~~~~Cake?~~~~

[Pebbles82]

When my life has settled into normality a bit I will start knitting a star wars jumper (if I can find a pattern) as the Batman one is getting a bit small. I can't draw, paint or decorate cakes but I'm good at knitting! Speaking of cakes I made some little buns last night in a kind of made up way with what ingredients I had - they are nice and light and you can make them in a bun tin or muffin tin - a cross between a frangipan sponge and a muffin.

50g flour, 50g ground almonds, 1 and a half teasoons baking powder, 100g butter, 100g caster sugar, 2 eggs. Mix it all together for a few minutes. Put a teaspoon of lemon juice in a cup of milk, stir and leave for a few minutes then add one and a half tablespoons of milk to mixture. Mix it for a few more mins - goes kind of white and fluffy - add sultanas or whatever you fancy (choc chips, blueberries) and put mixture in bun cases (about 2/3 full) in oven at 180 degrees conventional oven for about 25 minutes or until not burnt!

They get light crispy edges and are lighter and softer than normal sponge cake.

[Pebbles82]

Here is the boy's 9th birthday cake (Thought I'd revive the cake thread!)

[BorisPasha]

That looks fantastic Serendipity and tasty too Little boy will be pleased to have Hedwig on his cake even if he's not getting one in real life lol.

[Pebbles82]

He had a Hedwig birthday card as well. Picture of Hedwig bringing a birthday message. He loved the cake.

[souffle]

Great cake serendipity He is growing up too quickly!

[Pebbles82]

He certainly is Souffle. 9 going on 32 He did start behaving like a little boy again though once he saw his cake. He requests "normal" cakes now like mine and OH's because he likes chocolate and strawberries. None of us were keen on the sweet fondant type icing.

[Coco61]

What a great cake Serendipity. Not surprised it was a success.

[Drago]

What a beautiful cake! I have not been blessed with the talent of baking. I try, but everything always turns out bad lol! I do admire those who have the skill to make these kinds of things though

[Pebbles82]

I used to be terrible at making cakes Drago - I could bake pies and scones and all kinds of things but I was a disaster at cakes. I think practice helps, a failsafe recipe, using an oven thermometer to check your oven, loose bottomed cake pans and lining them

I actually make the same sponge cake most years. Nigella Lawsons custard birthday cake. It's just a basic sponge cake but has some custard powder in (which is basically cornflour) which makes it lighter. And put our own choice of fillings in it. It's an easy all-in-one cake as well

The other tip I gained for cakes is from the good old USA and that's using buttermilk. Makes things soft and fluffy. Another good one is Raymond Blanc's lemon loaf cake. Very easy. Hard to make it go wrong.

BBC good food website has reviews of recipes too so you can find the good popular ones that work!

[Hamsterita]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Here is the boy's 9th birthday cake (Thought I'd revive the cake thread!)

WoW Serendipity!!! That's a fabulous cake!! Your little boy must be very grateful, I'm sure he enjoyed it a lot!!

I also love bake, my favourites hobbies are hams, painting my nails, riding my mtb, and cooking and eating what I cook... not necessarily in that order (i know, strange combination of hobbies!!)

Lately I hadn't much time to bake with my granpa illness and my state exams coming so soon, but usually I bake a cake all Saturdays. They aren't "beautiful" or "cute" cakes (I don't pay attention to decoration and I'm not a fan of sugary frostings) but they are super yummy!!

I hope you don't mind that I share them with you... This is the last one that I baked, It's monkey bread, a typical US cake made with cinnamon and brown sugar.






What do you think US citizens??? does it look good or I just destroyed an icon of your popular recipes??