out the little lime decoration on the cake at the back – too cute!

The next entry was my own – and continues the cocktail theme! I made a mimosa (a champagne and orange cocktail) Mother’s Day cake and used a silicon mould in the shape of the letters ‘mum’.

Janice from FarmersGirlKitchen made one of my childhood favourites: a lemon meringue pie. It looks really delicious!

 I may be a little biased when I say this but I think my sister Clare’s entry is brilliant! She recently went to Finland, home of the Moomins, and bought this Moomin cookie cutter. She made gingerbread and is calling them Ginger Moomins. She made them for Mother’s Day so I can confirm that they tasted great!

The next entry was a really unusual one – at least, it was something I’d never heard of before. Gill from Tales of Pigling Bland sent in these Japanese Mochi. She says they are glutinous rice cakes (mochi) with a sweet filling – a little like  an adventurous marshmallow. I’d love to try one!

My co-host for Alphabakes, Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker, has gone all out this month – well, she’s not called Baking Addict for nothing! First she sent in these pistachio and chocolate macarons. We both took a macaron-making class recently and wanted to try our hand at making them ourselves afterwards. I think Ros’s macarons have turned out really well, don’t you agree?

She also made some madeleines –pistachio and rose flavour. Apparently simple to make, and they look really yummy – I doubt I could stop at one!

Ros’s mum also entered Alphabakes again this month, with a flourless mandarin cake. Flourless cakes are usually really moist so I bet this one was lovely!

Jacqueline from Cakeboule is a self-confessed Starbucks addict and decided to make a cake inspired by one of her favourite drinks. This Macchiato Layer Cake would go down a treat with a cup of coffee – and I think the decoration is beautiful.

St. Patrick’s Day fell in March and was the inspiration for several of our entries this month, including these mint chocolate macarons from Kate from What Kate Baked. I find macarons really hard so am very impressed by Kate’s, even though personally I don’t like mint! I’m sure they tasted great to everyone else J

Kit from i-lostinausten – a wonderful Jane Austen-inspired baking blog – sent in this mango cheesecake. It looks like it turned out perfectly and I’d love to dig in with a spoon!

Lucas @ CoverVersions.TV made a fab video showing how he made what he calls a Botched Macadamia Honey Pear Thing – though apart from breaking slightly when it came out of the tin, I don’t think it was botched at all, and it looks really yummy!

More meringues – and this time by Sue from A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate. Her entry is Molten Mint Meringues – they’re crisp on the outside and a beautiful gooey green on the inside!

Javelin Warrior from CookinWLuv sent us these molasses cupcakes, and apparently wasn’t thrilled with how they turned out, but they look good enough to eat to me!

I’m a total chocaholic so was pleased to see this mocha traybake from Suelle from Mainly Baking. I could devour a big chunk of this!

Helen from Fuss Free Flavours sent us a second entry for March, which was great – there is no limit to how many times you can enter! This time she sent in some vegan chocolate, hazelnut and matcha muffins. I’ve never tried cooking with matcha before and I will definitely have to bookmark this recipe as one of my close friends is vegan. So thanks, Helen!

Caroline from Cake, Crumbs and Cooking made these Madeleines de Commercy  and passed on a useful tip about the nipples. I didn’t realise madeleines had nipples, but apparently they do! They look wonderfully light and springy.

It’s almost Easter, so Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem made these Malteser Bunny Cupcakes – they look so cute and delicious! I’m actually surprised that it took until entry number 27 for anyone to send in something using maltesers – they were actually the first thing I thought of!

Some more madeleines, this time baked by Angela  from Garden Tea Cakes and Me. They look very spongy and springy – I might have to get myself a madeleine pan!

The unstoppable Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker also sent in these Mint Oreo Fudge Brownies – she’s recently returned from a trip to the U.S. where she purchased some mint oreos, amongst (several) other things. You’d get a wonderful surprise when biting into these!

She also made this tropical cake using an exotic fruit tin she bought in America – and this cake uses a whole range of delicious fruit. It’s a mango, pineapple, coconut and banana cake, and would definitely put a smile on anyone’s face.

Anuja from Simple Baking made these molten marshmallow cupcakes – they look absolutely fantastic and totally melting in the middle. Can I have one please?!

 Denise from Magnolia Verandah sent us these coconut macaroons, which look lovely and chewy. Don’t forget that you don’t have to make something using an ingredient beginning with the magic letter – it can also be the name of the recipe or the type of bake. Sorry if that wasn’t clear and I’m glad Denise decided to send these in anyway!

The talented Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog always bakes with chocolate, so she’s sent us a chocolate and marzipan cheesecake – a recipe chosen at random. I think it looks lovely though I have never seen marzipan in a cheesecake before!

 I wasn’t intending to enter twice, but I wanted to bake an edible gift for someone’s birthday and decided on millionaire’s shortbread. I didn’t choose it because it began with the letter M – well, that wasn’t the only reason! It looked a bit bashed around once I’d cut it into pieces but tasted glorious.

This is definitely the most unusual entry we’ve had: Mike from Mike’s Baking made these Meatloaf cupcakes with roasted beetrootmash. I don’t know whether I’d be brave enough to try one, but he said they tasted good so I’ll have to take his word for it! I am impressed at the creativity that has gone into this bake!

Sarah from Sarah Bakes sent in a mascarpone, ricotta and cream cheese baked cheesecake. It looks scrumptious – and reminds me of one of my favourite jokes… which cheese do you use to hide a horse? Mascarpone! (Groan)

Dawn from Wild About Baking also used mascarpone as her ingredient for the letter ‘m’ and sent in this walnut truffle cake. She calls it a “gloriously chocolately mess” – I might have to try making this myself!

She followed that up with a savoury bake – which is perfectly acceptable under the Alphabakes rules, in case anyone else is wondering! These Marmite and red onion scones are probably a ‘love them or hate them’ bake – but they look good to me!

And last but not least, we have a Norwegian  Bløtkake from Nom from The Nom Bakery. 
This is a Norwegian cake whose name translates as 'moist cake' and it contains marzipan. It looks great, and it's really nice to end on an 'international' entry!

 

Stop the presses…. Fleur from Homemade by Fleur has just sent in these marbled chocolate and hazelnut meringues, and I think they were definitely worth waiting for, don’t you?

And one more late entry, living up to her name Baking Addict has sent in something else - she just couldn't resist! She's very proud to have  got the hang of macarons and I am just a little bit jealous as these raspberry and cream macarons look great!

That brings the total entries for March to 41 Let’s see if we can do even better in April….. J

Don't forget to visit www.themorethanoccasionalbaker.blogspot.com on 1st April to find out what the mystery letter is for next month! I can't wait!