Baked a Cake

Last month the boy and I made the trek home to celebrate the 18th birthday of his little sister (she may not be the littlest sister anymore, but for a long time she was, so the fact that she is now 18 just blows my mind - and makes me feel really old). Armed with fancy dress costumes starting with the letter 'K' (the bogan school girl Kylie Mole for me and Kindergarten Cop for him) and a colour theme of pink and black I had just the cake in mind for this special birthday. 

Hello August! Where did you come from? If you’re anything like me, then you are struggling to understand where a good majority of the year has flown!

After a good 6 months between drinks, birthday season kicked off with a bang last week at work. What better way to kick it off than with a delicious lemon meringue inspired cake for our Deb! 

Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today! I want to be a part of it - New York, New York! Well no, I'm actually not leaving today and the next stop on my list of travel destinations isn't New York (one day), but you get the idea. Happy Independence Day America!  

Our next stop on the 'Around the World in 12 Cakes' journey is merry old England. With so many cakes and desserts coming out of England, the decision of which one to recreate was a tough one, but being a lover of frangipane I decided on the Bakewell Tart.

After my Grandma passed away, I was given a box of full of recipes - handwritten, magazine clippings, CWA cookbooks and the Commonsense Cookery Book. I always loved the desserts and sweets or her era, especially the biscuits made with milk powder which gave them that perfect crumbly, rich texture - these will always be Grandma biscuits to me. 

A couple of weeks ago while I was flipping through the pages of my Grandma's Commonsense Cookery Book, I stumbled across a page that literally took my breath away. 

This post was originally supposed to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, however, my day job, moving house and everyday life has put me a little bit behind schedule. Cinco de Mayo (literally 'the fifth of May') is celebrated by Mexican-American communities to commemorate the Battle of Puebla.

Earlier this month I said a tear-filled farewell to my big brother Lee and his wife Emma as they prepared to leave for the biggest adventure of their lives – moving to Vietnam for the foreseeable future!

Bank account drained, baking brain fully inspired.

Last weekend this little caker went to the Cake Bake and Sweets Show and after two days of amazing classes, demonstrations by some seriously talented people and a little retail therapy, went wee, wee, wee, all the way home with her head swirling with new ideas. 

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! They say that everyone is Irish on Saint Parick’s Day so why not celebrate with a tipple and this chocolate, hazelnut and Baileys cake in a nod to the Green Isle.