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Saturday 8 March 2008

International Women’s Day - A kaleidoscope of Yellow Celebration cake

Remember three previous posts ago, I mentioned about International Women's Day and Zorra @ Kotchtop two day is hosting this event? On this day 8th March Zorra is hoping for the biosphere to be filled with yellow food. Lets start the celebrations for all great women everywhere!



Last weekend I spent baking my “kaleidoscope of Yellow Celebration cake” knowing I had a full weekend to make this cake. I first started off by making the little butterflies and the flowers that are sat in the centre of the cake. The next day I baked my Madeira sponge and then set to adding colours to fondant and royal icing. I ‘glued’ the fondant down with a thin layer of lemon curd in keeping with this theme of yellow. The darker yellow fondant circle on the top of the cake was thinly rolled out and cut out in the centre and placed over the lighter fondant coloured icing. I wasn’t quite sure what design of royal icing I was going to pipe until I had filled up my piping bag. I love to create on the spur of the moment in my kitchen and this is what seems to work for me, rightly or wrongly as the case maybe.





Kaleidoscope of Yellow Celebration cake

Ingredients
For the Madeira cake
350g (12 oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
250g (9 oz) soft butter
250g (9 oz) caster sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1½ tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp milk
For sticking down the fondant icing
Lemon curd
For the icing
500g (1lb 2 oz) fondant icing
Edible yellow food colouring
Icing sugar for sprinkling
200g (8 oz) sifted icing sugar
1 egg white
Few drops of lemon juice
Edible yellow food colouring
Sugarpaste flowers & butterflies
A cake board 23cm (10 in) optional

Method

Grease and line a 20cm (8 in) round springform cake tin.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Fan 140°C /325°F/Gas mark 3.

In a mixing bowl add the butter and caster sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg a little at a time until fully combined. Sieve the flour and baking powder together then fold in gently with a large spoon. Add the lemon juice and the milk and fold in carefully.Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and level the top with a spatula. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 1½ - 1¾ hours or until golden brown and firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to fully cool on a wire rack.

When completely cooled, place the sponge onto the cake board if using, and spread a thin layer of lemon curd over the top and sides of the sponge cake.

Taking the fondant icing cut three-quarters off and colour a pale yellow with the edible yellow colouring. Colour the quarter left a deeper yellow. Sprinkle a little icing sugar over a work surface and roll the pale yellow fondant icing large enough to cover the whole cake. Place over the cake and smooth down cutting off any overhang. Roll out the darker yellow fondant large enough to fit the top of the cake. Cut out a shape in the middle large enough to place sugarpaste flowers in the middle. Slightly dampen with a little water on the top of the cake but not in the centre where the lighter fondant will show. Place the darker fondant over the top and smooth down.

Make the royal icing by adding the icing sugar into a mixing bowl with the egg white and a few drops of lemon juice. Mix until you have a stiff icing (if to stiff and a few drops of water). Take a few spoonfuls of royal icing out of the bowl and add to another bowl, colouring yellow with the edible yellow food colour.

Fill a piping bag with a writing nozzle and pipe around the insert on the top of the cake with white royal icing and finishing off with a few dots of yellow icing as in the picture. Pipe around the top edge and base of the cake with white royal icing and then add a few dots of yellow royal icing again as in the picture with a rose nozzle.

Place the sugarpaste flowers in the centre and add the butterflies around the top edge of the cake by sticking down with a little left over royal icing.
Edit : The International Women's Day roundup is online, we split it as follow:

One part can be found on fiordisale's blog:

The other on Zorra's

38 comments:

Finla said...

Normally no blogging for me on a weekend, but i wanted to know what you were going to post today after i read yourpost few days back.
Look so beautiful. I think yo decorations are getting to a real professional level.
Here we don't get fondant icing in shops........... and i have heard it is really a lot of work to make them.

Peter M said...

Rosie, it would a shame to cut into this cake...I could only wish to be this artistic with frosting & such.

Cakelaw said...

Butterflies, roses, daffodils and daisies - Rosie, this is just lovely. Another cake that is so beautiful, I would love to place on my mantelpiece rather than eat (although it sounds delicious!).

Pixie said...

Ah Rosie, what can I say, I love all your cakes but this one in particular is just absolutely perfect. Beautiful work Rosie!

Anna said...

Oh wow Rosie I am so in awe!! This is an actual work of art - I wouldn't want to cut it up!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Well, that's some celebration! Gorgeous decoration...

MrsB said...

what a beautiful cake you have made rosie, it looks great and i love the detail of the flowers, wow what a creation!

Donna said...

I Am Stunned!! How Beautiful this cake is!!!! Too Pretty to cut!lolol...Very professional looking!! Have a fun day sweetie!!!hughugs

Ivy said...

Rosie this is absolutely beautiful and you've put a lot of hard work to make such a piece of art. It's a pit to eat such art but thank God we have the photos to see them later on.

Maria♥ said...

Absolutely divine cake. Rosie you are really becoming a professional in the decorating of cakes. People pay money to buy cakes like this!

Maria
x

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Rosie, that cake is truly beautiful!! I admire your talent :)
Margot

RecipeGirl said...

That is definitely an impressive cake! I can only hope to learn to develop such talent!!

Gloria Baker said...

Rosie how wonderful and lovely cake!! Look delicious!! xxGloria

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

You are just amazing Rosie. Look at the beautiful butterflies and rose on this cake. It is made for a great cause as well!!

priscilla joy said...

Oh, Rosie that looks delicious! Great artwork too! Decorating cakes are fun!

glamah16 said...

Your a pro with sugar craft! Really lovely.

zorra said...

Wow, wow, wow! I'm speechless. Such a beautiful cake! I would never have the nerves to do such a great decoration. Chapeau!

Thank you for your participation in IWD.

Rosie said...

Hi Happy, awe bless what an honour you came on bloggger to view my cake!! I am hopefully improving my skills slowly with sugarcraft. I am teaching myself as I go along but this is so much fun. The recipe I use for sugarcraft paste is different from fondant icing I buy in the shops. If you want to make your own fondant let me know and I’ll post a recipe :D

Hi Peter, thank you but I bet you’re a dab hand at icing looking at your wonderful skills on your blog! :D

Hi Cakelaw, this is just what hubby says about cutting into this type of cake. The fun is in the making for me and watching others enjoy eating the cake :D

Hi Pixie, you are very sweet and I think this is my fav cake too because I adore spring time and this it what I tried to create in this cake.

Hi Indigo, thank you and like I said to Cakelaw just what hubby said lol

Best wishes to you all and thank you for all your kind feedback! :D

Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi aforkfulofspaghetti, many thanks shall we pop the cork on the champers now *giggle* :D

Hi Mrs B, awe thank you a lovely comment coming from another baker :D

Hi Donna, thank you sweetie – now where is that knife to cut you a slice? :D :D

Hi Ivy, I love my photos, which for me is lovely to look back on previous bakes I have made.

Best wishes to you all and thank you for all your kind feedback! :D

Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi Maria, awe thanks sweetie!! I am learning more (hopefully) as I go along and practice and patience I’m sure I’ll make it in the end -hahahaha didn’t say how many years down the line though ;D

Hi Dell, thank you so much sweetie :D

Hi Margot, thank you :D

Hi Recipegirl, thank you, I am trying hard to improve my skills with each cake I make.

Hi Gloria, thank you sweetie :D



Best wishes to you all and thank you for all your kind feedback! :D

Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi Val, I really enjoyed this food event of Yellow, like you I love the spring feeling and yellow is the colour!! :D

Hi Priscilla, yes, this cake was such fun to make and I really enjoyed myself in my little kitchen making this.

Hi glamah16, Awe thank you what a lovely compliment! :D


Best wishes to you all and thank you for all your kind feedback! :D

Rosie x

Rosie said...

Hi Zorra, many thanks for hosting such a great event for a good cause!! I really enjoyed making this cake it was so much fun.

Thank you for your lovely comment and very kind words best wishes Rosie x

Anonymous said...

The cake looks so pretty. Happy (Late) Women's Day to you... :)
Just wanted you to know Rosie that I was so inspired by all the cupcake-related posts in your blog that I made some chcocolate cupcakes yesterday and they were goood... So thanks to you...
xoxo
Sindhuri :)

PG said...

Wow. You made those butterflies? How? I don't know the first think about cake decoration. The cake looks amazing. But yeah, it would be a shame to cut into it.

Nic said...

That is an awesome cake Rosie - must have taken ages to put together, well done!

Swati said...

Oh Rosie..I really am so so impressed ..It looks beautiful with those lovely butterflies and flowers.
Lovely arrangement and very very neat work...Look forward to many more of such beautifully decorated cakes !!

Rosie said...

Hi Sindhuri Awe thank you & you baked chocolate cupcakes :D I feel so very honoured indeed !!

Hi Psychgrad, the butterflies were rolled out sugarpaste cut into shape and smoothed out then painted a little with a very small paint brush. To dry I placed on foam and placed cotton wool to hold up the wings until fully dried out. Thanks for your very kind comment :D

Hi nicisme, Awe thanks sweetie it took the full weekend to make this cake but then I had lots of fun making this :D

Hi Swati, I am improving slowly does it lol I wish I had you at my side to teach me instead of self taught sugarcraft – now that would be awesome!! :D

Many thanks for all your wonderful kind comments!!

Best wishes Rosie x

Maggie said...

The cake looks spectacular!

sandhya said...

Lovely cake... love the decorations..

Rosie said...

HI M, you are so kind – thank you :D

Hi Sandhya, many thanks and I adore your spring rolls mmmmm

Thank you both for calling by & so lovely to *see* you here :D

Rosie x

Ruth Strong said...

What a fantastic cake!!!! I wouldn't want to eat it cos it looks so perfect, but I'm also sure it tasted perfect too right?

Great entry for the event!

Anamika:The Sugarcrafter said...

Rosie
Your cake has all the elements of loveliness and pleases the beholder !

Mansi said...

OMG Rosie! that's a masterpiece girl!:) very very nice!!

I so want to learn frosting and icing like that!!!:)

Chef Jeena said...

Look beautiful Rosie your hard work was really worth the effort. :-)

elisabeth said...

These pictures are beyond gorgeous.I love your creatione...

Rosie said...

Thank you all for your lovely comments - you are all so very kind :D

Best wishes Rosie x

Sophie said...

beautiful flowers, i'm so jealous of your skills :D!

sophie

Rosie said...

Awe thsnk you so much sophie.

Rosie x