Monday 31 October 2016

Black Magic Halloween Cake

   I actually made this cake last Halloween and never got around to sharing it! I used to make cakes all the time but it was the decorating I really wanted to do, but that always ended up meaning there was a cake that needed eating - not a problem at all, except that I want to eat the whole thing by myself. And a few years ago, I used to. Now, however, I think I must make maybe five cakes a year and only for birthdays or personal dates of note like my parents' anniversary - which I obviously don't eat all on my own. In fact I found a clever way around making too much cake, too: I use a 5 inch cake tin instead of 8 or 9, and it's a deep one - and even then I make half the cake mixture I used to. This way there's less cake, but because it ends up being taller, too, it's easier to decorate. I like tall cakes!


   This cake was just chocolate, I think, and I made up two cakes so I used a full-sized mixture, but like I said, it was the decorating I really wanted to do, so I used black fondant to make a bat wing, I made a small amount of cookie dough and made a biscuit bone using the Wilton bone cookie pan (this is literally the only time I've used it, I realise), and I added black food colouring to chocolate frosting and made it all super black. Then I broke the bone and stuck it and the wing in the frosting, which I put thick and swirly on the top to help give them both more support.
   The trouble is I'm awful at flat icing, I really am. I have the tools - even a rotating cake stand to make it easier - but I just can't grasp it, no matter how many videos I watch or tutorials I read. And because I rarely make cakes anymore, I'm getting zero practise. When I do make cakes I prefer to make them 'naked' to cut down on unnecessary sugar and just use a cake stencil with icing sugar or powdered baobab like with the Japanese cotton soft cheesecake I made
 
   This year I'm not making a cake, I have something else in mind, and if it works out, I'll share it. If not...I'll pretend I never mentioned it.



0 comments:

Post a Comment

I do read every single comment, and I will try to respond where I can. If you have an important question about my blog or my shop, however, then you might be better off contacting me directly by email. Thanks so much for reading my blog!