Sentenced to Love.....

Celebrating 50 years of marriage is milestone that is worth noting, so why not do it with a little humour; - a couple that have been sentenced to life with love. Why not celebrate with cake - a White Chocolate Cake filled with raspberries and white chocolate ganache, finished with fondant.

The handmade cell houses the bride and groom, also created with fondant.

A little close up of the happily married couple

Happy Birthday Laura!

My niece, Laura, is celebrating her 19th Birthday and what a great excuse to make a cake.  

Aiming to please Laura and the instructions of my little niece Ruby (4 yrs), I baked a white chocolate mud cake covered it with white chocolate ganache and decorated to please both girls - Laura's favourite colours and Ruby wanted marble and roses.  Making the roses I was a little unsure of the lime green roses but I actually think it works.

2011 McKeough Family Christmas Cake

My favourite Christmas Cake of 2011 - the family's cake.  I baked my first family Christmas Cake in 2007, and at the time I sat down with my late mother and we selected the recipe. She gave me some advice on how to bake and decorate it and I guess that's what started the passion.  

This cake was baked with that same special recipe, and it reminds me of all the special times I shared with my mother on Christmas Day.

My Mother, our last Christmas Day shared together (2007)

Gift Cakes

Christmas Gift Cakes.....  cakes I baked and decorated to give to some of my dearest friends (all 6" cakes)

Sweet As Bro!

Yes we all know who won the 2011 Rugby World Cup. A Kiwi mate asked for a Christmas Cake to be enjoyed by all her friends on Christmas Day, requesting a silver fern leaf with a little kiwi bird and a black and white colour scheme.

Hidden underneath the hand cut fern leaf, hand painted detail and fondant ribbon and bow is a Devils Food Cake filled with dark chocolate ganache.

Purple Haze....

Happy 21st !!!......

The instructions I received for this cake were quite specific; a purple & silver topsy-turvy exploding cake.

I am thrilled with the result and very happy to have been asked by some close friends to make the cake for a special occasion; a 21st birthday.

The cake is Devil's Food Cake, an extremely moist and rich chocolate flavour, filled with dark chocolate ganache.

I then covered and decorated it with fondant and finished it off with "BLING". What girl doesn't like BLING?

Explosion Centre

A Festive Welcome!

This week some very special friends are arriving from the USA for a "vacation", so I have made  a little gift they can enjoy on their travels during the festive season.

Twinkle, Twinkle.....

And the Christmas Cakes continue......

80th Celebration

My mother-in-law Ruth celebrated her 80th Birthday this weekend, and I had the pleasure of making the cake.

The cake itself is Passionfruit Mud Cake filled with white chocolate ganache and fresh passionfruit giving an extra hit of flavour.  I handmade the lily, frangipanis, rope work and the name plaque with sugarpaste and fondant.

Handmade lily and franipanis

Happy Birthday Blue Dog!!!!!!

Passionfruit Mud Cake

My husband, Wayne, or otherwise known as Blue Dog, AWG or Uncle Nee Naw, is celebrating his birthday this week, and to celebrate I have baked a Passionfruit Mud Cake. The cake has been filled with white chocolate ganache and fresh passionfruit (giving it another hit of flavour), then ganached and decorated with fondant - yes even the "glittery" stars are edible.

Explosion Centre!!!

A Splash of Colour

My husband and I received an invitation for an impromptu birthday celebration. I decided to make a cake that was bright, cheerful... and fast, due to limited time. I baked a vanilla bean butter cake, filled and covered with a dark chocolate Baileys Irish Cream ganache. It was then decorated with fondant and royal icing.

Happy Birthday Down Under.......

Hard to believe my nephew has turned 16. I offered to make the birthday cake and decided on the "Australian Flag". I have been wanting to attempt this for a while now and given I had no requests for the design I set myself free. The cake itself was a vanilla bean butter cake, covered with milk chocolate ganache and decorated with fondant.

The birthday boy,

North Sydney Bears.......

A colleague requested a cake for a fellow team member with a couple of basic requests; carrot cake and something to reflect the North Sydney Bears football club. Hence, the bear and team colours; black and red.

Cupcakes: McKenzie's 1st Birthday

My youngest niece, McKenzie, celebrated her 1st Birthday yesterday (9 July). To help celebrate I baked some vanilla bean and chocolate velvet cupcakes, iced with a strawberry buttercream and decorated with an assortment of edible decorations I handmade.

Not only did the cakes look pretty the strawberry smelt wonderful.

Just for something different to the regular lolly bag to give the children, each child was given a cupcake - with a little "M" and some handmade roses and hearts were boxed as a thank you.

Crazy Caramel

A buttery Caramel Cupcake filled with Salted Caramel Sauce, topped with Caramel Icing and a Jersey Caramel.

Stars and Stripes

Red, White, and Blue: One of my colleagues is about to set off for three months travel across America so we had a little afternoon tea for the occasion.

A miniature Topsy Turvy Cake made of white chocolate mud cake with ganache and fondant - there were no left overs so I'll assume it not only looked good but was also tasty.

Explosions of Flavour

With my continued research into the world of baking and my desire to experiment, I have been in the kitchen trying out a few more recipes. My husband is big fan of macadamia nuts and requested I make some cupcakes using them in the batter. After some thought I baked Maple Syrup and Macadamia Nut Cupcakes. Rather than rely on feedback I sampled one and was pleased with both the flavour and the texture.

It was back to the kitchen to again try something new. My audience was well known for their "sweet tooth", so I decided to create a true chocolate experience; milk chocolate cup cakes iced with milk chocolate butter cream and then decorated with candy coated chocolate pieces. My husband and I enjoyed half a cup cake each, and we were both delightfully surprised.

Some of my readers know that I participate in the 'Relay for Life' each year, an event which raises money for the Cancer Council to fund cancer research. The Maple Syrup and Macadamia Nut Cupcakes and the Milk Chocolate Cupcakes were sold and the proceeds donated to this fundraising.

Alternatively, you may wish to sponsor me directly via this link: http://relay.cancercouncil.com.au/2011/sutherland_shire_relay_for_life_2011/Happy-Feet/214501

Tempting the Tastebuds

Over the last few weeks I have been scanning the Internet and cookbook aisles of bookstores looking for cake recipes, to add a little variety to the mix. This has been a very interesting exercise, not only have I found some new recipes and exciting flavours, I have also picked up quite a few baking tips along the way.

 

Last weekend I baked a lemon, lime and white chocolate mud cake. The cake was filled and covered in a coconut, lemon, lime and white chocolate ganache. I was a little concerned the ganache may have been a little too rich. However, my judges (my husbands shift of approximately 16 people at his Fire Station) gave me rave reviews, "spot on", "the best yet", and "that cake was to die for". I myself did not taste the cake so I'll rely on their judgement.

NB. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of this cake.



This week I was very excited to find some very interesting recipes and I was keen to experiment a little more. To pick up a few rare but essential ingredients I visited The Essential Ingredient - Rozelle, this store is fabulous, and I spent far too much money. After admiring my purchases and reviewing a few recipes I decided upon Lavender and Honey Cup Cakes. I implemented the new tips I had picked up through my research and took great care with the ingredients, mixing and baking. The end result was 18 lovely cupcakes that have again been sent off to my "judges" - I'll keep you posted on the feedback.