Patchwork Rose cake

We learnt piping techniques using royal icing in class today and made a rose without any template. Mine is not as neat as some of the others but finally, after so many weeks, my teacher said 'its lovely Aisha'! and i was like 'yay! I love me too!'

Bye Bye Braces!

My braces were supposed to come off today but got delayed for another 3 weeks. To thank my doctor, I took a cake today. This cake was done in record breaking time. It is all edible. So Sayonara braces, and good riddance!

Go Green for Barnardos!

Although green cakes sound eww and gross but take a look at my pretty, glittery green cupcakes for the children's charity Barnardos!

http://www.barnardos.ie/getting-involved/corporate-support/go-green.html

The cakes are chocolate flavoured with green vanilla buttercream frosting and edible sparkles on top. My brother Talha was a huge help and he took some great pictures too!

 

Yet another pink cake!

I am craving to make a cake in any colour other than pink! I mean, seriously! My friend Sabina's girl turned 8 this Saturday and guess what colour cake she wanted for the big day? PINK! I made it a flowery, girly thing with hand made fondant flowers all around it. The inside is chocolate with chocolate fudge frosting. They loved it and I am happy that the birthday girl has been talking about it non-stop! :)

International Women's Day!

As the world celebrated the International Women's Day today, we had a day of fun and pampering at the Islamic cultural centre of Ireland. It was an all-women event and we were treated to free facials, massages, manicures and pedicures and henna!


 And guess what was on the snack menu? Cupcakes made my moi!

This was my first big order for a 100 cupcakes and I almost gave up last night. Thank you Priya for the wonderful food that you brought for us. Thank you Talha for being there for me. Thank you Mamma for your prayers. And Thank you Maram for your text. It came at a time when I was in the depths of self pity, 3 little words turned me around.

The smell of baking wafted across our floor and I was up most of the night baking batch after batch of these scrumptious treats. At 9.30 this morning, delivered 50 chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, 25 lemon cupcakes with lemony zesty frosting and 25 rainbow chip cupcakes with pink vanilla buttercream frosting and a female gender sign on top!

I also threw in a small chocolate cake with the left over batter!

Lastly, let us all take a moment to pray for all the women around the world who don't have it as easy as the rest of us. Women afflicted with diseases, poverty, calamities, victims of domestic and sexual violence. May Allah help them all and make things easy for them.

Wrestling ring cake

My very first order! Delivered a cake for an ex wrestler this morning. The sponge is a dark chocolate with chocolate buttercream icing covered in white fondant. It is a labour of love. A big thank you to those who believed in me and prayed for me.





Fairy on a toadstool

No mood to write any details. Made a fairy on a toadstool in class today. She's all edible and since she's really tired like me, she fell asleep.

Cupcakes 'r' us

Presenting chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream icing and lemon cupcakes with whipped cream.....

The buttercream frosting turned out yummy, and so not buttery. I think i'll actually make that my signature frosting! All the decorations are edible ofcourse and the pink butterfly, heart and flower are fondant cutouts.

Baby cake

Well I have been busy taking some cake decorating classes and here's the first thing we learnt at class: a totally edible fondant baby!

The baby went on top of my friend Priya's birthday cake which was a devils cake with chocolate fudge icing covered in pink fondant. Contrary to popular misconceptions, the baby on top of the cake did not mean any of the things that u think it meant. It just represented a beautiful little girl whom I have had the honour to meet and an opportunity to celebrate a birthday with her....

Back with a splash of red!

The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. So last night I tried out the red velvet cake for the first time. A red velvet cake is very dramatic looking with its bright red colour off set by its creamy white frosting. 

Since I am such a messy baker, there was colour all over my counter tops and a humongous pile of dishes overcrowding the sink, but the end result was well worth the effort. The guests very super impressed (I am glad they didnt see how chaotic things were at the time of creating it!)

Presenting my Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate covered strawberries!

The recipe is a little more work than your regular cake, but if there's any other enthusiastic wannabe bakers out there, this is the one I used:

Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups(250 grams) sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk (You can make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk)

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 (360 ml) cups cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside. I didn’t have any parchment paper so I just dusted my pans with flour after greasing them.

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioner sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with sweetened or unsweetened coconut. I mixed some red colour in the coconut to give a hint on what's inside.

It was kind of sad to see the cake destroyed but I am elated that everyone loved it. I am off to enjoy the leftovers with a glass of cold milk. See you all with another adventurous baking post soon!