This recipe provides a different option for those that want a change from plain old chocolate!

Citrus Mud Cake

This recipe is sourced from SuperFood Ideas Mag – Aug 2008

Est Cooking Time: 2 hours
Oven Temp: 160′C/140′ Fan-forced
Tin Size: 6cm deep – 19cm square

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons EACH of finely grated lemon, lime and orange rinds
350g butter, chopped
180g white chocolate, chopped
2 cups caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour, sifted
3/4 cup SR flour, sifted

Instructions:

Combine finely grated rinds, butter, chocolate, sugar, vanilla and milk in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Cool for 10 minutes.
Add eggs, Stir to combine. Add sifted flours. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake for 2 hours or until skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Additional Info/Comments:

Ganache coating can be made to frost (this version not suitable under fondant)

360g white chocolate
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons finely grated lime rind
2/3 cup sour cream

Place chocolate and rind in heatproof bowl and either microwave or over simmering water melt. Stir to combine. Stir in sour cream. Refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes or until thick enough to spread. Spread over top and sides of cakes. Stand for 10 minutes or until ganache is set.

This recipe comes from cake friend Pam, it makes a clear piping gel that can be coloured as desired. Similar to those ones that are sold in the tubes in the supermarket BUT cheap as chips to make!

Piping Gel

Ingredients:

1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Instructions:

Combine sugar and cornflour in a small saucepan, gradually blend in the lemon juice and then the water. Stir over high heat until mixture boils and thickens. Colour as desired.

Additional Info/Comments:

Store the mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. If it becomes too thick, stir in a tiny amount of water, a little at a time until gel reaches a pipeable consistency.

Have you tried this recipe or another one?  Is there a brand of piping gel you like to use, let us know what you like to use, leave a comment.

This recipe comes from cake friend Christine, who was one of our Couture Cupcake Wrapper winners, courtesy of Cupcake Savvy! The photos illustrating the recipe are courtesy of Christine, they also show her gorgeous wrappers she won!

Out-of-this-World Banana, Carrot and Pineapple Cupcakes.

An excellent, delicious and (slightly) healthy cupcake recipe.
Sourced from “Bakin’ without Eggs” by Rosemarie Emro.

Est Prep Time:

Est Cooking Time: Approx 20 mins

Oven Temp: 180C

Serves: Makes approx 30

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups plain flour
1 x 100g pack vanilla instant pudding
2 ripe mashed bananas
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup soda water
1 cup grated carrot
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 225g can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or almonds, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line cup cake tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth and completely blended.
3. Spoon into the paper liners and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until done. Cool completely and then frost with cream cheese icing.

Additional Info/Comments:

Try it with yummy, Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

1 x 250g pack cream cheese
2 cups icing sugar
2 tblspn milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
Using a electric mixer beat cream cheese until creamy. Slowly mix in icing sugar, then milk and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Christine says to everyone, “I hope you love it as much as my son does!!“

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it worked out for you!

Photos courtesy of Christine, she also adds the only thing not in the recipe is the caramel ball on top for decoration, which she bought from Big W (called Carmel Kisses by Aussie Sweets).  They look like a great easy topper to me and suit the whole cupcake and wrapper perfectly!

This recipe comes from Planet Cake. Known for sharp edges and the ability to roll their fondant quite thin, they tell those that ask that the secret is in setting up a smooth surface and sharp corners with their ganache layer.

It’s not the only Ganache recipe around, but many people ask for the one that Planet Cake uses, so here it is from the Planet-Cake-Library.

Ganache

Ingredients

300 ml cream
600 g dark chocolate (couverture) eg. Callebaut

Instructions

1. Boil cream, take off heat.

2. Combine with chopped chocolate and mix until the ganache is smooth.

3. Let to cool completely, best to use it the next day.

4. If ganache is too hard to apply on the cake it can be bought back to its right consistency by heating it in the microwave oven.

Ganache can be a funny thing, so things that can have an effect include the brand of chocolate you use (ie. couveture, lindt, compound), the type of chocolate you use (ie. dark, milk, white), they type of cream you use, the weather on the day, storing capability.

All these things may result in the need to adjust the cream to chocolate ratio to reach the desired effect.

A type of homemade fondant that is popular in America, due to many of their fondant’s tasting not very nice… apparently.  It has found it’s way to our shores with some decorators who don’t like the taste of our fondant and who have attempted to make a better tasting medium that is still easy to use, tasting very much like it’s marshmallow ingredient, you can flavour it or use coloured marshmallow’s and additional colouring to colour it during the making process, to reduce kneading, now that’s got to be a bonus right?

Here’s a recipe submitted some time ago by one of our Cake friends Mel, underneath I include the link to Cake Journal’s recipe/tutorial as an alternative, and a You Tube video for another play by play in making this medium.

Marshmallow Fondant

Ingredients

500g marshmallows (all white)
2tbsp water
8 cups (1kg) icing sugar

Instructions
In a bowl put marshmallows and water, and microwave for 30 sec. Stir. Repeat until marshmallow is completely melted. (Be AWARE, hot marshmallows are HOT!)
Begin stirring in icing sugar gradually. Once it thickens right up turn it out onto a surface dusted with icing sugar and gradually knead in the remaining icing sugar (you might not need all the icing sugar, just judge for when it becomes a lovely dough and is no longer too sticky).
You may need to wear kitchen gloves for this as it is VERY sticky to begin with.

Additional Information/Comments
Voila! if you want to add colour it is easiest to add it before adding icing sugar, but if you need to make various colours out of it, try microwaving the piece you want to colour for around 10 sec until it softens it up so that it is easy to knead in the colour.

Try Cake Journal for her How to Make Marshmallow Fondant Tutorial.

Try You Tube for this Video MMF Instructional Video.

Cakes & More love to hear about your experiences.  Have you used MMF?  Do you like it?  Do you have a different recipe you’d like to share?  Let us know about your experiences by leaving a comment or Contacting me through the Contact page.