Chocolate Yule Log with Passionfruit Wine Jelly

What says holiday cheer more than lights, candles, and flowers on the dining table?

I'll tell you what:

Mushrooms!

... mushrooms?

(Not the result of leaving food out for too long)

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This story has a few parts to it. First off, a bittersweet beginning of a going-away party for a friend moving away for a new job. What more appropriate pairing than extra dark chocolate?

Lavender and Lemon Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I'm trying something new this time - a full recipe card to keep for your own records, and perfect for sharing with friends and family!

I was hoping to have these made up for the wedding so that guests could take home a hard copy, but that ship has clearly sailed.

Click on the image to open up the PDF recipe card!

Hazelnut Sponge with Cinnamon Buttercream

Wow. It's been a long time since I've last posted, so to make amends I'm finally updating!

To keep in the spirit of untimeliness, the cake featured was actually made last December. Woops.

(Hence the Christmas ornaments)

As the title indicates, it is a hazelnut sponge cake with cinnamon buttercream between the layers. The outside was masked with ground filberts (also typically known as hazelnuts, to the confusion of anyone looking for them at Bulk Barn).

What happens when a cake just doesn't measure up?

The test cake for the Liberty Arts Fabric birthday cake turned out really well - a firm texture that handled well when cut, but was also light and moist. However, it was a lot shorter than anticipated. This worried me as I wanted to make a tall cake, so I needed something to add height to the cake to compensate.

Solution: Rice Krispie squares (or "cereal treats" - hopefully I'm not risking a lawsuit by using a trademarked/copyrighted name) - a solution to short cakes and many of life's other problems. Not only do they function as delicious cake implants (who doesn't like Rice Krispie Squares?), but they also provide a strong base for wood dowels that were inserted into the 8" layers to support the 6" layer on top.

Liberty Art Fabrics Birthday Cake

I had the fortune and pleasure to be asked to make a birthday cake with two accompanying requests: in some way, incorporate Liberty Art Fabrics into the design, and avoid heavy flavours.

I didn't really know much about Liberty Art Fabrics when I started, so I immediately went to their website to look through their fabric patterns online. A folder of inspiration images was started, with a few that were finally picked out to inspire the colour and decoration of the cake.

High-Heel Birthday Cake

First ever high-heel cake!

There's a whole load of tutorials already out there on the web on how to make a gumpaste high heel. However, to prove the point that the internet has too much space (and to use said space to its fullest extent), I'll run over how I did the one you see here.