Mickey Mouse Birthday Cake!! {guest post}

My next cake was for my youngest son's 2nd birthday.  I wanted to make a rainbow cake as I really wanted to surprise our guests by doing the big reveal as the cake was cut, but my husband said it was "a bit excessive" for a two year old (spoilsport!).  So it was back to the drawing board for me.  My son is a chocolate cake lover, so I thought I'd start with that. But I didn't have a clue how to decorate it.

For the cake, I returned to Jo Wheatley's A Passion for Baking as I have always found her recipes reliable. The Chocolate Birthday Cake recipe I have made several times, so knew it would be the perfect moist chocolate cake. Instead of the ganache, I filled and covered it with chocolate buttercream, as I felt this would be more suitable for the occasion. I then completely covered it in Sainsbury's soft chocolate flavour icing, which comes ready to roll (cheat, I know...but I'm still getting to grips with making icing from scratch!).

I was planning to finish the decoration by just cutting some star shapes from different coloured ready-to-roll icing, when my husband reminded me about the small Mickey Mouse cookie cutter I'd recently purchased and was yet to use. As Mickey Mouse is another of my sons favourites, this seemed like the perfect addition.  The stars and Mickey shapes were easily attached to the cake just by painting a little water on the back and gently pushing them on to the cake.

The end result was a simply but effectively decorated moist chocolate cake...and something I've already been asked to make for another birthday!

Before I end this chapter of my baking journey, I must admit to a slight mistake!  The decorated cake was actually the second one I made as I over-baked the first one!  To be fair, it would still have been delicious if it was just for tea, but I wanted the birthday cake to be perfect. It did not go to waste though!  Oh no, it became the most perfect Black Forest Trifle!

To make the trifle, I sliced each sponge in half horizontally and sandwiched them back together with a good quantity of Red Cherry Conserve (I used Sainsbury's Taste the Difference). I then cut each sandwich into large chunks and placed a layer of these into a trifle bowl. Next I drained a tin of cherries, reserving the syrup.  I mixed some of the syrup with a couple of tablespoons of brandy and drizzled half of this over the sponge in the bowl.  Next I added the cherries and then another layer of the sponge, finishing by drizzling the remaining brandy/syrup mix over.  This will sit quite happily in the fridge for a good few hours or overnight.

Before serving, whisk some double cream until thick and layer this over the sponge base.  Finish with a generous grating of dark chocolate.  The perfect way to salvage a chocolate cake.

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the trifle. But I hope you like the cake!

~ Sharon 

notes: You've seen Sharon's cakes on here before! Check them out here & here! 

Cinnamon Cake & CCC Christmas Cakes!

We had our last Clandestine Cake Club meet-up of 2013! Of course being the holiday season we went with Christmas as our theme!

As always we had a nice selection of cakes and I tried to eat a slice of each. Which never goes well. I either miss one or two or end up with a load of half eaten slices on my plate! 

Once again, everything was very tasty. I never can complain about our group of cake makers!

Here is what we all made this time round:

I choose a Cinnamon Cake with Cinnamon Butter Cream because everything people bake this time of year has cinnamon in it. Well, pretty much everything!

The Cinnamon Cake turned out perfectly cinnamon-y and delicious! It was a bit like making muffins. All you do is combine all the dry in one bowl and the wet in the other. Then place in the tin and bake! So, a very minimal effort cake, but a very good cake!

Cinnamon Cake

225g self-rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

75g ground almonds

100g golden caster sugar

2 medium eggs

50g honey

250ml natural Greek yogurt

150ml sunflower oil

Preheat oven to180C/350F/gas4 and line the bottom of a 9 or 10 in cake tin and grease the sides with oil. I used a 10in as I don’t own a nine and it came out fine with the time below.

Combine all the dry ingredients by sifting the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon before adding the almonds and sugar.

In a separate bowl combine all the wet ingredients eggs, honey, yogurt, and oil – mix well.

Fold the wet mixture into the dry until just combined.

Gently pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes. Cake should have a golden hue and a skewer should come out clean when inserted into the cake. Cool for 10 minutes or so in the tin, before completely cooling on a wire rack.

Cinnamon Buttercream

200g butter, softened

150g icing sugar, plus a little more depending on how you like the consistency

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp whole milk

Beat all the ingredients together until you get your desired consistency and it is light and fluffy! Use more or less milk for the same reasons you may need a little more icing sugar.

to finish

Snow Flake Sprinkles (optional)

Chocolate Penguins (optional) 

Evenly spread the buttercream over the cake and decorate as desired!

notes: How many C’s can I get in a title of a post?? Clandestine Cake Club is fun! Find one near you! This cake was adapted from a recipe in Cake by Rachel Allen. Chocolate Penguins are from Sainsbury’s, I bought them as I thought they were super cute! I must apologize for the quality of the pictures, the lighting is never nice to my phone camera!

Spider-Man Birthday Cake!! {guest post}

For years, my sister and I have complained about the bland birthday cakes we've been overcharged for in the supermarkets. So this year, I thought I'd make a big change!

I'd like to think of myself as a competent cook, inspired by my big sister (sadly my mum has never enjoyed cooking, so taught me very little). But baking was something I attempted...well...not that often!  So I set myself a challenge. This year, I was going to make my son's birthday cake!

Okay, so where do you start?  I've been able to turn out a fairly decent cake before, but never really decorated one. But for a birthday cake, it needed to be just right. And so I opened A Passion for Baking by Jo Wheatley. Her vanilla birthday cake is just divine!

My son is really in to Spider-Man, so the design was simple...something even I should be able to manage!  I did cheat by ordering a spider-shaped cookie cutter, but other than that, it was an amazing journey of discovery in to what a complete amateur could do! Okay, it wasn't perfect, but my confidence was boosted when I realized how much I could achieve. So this is the result of my first ever attempt at covering a cake in sugar-paste and piping icing. I would like to think it's not a bad first attempt!

So, confidence boosted, I'm already planning my next cake....


~ Sharon

notes: A Passion for Baking by Jo Wheatley available at Sainsbury's and Amazon

White "Witch" Ice Cream w/Enchanted Turkish Delight {The Chronicles of Narnia}

When I was a kid I was channel surfing and I came upon a cartoon about some kids trapped in a winter world and a really horrible witch was after them. I changed the channel it scared me, as most 1970’s cartoons did.

It was years later before I discovered that the cartoon I was watching was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Even more before I got around to reading the book. I have to confess I have yet to read the whole of The Chronicles of Narnia, but I am making my way through.

However when I was brainstorming a Narnia inspired food, in my case dessert, I knew I was going to stick with The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Even more I knew I was going to base it on the horrible witch that freaked me out when I was a kid. I love a good villain.

As the White Witch holds Narnia in a state of winter without Christmas for 100 years I decided on ice cream. White “Witch” Chocolate Ice Cream with specks of rose flavored Enchanted Turkish Delight dotted through out.

It’s an interesting combination, just like I find the White Witch interesting. However it is good unlike the White Witch, unless you want to start the argument that she’s good at being bad? Probably shouldn’t go there… First you need to start with the Turkish Delight as it should set over night. If you have enough free time in one evening you could also make the custard for your ice cream and let them both set over night. Then all you have to do the next day is churn and mix in the Turkish Delight!

Enchanted Turkish Delight

There is more magic then science when making Turkish Delight, thermometers are no good, only a lot of time, love, and mixing! A lot of Turkish Delights have pistachios, hazelnuts, and pinenuts I have left them out as I am folding it into ice cream and I wanted it to be smooth and white! These will be softer then store bought Turkish Delight.

200g desiccated coconut

500g granulated sugar

125g cornflour

1 tsp rose water

600ml water

Line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment and scatter about 50g of the coconut at the bottom of the tin, set aside.

Have a bowl of cold water at the ready. Put the rest of the ingredients into a heavy bottom saucepan and dissolve the sugar and cornflour over a medium heat stirring continuously.

You will start to see small lumps form, at this point whisk it until it’s smooth and looks like glue. Switch back to a spatula, you will need a spatula to gently and continuously scrap the sides and bottoms of the pan. You have to keep it moving and it will take a while so get comfortable! In about 20 minutes after the lumps, it’ll start to hiss and bubble. This is only you’re half way mark. It needs to cook for another 20-30 minutes to get the correct texture.

Once you have passed the 20-30 minutes you can start testing. Place about a teaspoon of the goo, as I referred to it, into the cold water press gently together with your fingers if it crumbles apart it needs to cook a bit longer, if it gently gives and stays intake you’re good to go.

Take off the heat and dollop the goo into your prepared tin. Smooth it with the spatula as well as you can and sprinkle another 50g of coconut on top. Press it down with your hand to flatten.

Leave to cool overnight or about 8-12 hrs. It should be springy to the touch and no indentations left. Cut it up half into cubes and the other half into tiny pieces toss all of it in the rest of the coconut. Make sure to keep it in an open bowl, as it will sweat if kept in an airtight container. Eat within a week.

White “Witch” Chocolate Ice Cream

This ice cream has a custard base and like the Turkish Delight requires stirring, but not nearly as much. On it’s own it’s a gorgeous decadent ice cream, the Turkish Delight offers a reprieve of that richness. It’s a sweet surprise that the Turkish Delight gives the ice cream. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out and I’m happy I took the risk as it was delicious.

230g white chocolate, broken up

250ml whole milk

130g sugar

pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

500ml double cream

Have everything ready: place the broken up white chocolate in a bowl with a sieve over the top, have your eggs separated, gently whisked and the double cream measured out.

Then in a saucepan gently heat the milk, sugar, and salt. Once the sugar is dissolved and the milk mixture is warm slowly pour it onto the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then pour back into the saucepan.

Stir continuously over a medium heat with a spatula, if your spatula with stood the heat of the Turkish Delight it’ll be safe to use here, scrap the bottom and keep the mixture moving. It’s ready when the mixture coats the spatula.

Pour the custard over the white chocolate through the sieve. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream. In the ice bath that you had prepared stir the mixture until it’s completely cool. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or until thoroughly chilled. Then freeze in your ice cream machine according to the machines instructions.

To Finish: Fold the tiny bits of Turkish Delight into the ice cream before placing in the freezer. Freeze in the freezer and then serve it up whenever you’re feeling a bit witchy. 

If you like my ice cream find it on The Chronicles of Narnia Food & Feasts page and click like below my entry! If you see any other fun Narnia inspired treats you should like them too!! I hope I have inspired you to re-create this ice cream or create something of your own based on this beloved series! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Giveaway CLOSED

Would you like to win a complete set of The Chronicles of Narnia?? Maybe for you? Or someone you'd like to share the magic of Narnia with? Whoever it's for there are 4 ways to enter! 

1. Leave a comment below telling me who your all time favorite villain is! 
2. For another entry "like" my Facebook page and leave a separate comment below saying you did so.
3. For a third entry "pin" it on Pinterest and leave a separate comment below saying you did so. 
4. For a final entry follow me on Twitter @unitedcakedom and leave a separate comment below saying you did  so. 

If the comments aren't separate they will be counted as one. UK Residents only. Winner will be chosen at random at the end of the Narnia Food & Feasts competition. To find out if you won you will have to come back to check and you will have 48 hours to email me with your details or another winner chosen by random will be chosen. Good Luck! 

notes: I’m and 80’s kid (if you didn't guess that from me just celebrating my 30^th birthday!); Turkish Delight is adapted from Sugar & Spice by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra and the White Chocolate Ice Cream is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz; I have had a quick look and an easy way to re-create this ice cream is to buy white chocolate ice cream (Waitrose was the only place I saw online that sells it) and buy some Turkish Delight, chocolate covered would ruin the snowy white affect, but either would do. Dish up the ice cream and sprinkle Turkish Delight on top! Easy Peasy. 

Pizza Sugar Cookies!!

My daughter turned 5 on Friday! I can't believe how fast it's gone! I know all parents say that. When I was pregnant I used to get annoyed by all the people who would tell me that it would go fast. Now I'm saying it myself, because it's so true.

To celebrate we let her have her first party. With her birthday so close to Christmas we tended to only have small family parties. People are so busy this time of year I didn't want to add one more thing others lists! First I wanted to throw her a My Little Pony Party or a Winter Princess Party, but most of her friends are boys and we were having it in the house. We are limited to space, so 5 of her friends were invited for a Pizza Party!!

I had all sorts of fantastical ideas of it being the best party ever with the kids making their own pizzas and having hand made aprons to take home as their party gift... I'm glad I chucked those ideas right out of my head!! In the end I bought pizzas and made these delicious vanilla cookies for them to take home in their party bags.

to make: use your favorite sugar cookie recipe!! I used Shauna Sever's Big, Soft Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies from her book Pure Vanilla. I wanted them to look like mini pizzas so, I dyed 1/3 of the frosting red. Spread that on first for the 'tomato sauce', then the white on top of that for 'cheese' then used different sprinkles for the 'toppings'!

I asked the kids if they thought they looked like mini pizzas, all of them, but one polite little girl, said no! Ah well, they were still delicious!! Now I have about 7 weeks to decide what to make for the littlest ones birthday! They really do grow up fast!!

note to self: 4/5 year-old's aren't really all that interested in games they were way more happier just playing then when I was trying to coax them into Pizza Bingo or Pizza Darts and Hot Tomato. note to other parents: I hate party bags. They end up in the trash the second they leave your party. Pure Vanilla is available on Amazon UK or US. My views on the book and the Lemon Dream Bars I made from it.

Guy "Forks" Marshmallow Brownies!!

A few days ago I shared with you my thoughts of The Vintage Tea Party Year by Angel Adoree where I said I would be letting you know how I got on with the book.

If my first attempt says anything I know this book is going to be a great addition to my collection. There were a few things that made me decide on this particular recipe. 1. it was Guy Fawkes Night (aka bonfire night)  and 2. Brownies.

I mean really do I need to say more?? After reading the recipe I was very interested by the cinnamon. I love cinnamon. (I love a lot of things please bear with me!) Why have I never thought to add cinnamon to brownies?? I knew I couldn’t waste any time in trying these out.

I think I will be adding cinnamon to all my brownies from now on (not really). Seriously though they were very yummy. More of a ‘cakey’ brownie then a proper brownie, but I’m really not all that picky. Enjoy!!

Guy "Forks" Marshmallow Brownies 

200g (7oz) dark chocolate

250g (9oz) butter, cubed

250g (9oz) dark muscovado sugar

4 eggs

185g (6 ½ oz) plain flour, sifted

35g cocoa powder, sifted

¼ tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

150g (5 ½ oz) marshmallows, mini or chopped

Preheat oven 160C/fan140C/gas3. Line a 20cm (8in) square tin or brownie pan with baking paper.

Melt the chocolate (break it up) and butter together in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Allow to cool slightly.

Place the sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa powder, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the marshmallows.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool before cutting

Angel Adoree’s serving suggestion: Cut into 16 bite-sized pieces. Pierce a cocktail fork into the top of half of the bites and arrange in a checkerboard fashion.

I hope everyone has had a fun and safe bonfire night!! 

notes: My thoughts on The Vintage Tea Party Year! Brownie Quest: Definitely would make again! 

The Vintage Tea Party Year by Angel Adoree {book review}

With the party season upon us Angel Adoree’s The Vintage Tea Party Year is the perfect companion for any host/hostess! In the midst of planning my soon-to-be 5-year-old’s birthday party I realize I really enjoy the whole thought process and execution of parties. I devoured this book in one night and dreamt of all the events I can’t wait to celebrate! Armed with all the information in this book party planning will be a lot easier!

With 12 chapters, loosely based on the 12 months of the year, there are plenty of fun ideas to pick and choose from! In saying that it’s not the typical 12-month celebrations you might be familiar with. New Years and Christmas are of course present, but then it’s more based on events that warrant a party. Such as: Hen-Do’s, kids parties, picnics, street parties, Guy Fawkes Night and so on.

My favorite is the Gentlemen’s Tea Party. I so wish Mr. Knightley would let me arrange a tea party for him and his friends! Some how I think it won’t be happening, but that doesn't mean I won’t be using some of the delicious looking treats from this chapter!!

Not only is there a range of gorgeous sounding and looking food, but lots of tips to help your event go off with a bang! The hairstyles are a fun bonus as well. I would never succeed in doing the hair myself, but if I had a little help I might be able to pull it off!

As I write this I am listening to fireworks and I know I will be listening to them all night and weekend long! Guy Fawkes Night is one holiday I have come to love, having never celebrated it until I moved to the UK. It's just the first of many events that deserve to be recognized with a party, better yet a tea party!! Even though we are staying in this weekend it doesn't mean we will be skimping on the food and activities!

I haven’t decided what I will be making yet, but when I do you will be the first to know! What are you doing this weekend? Really I just want to know what you're eating?!? Doesn't matter if you made it yourself or someone else is making it for you! Have a fun and safe weekend! 

links: The Book People; Octopus Publishing Group; My thoughts on Angel Adoree’s The Vintage Tea Party Book, be warned it has footnotes and I talk about my problem for the first time in a public space.

Sugar Cookie Soccer (Football) Jersey's!!

These cookies were a hit with my daughter's soccer team!!

My oldest daughter plays soccer.
These cookies were for  her and her teammates at their last game.

The soccer balls are just Wilton cake toppers/decorations attached to Oreos!

I attached them with the same candy melts used to color the jerseys! ~ Janet

No Bake S'more Bars Green Bay Packer style!! {weekend baking with Janet}

No Bake S’mores Bars
·1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
·1 (11.5-oz) pkg. milk chocolate chips (or 1 3/4 cups)
·4 cups miniature marshmallows - green and yellow
·1/2 of a 12.5 oz pkg of Keebler Deluxe Grahams, broken into bite-size pieces

Line a 9-inch-square baking pan with foil.
In a saucepan, heat the cream over medium just until bubbles appear around edge of the pan. This only takes a minute or two.
Remove from heat and mix in the milk chocolate chips until smooth. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally. This should only take about 5 minutes.  You just want it cool to the touch because you don’t want it to melt the marshmallows.
Add the marshmallows to the chocolate mixture and stir gently.  You just want the marshmallows to get coated with the chocolate to coat. Then gently stir in graham cracker pieces until combined.
Pour the mixture into your foil lined pan and gently press down to fill the pan.  Be sure to scrape out every last drop!
Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan using the foil and cut into bars with a knife that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Makes 9-12 bars.

Note from Lisa: Look what I found!! UK Packer Backers!! (link not available 31.1.2016) Yay!!! Originally from Wisconsin our family loves the Packers!! I wish I could catch more of there games on here in the UK, but the timing is usually off!! Janet found the recipe for these here and just substituted yellow and green marshmallows for the white!! You can change the colors for your favorite team!!

Rainbow Dash's Rainbow Jellies!!

So, this isn't so much a baked good as a fun treat for kids!

My oldest turns five in December and she wants a birthday party. At first she wanted a My Little Pony Party (or maybe I wanted her to want one!) and now she wants a princess party!

I have a bunch of great ideas for a My Little Pony party and if I can’t use it for her birthday I’ll use it for my 30^th in May! ;0)

A rainbow cake with blue frosting would also be awesome for a My Little Pony Party!! 

Anyway, every once and a while we pick up the MLP magazine and they had a ‘recipe’ for rainbow jellies (jello in the USA) I thought these are easy enough and would be great for a party if you topped it with fluffy light blue cream! I didn't do the topping but the girls and I had fun making and eating these rainbow jellies!

To make Rainbow Dash’s Rainbow Jellies: Buy any number of different colored/flavored jelly (jello) make according to instructions and layer in the order of a rainbow* starting with blue/purple at the bottom and topping with red. If you make it in a mold that needs to be turned out start with red at the bottom and so on… Also be sure that each layer is set before adding the next!

I just wanted to not the subtle colors of the UK jelly. The reason it’s subtler is because it doesn’t have huge amounts of unwanted e-numbers and additives! If you made it with Jello you’d get much more vibrant colors, but all those extra unnatural things your body really doesn't need!

notes: *red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink

Hartley’s UK   

Jello USA

Dora Cupcakes!! #AugustBreak