'Tis the season with my new friend

Not for jolliness, no.... well, not Christmas jolliness. It seems the birthday season is kicking in... not that there really is such a thing. But maybe people are emerging from the Christmas/holiday season, rubbing their eyes in dismay that the real world is here once again with winter (seemingly rapidly) approaching and feel the need for something a little gorgeous and happy in front of them once again.

So, I have a new kitchen friend, rapidly becoming my best friend. I am barely scratching the surface of its potential, but its yellowy gorgeousness alone makes me happy all over every time I walk into the kitchen. My lovely husband ordered this for me off Amazon for my birthday... check it out. I think she (yes, I'm pretty sure its a she) deserves a name, I haven't come up with one yet, so let me know if you have any suggestions:

The power and magical abilities of the mixer are still quite incredible to me, for a girl that used to mix nearly all her cakes with a wooden spoon, I've done the hard yards and this feels like luxury.

As I mentioned, I've had a couple of birthday cakes over the last two weeks. In some respects birthday cake designs are quite challenging.... the design options are fairly endless, there are certainly less traditional boundaries than for a wedding cakes. You have to find the right balance of not making it too big or over the top (or too insignificant) for the occasion, AND people are far less fussed on the design for a birthday... and are more inclined to just leave it up to you. There is some great freedom in that, I get to try new things I've been thinking of, but naturally I start questioning myself quite a lot.

Here is a cake that I did for my aunty's 60th. I've done a bunch of ribbon and gift type cakes but this was my first attempt at making it look like a gift box. Admittedly it wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be, but it was still lovely and most importantly she was really happy with it:

I got to try out even more new skills on this next cake, which I told my friend part way through making the cake... 'hey, by the way, I've never done this before'. No pressure. I also learned that making a cake at someone elses house is far more relaxing than at your own... I don't even know why, no explanation.

I've never really done much piping work, to me it is far more daunting and difficult than working with fondant... in my head anyway. This cake has proven to me that I was wrong, for basic piping anyway... now I'm wondering what other fabulous things I can pipe!

This cake was for a 1st birthday cake, which I find incredibly exciting... first birthday EVER!!! It doesn't matter that they probably won't remember or that its absolutely chock full of sugar that they don't really need at that age... none of it matters, it is the FIRST EVER birthday cake! So we just wanted it to be colourful, simple and a vision of pink loveliness inside and out, I think we achieved:

I'll leave you with this final picture than my husband took at the 1st birthday party. This picture is why making cakes is so great sometimes.... Seeing this:

Japanese Noodley Goodness

Yes, today I am sharing a recipe. Lets say right up front though that this is not my creation, I was taught this a few years ago by my most gorgeous sister Junko and it has been a summer BBQ and 'taking a pot luck dish' staple.

I guess you would call it a noodle salad and I guess you would call it some kind of asian fusion - if we really wanted to categorise it in western terms.

But really it is the simpliest and tasties and quickest noodle dish around. I recently made it for a Christmas Eve party and was instructed that this must go on my blog. Yes, it is THAT amazing!
There are only a few ingredients you need:

- 1 packet of udon or soba noodles (soba is the preference but udon works just as well) - about 270g. Here is the brand I normally use:

- 1 pottle of good quality basil pesto (250g)

- approx 1-2 tbsp of olive oil

- any green vegetables you like, in whatever quantity you like (snow peas, baby spinach, broccoli, green beans, zucchini etc)

- approx 1/2 - 1 cup of special Japanese sauce (photo below so you can find it in the supermarket, usually in the international foods section).

So there you go, ingredients sorts. Now for the preparation:

- Prepare your vegetables to be steamed/blanched and put a large pot of water on to boil. In this case I just used what I had - some zucchini from out of my garden:

- Mix the pottle of pesto with the Japanese sauce. How much sauce to add is really based on taste and consistency. I like it to be like a fairly thick dressing with a distinctive taste of the sauce. So start with half a cup and add more as required after tasting it. As your adding more sauce it also helps to add a little olive oil to just bring the sauce together - again, just go by instinct.

- Add the noodles to the pot of boiling water and cook as per the packet instructions. Now for the vegetables, you have two options; either steam them separately until they are just al dente or add them to the noodles in the last couple of minutes of cooking time (add them dependent on their size and time required to cook). If using spinach, this can just be tossed through after cooking. I'm lazy and I like to just add them to the same pot as the noodles.

- Drain and noodles and veges and run them under cold water until they have cooled to room temperature.

- Add the sauce to the noodles and veges and stir through.

There you have it, my noodle wisdom has been shared.

Up is down and back is front

I am a little delayed in getting this post to you, like maybe 6 weeks delayed. Work is my only excuse and who really wants to hear excuses. Once again my most wonderful friend Brook came to the rescue and let me have free reign and try all sorts of new things I've been thinking about doing. Namely a mad hatter / topsy turvy / whimsical cake (whatever name you know it by) and a standing up bow that I saw a Planet Cake tutorial on.

Since I was making this cake for Brook on her birthday I decided to channel her brilliance and go by feel/instinct without too much planning or over thinking (as I tend towards more often).

This cake presented issues right from the beginning... not enough cake. I had originally planned to make it 3 tier (yes, a little ambitious) but the cake layers I baked were a little too short for that.
My options.... go to supermarket and make a third batch of cakes, make short cakes or come up with a sneaky master plan. Considering my lack of time, I opted for the sneaky master plan).

So maybe not so sneaky, I just decided to take my six individual cakes and instead of 3 tiers with 2 layers in each, 2 tiers with 3 layers in each... get it? But to complicate things I have one carrot and one lemon cake of each size. So which cake goes where? How do I match them up?
Arrgghhhh... brain explosion!!!!!

Ok, ok - deep breath and do the math - two small and one medium, one medium and two large. now what combo... two carrort and one lemon, two lemon and one carrot???

Next to do what should feel completely wrong, go from a level and straight sided cake to a carved up crooked sculpture... and hopefully not a big hot mess. Now I've watched quite a few tutorials on this but actually doing it is a little frightening.

You can see how my last minute change in tiers is having a bit of an impact on my efforts in this step of the process... is this really going to work? Oh and the reason you're seeing pictures of my fridge is that for this type of cake in particular its really important to chill it down so it all stays in one piece and is far easier to ice.

This cake has confused me on so many levels and in so many ways already... its like a puzzle and if I put the pieces in the wrong way it will be all the wrong kinds of topsy turvy.

The of course, this happened. No explanation necessary really, things just went to sh%t. Alas, more deep breaths and I recovered from that one as well.

Putting it all together... the top layer is just barely sitting inside the top of the bottom layer, but it was yet another 'make it work' moment.

The final product (despite the slightly incorrect sizing of the top layer, as you may have noticed) is actually kinda cool. If I had a do-over, yes I would have gotten the top layer the right size, but I also would have probably done the colour scheme a little differently too.

I know what to do better next time... I know how to make it perfect, which is exactly what I needed out of this cake. Clearly its all about the planning and the math.
Oh and the final drama that I should mention.... there was a slight cake accident in the car on the way to the party. I couldnt bring myself to take a photo of it - it was another deep breathing moment.

I realise this all sounds like a train wreck, but in reality, learning can be a bit of a train wreck. I learnt a tonne and at the end of the day I turned up with a big tasty cake and a bit of a story to go with it.

It's a new day... so what do I do with it?

I am back in the world of mobile blogging. I finally gave in, got frustrated, stopped procrastinating and bought a new laptop. Check it out... she is beautiful:

So what happens to a blog about making cakes when there are no cakes to make?

I have some ideas.... Although this brings me back to my thoughts on the purpose of a blog. Do you guys really want to see my garden growing or other things I have been making in the kitchen? Or is it all about the cakes? Should I be trying new techniques I want to learn and blogging about it? This is what was originally planned, but maybe a blog morphs as it grows, as life changes?
Ok, so lets think... things I could blog about:

• My garden, yes it is growing and I am excited about it
• Other foods being cooked in my kitchen
• The mammouth knitting project I recently finished ( yes, knitting... don't knock it until you've tried it)
• Some cake techniques I want to try:
• Whimsical style cake (mad hatter cake)
• Stunning, tall layer cakes
• Piped designs on a cake (royal icing)

Lets be honest, I could write a whole blog about how much I think eggs are a truely amazing phenomenon or my all time favourite All Blacks... the blogging world is my oyster.

And if these are the topics, do I blog about what I want, what I'm most excited about? Or do I blog about what I think you would be most interested in? Are these the same things?

At the moment, with no cake orders and my knitting quest complete, my brain has enough space in it that it is starting to drift back to dreaming about food and what I would like to try making. Lying here in bed on a Sunday morning the prospect of heading into my kitchen with new ideas and new things I haven't tried makes me smile.

This makes me realise, my blog is all about a voyage of discovery, trying new things and finding out what happens... what works, what doesn't and getting to share the results. It's all about adventures people!

So, its a new day, its a new laptop and apparently its all about trying new things.

Skip forward 8 hours.....

Its now the afternoon of this new day and my food day dreaming has become a reality.

Fresh pasta is one of my all time favourite things in the world, I can't explain it, I just love it. Today... spinach pasta, last time I made this (years ago) it wasn't very successful - the spinach wasn't dry enough. Then on top of that, filled fresh pasta makes me even happier. So here it is, super simple and gorgeous... fresh spinach tortellini with cheese filling:

Pasta dough and making the cheese filling

Making tortellini

Complete!

Then it isn't a cooking Sunday without something sweet and I seem to have an affinity for cookies at the moment... these particular cookies are something I have been interested in making for a while. These aren't the most perfect and pretty things I've ever made but they tasted fab... shortbread coated in walnut with raspberry jam centre. Here are the before and after baking photos (not too different):

So the first of (potentially) a string of blog posts without cakes, let me know what you think... let me know if you want to see more foodie treats. Be back soon... I promise.

The day the laptop died…

I have been in blogging hibernation…. Since, the day the laptop died. It was very quick and hopefully painless…. I tried resuscitation but to no avail. In my mourning I have not quite gotten to the point where I can face buying a new one. Juuuust kidding… for reasons unknown I seem to be putting off getting a new one.

There has been a saving grace that has stopped us from being a computer technology-less household (outside of the ever faithful iPhone)... The good old PC that I bought maybe close to 10 years ago when I was studying. It may take a little time to warm up and creak and groan as you click manically to open an application while it is still getting used to being awake – but it lives on and is going through a revival of sorts.

So you’re asking – why the lack of blogging? You have the technology Rachel – excuses, excuses!

Yes, you’re right – but there is another element. This dinosaur computer happens to be located not only in the coldest room in the house (and it has been winter) but the room that has for a long time been a ‘man cave’. I am not the chief occupant of the ‘man cave’ (for obvious reasons) so its all about sharing. But really its mostly about the cold. After being able to sit under a blanket on my couch watching MySky as I type – its hard to relegate yourself to a little room.

The good news of the day is that I have been making cakes over the last few months, so today’s post will be an extravaganza of cakey goodness…. Not to mention any other food adventures I might have thought to take a picture of.

Now where to we begin with this tale? Ah, at the beginning would be good. Once upon a time Rachel (the cake lady) had friends named Craig and Charlottle… Craig was about to have a very special birthday and Charlotte wanted to surprise him with an extra special cake. So who do you call? No…. not Ghostbusters.

My lord… time out. My writing has gone completely loopy while I have been away. But as I’ve said in the past – I want to write as the thoughts are coming out of my brain without editing too much. So what you see is what you get.

Back to the story…. But lets move away from fairy tale land. Doing birthday cakes for friends is great – you get to chat about ideas and come up with cool things to do. For some reason they seem to trust you and the best part is you often get to see them receive their cake.

For this cake it was all about whats on the inside…. No, it wasn’t an ugly cake. But I really wanted to try something different in terms of flavour and Charlotte (bless her) was ever so willing to let me. I ended up going with a dulce-de-leche cake…. Yes I had to look up how to pronounce it… doolsay-de-lashay… yes, say it again!

Basically this is French (I think) for a milk based caramel… which is used as the filling and then the cake itself has a slight almond flavour. Success? Yes I do think so.

And, although rather late, I have to provide my gratitude, thanks and appreciation to Ortega Fish Shack. Not only were they completely happy for me to bring a cake along but the food was incredible and they had a fabulous sense of humour when it came to cake time. This is what Craig was presented with first:

Then for the real deal:

So I have had quite a fear that I have not fessed up to in the past. Children’s cakes. To be more specific… cakes that are shaped like things. You might have noticed all my previous cakes are all some form of square or round.

Cakes that are shaped like actual things have always scared the daylights out of me. How do people make cake look like a dinosaur, or dora the explorer or a fairy princess malibu barbie inspired castle??? Aaahhhhh!!!!

Then a miracle happens. My most amazing friend Brook is about to throw the lovely Tora her 3^rd birthday party…. She had planned to make a cake, a Very Hungry Caterpillar cake even. I see my chance to pop my shaped cake cherry. Brook, being a good friend allows me this courtesy with full knowledge that this is a new adventure for me.

Turns out…. Shapes are a whole new world of cake creativity and goodness. It’s a little tricky, it’s a little like a puzzle but its good.

The caterpillar came out as good as I could have hoped for and was even green inside and out. Yes, those are M&Ms on the bottom of the board – which turned out to be quite entertaining once a whole pack of 3 year olds figured that out. There was some serious M&M hoarding going on. Sugar is seriously like crack for kids.

And just to ensure my fears were fully crushed, I signed up for yet another shaped cake. I am a total theme park junkie, Disneyland is still a magical place for me… so this cake made me smile…. Mini Mouse. Enough said, here she is:

So I promise to be back sooner rather than later. Blogging may morph into all sorts of topics at this stage well outside of the realm of cakes. Not only did I just plant my vege garden and am eagerly awaiting magic to happen, but I don’t have any cakes on the books at the moment. Don’t be sad for me, I have enough going on at the moment that maybe it’s a good thing.

Last but not least, here are a few food pictures taken over the last few months…

 Mountain of cookies that came from a mountain of cookie dough

Mini apple tarts will crumble top

Slow cooked italian meat sauce with pasta

Big Balls or Big Fail?

Somehow, and I'm not sure how I got to this point, I found myself in a position I had never been in before with a cake. It was something I did myself, there were no outside influences, but at the same time it was nearly subconscious... I didn't plan it that way at all, its not in my nature.

For those who have followed my blog you know I spend plenty of time trying out things I've never done before, well before making the actual cake so I know I can do it and I know there isn't going to be any scary freak out moments right before the cake is due.

This time... not the case. Yes, ahead of time I made the decorations that needed to be made so they could dry out and that sort of thing. However for this cake I had decided to also make a piece of fondant look like a piece of tartan fabric. I had researched how to do it, I had a plan in my head.... now usually my next step would be about 1-2 weeks out to actually test out my plan so I could make any adjustments or changes if it was a big fail. I didn't. I don't even know why I didn't, I just didn't. Then the Wednesday before it was due (on a Saturday), I didn't again.... why? Even stranger is that there was no stress about having not tested it. It wasn't until the Saturday morning that the cake was due that I actually made a test piece of tartan... and here it is. Not completely perfect but far from a fail:

What seriously possessed me? Did I have more faith? Have I grown a pair? Or what? It definately wasn't laziness... I don't do lazy it when it comes to my cakes, too obsessive. But something in my brain just knew it was going to be fine. Is this a new level in my cake adventures? Maybe... I am not really sure what to make of it.... it just wasn't very 'Rachel'.

Suffice to say, this has to be one of my all time favourite cakes I have made. It was probably one of the more highly customised themes for the person it was for. What I was originally paranoid about was the dress form I made actually staying on the wooden dowel and drying properly.... turned out it was solid as a rock, but here it is right after I took it out of the drying cupboard for the first time... unfinished:

As promised, I took a tonne more photos this time... whether or not you find them interesting, I don't know. I also realised that when I take these photos I take no notice of whats in the background... and now I'm wondering how much other people reading the blog look at whats in the background? And what odd things might have people seen in the background? Hmmm... I probably shouldn't obsess. Here are a few of the 'making' process... I even had my photographer out taking a couple, hence the photo from above my head:

So while you're looking at this shot I should explain; it was a rich chocolate mud cake filled and covered with a white chocolate buttercream icing, which a berry layer through the middle as well.

I have to give extra big props to this picture (which I took, so oddly I'm just giving myself a big thumbs up), it is my favourite. I decided for an additional affect to cover the base board in tartan before I put the cake on it... it also gave me another chance to practice my skills:

And here are the rest... finished cake in all its tartan glory:

Rach... loved doing this cake for you, you made it fabulous.... even from afar. Next time I will make something you actually get to eat. xoxox