Cake of the Week

There was no choice to be made about what would be Cake of the Week this week – Baby T is One and this is her cake. A Very Hungry Caterpillar cake. It is an absolute miracle that there is any semblance of a cake as this week has been so busy – Why do I always have my babies during school holidays??

Tara’s birthday isn’t actually until tomorrow so I will save the overly emotional mummy post until then (Just wait until you see the picture lined up for tomorrow’s post though!)

We are having Tara’s birthday party later today and once again I may have ‘slightly’ over catered. I even went to the lengths of ordering a Costco cake to be on the safe side – When I saw that they have a caterpillar design I just HAD to get it – I even got Dermot’s name put on there too as it is his 34th birthday tomorrow too.

I got help doing the board for the caterpillar cake from Millie and my Mum – Its definitely a cake design that everyone can get involved in!

Anyway, hope you like it – I’m off to bed to prepare for an afternoon of partying – Don’t forget to come back for the aftermath post along with the 1st birthday post – I’ve just finished watching this week’s One Born Every Minute which seemed the only fit way to mark doing the same thing exactly a year ago!

PS Has anyone seen Millie’s Ipod? Its going to be a very quiet party without it!

Not sure what exactly to call this cake – I’m thinking its animal print icing but is it a zebra or a tiger? I had completely free reign on this cake – I suggested red and black as Vicky’s sister tells me that she isn’t very girly so pink wouldn’t do.

We decided on a star explosion but the rest was a surprise. I really wanted to do a funky board so was really pleased how it turned out – obviously it had the obligatory bling with the black stripes being sparkly.

I had a really good catch up with Gina, Vicky’s sister who used to look after Vi at nursery – Good job she is used to kids – mine were WILD that morning!

Last week’s Cake of the Week had a fabulous response – There was a real cutie from Real Suburban Mummy eating her chocolate cake and an entry from Mary Oxendine introducing us to her recipe blog.

There was an amazing Twix cake from Jackie Marum which bowled me over -I hope Jackie doesn’t mind me putting a link to her photo up.

So what have you been up to this week – I’ve currently got a loaf proving in the oven as I’m joining up with the Baking with Julia crew – I used to join in with their first book, Tuesdays with Dorie so am really excited about what I can learn as I bake through the next book.

I’ve entered into the world of One Direction cakes – Argh! When Clare asked me to make her daughter’s 6th birthday cake, I’ll admit to being stuck for ideas. Clare showed me a pic of the logo that she was thinking of incorporating and we went from there. I suggested perhaps a girly theme and pinks and purples and just HAD to have a go at stripes – OMG they took forever! But I loved doing them.

I’m really pleased with the One Direction logo done freehand and with added sparkle. I got some feedback from my girls on the cake which was nice… Violet said it was ‘Fab.oo.luss’ and Millie said she HAD to have that exact cake for her next birthday – From a 9yo that spends endless hours singing along to every word of One Direction, that is praise indeed.

For last week’s Cake of the Week there were two wonderful entries. Janine (who too has a daughter, Millie) showed us these lovely cupcakes - they are so neat.

I had a last minute entry today from a new visitor to the blog, Sadaf showed us this enchanting Crown Cake with some yummy looking meringue buttercream – the piping is amazing.

I’ve put the linky up as usual for Cake of the Week but I’m after your suggestions this week – how can we improve Cake of the Week for you? I’ve never wanted it to be a competition – its just for fun to show off your weekly baking. I know that some people get really nervous about submitting their cakes but truly I’m so pleased to see them.

Ooh I love a girly cake. My brief was to fit in with a Princess Party. I wanted to put my own stamp on it and not just make a princess but somewhere for her to live obviously!

It was REALLY windy around here yesterday so I only added the glitter and sparkle at the venue (which was really princessey btw!) My Millie went around pretending it was for her so I think it got a thumbs up from our Princess!

Have you been baking any creations this week and blogging about them? Don’t be shy – Join in!

The first Cake of the week for 2012 and what a lovely relaxed cake to start with. For a friend of a friend, the only request was for sponge and pink, white and lilac.

I haven’t done any icing loops for ages and wanted a go at different coloured loops. Previous ‘loopy’ cake have always been in black and white. (Not sure if that’s the technical term)

I definitely went for the less is more option on this cake – no point hiding an nice even covering if you have one.

I’m going to try to attract a few more members of the Cake of the Week gang this year so please feel free to take part and spread the word.

If you fancy it you can even download the badge.

I get the feeling this won’t be the last cake that features as part of the Project 366 this year.

Yay! A completely new design for me – I know there are hundreds of Henry Hoover cakes out there but I’d never done one before. To be honest, I didn’t know there was such a demand by 3 year olds for hoover cakes!

The most difficult part was getting the nozzle to stick out of the cake and then attach seamlessly to the pipe. The eyes were my favourite bit as he came to life instantly.

I hate to say it but I’m becoming a bit of a fan of sculpted cakes – they just have that ‘WOW’ about them.

Zac recognised Henry straightaway and his Dad posted a Facebook pic the next day saying Zac was delighted and they were finding it hard to stop him hugging his cake! Aaaaw!

I’ve had a bit of a flurry of activity in preparation for 2012 and it is looking really exciting on the cake front. I’ve met up with some lovely people and am giddy about what is in store. Watch this space!

I’m hoping in 2012 to have a big push on Cake of the Week. I intend on promoting entries a lot more and linking up with many more projects.

In the meantime, feel free to link up any of your Christmas Bakes – Now that is one area I am sooo behind in!

With a beautiful name like Isabella Rose, how could I do anything else than a baby in a rose for her Christening Cake?

Isabella’s Mum, Becky sent me the cutest picture to go off for the cake topper – I wanted to do it slightly differently than the sitting baby in a blanket as Isabella is younger than the sitting stage. My brief from Becky was also pink and girly – Yay! If there’s one thing I can do its pink and girly. I decided against the whole cake being pink though in favour of a bit of contrast and am really pleased with the result.

The baby was made from marzipan with a frilly nappy and rose hat – I like her little chunky legs.

I got the nicest text a day later saying the cake was just perfect and when I dropped it off, Isabella’s Mum & Dad even mentioned Cake of the Week!!

I expect everyone is up to their eyes in Christmas preparations but will put the linky up as usual just in case there is anyone who wants to show off their Christmas baking – Can you believe I’ve not even had time to start any Christmas baking yet? I had all these plans for Christmas cakes galore and homemade presents – looks like it might have to wait to another year when the tweenies are a bit bigger.

A day later than expected but for very good reason. This weekend was a mammoth one. We had the annual presentation for swimming in which both girls got decorated with medals, our first sleepover (3am in case you were wondering!) and I held my first Clandestine Cake Club last night. There was simply no energy left for blogging and unbelievably it has taken 24 hours for me to able to even look at a cake since.

But there was a cake last week, this traditional lady’s 80th birthday cake for a lovely family. I added little diamontes to the sugar pink roses as her son tells me the birthday girl likes some bling. The cake was a fruit cake which made a nice change from sponge and I always think the finish is so much cleaner.

Here is a gratuitous picture of the handmade flowers up close too!

I’m expecting some entries from yesterday’s Clandestine Cake Club amongst others in this week’s Cake of the Week. I’m still chuckling that I have had a request for my Mum’s lemon drizzle cake recipe – Talk about stealing my thunder!

I haven’t posted a Corporate Cake for ages. I don’t do that many any more due to the edible printer giving up the ghost and I haven’t found a replacement yet.

When I got the call about the cake, the brief was to include the word ‘Congratulations’ and the Wilkinson logo. I explained that I would have to paint the logo freehand and Kate was fine with this. Gulp! That means Reeeeaaaallly neat painting.

The occasion was the Earlestown store having a revamp and at the Grand Reopening the longest serving member of staff was to be presented with the cake. No pressure there then!

After getting very familiar with a Wilko’s carrier bag, I braved the logo using Brilliant White Food Dust and Gin for painting – I really do love painting on cakes.

I hope the opening went well – Many Congratulations to Nina.

The link is up as usual for entries to Cake of the Week – I’m expecting to see some Christmas goodies popping up very soon.

Last week there was an entry from Karen of Lavender and Lovage with her Bobby’s Home Style Pancakes – I’ve seen a separate discussion on Twitter tonight as to whether pancakes count as baking but if they contain the word ‘cake’ they’re good enough for me!

This week’s Cake of the Week post is also doubling up as a Gallery post for Tara Cain’s link up. I’ve taken part in quite a few Gallery posts over the past year but every now and then a theme just grabs me.

The theme for this week’s Gallery is 11/11/11 which was last Friday – we had to take a photo or series of photos which summed up the day for us and this is mine.

As a whole the day kept reminding us of Love. The wedding cake I made for the 11/11/11 was for a couple that have been together for a number of years but decided around 5 weeks ago that they wanted to seal their love on 11/11/11 – They were a really good couple to work for, knew what they wanted but allowed some creativity and were open to suggestions. It was also evident that it was being together that was more important the THE WEDDING.

More poignantly, Friday 11th November was Armistice Day as it has been for the past 90 years. This year more than ever people seemed really switched on to honouring the dead and injured servicemen who fought for our country.

My friend lost her 22 year brother in Afganistan a year ago this week. She works at my daughters’ school but on Friday was in London at the Albert Hall rehearsing for the Remembrance Day concert. Updates on Facebook kept reminding me of how much she and her family miss Chris.

I will admit to a massive lump in my throat when my 9yo came out of school and told me that Chris’ soldier’s helmet was on display during their assembly that day.

The end of Friday 11/11/11 was also the day that my eldest 2 daughters decided that they do actually love each after all and want to share a room (Violet’s exact words were, “Mum I’m going to sleep in the same room as Millie until the day I die”!) So now we own a 5 bedroomed house with 2 children squatting down in the same room. Only in this house!

A quiet week last week for Cake of the Week (where were you all?) – I have no idea what I will be doing this week so am relying on you all for some inspiration. Don’t worry if your cakes are not decorated, homely are lovely and still welcome to join in with Cake of the Week. Its just for fun!