The BEST chocolate celebration cake...

I like chocolate cakes to taste of, well, chocolate. I have a bit of pet hate for chocolate cakes that only contain a measly amount of cocoa. For me, that simply doesn't cut the mustard.

But no longer! The search for the best chocolate cake recipe for celebration cakes is over. *Fan fare please!!!* Look no further than cake aficionado Lindy Smith's delicious chocolate fudge cake recipe. It is gooey, moist and lovely & rich. YES please.

I was first introduced to this recipe by the lovely Barbara Millard and I have made so many in the past few weeks I thought it was high time I shared the joy. It is a really easy recipe, and in terms of process very much resembles a making a brownie.  Although it takes a lot of ingredients (a ton of dark chocolate, sugar and butter), it really is worth it. I am also reliably informed that because of the high sugar content it keeps fresh for well over a week (if it lasts that long!). It can be carved into all manor of shapes and is delicious filled with buttercream, a rich chocolate ganache or even nutella. An all round brilliant recipe! I've tripled it, cut the recipe in half and filled all kinds of tins from round, square to pudding bowls. I've even stacked it. It has worked every time!

You can access the recipe via the original blog post here. Here are a few pictures of the process....

Process for the best chocolate cake

So what are you waiting for.... go and bake!! I promise you won't be disappointed :)

V x

PS - if you're wondering why I've not lined the tin it's because of my latest wonder discovery - Dr Oetker Cake Release Spray. It's magic stuff and available in Morrisons and Sainsburys. It saves loads of time!

Engagement cupcakes....

Over Christmas some very dear friends got engaged. So, what better way to mark the occasion that some pretty cupcakes?

Here are a few pictures of the cakes which were a mixture of raspberry bakewell cake topped with almond cream cheese frosting and chocolate orange topped with white chocolate & orange cream cheese frosting.

A finished them with a mixture of designs including roses, hearts and stencil flowers.

Engagement Cupcakes

V x

Monster Mania...

I LOVED making this cake. It was for a little boys 5th birthday party and the theme was "Monster Mania". Not being familiar with this kids series, a quick google revealed a range of inspiration for my cake design....scary, but definitely cute monsters....

Monster Mania

With this in mind, I decided to base the design roughly on the purple monster (name unknown!) and this was the finished result...

The cake was chocolate and covered in vanilla buttercream spikes (made using a grass tip) and had fondant features.

V x 

"1" is the magic number....

I was recently asked by friends to bake a number 1 cake for a 1st birthday party. It needed to be blue in theme (but not sickly baby blue), also have accompanying bright colours and feed 40+ people.

After doing a bit of research I realised that simply baking a number 1 would not feed that many people. To get round this I thought a stacked cake might do the trick - a rectangle base with a 1 on top. Perfect! The cake was chocolate and filled with a chocolate ganache. Here are a few pictures of the finished article.

Number 1 birthday cake

Christmas presents for a baking obsessive...

Happy New Year! I've been away for a while having had a mad few weeks in the run up to Christmas. Lots of cakes made and other festive treats pickled, preserved and baked.

Anyway, I'm back and wanted to share a few of the amazing kitchen based presents I received from Santa.



Presents from Santa



Clockwise from top:

• Cake Stencil by Tara Duggan. I've already given this a test run using the beautiful bird design on a Victoria Sponge cake for an "Initial themed" New Years eve party. It received lots of nice comments!
• The Vintage Tea Party Book by Angel Adoree. This beautiful book features bespoke tea party ideas from a bygone era. It is simply gorgeous eye candy and the recipes are amazing. There is even invitation designs, apron templates and ideas for hair and make up to accompany your party. Quirky and unique, I can't wait to host my own themed party!
• Rolling Pin. Not the most exciting looking, but a essential for all my sugar craft. I've been managing to roll with a much smaller pin up until now so this beauty should make life a lot easier.
• Mason Cash Hearts Mixing Bowl. I have wanted one of these bowls for an age after admiring my Nana's old fashioned bowl since I was little. Santa was very clever! It's perfect for large cake mixtures and for looking glamorous in the kitchen.
• Cath Kidston Kitchen Notes. The perfect kitchen planner. A note book for planning weekly menus and one for your shopping list. Genius.
• The Great British Bake Off Book. After watching the series avidly, I can't wait to try some of the winning recipes and classics from Mary and Paul.

So there are a few of my favourite presents. Did you get anything amazing to use in the kitchen? Do tell!

V x