Gateau for a Golfer

Martin’s favourite cake is a Black Forest gateau and his favourite thing to do is play golf. So for his 80th birthday lunch Sue asked me to make a proper squishy gateau with chocolate ganache, cherries and cream, on top of which I made a sugar 80 shaped like a tiny golf course. I hope it ticked all the boxes Martin.

Archery chocolate cake

Theo is 7 and was having an archery themed party this year. His mum asked for a chocolate layer cake with an archery target on the top with as many organic ingredients as possible. A nice easy one.. once we had made the arrows..

Coming of age in chocolate!

Francesca has been dreaming of a totally chocolate cake for her 18th birthday. It has become something of a family joke that when the time came it would be chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. So here we are, a chocolate sponge, covered in chocolate buttercream and crumbled flake, piled high with chocolate sweets. Even the board is covered in chocolate buttons. I really hope that this scratched the itch Francesca, Happy birthday.

Jazz musician’s cake

Janet wanted a chocolate cake for her husband’s 90th birthday. He is a keen jazz pianist so we incorporated his love of music onto this 4 layer chocolate sponge which is filled with chocolate ganache and black cherry jam and covered in chocolate buttercream. 9 candles to finish it off. I hope the family celebration went well

chocolate and strawberry cake

Clare asked me to make a chocolate cake for her her mums birthday. The cake in the picture she showed me had a chocolate collar which I have to say, I have never been asked to do before. But hurray! it all worked out. So this is a chocolate cake filled and covered with chocolate buttercream and finished with a chocolate lattice and chocolate-dipped strawberries. I hope the terrible weather doesn’t dampen your celebrations.

Roses, freesias and white chocolate

Sarah and Steve sing in the same choir as me. They celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last weekend with friends and family from all over the world. Sarah wanted a lemon and white chocolate sponge big enough to feed everyone and decorated with the yellow roses and freesias that she carried in her bouquet 40 years ago. I also made a few gluten free lemon and white chocolate cup cakes for those that preferred them. Very many congratulations to you both.

Rock ‘n’ Roll

I made a cake for Pam’s birthday a few months ago and now it is her husband’s turn to celebrate his landmark. A slightly unusual request for a sponge cake with one chocolate layer and one lemon layer, sandwiched with chocolate ganache. John is a life long rock and roll fan so what better than a couple of rock guitars and plenty of edible glitter.

Chocolate and raspberries

Fiona reached a milestone birthday earlier this year and invited all her friends round for a garden party in the sunshine to celebrate. She didn’t want any writing or fancy icing but underneath all the chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries is a coffee and vanilla layered sponge sandwiched with coffee mousseline – her favourite. A little bit of gold dust helped add some sparkle. I know you had a fantastic afternoon Fiona, hope the cake went down well

The Tiger who came to Tea

‘Sophie opened the door and there was a big, furry, stripy tiger’….The Tiger that Came to Tea is Arthur’s favourite book and so for his third birthday his dad asked me for a cake on that theme. I loved doing this! There is a chocolate layer cake under the tablecloth, a real mini chocolate cake on the table and everything else is made from sugar. I hope you enjoyed eating it as much as I enjoyed making it Arthur.

Golf and railway cake

Ian and his twin brother celebrated their 70th birthday together this weekend. Ian has spent a lifetime playing golf so his chocolate seven was decorated as a golf hole (big dogleg right!). His brother on the other hand is a railway enthusiast and builds model trains so his gluten free lemon cake zero has a track with a sugar steam locomotive on it. I hope you enjoyed your weekend chaps.