Cakes from the past few months

Until I get a better chance of updating my blog and getting the look I want for it, here are some of the cakes and other delicious bakes from the past few months. I hope you like it. For a more up to date stream of my life baking and living visit my instagram account @ Lisubettan. Much appreciated. :)

Little Enzo's christening cake with raspberries and whitechocolate

Light pink cupcakes for my sweet niece

Miniature versions

Carrot cake, always a favourite

Hersey's kisses on top of an orange flavour buttercream layer cake

Baguettes with linseeds and oats

Malted loaf, made with a poolish

Lemon and milk curd flan

Another hearty bread, just the way I like it!

Sweet cardamom shrovetide buns with raspberry jam and whipped cream

Little Minea's christening cake <3

Pearls for girls - Helmi's cake for her 5th birthday

Ham, sweet pepper and chili sandwich cake

Ham and chive sandwich cake

Super positive Spongebob Squarepants cake for my son's 5th birthday. <3<3<3

Baby's first cake

For the past months I have mainly been posting pictures of my cakes and other creations on Instagram. I find it quick and easy to add them onto the site without having to take the time to write a complete blog post.
I do want to continue update this blog, so I shall try my best to get back on track and bring my recipes and photos over here as well.

My friend wanted me to create something dainty for her second daughter's christening. She wished for a pale pink cake, with a baby as a cake topper, but she left the rest of the decoration up to me.
The cake consisted of a chocolate sponge with two layers of filling - raspberry mousse and white chocolate mousse.

My friend was more than delighted with the cake, so for me this was a job well done. Happy. <3   

Graduation Cake

I have been a little bit more than busy this spring and therefore also been prioritising baking over blogging. The simple reason is, I have not taken the time to sit down and make the effort to write new posts. I do bake a lot and that is the most enjoyable thing...sharing my creations, recipes and pictures is fun, but does come second to the work I do in my kitchen.:)

Nevertheless, I have some recipes and photos that I do want to share and intend to get on to this site...just as soon as I get the time for it.;)
Here is one cake I made for a friend's daughter to celebrate her graduation. (In Finland we normally use the term matriculation examination).

As requested the cake is a chocolate sponge/pound cake with two layers of blueberry & raspberry mousse. The cake is coated with a basic butter cream and covered with a vanilla flavoured fondant. All details are fondant as well. Because I made it for a young lady, I took the liberty to spray it with some pearl glitter!;) 

Sponge/Pound cake recipe (for a 24cm round cake tin)

240g butter

240g sugar

200g plain flour

40g dark cacao powder

4 eggs

1,5tsp baking powder

2tbsp milk

This sponge needs approximately 50mins in a 150degree oven. (depending on the oven in use of course) Best way is to test with a toothpick or skewer. 

Blueberry & raspberry mousse

400g plain cream cheese

250ml whipping (or double) cream 

300g berries 

6 leaves of gelatine

(0,5dl sugar, optional)

+ a splash of juice to heat up for the gelatine

I moistened the three layers of sponge with some cordial (any sweet juice or milk will do). The filled cake needs at least 6hours to set, preferably over night. 

 

Congratulations on your graduation Anni! :)

 

Winter Wedding

My dear friends got married last week and on Saturday it was time for the blessing of their marriage and to join them in the festivities. The celebrations went perfectly and the entire day and night was a delight to be a part of. I was absolutely chuffed to bits when my friend a year ago asked me to bake the wedding cake for their special day. Together we decided on a rich chocolate sponge cake, filled with a chocolate - baileys mousse. The style we had in mind, was elegant and simple. Here are some snaps of the cake and the evening. 

Simplicity

 

Time to taste

Pure Joy!

Utter decadence!

more for the guests

Dairy- and gluten free treat

The beautiful bride and the baker

Perfect wedding flowers

Floral Christening Cake

Although I am already concentrating on Christmas and preparations for the holidays are well on their way, I had one more cake to make before getting too excited about the old Xmas. A little girl, born in September, got her name today and this cake was one of the treats on offer at the baptism celebration.

The cake is a sponge cake made of 5 eggs with equal amounts of sugar and flour(including 1tsp baking powder). Baked in a 24cm loose-bottomed cake tin at 165degrees. I made a tangy lemon mousse with cream cheese and whipped cream to fill the cake in two layers. (recipe for the lemon mousse can be found here.)
I coated the cake in vanilla flavoured butter cream and covered it with fondant. All the flowers are also made of fondant, apart from the sugar pearls and sprinkles. I added a little shimmer to the flowers and surface of the cake as well.

I want to wish this little baby girl a happy and healthy life, filled with good times and laughter!:)

Pink & White Cakes

The company I work for celebrated their fifth birthday in Finland and my manager asked me if I was interested in baking these cakes for the staff, as a thank you for all their hard work. The company opted for a pink and white look and the cakes were designed accordingly to match the theme. Other treats for the lovely girls at work included sparkling rosé, pink and white marshmallows just to name a few.


There were no other requirements apart from the colour, which gave me the opportunity to choose what kind of cakes to make. I wanted to make one chocolate sponge cake with a blueberry-raspberry mousse filling and one regular sponge cake with a fresh mango mousse filling. (my favourite of the two is definitely the chocolate sponge!)

The sponges for the cakes were basic 3 egg sponges with equal amounts of caster sugar and flour(+1tsp baking powder) measured in glasses. 
I whisked the eggs and sugar until pale and frothy, then gently folded in the sifted flour/baking powder mix. I baked them at 170degrees until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake came out clean. I opted to bake them in 18cm loose-bottomed cake tins to achieve a higher sponge.
Both cakes were sealed with butter cream and covered with ready-to-roll fondant. I dusted the logos with a little glitter too!;)

The fillings:

Blueberry-Raspberry Mousse

150grams berries
180grams cream cheese
0,5dl sugar
2dl whipping cream
5 gelatine leaves

Mango Mousse 

150grams mango (fresh or frozen)
180grams cream cheese
0,5dl sugar
2dl whipping cream
5 gelatine leaves

Both mousse fillings are enough to fill one 20cm cake in two layers. I ended up having a little extra after filling the cakes. Luckily my husband and kiddies were only too happy to have some for dessert!

I was very happy with the outcome of these cakes and chuffed that everyone at work liked the appearance and flavour as well. 

Mini Lemon Cups

These Mini Lemon Cups are actually a by-product of the Star Cake I made for Sunday's get-together. The recipe for the mousse normally makes plenty to fill a larger cake, so there was a little bit left over. My little niece gave me some mini silicone cupcake moulds as a gift and they were ideal for making these tiny treats. These bite-size cheesecake like cups are perfect as a little sweet side with coffee or other hot drinks, when you don't want to have too much of the good stuff!

Little Lovelies!

  

By chance I had this little box that was perfect for transporting these mini cakes. The box originally had some porcelain tealight holders in it!

I quite enjoyed these myself and I will definitely make them again, but next time around I might add some kind of base perhaps made of crushed ginger snaps or digestive biscuits. For Christmas it would taste great with gingerbread biscuits and some cardamom!

    

Multicolour Star Cake

A friend of mine was hosting a Silver Jungle party for the first time and she kindly asked me if I was willing to bake a cake and some cupcakes for the evening, in accordance with the theme, naturally. I had never heard of the company or their children's clothes, but after a bit of Googling I was a lot wiser! They seem to be all about a clean image with nice bright colours as well as mellow ones. Their garments are comfy and practical for kids to wear. One of the current patterns they feature is the star/stars, so that's what we decided to do for the decoration of the cake.

For the cake I baked a 3 egg sponge in a 20cm cake tin. This time the filling was a fresh and zesty homemade lemon mousse. I assembled the cake in the tin in which I baked it, making two layers of filling. I refrigerated it overnight to allow the mousse to set properly. The next day I coated the cake with butter cream entirely before covering it with fondant. The stars are also made out of ready to roll fondant. Fondant is available to buy in different colours ready to use, but I normally use Wilton's gel colours to tint the white mass. This way I get the shade I want each time and nothing goes to waste. I feel it is easier to have white fondant at home, and then just colour as much as you need one time, instead of having opened packages lying around and going off, only to be thrown away.

Lemon mousse (enough for two layers 22-24cm)

400grams cream cheese
250ml whipping cream
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
1dl caster/icing sugar
7 leaves of gelatine

1. Place the gelatine leaves to soften in a bowl with plenty of cold water.
2. Beat the cream cheese together with the sugar and lemon zest, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
3. In another bowl whip the cream with and electric whisk until it's fluffy and shiny. (gently, making sure not to over whip it.)
4. Heat up the lemon juice. Remove the softened gelatine leaves and give them a good squeeze, then dissolve in the hot juice.
5. Slowly in a thin string, pour the gelatinous juice into the cream cheese, lightly whisking.
6. Finally fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese until fully incorporated. The mousse is done!
7. Use as a filling for cakes or in various desserts, such as trifles or set cheesecakes.        


Basic Butter Cream (enough to cover two 22cm cakes)

250grams butter (softened)
500grams icing sugar, sifted
1-2tbsp boiling water (can be substituted for milk)
vanilla sugar (optional)

Beat the softened butter until smooth. Add half of the icing sugar and continue beating. At this point add some of the liquid if the butter cream seems dry. (you might not need to add the full 2tbsp of water/milk). Finally add the rest of the sifted icing sugar and keep beating until the mixture is soft, pale and frothy. 

Nothing pleases me more than the fact that my friend was super happy with both the flavour and the look of the cake! Absolutely chuffed to bits about that, more over I had a great Sunday evening spending time with a bunch of lovely ladies.:)
     

Yellow Angry Bird Vol.2

This little angry fellow flew off to brighten up a sweet boy's 9th birthday! The cake is a sponge cake with two layers of mango mousse. I assembled the cake in a glass bowl to achieve the desired shape. Before covering it with fondant, I coated the cake with some butter cream to avoid the moisture within the cake from coming in contact with the fondant.

Where them piggies at?!

The sponge base was a 4 egg basic sugar sponge. I used the good old way of measuring equal amounts of eggs, sugar and flour in glasses of the same size. Then adding 1tsp of baking powder to the flour. I baked it for 25-30mins at 175degrees in a 24cm cake tin.

The filling is a favourite of mine:

Mango mousse

250grams mango (I had frozen mango pieces)
200grams cream cheese
0,5dl caster sugar
2,5dl whipping cream (+2tbsp sugar)
8 leaves of gelatine

As I mentioned I assembled the cake in a bowl layering the mousse with the sponge cake, leaving it to set in the fridge over night to make sure the mousse is firm enough to withstand the weight of the fondant and decorations/details.

I will be adding step by step recipes of different mousse fillings that I frequently like using, both as fillings and for set cakes/cheesecakes. I am hoping to get this done asap... :) 

If all goes well, tomorrow there will be one if not two small sweet treats for you guys! Good night peeps! :)