Cakes...Cakes and more Cakes...

It has been kiddy birthdays galore in my family in the last month and here are the cakes I've made to help celebrate....

First up was my little brother Deacon's 9th birthday and he is into skateboards so I made him a skateboard cake with the logo of his fav skateboard brand 'Zero' on it. ...Don't mind the wheels, they should've been spun 90 degrees but oh well you got to look closely.
For this cake it is a 2 layered vanilla sponge with jam in the middle and covered in vanilla buttercream icing.

Next was my cousin Harley's 7th birthday. Now he is a massive North Queensland Cowboys fan. (For the international readers it's a Rugby League Team) So for him I made a 'Cowboys Footy' cake with the logo and his name on the footy.

This was a vanilla sponge cake with vanilla buttercream icing.

Then next was my cousin Cheyenne's 13th birthday. I made a white chocolate mudcake with lemon flavoured buttercream icing.

The flowers are a little questionable but I it was good to practice them after doing the course.


For those that are interested the recipe for the 'Buttercream Icing' I use is as per advised in the Wilton course book.

Ingredients:
190g vegetable shortening (need to get from cake supplier I go to How to Cook)
450g pure icing sugar (make sure icing sugar is very soft and not hard and lumpy)
1 teaspoon of CLEAR vanilla essence (clear is best as it doesn't discolour your icing) Can also use any other clear essence of choice.
10g meringue powder
7-8 tablespoons water

1) Whip vegetable shortening, essence and water together until well combined and creamy.
2) Add meringue powder and icing sugar and beat on low for a minute until smooth and mixed. If icing is quite stiff add water by the tablespoon until desired consistency.

A Quick Catch Up.....

Well the last month seems to have disappeared. Particularly when I seem to have swapped my blogging time which is when Huddo naps for also having a nap myself. After a fitness goal FAIL with my running aim back in August/September I have recently reassessed and tried to get back on the fitness bandwagon. I took on board the theory of 'stupidity is when you do the same thing and expect a different result' and took another look at how I could incorporate fitness into my day and on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I have been getting up at 4.50am and out jogging by 5am.

I was quite candid when I started this blog about wanting to lose 6kg. Well I'm not going to disclose the new figure I would like to shed but let's just say my cake course and baking up a storm over the last few months boosted the number a touch. But after 3 weeks of running and avoiding carbs after 3pm I'm starting to shed a few slowly but surely. However, getting up early has been making me a little sleepy by 10am which is when Huddo usually goes down for a sleep so once he's down and quick touch up of the housework is done I've been going down for nap myself. Oh the life of being a stay-at-home mum. :)