Nostalgisk Rød Djævel/Red Devil Nostalgia

Jeg havde hørt, at der var nogle kagenørder, der gerne ville have opskriften på Red Devil's Food Cake. Den vidste jeg, at jeg havde i min ældgamle Betty Croker's Cookbook, men nu er det mange år siden, jeg sidst havde lavet den, så jeg syntes lige, at jeg hellere måtte prøve den, inden jeg smed den på bloggen.

I'd heard some of the cakenerds were looking for a recipe for Devil's Food Cake. I knew I had it in my old Betty Crocker's Cookbook, but since it has been ages since the last time I made it, I figured I'd better try it before posting it on the blog.

Nu er de fleste af kage-opskrifterne i bogen lavet til husmødre, der åbenbart ikke gider så meget besvær i køkkenet (ellers kan de jo bare købe Betty Crocker's færdigmix, ik'?) - Typisk er der en masse ingredienser, der bare allesammen skal smides i en skål, så pisker man ved lav hastighed i 1/2 min, og så 3 min ved høj hastighed. Med andre ord, så var det en genial undskyldning for at bage med den 5-årige, så kunne kagen passende køle af, mens vi lavede aftensmad - det var nemlig hans maddag i dag. Og så har han åbenbart lært af de ældre børn, at man da bare lader mor om at pynte - Fint nok, for fyld og frosting var ikke lige så børnevenlig.

Most of the cake recipes in the book are targeted at housewives, who can't be bothered with too much fuss in the kitchen (since they could just buy Betty Crocker's cake mixes, right?) - This typically means you just throw all the ingredients in the mixer bowl, blend on low speed for half a minute, then beat on high speed for 3 minutes, pour and bake. In other words, this was just a brilliant excuse for baking with the 5 year old. That way the cake could cool off, while we prepared dinner - it was afterall his day to cook dinner. Apparently he has learned from the elder siblings to just let Mom do the decorating - which was fine today, as the filling and frosting weren't quite so kid friendly.

Red Devil's Food Cake passer perfekt bare med Blank Chokolade Frosting, men vi lavede Chocolate Buttermallow Cake:

Red Devil's Food Cake is perfect with Glossy Chocolate Frosting, but we decided to make Chocolate Buttermallow Cake:

Det er bare at bage Red Devil's Food Cake i aflang form, lad den køle af 10 min i formen, vend den så ud og afkøl helt. Smør Butterscotch fyld ovenpå, men ikke helt ud til kanten - ca. 1 cm fra. 1,2 dl finthakkede nødder (i dag var det ca 60 g) strøs ovenpå, og så smøres Marshmallow Frosting ud over det hele. Vi undlod at lave chokoladeswirls ovenpå, ved at dyppe bagsiden af en ske i smeltet chokolade og så swirle lidt her og dér - jeg havde nemlig et par lækkersultne unger om benene til sidst, så det skippede vi lige. Min bedømmelse af kagen: Jeg synes altså jeg kunne smage det skide salt, der er i alle de amerikanske kageopskrifter - men det var måske bare kontrasten til den hvinende søde frosting, der gjorde mig opmærksom på det. Jeg var nu i det barnlige hjørne, og nød kombinationen fuldt ud sammen med børnenes klistrede ansigter :) Men jeg tror nu, at jeg nøjes med en knivspids salt næste gang. Men opskrifterne skal jeg nok ud med alligevel:

Bake Red Devil's Food Cake in oblong pan. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.
Spread Butterscotch Filling over top of cake to within 1/2 inch of edge. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of finely chopped nuts over filling. Frost sides and top of cake with Marshmallow Frosting.  We were supposed to melt some unsweetened chocolate, dip the back of a spoon in the chocolate and form swirls on the frosting, but we decided not to - I had some peckish children hanging on to my legs in the end, so we skipped that part and got right to the eating part :) My take on the cake: I seemed to taste the darn salt that is in all my American recipes - but it could just be due to the contrast with the (almost) sickingly sweet frosting. I was feeling like a kid again though, and was enjoing the combination and the sticky kids' faces. Anyhow, I think I will only add a pinch of salt next time. But I will post the recipes anyway:

Opskrift på Red Devil's Food Cake/ Red Devil's Food Cake recipe:
220 g mel/flour (1 3/4 cup)
200 g sukker/granulated sugar (1 cup)
110 g brun farin/brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
1 1/2 tsk natron/soda (1 1/2 tsp)
3/4 tsk salt/salt (3/4 tsp)
3 dl kærnemælk/buttermilk (1 1/4 cup)
115 g smør (her bruger jeg bare smørbart)/shortening (1/2 cup)
2 æg/2 eggs (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
60 g smeltet mørk chokolade (afkølet)/ 2 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate (cool)
1 tsk vanilie essens/vanilla (1 tsp)
1/2 tsk rød farve/red food colour (1/2 tsp)


Hæld alle ingredienser i en stor skål. Pisk ved lav hastighed i 1/2 min for at blande ingredienserne, pisk derefter i 3 min ved høj hastighed. Fyldes i smurt form og bages ved 175 grader  i 40 min i aflang form, 30-35 min i springform. Denne portion rækker til en aflang form 33x23 cm, eller 2 lag i 22 cm rund form, eller 3 lag i 20 cm's rundform.

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour baking pan 13x9x2 inches, or two 9-inch or three 8-inch round layer pans. Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl. Blend 1/2 min on low speed, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s). Bake oblong about 40 minutes, layers 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out cean. Cool.




Opskrift på Butterscotch fyld/Butterscotch Filling recipe:
50 g sukker/granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
55 g brun farin/brown sugar (1/4 cup)
35 g majsstivelse/cornstarch (1/4 cup)
1/4 tsk salt/salt (1/4 tsp)
1,2 dl vand/water (1/2 cup)
1 spsk smør/butter (1 tbsp)


Rør sukker, farin, majsstivelse og salt sammen i en lille gryde. Rør vandet i. Bring i kog under konstant omrøring, og kog i 1 min mens der røres. Rør smørret i, og køl det hele af.

Stir together sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Blend in butter. Cool.


Opskrift på Marshmallow Frosting/Marshmallow Frosting Recipe:
2 æggehvider/egg whites (2)
300 g sukker/granulated sugar (1 1/2 cup)
1/4 tsk cream of tartar (vinsyre-sten)/cream of tartar (1/4 tsp)
1 spsk glukose sirup/light corn syrup (1 tbsp)
0,8 dl vand/water (1/3 cup)
125 g marshmallows i kvarte/ 3/4 cup marshmallow crème or 1/4 pound marshmallows, quartered.


Bland æggehvider, sukker, cream of tartar, sirup og vand i en stor skål. Placer over kogende vand i vandbad (skålen må ikke røre vandet). Pisk marengsen stiv (når du trækker piskeriset op, skal der dannes stive toppe, som ikke bøjer eller falder ned). Skrab siderne ned en gang i mellem, mens du pisker. Fjern skålen fra varmen, tilsæt marshmallows og fortsæt med at piske indtil skumfiduserne er smeltet og du har en smørbar creme.

Combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, syrup and water in top of double boiler. Place over boiling water; beat with rotary beater until stiff peaks form, scraping pan occasionally. Remove from heat. Add marshmallow crème and continue beating until of spreading consistency.

Barnedåb/Christening

Lene ville gerne have en dåbskage til hendes første barnebarn, og bortset fra en baby på toppen, så fik jeg frie hænder til både indhold og pynt.

Lene wanted a Christening cake for her first grandchild, and besides the baby on the top, it was all up to me - both decorations and fillings.

Kagen blev heldigvis lige som jeg havde planlagt, men den blev noget kun mere tidskrævende end planlagt og var først færdig 2 timer inden den skulle hentes - og det var efter 2 dage med kun 4 timers søvn. Denne gang var det ikke butikken, men postvæsenet der var sløvt. Pakken blev sendt (fra DK) for 10 dage siden , og den er stadigvæk ikke dukket op... Uden stripcutters og sløjferedskab tog det lang tid med lineal og sløv kniv (jeg vil ikke have ridser i min udrulningsmåtte) at lave 12 sløjfer og 8 strips, der jo skulle være lige store. Endnu værre var det at skulle undvære frillcutteren til flæserne. Jeg måtte så lave min egen skabelon at skære efter, og med mit sædvanlige held - eller rettere mangel på samme, så var børnene ikke hjemme, og jeg kunne kun finde den enes passer, som så selvfølgelig ikke havde noget bly. Så var jeg lige pludselig meget glad for ternet papir og mine runde udstikkere i alverdens størrelser. I stedet for sprøjtede blade (ingen tyl), så lavede jeg bare fondant blade, og det var vist den eneste ændring fra det oprindelig planlagte. Desuden kunne jeg også have sparet en del tid, hvis mit Cake Dividing Set havde dukket op.

The cake ended up as I had planned, but it did end up a whole lot more timeconsuming than intended and wasn't ready until 2 hours before it was picked up - and that was after 2 days with only 4 hours sleep. This time it wasn't the shop letting me down, but the mail. The package was sent (within DK) 10 days ago, and still hasn't arrived... Without stripcutters and bow cutter it took an awful long time with ruler and dull knife (don't want scratches in my roll mat) to make 12 bows and 8 strips of reasonably equal size. Worse yet, was not having the frillcutter. I had to make my own template, and with my usual luck - or rather lack there of - the kids weren't home and I could only find one of their compasses, which of course was without lead. Suddently I was very happy with graph paper and my round cutters in all sizes. Instead of piped leaves (no tip) I made fondant leaves, and that was the only deviation from my original plan. I could also have saved quite a bit of time, if my cake dividing set had turned up, but oh well....

Kagen var lavet af Drømmekagebunde med Skildpadde Creme og Hindbærmousse, smurt op med Hvid Chokolade Smørcreme smagt til med lidt hindbær aroma. Al pynten var lavet af fondant farvet med Wilton's Pink farve.

The cake was made of Dreamcake Layers with Caramel-Chocolate Creme and Raspberry Mousse, covered in white Chocolate Buttercream with some raspberry aroma. Al decorations were made with fondant coloured with Wilton's Pink.

Opskrift på Skildpaddecreme/Caramel-Chocolate Creme recipe:

6 Kæmpeskildpadder/170 g chocolate with runny caramel filling

1/2 L fløde/whip cream

Skildpadderne hakkes og kommes i en skål (den skal være stor nok til at man kan piske en halv liter fløde i den). Fløden bringes i kog og hældes over den hakkede chokolade. Lad den stå nogle minutter og rør så rundt til du har en ensartet masse. Dæk cremen til med plastfolie - helt nede i skålen, så den rører og dækker overfladen og kommer op ad siderne i skålen. Sæt så cremen i køleskabet i mindst 8 timer - gerne natten over. Når du skal bruge cremen piskes den op til en tyk creme. Pas på, det går pludselig stærkt, og hvis du overpisker cremen, skiller den og er ikke til at redde.

Chop the chocolate and put it in a bowl big enough to whip half a liter of whip cream in. Bring the cream to a boil and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Leave it to stand for a few minutes, then stir until you have a homogeneous creme. Cover the creme with cling film - all the way down in the bowl, so it touches and covers the surface of the creme and comes up the side of the bowl. Put the creme in the fridge for at least 8 hours - overnight is fine. When you are ready to use the filling, whip it until it turns into a thick spreadable creme. Be careful, if you overwhip, the cream separates and isn't recoverable.

Opskrift på Hindbærmousse/Raspberry Mousse recipe:

6 blade husblas/gelatine sheets

400 g frosne hindbær/frozen raspberries

200 g sukker/sugar

1 vanillestang/vanilla pod

1 citron, saften af/lemon, juiced

1/2 L fløde/whip cream

Husblas sættes i blød mens hindbær og sukker koges op i en gryde. Bærene koger i ca 5 min. Gryden tages af varmen og bærene blendes forsigtig med en stavblender (hvis kernerne blendes bliver den bitter). Tilsæt korn fra vanillestangen og presset citron saft. Lad blandingen køle lidt af, før du tilsætter den udblødte husblas. Rør godt indtil al husblas er smeltet og lad så blandingen køle af til stuetemperatur. Pisk fløden stiv, rør 1/3 af fløden i hindbærrene, og vend til sidst hindbærblandingen i resten af den piskede fløde. Sæt moussen på køl indtil du skal bruge den, og pisk den igennem inden den anvendes.

Soak your gelatine according to instructions on your pack. Bring the raspberries and sugar to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and blend the berries carefully - avoid blending the pips, as they will turn it bitter. Add the seeds of the vanilla pod and the squeezed lemon juice. Leave the mix to cool for a bit, before you add the gelatine. Stir until all gelatine is melted and then leave it to cool to roomtemperature. Whip the cream stiff, stir 1/3 of the cream in the raspberries, and finally gently fold in the rasberry mix in the remaining whip cream. Refrigerate the mousse until you need it, and whisk it lightly before you use it.

Cake Pops - "How-to-do"

Når jeg deler kager i bunde, så er der altid noget overskud - plus en eventualt vulkan der skæres af i toppen, og man kan hurtigt samle en hel masse kagerester.  Disse kan så bruges til fx romkugler eller cake pops - hvis ikke familien spiser resterne, inden jeg når så langt.

When I split cakes into layers, there are always some leftovers - typically the vulcano at the top, and at times I end up with lots of leftovers. These can be used to make truffles or cake pops - if the family doesn't eat them, before I get that far.

Først skal kagen smuldres til helt små krummer, eller bare giv den en tur i foodprocessoren - det er så dejlig nemt.

First crumble the cake, or just throw it in the foodprocessor - nice and easy.

Så tilsættes en rest smørcreme (eller syltetøj, flødeost, brug dine rester og fantasi). Her brugte jeg 60 g smørcreme til 350 g kage, men det var en svampet kage, og det kan variere meget. Smag til med essens, kakaopulver, spiritus eller hvad du nu har lyst til.

Add some leftover buttercream (or jam, cream cheese, use your leftovers and imagination). Here I used 60 g buttercream to 350 g cake, but it was a moist cake, and it can vary a lot. Add flavoring with essence, cocoa, liqueur or whatever you feel like.

Massen skal ikke være fugtig, der skal bare tilsættes nok til at man kan lave kugler, der holder formen.

The mix should not be moist, but you need to add just enough to be able to make balls that can hold the shape.

Hvis de falder fra hinanden, så tilsæt mere smørcreme.

If they fall apart after rolling them, you need to add more buttercream.

Tril små kugler af massen, og stil dem på et skærebræt eller kageplade beklædt med bagepapir. Kuglerne skal ikke være for store, da slikkepindene (eller træ spyd) skal kunne holde vægten. Sæt dem i køleskabet et par timer, eller 15 min i fryseren. Lad dem ikke stå for længe i fryseren, da overtrækket ellers nemt vil knække af kuldechok.

Roll the mix into small balls, and put them on a board covered with greaseproof paper. Don't make the balls to big, as the pop sticks need to be able to hold the weight. Put them in the fridge for a couple of hours - or 15 min in the freezer. Don't leave them too long in the freezer, as the candy melts or chocolate can easily crack due to the cold.

Tag kuglerne ud af køleskabet, dyp enden af slikkepinde eller træspyd i lidt smeltet overtræk (candy melts eller bare chokolade), og stik dem ca halvvejs ind i kuglerne. Sæt dem så på køl igen.

Take the balls out of the fridge, dip one end of the pop sticks in the melted covering and insert the stick halfway into the balls. Put them back in the fridge.

Tag så Cake Pops enketvis ud af køleskabet, og dyp dem i det smeltede overtræk. Drej dem rundt og sørg for at de er helt dækket, før de tages op. Lad det overskydende overtræk dryppe af - bank pinden let mod kanten for at få det sidste af. Tandstikker er gode at have til at fjerne en evt lille "hale", der bliver hængende tilbage. Hvis candy melts er for tyktflydende, kan der tilsættes lidt palmin eller smagsneutral olie for at fortynde det lidt. Hvis du laver store portioner, må du regne med at skulle genopvarme overtrækket over vandbad et par gange.

Take one Cake Pop at a time out of the fridge, and dip them in the melted covering. Twist them around and make sure they are completely covered before you lift them up. Let the excess covering drip off - lightly  tap the stick on the edge of the bowl to get the last bit off. Toothpicks come in handy if you need to remove a "tail" hanging down. If the candy melts are too thick to get an even coating, you can add shortening or neutral oil to thin it a bit. If you are making a big portion, you will have to gently reheat the covering a few times.

Put pynten på med det samme, inden overtrækket stivner og placer pindene i flamingo, oasis eller lignende. Der kan tegnes med fødevaretusch, når ovtrækket er helt stivnet.

Add decorations immediately before the covering hardens and place the sticks in a block of styrofoam or similar. You can use foodsafe pens when the covering is completely hardened.

Cake Pops og/and Brownies

I sidste uge fik jeg rigtig kagehygget med børnene, men fik bare for travlt til at opdatere bloggen. Fredag skulle den 17-årige have kage med på gymnasiet. Hun bagte selv Brownies med Blank Chokoladefrosting , og der er ingen herhjemme, der har hørt, at man ikke kan pynte brownies, så de fik lidt fondant-blomster som pynt.

Last week I had fun caking with the kids, but just got too busy to update the blog. Friday the 17-year old needed to bring cake to school. She baked Brownies with Glossy Chocolate Frosting herself, and noone in this house has apparenty heard, that you can't decorate brownies, so they were decorated with some fondant flowers.

Jeg tror hun næsten er alene om at holde deres kageordning i live  - i hvert fald var det ikke en måned siden, at hun lavede  Banan- og Mudcake Cupcakes med Chokolade Smørcreme, som også var pyntede med fondantblomster. Hun bager selv, men får lidt hjælp med pynten - mest fordi hun altid har travlt med skole, lektier, arbejde, håndbold, fodbold osv osv - så hende skal vi nok få en kagepyntepige ud af.

I think she singlehandedly keeps their cake rota alive - at least it hadn't been a month since she made Banana and Mudcake Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream, which were also decorated with fondant flowers. She does the baking on her own, but gets some help with decorations - mostly because she is always busy with school, homework, work, handball, football etc etc - so we will make a cakedecorating girl out of her soon enough :)

Lørdag lavede jeg Cake Pops med den 5-årige. Da jeg kun havde lyserød candy melts, blev vi enige om at lave grise. Jeg kunne ikke komme i tanker om andet ikke-piget lyserød at lave, og han var helt klar - dog mente han, at vi havde brug for lillesøsters gris, så vi havde noget at lave efter :)

On Saturday I made Cake Pops with the 5 year old. Since I only had pink candy melts, we decided to make pigs. I couldn't think of anything else to make that was non-girly but pink, and he was totally ready - he just thought we needed little sister's pig to model from :)

Da jeg så ville finde mine candymelts, så jeg kunne farve fondanten i nogenlunde samme lyserøde farve, så viste det sig, at det altså var røde og ikke lyserøde candy melts jeg havde. Men nu var han jo så opsat på at lave grise, så jeg endte med at prøve at blande hvid chokolade med de røde candy melts og det fungerede da også fint nok... heldigvis :)

When I went to get my candy melts, so I could make the fondant approximately the same pink colour, it turned out to be red, and not pink candy melts I had. But now he was determined to make pigs, so I ended up trying to mix white chocolate with some of the red candy melts and it fortuntely turned out fine.

Vi fik også taget billeder, så jeg kunne lave en "How-to-do", så den kommer senere.

We also got some pictures taken, so I could make a "How-to-do", so there will be a post about that later.

Søndag lavede vi så romkugler af rester af mudcake og chokoladesmørcreme.

On Sunday we made truffles with mudcake-cutoffs and chocolate buttercream.

Læder bryllup/Leather(3rd) Anniversary

Det slidte læderlook var da helt planlagt! Det havde da slet ikke noget at gøre med, at jeg havde købt en chokoladefondant fra Funcakes, som var fuldstændig umulig og krakelerede lige så snart den blev lagt på, vel? Det manglede da også bare, efter at den 5 årige besluttede sig for at udhule kagen, mens den kølede af i går. Og som stod op før alle andre i morges og besluttede sig for at spise størstedelen af blomsterpynten.... Godt at han var kommet i mini-SFO, inden jeg opdagede det, så jeg nåede at komme ned på jorden og tage den pædagogiske snak med ham, da han kom hjem, i stedet for den hysteriske som ellers kunne have været resultatet.

Kagen blev lappet med afskåren kagetop og smørcreme. Jeg kunne ikke nå at lave nye roser (midten skal tørre et par dage, inden man kan fortsætte), men så måtte jeg bare lave flere nelliker, som i øvrigt er hyggelige at lave, men forholdsvis tidskrævende at male, og flere femblads-blomster.

The antique leather look was totally planned of course! It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the new chocolatefondant from Funcakes, that I had bought, which was impossible to work with and cracked imediately as it was put on the cake, right? Figures, as the 5-year-old decided to hollow out the cake as it was cooling yesterday. and just to top it off, he got up before the rest of us this morning and decided to eat most of the flowers, that I had spent days making... Luckily, I didn't notice until after he had gone to school, so I had time to cool off and was able to calmly discuss it with him when he got home, instead of the hysterical antics that he otherwise might have been subjected to.

The cake was repaired with buttercream and cake cutoffs. I didn't have time to make new roses (the centers need a couple of days to dry before continuing), so I just made extra carnations, which btw are  fun to make, but rather timeconsuming to dust, and more filler flowers.

Da kagen var til manden, var det den obligatoriske Mudcake med After-Eight Creme. Han spiser jo ikke andet. Kagen var lavet i Wilton's Heart Tasty-Fill Cake Pan Set og derfor havde jeg lavet min creme med Fromagepulver, da den stivner med det samme, og man helst ikke skal have et fyld, der er for flydende, når man skal klaske de to halve kager sammen. Da instruktionerne anvender amerikanske kageblandinger og færdig fyld, er det værd at nævne, at formen svarer til en 25 cm rund kage, og 1/2 L fyld. Kagen var smurt op med Chokolade smørcreme og dækket med den famøse chokoladefondant, som jeg så absolut ikke vil anbefale. Faktisk havde jeg endda lidt på fornemmelsen, at den ville give mig problemer, da jeg for nogen dage siden hørte om andre kagenørder med samme problemer med Funcakes fondant. Så næste gang må jeg bare lave min egen chokoladefondant igen - den smager også meget bedre :)

Since the cake was for my hubby, it was the mandatory Mudcake with After Eight Creme. He doesn't eat any other after all. The cake was made with Wilton'sHeart Tasty-Fill Cake Pan Set, so I made the creme with instant mix, as it stiffens imediately, and you don't want a runny filling, when you have to quickly flip one filled cake layer over, and position precisely on top of the other. Since the pan instructions use american cake mixes and fillings, it is worth mentioning that the pans are equal to a 25 cm round cake and holds about 1/2 L filling. The cake was covered in Chocolate Buttercream and the infamous chocolate fondant , which I would not recommend under any circumstances. Actually, I had a feeling that the fondant might prove to be nothing but trouble, since I heard a few days ago that other cakenerds were having the same issues with Funcakes' fondant. So next time, I will just have to make my own chocolate fondant again - it tastes much better anyway :)

Sex and the City Cake

Datteren skulle da også have en kage til hendes fødselsdag, og da Sex and the City var temaet, blev det til en kage med sko. Dog blev det til en discount version - ingen Manolo Blahniks her - kun Bianco :p

Of course I had to make a cake for the daughter's birthday as well, and since Sex and the City was the theme, it turned into a shoe cake. I made a discount version - no Manolo Blahniks for her - just Bianco :p

Jeg kunne ikke se fidusen i at lave en sko, hun aldrig ville gå med, så jeg lavede da en sko modelleret efter hendes egen yndlings-stiletter. Den første sko tog næsten 24 timer at lave - med konstante tryk her og der, mens den tørrede i form. Den var åbenbart så apetittelig, at da jeg endelig tillod mig at tage en middagspause, så besluttede den 2 årige at tage en spisepause også - et par bider fondant sko blev det til, og så kunne jeg starte forfra :/ Den anden sko havde jeg ikke helt så meget tid til, for kagen skulle trods alt også laves, og det var noget med 36 Cupcake toppers der også skulle laves.

I found it silly to make a shoe, she would never wear, so I made a shoe modelled after her farvorite stilettos. The first shoe took almost 24 hours to make, with constant adjustments as it was drying. Apparently it was so apetizing, that while I took a dinner break, the 2 year old decided on a snack break too - a couple of bites of fondant-shoe was what she was in the mood for, so I got to start all over :/ I didn't have as much time for the second shoe, as the actual cake had to be made too, as well as 36 Cupcake toppers.

Den 17 årige havde ønsket sig samme indhold som hendes Mobil-kage, så det blev 2 Drømmekage-bunde, 1 nem chokoladekage-bund (smagte godt nok, men var faktisk ikke stabil nok, så ingen opskrift denne gang), med Blåbær Fromage og Hvid Chokolademousse (heller ikke stabil nok, så skal have tilføjet lidt husblas til opskriften, før jeg vil af med den), smurt op med Hvid Chokolade Smørcreme og dækket med fondant.

The 17 year old wanted the same fillings as her Mobile Cake, so 2 Dreamcake-layers, 1 easy chocolate cake layer (great taste, but not stable enough for a fondant cake, so no recipe this time), with Blueberry Mousse and White Chocolate Mousse (Not stable enough either, so will add some gelatine to the recipe, before I am willing to post it), covered in White Chocolate Buttercream and fondant.

Sex and the City Cupcakes

Min ældste datter fyldte 17 i går, og ville derfor have cupcakes med i skole.

My daughter turned 17 yesterday and wanted to bring cupcakes to school.

Hun bagte selv Mudcake Cupcakes og lavede Chokolade Smørcreme, som jeg farvede sort og tilsatte lidt pebermynte smag. Jeg havde en rest IMBC, som jeg farvede pink og tilsatte hindbær smag, og så lagde hun pynten på, som jeg havde lavet med min nye Karen Davies Cupcake Top Mould, efterhånden som jeg fik sprøjtet smørcremen på. Teamwork er nødvendigt, når man skal have 36 cupcakes pyntede indenfor 1 time, samtidig med at man laver morgenmad, og får de yngste gjort klar til at komme af sted. Det tog også hele familiens samarbejde at holde den 2 åriges fingre (og mund!) væk fra de cupcakes imens. Når man skal transportere 36 cupcakes, så er en Cupcake Courier guld værd.

She baked Mudcake Cupcakes herself and made a Chocolate Buttercream, which I coloured black and added some peppermint aroma to. I had some leftover IMBC which I coloured pink and added som raspberry aroma to, and then she placed the decorations that I made with my new Karen Davies Cupcake Top Mould, as I got the buttercream piped on. Teamwork is neccessary when you need to decorate 36 cupcakes within an hour, at the same time as you are fixing breakfast and helping the youngest get ready to leave. In the mean time it required the whole family's cooperation to keep the 2 year old's fingers (and mouth!) away from the cupcakes. When transporting 36 cupcakes, a Cupcake Courier is extremely handy.

Opskrift på Mudcake Cupcakes/Mudcake Cupcake Recipe: 24 stk/pieces

190 g smør/butter
190 g mørk chokolade/dark chocolate
4 tsk/tsp pulverkaffe/instant coffee
140 ml vand/water
110 g selvhævende mel/self-raising flour
110 g mel/flour
40 g kakaopulver/cocoa powder
1/4 tsk natron/bicarbonate of soda
420 g sukker/caster sugar
3 æg/eggs
2 spsk smagsneutral olie/vegetable oil
95 ml kærnemælk/buttermilk

Smelt smør, chokolade og kaffe i en gryde ved svag varme sammen med vandet. Sigt begge meltyper, kakao og natron i en stor skål. Tilsæt sukker, bland og lav en fordybning i midten af blandingen. Pisk æg, olie og kærnemælk let sammen med en gaffel og rør det i mel/sukkerblandingen sammen med chokoladeblandingen.
Dejen hældes i muffinsforme (fyld kun halvt op) og bages ved 160 grader i 20-25 min.
Denne dejmængde er også passende til en 20 cm rund form og opskriften er fra "the essential guide to cake decorating".

Put the butter, chocolate and coffe in a pan with the water nd stir over low heat until melted, tn remove from the heat. Sift the flours, cocoa and soda into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre. Add the combined eggs, oil and buttermilk and the chocolae mixture, stirring with a large spoon until completely combined.
Pour the mixture into muffintins (only half full) and bake at 160 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
This amount is also suitable for a 20 cm/8in round tin and the recipe is from "the essential guide to cake decorating".

Jeg kan ikke få selvhævende mel i nærheden, så jeg laver mit selv: 215 g mel, 2 1/2 tsk bagepulver, 3/4 tsk salt blandes. Blandingen kan holde sig et par måneder i en lukket beholder.

Self-raising flour isn't available anytwhere near me, so I make my own: Mix 215 g flour, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder and 3/4 tsp salt. The mix keeps for a couple of months in an airtight container.

Opskrift på Chokolade Smørcreme/Chocolate Buttercream recipe:
4 past. æggeblommer/pasteurised eggyolks
60 g flormelis/confectioner's (powdered/icing) sugar
100 g chokolade (Hvid, mørk, lys)/chocolate (white, dark, semisweet)
100g blødt smør (rigtig smør, ikke smørbare produkter)/softened butter

Chokoladen smeltes over vandbad og køles af (mærk efter, den skal ikke være varm). Æggeblommer og flormelis piskes, smør i tern tilsættes og til sidst piskes den smeltede chokolade i. Hvis chokoladen er varm, så får du en meget tynd smørcreme, som ikke er til at sprøjte med.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (don't let the base of the bowl sit in the water) and stir occationally until melted. Remove from heat and cool down. Whisk eggyolks and sugar, add the softened butter a little at a time, and stir the melted chocolate in (should no be warm to the touch anymore). If the chocolate is warm, the buttercream ends up runny and not suitable for piping.

Jeg plejer at tilsætte 50 g smeltet After Eight, når det er After Eight Smørcreme, jeg vil have, men i dag skulle det gå stærkt, så den fik bare et par dråber pebermynteolie.

I usually add 50 g of melted After Eight, when I want After Eight Buttercream, but I was in a hurry today and just added a few drops of peppermint oil.

Opskrift på Italian Meringue Butter Cream (IMBC)/recipe:
110 ml vand/water
180 g sukker/caster sugar
9 pasteuriserede æggehvider/pasteurised eggwhites
615 g usaltet smør/unsalted butter
1-3 tsk/tsp vanilie ekstrakt (Jeg bruger Wilton's Clear Vanilla når jeg vil have en meget hvid smørcreme)/vanila extract (I use Wilton's Clear Vanilla, when I want a white buttercream)

Vand og sukker bringes i kog. Dannes der sukkerkrystaller på grydens kant, fjernes disse ved at pensle med koldt vand. Læg et låg halvt over gryden for at minimere risikoen for krystaller. Efter ca. 5 minutters kogning ved middel varme startes piskning af æggehviderne. Efter ca. 2 minutters piskning er hviderne stive og sukkersiruppen har dermed kogt i alt 7 minutter. Det er meget vigtigt at sukkersirup og de piskede æggehvider er færdige samtidig.

Under piskning ved høj hastighed (skift fra piskeris til røre-ris(K-spade)) tilsættes sukkersiruppen til æggehviderne. Det er bedst at tilsætte siruppen, så den løber ned langs skålen. Der piskes ved høj hastighed til skålen føles kold (det tager mindst 10 minutter).

Når skålen føles kold tilsættes smørret i terninger. Der piskes ved medium hastighed indtil smørcremen samles. Skulle den gryne/skille undervejs, pisk da blot videre. Den skal nok samle sig igen. Når cremen er samlet tilsættes vanille eller en anden smags-variant.

Pour the eggwhites into the kitchen mixer with whisk attachment. Bring water and sugar to a boil and boil at medium heat for 5 minutes. If sugar crystals form on the side of the pan, use a brush and cold water to brush them down. Placing a lid half over the pan will help preventing sugar crystals from forming. After the 5 minutes, start whisking the eggwhites stiff. This should take 2 minutes, so the sugar syrup has boiled for 7 minutes in total. It is very important that sugar syrup and whisked eggwhites are ready at the same time.

Switch to the paddle attachment and while mixing at highs speed, start pouring the sugar syrup slowly into the eggwhites. Pour the syrup so it runs down the side of the bowl. Keep mixing on high until the mixer bowl is cool to the touch (it takes at least 10 minutes)

When the bowl is cool, reduce the speed to medium and start adding the butter - max 1 tbsp at a time. Keep whisking until you have a smooth silky buttercream. Don't worry if it curdles, just keep whisking - it will get smooth again. Finally, add vanilla or another flavouring.

Dette er en meget stor portion, men den egner sig fint til at fryse ned. Jeg deler den op, og fryser den ned før jeg tilsætter smag. Den kan holde sig et godt stykke tid i køleskabet, men jeg kan ikke huske hvor længe, for jeg har aldrig ekstra plads i køleskabet, mens jeg laver kager. Hvad enten du har den på køl eller frys, så skal den have stuetemperatur og lige piskes igennem inden den er klar til brug.

This makes a lot of buttercream, but it is suitable for freezing. I split it up and freeze it before adding flavouring. It also keeps in the fridge for a while, but I don't remember how long, since I never have spare room in the fridge when I am caking. Whether you refridgerate or freeze it, bring it back to room temperature and whisk it on low speed before use.

Fe-kage/Flower Fairy Cake

Jeg har været så heldig og haft besøg af min engelske svigerfamilien i nogle dage, og min svigermor er en af de få "voksne" jeg kender, som insisterer på at forblive barnlig, og som kan forstå og matche min kærlighed til blomsterfeer.

Da hun (og resten af familien) også er vild med kager, så var det jo en oplagt mulighed for at lave en Fe-kage.

I've just had a lovely visit from my British in-laws, and my mother in law is one of the few "adults" I know who insist on remaining childish enough to understand my love of Flower Fairies. Since she (and the rest of the family) also loves cakes, it was a perfect excuse to make a Fairy-cake.

Ikke den bedst konstruerede kage - ok faktisk så behæftet med tanketorsk-fejl, at det er helt pinligt, men netop derfor er jeg alligevel ret tilfreds med resultatet. Jeg havde nemlig samlet trekants-kagerne uden at tænke på, at trekanten jo ikke var ligebenet, og stod pludselig med en høj trekantet, smørcreme-belagt kage, som var spejlvendt af det planlagte design. Så burde jeg vel bare kunne spejlvende hele designet, men det kunne min kagetrætte hjerne slet ikke overskue, da alle feer så ville vende den "forkerte" vej. Så jeg lagde da bare et spækbræt ovenpå trekanten, og vupti - vendte kagen på hovedet. Det fungerede fint nok, men så begyndte problemerne pludselig at hobe sig op...

Not the best constructed cake - ok actually so full off blunder errors that it is quite embarrassing, but that is exactly why I am still quite happy with the outcome. I had stacked triangular cakes without considering that it wasn't an isosceles triangle, and suddenly had a high triangular, butter cream-covered cake, which was a mirrorimage of the planned design. So I should have been able to just mirror the whole design, but I was all caked out and couldn't wrap my head around all the fairies facing the "wrong" way. So I just placed a board on top of the triangle, and voila - turned the cake upside down. It worked fine, but then the problems started piling up ...

 For det første, så havde min ellers trofaste kageudstyrs pusher svigtet mig. 2 uger hvor ordren står som "pakkes"??? Godt jeg ellers er glad for og afhængig af min pusher, så ingen navne nævnes her. Jeg havde så bare ikke den ønskede mængde af fondant hjemme, og heller ikke tid til at lave min egen. Men jeg plejer altid at indfarve ALT for meget fondant for en sikkerheds skyld, så jeg mente nok det gik med den mængde jeg havde.... det gjorde det så ikke, så efter at have overtrukket de 2 nederste kager, så havde jeg ikke nok til trekanterne. Så måtte jeg blande rester af grønt jeg havde til at ligge, men det kunne jo umuligt give den samme grønne nuance. "Pyt med det", det var jo alligevel bare en hyggekage, og vi leger bare at nuanceforskellen var helt planlagt, og med til at give lidt "spil" i bakkelandskabet, ik? Så kunne jeg endelig overtrække trekanten med fondant - altså efter at jeg havde fjernet det kagepap i toppen, som jo egentlig skulle have været i bunden, men "pyt med det" (et udtryk som jeg sammen med børnehaven har skullet lære den 5 årige - og så samtidig egentlig fået lært at sige selv, i stedet for at gå i baglås, når ting ikke går som han (jeg) vil have det. Ok, jeg har ikke helt lært det endnu, men denne kage var da en meget god øvelse!).

First of all, my otherwise loyal cake decorating pusher (ok, supplier) failed me. 2 weeks of the order being listed as " being packed"?? Good thing I'm normally happy with and depending on my pusher, so no names mentioned here. It just meant I hadn't got the amount of fondant that I wanted, nor the time to make my own. But I usually colour way too much fondant "just in case", so I figured it would probably be enough with the amount I had .... Guess not, so after having covered the 2 first cakes with fondant, I didn't have enough left to cover the triangle. So I had to mix various green leftovers I had, but of course it's impossible to get the same green shade. "Nevermind", it was still just a cake for fun, and we can just pretend that the different shades were entirely planned, right? Then I could finally cover the triangle with fondant - that is, after I removed the cake board on the top, which in fact should have been at the bottom, but "nevermind" ( I have had to teach the 5 year old to say that - and thereby learn it myself, instead of throwing a fit when things don't go his(my)way. Ok, I haven't quite learned that yet, but this cake was a very good exercise!).

 Kagen havde jo stadigvæk, kagepap imellem alle andre lag (inkl midten af trekanten), så jeg tænkte at det nok skulle gå. Nu skulle jeg så bare have den fondant klædte trekant over på resten af kagen, og det er altså ikke helt nemt, når den er klistret til brættet med smørcreme - som jo skulle have været toppen. Den ville da overhovedet ikke glide af, eller skubbes med en kageplade, så der måtte hænder på fondanten og både løftes og skubbes, med deraf resulterende buler i både sider og hjørner, men "pyt med det"? Det her var jo ikke en pænt anlagt terrassehave, men et bulet bakkelandskab, ik? Jeg sagde, ik???? Set i bakspejlet, så burde jeg selvfølgelig bare have stillet trekanten på køl igen, så smørcremen kunne hærdes, og jeg ville have haft en mere stabil kage at smide rundt med, men bakspejlet var jo ligesom ikke indstillet korrekt, så...

The cake of course still had cakeboards between all other layers (including the middle of the triangle), so I hoped it would be fine. Then I just needed to move the fondant-covered triangle onto the rest of the cake, which btw is not easy when it is glued to the board with butter cream - which of course should have been on top. It then would NOT slide off, or be pushed off with a cake circle, so it had hands on fondant and both lifting and pushing, with resultant dents in both sides and corners, but "Nevermind"? This was not a nicely built terrace garden, but rolling hills, right? I said, right??
I should have jsut refrigerated the triangle again before attempting to move it, as the buttercream would have firmed up and made for a more stable cake to throw around with, but oh well - I didn't.

Jeg kunne så endelig begynde at pynte kagen, men det varede selvfølgelig ikke længe før jeg kom i tanker om, at kagestøttepindene, der skulle have været i kagens 3. lag for at støtte det øverste lag, ja de var nu i det øverste lag, og ingen støtte i det 3. lag, som heller ikke stod på kagepap... Jeg kunne måske godt sige "pyt med det", men jeg kunne ikke længere bilde mig selv ind, at kagen ikke ville komme til at hælde.... mere.. og mere... og da den var færdigpyntet, så kunne jeg godt se, at der altså skulle tages billeder inden kagen skulle flyttes. Og når jeg nu hentede kameraet, så kunne familien heldigvis godt regne ud, at det var en god ide at komme ud i køkkenet og udbryde "iih" og "aaah" inden det skæve tårn væltede.

I could finally begin to decorate the cake, but it obviously didn't take long before I realized that the cake support pins that should have been in the third layer to support the top layer, were now in the top layer, and no support in the third layer, which wasn't even placed on a cakeboard ... I could of course just say "nevermind", but there was no way I could keep deluding myself into thinking that the cake wasn't going to topple...more .. and more ... and when I had finished decorating, it was obvious that I needed to take pictures before attempting to move the cake. When I went to get the camera the family fortunately figured out that it would probaly be a good idea to get into the kitchen and "Ooh" and "Aah" before the cake toppled.

Den nederste kage var iøvrigt Mudcake med After Eight Creme, mens resten var Drømmekage-bunde med Skildpadde Creme og Hindbær Mousse. Det hele var smurt op med IMBC, og al pynten var af fondant bortset fra vandfaldet som var Piping Gel farvet blå og græsset var Royal Icing. Dette indlæg er allerede alt for langt, så opskrifter må vente til en anden god gang :)

The base cake was a Mudcake with After Eight Cream, while the rest were Dream Cake Layers with Caramel/Chocolate Cream and Raspberry Mousse. It was all covered in IMBC and all the decorations were made of fondant with the exception of the waterfall which was Piping Gel colored blue and the grass was Royal Icing. This post is already too long, so recipes will have to wait for another time.