Cake of the month – December 2013

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Late again.  It just won’t do!  We promise to try harder next month.  Our lateness takes nothing away from December’s cake of the month though – a Barbie-tastic creation that made one eight year-old with a Christmas Eve birthday very happy indeed.

Name of baker: Amy Jarrold

Name of cake: Hannah’s Barbie

IMG_20140117_202827Ingredients:

For the cake:

250g butter, softened
250g caster sugar
4 eggs
250g self raising flour

For the buttercream:
140g butter, softened
280g icing sugar
3 tbsp lemon curd
Pink food colouring (for the external decoration)

For the decoration:
A doll that you don’t mind chopping the legs off (I got mine in a pound shop)
Pink fondant
White fondant
Stencil and edible silk

Method:
I used a giant cupcake mould and the following sponge recipe.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/spongecake_1284.

The cake was assembled by turning the bottom half of the mould upside down and sandwiching the two pieces togetherwith the buttercream and some lemon curd (this is additional to the lemon curd in the ingredients above). Some trimming was needed to give a good rounded shape.

There is a basic buttercream recipe here (I just replaced the milk with lemon curd).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/basicbuttericing_73263

You’ll need to cut a small circle out of the centre of the top layer of the cake and then cut some of ‘Barbie’s’ legs off so her waist lines up comfortably with the top of the cake. I wrapped the bottom half of the doll tightly in cling film and put the top half in a food bag which keeps her clean but can be easily removed when you’re ready.

I watched this tutorial for decoration and copied it as cloesly as possible but left of the ruffles.

Instead , I just added a little pink food colouring to the leftover buttercream and piped ruffles over any joins around the waist. I also added some pearls around the bottom and waist.

About the baker:
I volunteered for FCFK Hackney after being told about it by Katie Forsythe (a fellow FCFK baker and friend from work). I immediately thought it would be a brilliant thing to be involved with and thought the way it was organised was fantastic. I hadn’t long moved to Bow when I signed up and was looking for some sort of local volunteering – it just seemed perfect.

I spend all day working on books (I’m an editor at a publishing house) all about children’s earliest years and so it is fantastic to think we are making a small difference to lots of childhoods.

Cake of the month – November 2013

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Our cakes just get awesomer and awesomer.  What do you mean that’s not a word?!  Check out this cake – it’s the awesomist!

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Name of baker: Jennie

Name of cake: Rainbow Dash rainbow cake

Ingredients:
6 eggs
Weight of the eggs in butter (or margarine), caster sugar and self raising flour
Vanilla extract (for the cake)
Pinch of salt
Rainbow coloured gel food colours (I used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple – no indigo – I’m not totally sure I know what indigo even is) – these are fantastic – much better than the liquid colours of my youth – unbelievably string colours even when baked.
Jam
250g block of butter
650g icing sugar
Vanilla extract (for the icing)
Edible lustre sprays in pearl and sky blue (optional)

Method:
For the cake:
I made the cake in three batches (partly because I only have one set of sandwich cake tins and one oven).
– *Weigh two eggs and preheat the oven to 180 (165 fan).
– Weight the same amount of butter (margarine) and sugar into a bowl and add a splodge of vanilla extract. Cream this until it goes white and fluffy (I did it with a stand mixer, but a hand whisk or wooden spoon is also totally viable).
– Measure out (separately) the same weight of flour and add the pinch of salt.
– Add the two eggs to the butter/sugar mix gradually and beat in (not too much, just till it’s all combined well).
– If the egg/butter/sugar mix starts to look a bit curdled, just chuck in a little handful of the flour between egg additions.
– Chuck in the flour and fold it in to the mix – keep it quick and only fold until combined – don’t overmix.
– Split this mixture in half and colour each half with one of your rainbow colours.
– Stick these two coloured batters into your sandwich tins and stick in the oven for about 15 minutes till they are cooked – they will be fairly thin cakes – this is a good thing – you are going to end up with six layers, after all.
– When the cakes are cool enough, turn them out onto racks and leave to cool completely.
– Frantically wash your bowls and tins and start again from * with the next two colours until you have six lovely layers.
– When all your cakes are cooked, level them off as necessary (it matters more with more layers – you don’t want a Leaning Tower of Pisa cake for this one) and layer them up on a board with jam in between to stick them together nicely.
– Refrigerate while you make the icing (for an hour at least).
– To make the icing, stick the butter (at room temperature) and icing sugar into a bowl and beat (slowly at first – icing sugar is messy stuff) until all incorporated (it might be a bit crumby – that is fine at this stage). Again – you can do this by hand if you’re feeling strong, but icing is where those stand mixers really come into their own.
– Add a good splodge of vanilla and possibly a splash of milk if things are looking a bit dry and beat frantically until it’s lovely and fluffy – it takes about 5 minutes in the stand mixer – probably more by hand.
– Use up to half the icing to crumb coat your cake, making a nice smooth layer and locking all the crumbs in – it’s fine if it doesn’t look nice – it just needs to give a good base.
– Refrigerate the whole thing overnight (or at least for a couple of hours) for the icing to set and chill.
– The next day, spread the rest of the icing over the crumb coat – this time, make it as beautiful as you can!
– I decorated the whole thing by spraying the icing all over with pearlescent lustre and then using stencils (cut of old bits of paper) to make clouds and spraying with blue. This is obviously optional, but I thought that since Rainbow Dash is a proper flutter pony, she’d probably quite like a sky background and it makes the cake a little bit interesting on the outside as well as being a rainbow inside.
– Finally, I stuck my Rainbow Dash figure on top (she’s just plastic – I contemplated icing her on, but thought that, if it was my birthday, I’d probably prefer something I could actually keep afterwards) and chucked a couple of packets of Skittles round the cake to reemphasise the rainbow theme.
– Et voila – Rainbow Dash rainbow cake! Obviously these are at their best when they’re actually sliced and you get the whole rainbow effect, but I didn’t get to see that here (it always looks awesome, though).

About the baker:
I am a slightly obsessive baker (and occasional and slightly lame blogger) in my spare time (such as it is), which is a little at odds with being a type 1 diabetic who doesn’t really eat cake.
As such, I am always keen to find new cake victims, and the waistlines of my friends, family and coworkers, who have tended to bear the brunt in the past, are grateful to be sharing the burden with Free Cakes for Kids Hackney.
In all seriousness, when I heard about FCFK, I raced to sign up – in some ways it’s a small thing – there are maybe bigger, more important causes, but the impact of small things, like cakes and parties when growing up, shouldn’t be underestimated, and I am keen to share some of my own childhood birthday experiences with people who might not otherwise get them – unthinkable for so many of us. And, on a purely selfish note, it has been really lovely to be able to make someone so happy with something so very easy!

Cake of the month – October 2013

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Whaaat? We’re halfway through November already? How did that happen? Well, they do say, better late than never, so here’s October’s cake of the month – pretty awesome, I’m sure you’ll agree…

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Name of baker:
Olivia Piepe

Name of cake:
Train to Hackney

Ingredients:
Basic Victoria sponge recipe; flour, butter, eggs and sugar. In addition, blue food dye, rolling icing, nutella and dolly mixture, sprinkles.

Method:
I created the base cake first from two Victoria sponges with nutella spread in between. I rolled the ready-made icing and attached it to the top of the cake, and trimmed off the sides. I used a cake mould to create the train set, and added the food dye to include come colour. When the train set was cold, I placed them on the top of the base cake and added dolly mixtures to one piece.

About the baker:
It’s always good to give back and if, like me, you are lucky enough eat lovely cakes regularly then what better way to do so than cake related volunteering. 
As a child I remember the cake at my birthday parties so vividly; pink turrets on a princess castle stands out as a particular work of art. However, there are some children whose parents can’t afford to buy the ingredients to make them a birthday cake, or do not have the cooking resources needed to do so. Hackney has been gentrified in the last few years but there are still a lot of poverty stricken people that have children to care for.  Free Cakes for Kids is a fantastic charity that really helps these people and that I’m thrilled to have found.

Cake of the month – September 2013

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Name of baker:
Jo Cordy

Name of cake:
Pretty in Pink

Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
200g SR flour
25g cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tablespoons milk

Method:
(Recipe taken from Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a Domestic Goddess”)
Put all the ingredients, except the milk, in a food processor and whizz until combined. Add the milk gradually and mix until you get a soft dropping consistency.

I then divided the mixture in two and added pink food colouring to one half, before putting the mixture into tins and baking for about 25 minutes at gas mark 4.
When the cakes were cooked and cooled I cut the pink layer in half and then sandwiched the plain layer between the two pink layers with pink vanilla buttercream. I covered the whole cake in more pink buttercream, and decorated it with pink fondant flowers in different sizes and shades.

About the baker:
I have lived in Hackney for about four years, and saw a poster for Free Cakes at a children’s centre when I was taking my son (now 19 months) for a drop-in play session. I have always loved baking and loved the idea of being able to give a birthday cake to a child who might otherwise not get one. It seemed like a great opportunity to combine a passion with doing some good in the community, and also to have a chance to get a bit creative with decorations and themes – when else would I have had cause to make a Super Mario cake?!

In the rest of my life, I work part time at a university, running training courses and events for researchers, and spend two days a week at home with my son. I’ve recently introduced him to baking, which he seems to love. Chocolate muffins have been a favourite so far!

Cake of the month *cough* summer

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As fans of FCFK Hackney will know, we normally run a feature called “Cake of the month.” But a busy few months got in the way of that slightly and some time has gone by without a cake being recognised, so we hatched a cunning plan and decided to catch up by crowning one lucky baker’s cake the title not of “Cake of the month” but “Cake of the whole blinkin’ summer.” So, without further ado, fanfare at the ready, pa pa pa pa pa paaa… (and we promise we’ll be back to normal from September…!)

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Name of baker:

Katie Forsythe

Name of cake:

Computer cake

Ingredients:

8oz each of butter, caster sugar and self-raising flour

4 eggs

Few drops of vanilla essence

Jam

Buttercream icing (made using 4oz butter and 8oz icing sugar plus a few drops of vanilla essence)

Ready made royal icing

Food colouring of your choice (Sugarflair colours are my favourite) as well as icing pens

Method:

Heat the oven to 220 degrees

Line your baking tins. I used four 7 inch square tins to make a rectangle shape.

Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Add in the eggs one by one and combine with the butter/sugar mixture. (If it starts to curdle add in some of your flour which should help.)

Fold in the flour and add the vanilla essence and make sure that everything is combined well before dividing the mixture evenly between the tins.

Bake for around 25-25mins and allow to cool before decorating.

When the cakes are completely cooled down, spread jam onto two of the cake squares and sandwich the other two squares on top. The two cakes should be side by side to make a rectangle shape.

Mix together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla essence to make up your buttercream (sieve the icing sugar to avoid sugary lumps) and spread a thin layer over the cake. You can also use this to hold the two squares together.

Add some food colouring to half of your royal icing to make it the desired shade (I used black colouring to make grey icing). Then roll out a sheet of icing big enough to cover the whole cake. Roll out the remaining royal icing and cut into square and rectangle shapes to create keys. You can stick the keys on to the cake using some left over buttercream.

Use the icing pens to write a “Happy Birthday” message on your keys.

About the baker:

I was always lucky in that my mum made me a special cake every year for each of my birthdays. I still remember the clown cake she made me for my 5th birthday! I decided to volunteer for FCFK Hackney as it make me really sad to think that a child will miss out on these special memories and it’s great to help in the local community (I work for a publisher based in Hackney). I’m looking forward to making my next cake already!

Cake of the Month – March 2013

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Name of baker
Kelly Davis

Name of cake
Golden Dragon
Classic chocolate cake recipe from my homeland of New Zealand

Ingredients
175g butter, softened
1tsp vanilla essence
1 ¾ cups sugar
3 eggs
½ cup cocoa
2 cups plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1 cup milk

Method
Grease a lined 22cm round cake tin.
Pre-heat oven to 180c
Cream butter, vanilla essence and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time. Sift cocoa, flour and baking powder together. Add to creamed mixture.  Add milk slowly.
Pour into cake tin and bake for 30 minutes.
Make a round cake, four small rectangular cakes and one loaf so you’ll have all the pieces you need to make the dragon.

I have to confess that I found the instructions for building the dragon cake online here
I did a ‘crumb coat’ of the icing first, which I left for a few hours.  This sealed in the crumbs and stopped them from coming through the top layer of icing. It’s a great technique that gives your cake a more professional finish.  The hardest part was getting the scaly texture of the icing to look deliberate and dragon-like.  When all was done I added edible gold spray to make the dragon sparkle.

About the baker
I have lived in Hackney for more than 10 years and love this community.  I volunteer with a few local organisations and thoroughly enjoy being as involved as I can in things going on in this vibrant corner of London.
I have baked quirky – and sometimes downright weird – cakes for friends and family for years but volunteering with Free Cakes for Hackney Kids gives me the chance to try some of the fun creations that children appreciate. I am loving every minute of it and looking forward to the next challenge. I like the anonymity of making a child or family a cake – it’s a bit like being a baking fairy!

 

Cake of the Month – February 2013

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Name of baker: Shelly Khaled, Gail Clarke & Jo Odeogberin

Name of cake: Football Number One!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
250g self-raising flour
125g plain flour
250g margarine (or butter, but I used stork)
250g superfine caster sugar
4 tbs milk

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 160c
  • Beat the butter or margarine until soft, add the sugar, then beat until pale-coloured and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, with a tablespoon or two of flour to prevent curdling.
  • Mix the remaining flour at a slow speed to combine well
  • Add the milk to make a good dropping consistency
  • Pour the cake mixture into the well-greased Football pans..
  • Bake in a preheated oven (160C) for about one hour fifteen minutes
  • Check with skewer to see if it’s cooked – if there is any runny mixture on the skewer continue cooking, checking at 10 – 15 minute intervals until clean skewer emerges
  • When cooked, leave the cake to cool in the bowl for 10 minutes, then, turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Roll out your white fondant icing and smooth in place over your cake.
  • Roll out the red fondant icing, cut circles of icing and then trim these into hexagonal shapes.
  • Slightly dampen the underneath of one of the hexagonal shapes with apricot jam and place it onto the cake, drawing lines radiating from it to connect to the next hexagonal shape.

About the baker:
The three of us really enjoy dedicating our free time to charity work and especially running 5k’s for children’s charity.
All of us have children of our own and we know just how important having a memory of a special birthday cake can go such a long way to build the confidence of a child.
A birthday is more significant than any other day in the calendar, as without this day, any other experiences a child has would not take place. A personalised cake can make a child feel loved, cared for and special.
The three of us have never baked as a team before and this was our first time. We got together on a Friday night, instead of going out to party and we had such an entertaining evening, laughing and also enjoying creating a bespoke cake for a one year old child.

 

Pictured below, our wonderful bakers Gail Clarke, Jo Odeogberin and Shelly Khaled
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Cake of the Month – January 2013

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This Cake was made for Hackney Ark’s winter party, and I was delighted to make it, because we’re one of the families who’ve benefitted from services from the Ark.

Name of baker: Deborah McManamon

Name of cake: Free From Chocolate Cake [dairy and egg free: this recipe comes from Giorgio Locatelli, whose daughter has food allergies.]

Ingredients:

450g plain flour
300g caster sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder (I use green & blacks)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
125ml vegetable oil
300ml cold water
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
(I sometimes add some chopped crystalised ginger or orange zest)
Method:

Sift the dry ingredients together.  Combine the wet ingredients in a jug.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pout in the oil and water mixture and beat well.  It should give a thick glossy batter.  Pour into a 23cm cake tin and bake at 170 / 150 fan oven until a skewer comes out clean.
The texture is quite dense and ‘cakey’ rather than sponge like.
I iced this one using apricot jam and fondant icing, which is egg / dairy free too.

About the baker:

I’ve lived in London for 25 years, and Hackney for about 20 years so I’m probably here for good now.   I work for a disability charity in Kings Cross.  I usually make birthday cakes for my two boys and we have great fun coming up with designs.  Even when the cakes turn out a bit different it doesn’t matter.  There’s something special about something being made for you – even if it isn’t perfect.  That’s why I decided to volunteer when I came across a flyer for Free Cakes for Kids.  It’s still a bit nerve wracking baking for other people though!

 

Cake of the Month – December 2012

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Name of baker: Rosie Leigh

Name of cake: Large Victoria Sponge with Butter-cream icing

Ingredients:

8 Eggs

500g (16oz) Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

500g (16oz) Caster Sugar

500g (16oz) Self-Raising Flour

Vanilla Extract

2 x 20in cake tins, greased and lined

To decorate:

Butter-Cream Icing:    250g Icing Sugar

80g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

25ml Whole Milk

Vanilla extract

Strawberry Jam

Fresh strawberries (optional)

Hundreds and Thousands Sprinkles

Multi-Coloured Chocolate Beans

 

Method:

1)      Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth/creamy

2)      Beat in two of the eggs, add half the flour and repeat until all ingredients are incorporated

3)      Add ½ Tsp of Vanilla extract and mix in

4)      Split the mixture between the tins and bake at 170c for 30-40mins or until golden/a skewer comes out clean.

Butter-Cream Icing

1)      Beat icing sugar and butter with electric whisk (medium speed).

2)      Combine the milk and vanilla separately then add to the icing/butter mix gradually.

3)      Once all incorporated turn up to a high speed and beat until light and fluffy (at least 5 minutes).

Decoration

1)      Layer the strawberry jam on the bottom cake (add fresh strawberries if you like)

2)      Add the second cake on top of the jam, cover the top of the cake with a generous amount of butter-cream and sprinkle decorations on top

 

About the baker:

Free Cakes for Kids is a wonderful organisation and as I am dedicated to working either with or for children, volunteering with Free Cakes for Kids provides me with a wonderful opportunity to combine my love for baking with helping in some way to make a child’s birthday special.

I am also passionate about baking in all forms. I have had opportunities to make celebration cakes for a variety of age groups and events but working with Free Cakes for Kids allows me to practice and expand further on this experience.

In addition, as I have five nieces and nephews under 10 years old I can appreciate first-hand just how special it feels to receive a personalised cake such as those made by Free Cakes for Kids!

Cake of the Month – October 2012

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Name of baker: Anna Brewster

Name of cake: Transformers Cake

Ingredients:

Sponge – egg, flour, butter, sugar

Strawberry jam

Icing – bought coloured icing

Method:

Two large rectangle sponge cakes. One sponge for the base, covered with jam and then white rolled icing. Second sponge cut into smaller rectangles to form the robot arms, legs, torso and head. Each covered with jam and then rolled coloured icing, red and blue. Grey icing formed by moulding white and black icing together for the panels on the torso. Legs and face. Silver balls for eyes, then black tube icing for the detail.

About the baker:

I’m 28, work for the Guardian newspaper, and I’ve lived in London for five years or so. I only recently moved to the Hackney area but it already feels like it’s always been my home. As for why I chose FCFK – I love baking, basically! A friend told me about FCFK and it sounded like a great opportunity to be able to bake for purpose (other than just eating it all myself…) I love being able to contribute to my local community and help make a kid’s birthday a little brighter.