How would you like to attend the New York Cake Convention thanks to the wonderful people at the U.S. Confection Connection? That’s right, I read it correctly, but sadly a contest I am not eligible for because I don’t stay in the US or Canada.
Still, anything with cake decoration, especially a theme based one gets me thinking, and a few mails exchanged with Ivonne where she said… “I really hope you take part, Deeba! Even though it’s for US/Canada residents, we are offering a prize to a participant outside of North America. It’s a cookbook but still … we hope you take part!” … andI continued to dream!
Heck, The Daring Kitchen, in conjunction with the U.S. Confection Connection, is offering one lucky person the chance to attend the New York Cake Convention from January 2 to January 5 on an all-expenses paid trip. You’ve still got time to submit your creation by midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on November 9th. All you Daring Baker kind of people who qualify… go for it!
Cake decorating is a passionate hobby for me. I don’t get it professionally perfect, as I have no professional training, and lack the tools & basic ingredients like whipping cream etc, but I manage to some extent. A comment by Manggy on twitter a while ago on this Chocolate & Strawberry Mascarpone Cake for Pink October, made me do a jig of joy. He said something to the effect of it being my signature style, and then it dawned on me. He was right , (like he always is…LOL)!COOL! I’ve actually developed a signature style over the years without realizing it!
So when I saw the shout out for the competition on Daring Kitchen and Ivonnes blog, Cream Puffs in Venice, I knew what I wanted to do. Even better that the contest was theme based; so much easier to focus. My thought … a fat less sponge with a butter/clarified butter/cream frosting & my signature piping on top. Turned out to be a bit of an uphill drive as piping the buttercream wasn’t as smooth as I wanted, so I had to scrape it off & begin all over again. I finally smoothened the cake out with a light whipped cream cover, left it to set & then piped swirls free-hand.
Mr PAB was kind enough to film it as I had promised Happy Cook I would definitely take a video the next time I attempted the piping. I promised her a lesson in piping, but distances being what they are, this seemed a better idea. I recycle milk bags we get here for piping designs etc. Pardon my green nails but I hastily abandoned making marzipan leaves to get this filmed. My first video…
Simplistic cake decorating is my passion, and I enjoyed doing this. A contest asking you to decorate a cake to represent what the Autumn means to you…Starting with a 9-inch cake as your base, create a visual representation of one of the most colourful, beautiful seasons: Autumn.
Your cake can be homemade or store-bought, but you MUST start with a completely undecorated cake. It can also be a single layer cake or a multi-layer cake, that’s up to you!You can use any medium to decorate your cake (i.e., buttercream, fondant, sugarcraft), however, it must all be edible (no non-edible decorations) and it must all be made by YOU!!!This is my cake on Autumn … a beautiful season, when the leaves beginning to turn beautiful colours, where brightly coloured pumpkins stand out in contrast to pale leaves. Colours that weave dreamy designs, each complimenting the other. My inspiration … Colours of Autumn & Pumpkins. My cake … Cinnamon Buttercream Autumn Cake, with pumpkins made out of home made marzipan!
Topping 200ml low fat cream 1-2 tbsps powdered sugar food colours as required Marzipan for pumpkin patch Home made/from scratch recipe here Method: For the sponge Preheat oven to 190C , reduce to 180C after 10mins of putting the cake in. Grease and line a 9″ spring form cake tin. Sift the flour + baking powder + salt + cornflour + cinnamon powder 3 times. Beat the eggs and sugar well with beater till very thick ribbon falls and holds in place for at least 5 seconds (beat for approx 10mins). Add vanilla extract and beat for 1 min. Gently fold in the sifted flour; mix lightly so that air doesn’t escape. Turn gently into tin and bake for 30-35 mins till done. Once done, remove from tin after 5 mins and leave on rack to cool completely. Cut horizontally into 3 layers. (Mark side with colour to make it easy to stack back later)
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting/Filling Whip all ingredients until thick and frosting holds peaks. Sandwich & frost cake with cinnamon buttercream. Leave to set in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Topping: Whip the low fat cream & sugar till holds peaks. Colour as desired. Reserve about 2-3 tbsps in a baggie, and lightly frost the cake to give a smooth finish. Garnish with marzipan pumpkins & leaves. Chill well before serving.
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Just got a mail from the lovely ladies of the Daring Kitchen…
Hi Deeba!!!
Guess what … you’re our winner of the copy of Roland Mesnier’s Basic to Beautiful Cakes! While we’re sorry your entry couldn’t count towards the trip to NYC, your creation was so beautiful you were the hands-down winner among our non-North American entries. Congratulations! Send us your address and we’ll send you a copy of the book!
