This past weekend marked the last few days of an insane, non-stop, go-go gadget month. Starting with a visitor from the States, Venice, my actual birthday, 2 weeks in South East Asia, and 369 actionable emails in my inbox upon my return - this Saturday also marked my 30th birthday party extravaganza. It was the last twirl on this month's Mad Tea Party ride (Note: without the motion sickness but a big massive grin across my face kinda way).
The party was held at a venue near Old Street called Sosho. Besides moments here and there ensuring friends who’d turned up on their own were mixing and mingling like peanuts and cashews in a jar of Planter’s Premium Nuts, it was a wicked night with my wonderful friends in London and a few surprise visitors from afar.
In between my hectic and insane week, SG arriving from LAX, and a 4 hour appt at Taylor Taylor that Saturday, I had managed to whip up a wee birthday cake for the night.
If you asked FM however, I’d not shut up all week (mentioning it at least twice a day) about how I needed to find time to make this cake. Getting up early or staying up late was fine, but I HAD to make it myself. There was no alternative. No, “just buy a cake” or “just skip a cake”. The venue wasn’t even letting me bring it with me because it would "make a mess" so it was going to be eaten at home anyway. So, it HAD to be home-made and it HAD to be made by me. It was quintessential OCD baking. I think I’ve patented the disorder. Strike that, my mother has patented the disorder. It’s simply genetic.
While the party started at 8:30, I had a few friends to Buckler Court for champagne and cake first. So what if it ended up being my dinner? Cake is as good a stomach coater as pasta, it’s scientifically proven. JO, SG, AW, TS, FM and I proceeded to cheers and eat, cheers and nibble some more. The combination of cake and champagne and being a generation of SITC watchers, made for some pretty lively pre-party banter. So much so that I’m fairly certain that TS, the one guy of the bunch was grinning and blushing from ear to ear listening to our chat. Always good fun.
It was a great way to start out the night and even though I ended up having 2/3 of the cake left over- I found a bunch of friends at work this week who were happy to gobble it up. Not one word of “constructive criticism” – unless you count – “Don’t bring anymore in, I’ll end up eating it all!”
Dana’s 30th Birthday Cake
The cake is from the following recipe (Note: I did not make it 4 layers but kept it as two):
The party was held at a venue near Old Street called Sosho. Besides moments here and there ensuring friends who’d turned up on their own were mixing and mingling like peanuts and cashews in a jar of Planter’s Premium Nuts, it was a wicked night with my wonderful friends in London and a few surprise visitors from afar.
In between my hectic and insane week, SG arriving from LAX, and a 4 hour appt at Taylor Taylor that Saturday, I had managed to whip up a wee birthday cake for the night.
If you asked FM however, I’d not shut up all week (mentioning it at least twice a day) about how I needed to find time to make this cake. Getting up early or staying up late was fine, but I HAD to make it myself. There was no alternative. No, “just buy a cake” or “just skip a cake”. The venue wasn’t even letting me bring it with me because it would "make a mess" so it was going to be eaten at home anyway. So, it HAD to be home-made and it HAD to be made by me. It was quintessential OCD baking. I think I’ve patented the disorder. Strike that, my mother has patented the disorder. It’s simply genetic.
While the party started at 8:30, I had a few friends to Buckler Court for champagne and cake first. So what if it ended up being my dinner? Cake is as good a stomach coater as pasta, it’s scientifically proven. JO, SG, AW, TS, FM and I proceeded to cheers and eat, cheers and nibble some more. The combination of cake and champagne and being a generation of SITC watchers, made for some pretty lively pre-party banter. So much so that I’m fairly certain that TS, the one guy of the bunch was grinning and blushing from ear to ear listening to our chat. Always good fun.
It was a great way to start out the night and even though I ended up having 2/3 of the cake left over- I found a bunch of friends at work this week who were happy to gobble it up. Not one word of “constructive criticism” – unless you count – “Don’t bring anymore in, I’ll end up eating it all!”
Dana’s 30th Birthday Cake
The cake is from the following recipe (Note: I did not make it 4 layers but kept it as two):
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/104539
The frosting was made from a recipe in my head - I stopped when it tasted "just right". Note: SG played an equal part in being a frosting taste-tester as well. Tough job, but someone had to help.
The frosting was made from a recipe in my head - I stopped when it tasted "just right". Note: SG played an equal part in being a frosting taste-tester as well. Tough job, but someone had to help.
1. Beat about 80g of butter with a bit of vanilla and confectionery sugar (about 3/4 cup)
2. Melt dark/milk/or semi-sweet chocolate (I started with 50g, then 100g - ended up using about 150g in total)
3. Add chocolate and 2 cups sour cream and then add this to the sugar and butter combo
4. Keep adding chocolate/sour cream/sugar in small doses until you get the consistency and taste that you like
Because anyone who knows me, knows I'm big on texture - I also toasted coconut and put it in the middle layer and on top of the cake. You could easily do something similar with toasted almonds or pecans.
Frosting Note: As stated above I started with 50 g of chocolate mixed with 2 cups of sour cream. If you use that much sour cream, definitely use more chocolate. Alternatively you can use less sour cream and more butter. In the case of this frosting recipe, it's the balance between the chocolate/sugar/sour cream/butter. Sort of like life. The finding balance bit, not the sugar/dairy product bit.
1 comment:
That was a wicked cake, I should know as I ate half of it!
Post a Comment