My Most Ambitious Project Yet

My good friend Bea's sister (Lize) turned 21 recently. Lize is a film student and so she threw a movie themed party. She had her heart set on a silver and gold Oscar themed cake but Bea had no idea where to begin and so she called me for help.....

..... together this is what we came up with

Bea baked the cake (plain vanilla) before I got there. I'd recommend the following recipe:

180ml milk
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
300g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
125g unsalted butter at room temperature
200g sugar
1 egg

In a small saucepan, heat milk with vanilla pod. When milk boils, remove from heat immediately and leave to cool, remove the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds inside into the milk. Discard the pod.

Preheat overn to 180 degrees celsius (350 degrees fahrenheit). Mix flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk, mixing well after each addition.

Spoon batter into cake pans and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes or until a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool.

One thing I have always struggled with is covering a cake with fondant. I found the following You Tube video tutorial that really helped.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vecmy4nKT-A&feature=PlayList&p=233785F75C8B1158&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=67

Once the cake was iced the rest of was simple. We cut out the shapes, spread generously with food glue and sprinkled with gold powdered food coloring and glitter. The shapes were then attached to the cake using the food glue. The sparklers added a fun touch and I really wish I'd been at the party to see the cake with the sparklers lit.

I found the glue at my local baking store, however, you can make your own.

3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons corn starch
3/4 cup cold water

Mix water, corn syprup and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. In a bowl mix the cornstarch and cold water. Add slowly to the hot mixture stirring constantly until the mixture returns to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and remove from the heat. Once it has cooled pour into another container (I like using baby food jars) and let stand overnight before using.

I personally haven't tried this recipe so please let me know how it turns out!

I've been very busy lately with cupcakes for baby showers. Watch this space for pictures and recipes.

Happy baking!