Saturday 29 September 2012

Four-layer Banoffee Cake


What cake do you make for the girl who loves banoffee?

This!

For my dear friend Daisy's birthday - who you may have spotted on here last year, making a banoffee pie with me! - I hoped to make a cake which resembled the pie, but also to avoid making it taste just like a banana loaf. I stumbled across a recipe on ITV Food which looked perfect for the job. You can find it here:


The main difference was that I chose to use my favourite Marks & Spencer Salted Caramel Sauce, which, when not heated up, has more of a spread-like consistency - perfect for sandwiching cakes together. I also simply used layers of whipped double cream instead of banana cream, choosing to decorate the cake with the cream and slices of banana, banoffee-pie.

Give it a try!

Charlotte





Saturday 22 September 2012

Pineapple & Coconut Cupcakes


On my recent trip to Ghana I was amazed to discover an unlikely baking gem I had never come across in UK stores before - pineapple extract! Oh, the strange and wonderful things I could make with such an unusual flavour. So, what to do with a bagful of dessicated coconut and a bottle of pineapple extract? Make these little babies of course!

The recipe was, as I'm sure you will expect, taken from the original Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. However, I replaced the pineapple chunks with a few drops of pineapple flavouring. 

I was left with half a tub of coconut milk, which I used to make the most delicious smoothie... but that's another story!

Make these for a subtly tropical treat.

Charlotte




Saturday 15 September 2012

Chocolate, Mint & Coconut Hearts


Every so often, you come across a recipe for something super sweet, something perhaps you wouldn't usually eat (ooh! I rhyme), but would make a great snack to share with friends. The recipe for these came from the book 'Cookie Jar', published by Love Food, in which the recipes are gathered in a ring binder and the cover is decorated with a textured gingham print, plus cut-out gift labels are included - adorable!

The recipe was originally for 'Choco Mint Stars', but hey - I only had heart or flower cutters. I was curious to know whether the dessicated coconut in the recipe was just there to add texture, as it had no mention in the name... but alas! The refreshing mint and delicate coconut were both not only prominent, but complimentary. And the decorating was fun!

These made a great little dessert after a takeaway and movie with friends last weekend.

Charlotte





Wednesday 12 September 2012

Wedding Invitations



As well as my previously posted wedding cupcakes, I was recently given the honour of creating both my step-sisters and my boyfriend’s mother’s wedding invitations. Above is the final design they both chose, I made them using pearly white card, and ribbon that matched their chosen colour schemes - one fuchsia and the other a deep burgundy. I enjoyed getting back in touch with my artistic side, and hope to create a portfolio soon out of all my wedding based creations!

Jade




Saturday 8 September 2012

Heritage Chic - Burberry Prorsum A/W 2012

Images from uk.burberry.com

Flicking through a few fashion magazines lately, Burberry, as usual, is a name to which my eyes have been drawn after drinking in the beauty of the clothes on the pages. I have to say, it's obvious that the popular label has influenced a large number of this A/W's biggest trends.

Take the outfit above. Leather? Check. Owls? Check. Peplum? Check. And with muddy browns, deep purples and warm mustard, it is heritage chic at its finest, a style we see replicated in countless high street stores as we head into the colder months. (Not to mention the colours of the peplum skirts seen in the below images - royal blue and oxblood are HUGE right now).

I'm excited - are you?

Charlotte



Tuesday 4 September 2012

Chocolatey Chocolate Cake


I always think you can't go wrong with a chocolate cake - be you baker or eater. This one I made in honour of my wonderful friend Rhian's 20th birthday. 

The recipe was one for 'Family Chocolate Cake' from Hamlyn's '200 Cake and Bakes' by Sara Lewis. What I love about the book range is that the recipes are super-easy, require few ingredients, and usually extremely successful - so this time I must have done something wrong, as the cake turned out miserably flat! Highly edible, yes, but probably more frosting than cake. Which I guess, if we're being positive, isn't a bad thing in my books!

To decorate, I sprinkled on some chocolate-coated cereal balls from a Muller Corner yoghurt that I had used to make a banana smoothie. Waste not, want not!

Charlotte

Making the frosting



Sunday 2 September 2012

Wedding Cupcakes



Hello! So I thought it was about time I started posting again and to inspire me I decided to create a new layout for fashionwaffle. Don't you find that creating some new and exciting is a great way to motivate yourself? I have since sorted out the folders on my laptop, and discovered many photographs and creations that I had forgotten to post. I have also since sorted out my bedroom, re-organising and thinking of new ways to re-design. I am practically on an ‘updating my life’ spree – the blog, the bedroom; I’ve also joined the gym. Next is my hair – that post will follow shortly!

However time to stop the rambling, this post is meant to be about the cupcakes my friend Rachel and I made for my step-sisters wedding this summer. The wedding had a fuchsia and white colour scheme so we created the cupcake decorations using white, fuchsia and light pink royal icing. We created several designs, hoping the variety of designs and colour would help the cupcakes to stand out. We also wrapped the cases in lace, to provide a sophisticated finish. We are really proud of our creation, and the bride, groom and guests seemed to like them too!

Jade

The cakes before they were decorated.
Us finished, at one am that morning!