I am not someone who says no easily, you see I have a very giving streak, I REALLY REALLY like to help people out, so I very often say yes with out thinking twice and this loving-helping-everyone-I-can thing, can this get me into a total knot! I don't check my trusted monthly planner that is always on my fridge, and when I do , suddenly there are things on it that I don't even remember....... like my friend Helie's wedding, she had asked me months ago if I could make her wedding cake and help out with a few bits and bobs..... Now the bits and bobs were not the problem.... But suddenly I was confronted with producing a in her partner Kim's words "an elegant and beautiful cake" I had only ever made cartoon-like cakes, FOR Children, and they are not judgemental, really, as long as it has icing/frosting on it - you have pretty much nailed it!!
Panic stations set in, could I do it, would I be able to make the roses that had been requested, panic, PaNiC, PAAAANNNNIIIICCCC!!!! But I had said YES!!! So I had to at least try, I mean, I could always rush to out local Bakery and beg a cake from them if it all went horribly wrong......
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| Ingredients Ready and Waiting |
I decided on a fruit cake, as it is very hard to get that wrong, also I had a secret weapon, NIGELLA's Chocolate fruit cake. It really is so good, no nuts and cherries, but prunes, coffee liqueur and chocolate - My mouth is watering! Making 2 fruit cakes back to back is long work, certainly not difficult but loooonnnggg! And after about 5 hours I had produced 2 beautifully even and irresistible smelling cakes - the added bonus was, the house smelt like my favourite time of the year - CHRISTMAS!
The recipe takes loads of preparation, but once the prep work is all done the rest is pretty simple! You want the recipe.......Of course you do.....
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.
Line the sides and bottom of an 8 by 3 1/2-inch deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment. When lining the tin with the parchment, cut the material into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself (it is easier to use two shorter strips of parchment, than one long strip); the height of the strips protects the cake from catching on the outside of the cake tin.
Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee liqueur, orange zest and juice, mixed spice and cocoa into a large wide pot. Heat the mixture until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring the mixture as the butter melts. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, the mixture will have cooled a little. Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and baking soda, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients have combined.
Carefully pour the fruitcake mixture into the lined cake tin. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, or until the top of the cake is firm but will has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, if you insert a sharp knife into the middle of the cake, the cake should still be a little uncooked in the middle.
Place the cake on a cooling rack. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin.
When I am not making a wedding cake.....I usually decorate it with chocolate ball, gold edible balls and GLITTER of course!
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| The Baking! |
Luckily for me the cake could all be made is stages, so next was on to lots and lots and LOTS of fondant roses, my lovely cousin Viv, loaned me some rose moulds, but I had a picture in my mind, those beautiful 3D roses on all the amazing cake you see and pin on Pintrest!!! A little ambitious for me, since I have never made a 3D rose before! But as you all know I am a animal with lots of perseverance, I hauled out Little Madame's play dough and practised with that! I had seen roses, in a local bake shop and was sure I could reproduce them - so I made little cone shapes, then cut out circles and added them, layering as I went, and shaping the petals, it worked although the bottom were thick, I could sort that out..... I was now a little less now stressed! (Actually, I cannot lie, I was still very stressed!)
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| The Roses and Dirt Icing |
The week before the wedding I iced the cakes, 2 layers of butter icing(dirt icing as my cheffy type sister calls it) and the fondant layer. This was all actually very easy and it went very smoothly! I was now really stressing a whole lot less!! Really I was!
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| The Fondant Layer! |
And so I was nearly done, when the phone ran, 'Could you please also make 50 cupcakes?' - WHAT??? 'Yes Darling no problem!' was out of my BIG FAT MOUTH before I could stop it!! REALLY, what on earth was I thinking, was I completely off my tree?? YES I hear you all yell! and YES is certainly what I was thinking! Thankfully 2 things happened at the same time. No1 - I remembered I had not given Viv her rose mould back - and No 2 - the beloved Cheffy sister arrived in the fishing village! WHEW!! so on the morning before the wedding, we made 52 cupcakes(my recipe - here) and 60 tiny little roses from Viv's moulds and we did the placing of roses- well said Cheffy Sister did more placing than me - I was too busy fighting TINY TEENY little roses out of moulds(Viv, you said they were easy!)
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| Gorgeous But Frustrating Little Roses! |
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| Cupcakes |
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| Rose Placement Was Epic! |
Finally we were happy, it was done, I had actually made a wedding cake - me, little old me( and cheffy darling sister- of course), and it looked gorgeous, really 'elegant and beautiful' which was the two words that kept dancing around in my head! We finished the cupcakes, packed them in the car and headed for the venue - at SNAILS PACE, motorists back up behind us and blasted their hooters(horns - for my American readers)But I was taking no chances with this Masterpiece!
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| Elegant and Beautiful! |
I was happy but would the loving couple be? Would it be a cake they would remember? A cake they would talk about in years to come..... Helie was ecstatic and Kim was speechless so I guess they were.... as for me, I was exhausted!
The wedding was the next day, it was filled with laughter and so much LOVE! Helie was a beautiful bride and Kim was elegant, I know they will love each other forever..... its just that kind of love, and I am so glad I could help them just a tiny little bit! xxx
PS: So Glad I can't say No!
You are a super star and that chocolate fruit cake is to die for!!!
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