Chocolate!

I had a great day on Saturday at the Bristol Sugar Madness Day.  Many thanks to Gill for organising, and for inviting me to demonstrate.  I hope everyone enjoyed my patterned paste techniques.

The other demonstrator was Mark Willis, 'Modelling Mark' to those of you who belong to the BSG and an amazingly talented chocolatier.  So after seeing his moulded chocolates demonstration, I thought I'd have a go.

I have a shoe mould for making sugar shoes, and following his instructions I placed some spots of oloured cocoa butter in the mould, tempered the choolate and poured it in.  Next time I'll take photos of the steps to show you.  After a couple of minutes, I poured the excess chocolate away and stepped away from the mould.

The result?  Well, I'm quite pleased with - and I know how I'll make it better next time!

Pinterest

I've been pinned - or rather the Patterned Paste tutorials have.

Hello and welcome to all those who are new to Kathryn's Cakes.  Why not have a browse round the website or join us on facebook?

Poppyseed and Lemon Drizzle Loaf

DS and I made a cake for DH's birthday - one of our favourites, a Poppyseed and Lemon Drizzle Loaf.

The recipe?

Poppyseed and Lemon Drizzle Loaf

125g SR flour

30g poppy seeds

90g caster sugar

2 level tbsp honey

125g butter

2 medium eggs

Rind of 1 lemon

2 tbsp milk

Topping:

30g sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Set the oven to Gas 4, 180degC

Place all the cake ingredients in a bowl and beat until the mixture is smooth.  Spoon it into a lined loaf tin (the recipe says 1lb, but I use a 2lb)

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cake has risen and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.

Immediately spread the sugar over the top of the loaf in an even layer and drizzle over the lemon juice.  Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Keeps for 2 days – if it lasts that long!

What inspires me?

People often ask where I get my inspiration.  And the answer?  Everywhere. Sometimes, I make a 'copy' of an object, the Clarice Cliff-style teapots are an example of that.

Sometimes, it's a technique from another medium, as with the millefiori or patterned paste techniques.

Often, I'm inspired by a pattern on a wallpaper, a greetings card or other everyday object. The monkeys came from my son's pyjamas!

And occasionally, the design develops itself, as with the funky floral wedding cake.

What's in my head at the minute?  Well, some patterned paste ideas for a Golden Jubilee cake for BSG International in May; a new teapot shape with a Clarice Cliff inspired design; a freezer (!); an Islamic-inspired pastillage scupture; and a modern wedding cake, also for BSG International.  Stay tuned to see the results.

BSG International - not long now

Two cake free, demonstration free weeks coming up before the Easter holiday.  Time to get on with my pieces for Telford I think.

I hope you've all booked your tickets, accommodation and transport.  I'll be on and around the Demonstrators' Stands for the two days so look forward to meeting as many of you as possible.

Time for Tea

I've had an idea for some Clarice Cliff inspired teapots for a while now; in fact, I made the prototype way back last summer - then did nothing with it.  The realisation that I had a demonstration booked with the title 'Modelling a Sugar Teapot' spurred me into action a couple of weeks ago with these results:

'House and Bridge'

'Summerhouse'

They're moulded round a 5" dummy to give you some idea of their size and I have to say the painting takes far longer than I anticipated.  I need to find a better way of protecting them as well; the PME Spray Varnish smudged some of the dark colours, particularly the black.

More samples can be found at Kathryns Cakes

The Spring Sparkle - and More Millefiori Ideas

Thanks to Chris for a great day at the Spring Sparkle yesterday.  I was on first so after giving my Millefiori/Patterned Paste Techniques Demonstration, I could sit back and enjoy Lou Wilson from The Cake Makery model a Doulton-style lady and Karen Caudwell from FPC Moulds show us how to get the most from your moulds.

A couple of new ideas from yesterday to share with you:-

Patterned Paste Buttons:  

  

And a baby in a striped babygro: