Fame is corrupting

Or is that power? Either way, I'm squeaky clean.

Betty and I have had our first taste of stardom, including the paparazzi. My work has an internal newsletter and Bakey Cakelicious rated a menion. Hurrah!

It was good for a giggle, anyway...

Something else that's good for a giggle? This webcomic, funniest thing I've read in ages.Who knew what magic you could weave with stick figures!

Hyperbole and a Half - God of Cake

The friendly ghost

What could be fitting to farewell another office fav, and a big fan of the baking?

The ghost jumped out at me as the perfect treat for someone who was disappearing from our ranks!

Another last-minute baking effort meant packet mix, (loving the excuse that the book actually recommends them!) and two beautiful butter cakes were selected and whipped into one large rectangular tin.

With no time to waste, the decorating started the minute it came out of the oven. My second attempt at fluffy frosting proved even messier – it was much harder without a second pair of hand to mix while I poured the toffee in evenly to get just the right sticky, fluffy consistency.

The greatest thing about fluffy frosting is that it makes icing so easy – it practically spread itself into a delicious, gooey, fluffy covering. The final touches were big blue eyes, a strange green smartie mouth, pink coconut (still in the fridge, left over from the pink elephant – again, I hope nobody actually ate that!) and the ultimate finishing touch – the Chief’s hat! (I think the new chief was even a bit jealous!)

A suitably sugary, sweet farewell!

Nine posts and 10 cakes posted - I'm done! - Betty xx

Cake takes flight

(Two cakes to go, and I am determined to get there!)

Over the past five weeks, I had been so lucky to be part of a fantastic leadership program under the inspired coachings of the lovely George and Simon.

I had promised the group a cake the previous week, (I even bought gluten-free flour for Kate!) but was overcome with too many late nights!

Down to the wire and the final week of the course, and only the helicopter would do!

The gluten-free cake turned out to be fantastic to work with, it had a beautiful moist texture, and minus the bloating of regular flour, was positively more-ish!

With limited time, I decided to cheat and use my trusty name sakes’s ready-made icing, with the addition of some particularly vibrant colours. The helicopter turned out the be surprisingly easy to mould; the gluten-free cake took shape easily.

Unfortunately though, the heaviness of the cake proved disastrous in the car on the way to work, with the whole helicopter taking a tumble during the drive, not once but twice!

Luckily though, the cake made it, (with only minor icing damage) and like our ideas, it took off!

Footy fever

 Two Melbourne teams were in the grand final and Melbourne was all a-hype!

Having scored some free tix to the previous weeks’ convincing victory over Geelong, I was back out and proud as a pies supporter and ready for a big win!

Watching the first grand-final undid all good yoga relaxation work of the morning, despite feeling sick, it was impossible not to be on the edge of my seat from half-time onwards!

And what a result! My victory cake – the footy field – had to be transformed into a something appropriate for a draw!

AS the final played out, I decided another hedgehog would make a perfect ground for the G, topped with green coconut. A clinker was the only possibility for the ball, and it had to be a pink one. (I had to do a lot of checking, just to get the right one!) Painting skewers seemed like way too much work, and when I couldn’t even find them in Coles, drinking straws saved the day as a much cheaper and simpler solution!

What a strange afternoon, as we all realised we would be back next week!

And back we were, ready for a result. Sadly I didn’t get to watch the re-play (being far too relaxed in an all-day yoga workshop) but boy was I ready to celebrate with a pies premiership cake!

A simple choc cake, this one was for my fav pies supporter, my little sis – Oh, the premierships a CAKEwalk – yes, it was! GO PIES!!

A monster for my fav little monster

T’was the birthday of my little Saraj, and only something outrageous would do! It came down to the jelly cake or the monster. (I decided the jelly cake would be a bit too difficult to take to the pub.) 

This cake needed to be just as ugly inside, so I decided that rather than a cake I would bake hedgehog slice. (The rectangular tin was also the perfect shape for the “cake”.)

 So it turns out Hegehog slice is possibly the easiest thing ever to make – just melt the butter and mix it all in! And very difficult not to eat while baking.

Some VERY buttery choc icing started ‘decorating in the tin’ meaning that I didn’t even have to find a plate. (I will admit I was concerned it would fall apart if I tipped it out.) Surviving a day in the car, and a trip to the show (where multiple Bertie Beetle bags were purchased as b’day pressies and general pressies) and overcoming a bartender who was reluctant to give us a knife to cut it, we managed, at long last, to consume the delicious, crunchy non-cake.

Aaargh! Tis the pirate!

Talk like a pirate challenge: accepted! 19 September be always a favourite on me calendar – International Talk Like a Pirate Day! 
If you haven’t discovered this website already, it be worth a look – me fav part be t' pirate translator. (I actually once even submitted a resignation in pirate speak … ) "

So talk like a pirate day was on t' Sunday, and I had it all ready t' take into work on t' Monday – except I forgot t' brin' t' cake! Whoops! T' one bonus was this did give me time t' track down a gold doubloons – t' piece de resistance that me bucko in Canberra didn’t quite manage. 
In all modesty, I officially award meself t' winner in t' challenge, for findin' t' starboard piece o' eight, and t' special ‘Freddo o' t' sea’ insignia on pirate’s hat! "

Nobody mention the pink elephant in the room

Ahhh the day to bake my way to a payrise … the boss’s birthday! Sadly, I failed on that account, it might have had something to do with the fact that I didn’t actually bake and cheated by buying two Coles choc mud cakes. (He did say they were his favourites!)

It was all relatively easy from there, some clever cutting and the elephant quickly took shape, while pink coconut required a hands-on approach (and pink hands for a few days). 

I must admit I slacked off on icing the sides – I kinda ran out of icing, and the mud cake wasn’t the easiest to ice.

A strategically positioned ear and tusk and Mr pink elephant looked ready to dance right out of the tray and celebrate an unwanted b’day. (That might have been my other mistake … )