Node Kage / Musical Notes Cake

Min ældste datters bedste veninde fyldte 18 i går. Hendes mor ville gerne overraske hende med en kage, og spurgte om jeg kunne hjælpe, og det ville jeg jo hellere end gerne. Jeg måtte have hjælp fra min datter til valg af både fyld og tema, og da jeg snakkede med moren om, at det kunne være en ide, hvis kagen havde noget med musik at gøre, fortalte hun den sødeste historie: Hun plejede at synge Alberte's Månebarn for hende, da hun var lille, og sangen betød så meget for pigen, at hun overvejede at få lavet en tatovering, hvor der står Månebarn på. Jeg syntes, at historien var så sød, at vi på en eller anden måde måtte få det på kagen. Nu vidste jeg jo ikke, hvordan tatovering skulle se ud, så jeg valgte i stedet for, at pynte kagen med noderne til sangen - eller så meget af den, som jeg nu fik plads til på kagen:
My daughter's best friend turned 18 yesterday and her mother wanted to surprise her with a cake. I had to have my daughter help chose both fillings and theme, and when I talked to the mother about doing something music themed, she told me the sweetest story: She used to sing a lulabye called "Moonchild" (directly translated) for her when she was (a lot) younger, and the song meant so much to the girl, that she was considering having a tattoo made with the title. I thought it was so cute, that I had to get that on the cake somehow, but since I didn't know, what the tattoo would look like, I decide to just decorate the cake with the musical notes for the song - or as much of it, as I could fit on it:

Kagen var en Chokoladekage med Jordbærmousse og Chokorange Creme, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant. Pynten er lavet af sort Pettinice fondant.
The cake was a Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Mousse and Chocolate-Orange Creme, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Wilton's fondant. The decorations were made using black Pettinice fondant.

Kurv med Julestrik Kage / Christmas Knitting Basket Cake

Ann-Britt's mor har fødselsdag juleaften, og da jeg i sin tid lavede min første Strikkurv, spurgte hun straks, om jeg ikke kunne lave en til den 23. dec for hende. Godt at hun spurgte tidligt, for ellers ville jeg være meget svær at overtale til at lave en kage så tæt på jul - da har jeg jo travlt nok med andet julehygge med familien. Selv om det var en fødselsdagsgave, måtte den også godt være julet, og det blev den så:
Ann-Britt's mother's birthday is on Christmas Eve (which is when we celebrate Christmas here in Denmark), and when I made my other knitting basket back in the day, she asked right away if I could make one for her to pick up on the 23rd. Good thing she asked early, since it would have been difficult to talk me into caking this close to Christmas, since I'm usually busy with the family, but this way it was planned for. Even though it was a birthday present, she wouldn't mind some Christmasy decorations, so that is what I did:

Kagen var en White Chocolate Mudcake (bagetid afhænger af størrelsen), med Chokolade Smørcreme og hakket Daim, smurt op med samme smørcreme (dog uden Daim) og pyntet med halv modelleringschokolade, halv fondant. Garnnøglerne er lavet af romkugledej og overtrukket med fondant.
The cake was a White Chocolate Mudcake with Chocolate Buttercream and chopped Daim (crunchy butter almond bar covered in milk chocolate), coated with the same buttercream (without the Daim) and decorated with half modelling chocolate/half fondant. The yarn was made as fondant-covered truffles.

Sidste gang jeg lavede kurven, lovede jeg at lave en how-to, og jeg har da også fået taget billeder af processen, men vi skal nok lige over juledagene, inden jeg har tid til at skrive den.
The last time I made the basket, I promised to make a How-To, and I did take lots of pictures, but the writing has to wait until after Christmas.

Sølvbryllup / 25th Wedding Anniversary Cake

En gang i mellem er det sjovt med de færinger (og det må jeg godt sige, når jeg nu selv er halv-færing). Så som når man står i Netto en lørdag aften og bliver spurgt, om man ikke lige kan lave en sølvbryllupskage til på onsdag - til 100 pers. Jeg har svært ved at forestille mig danskere, der ikke har styr på enhver lille detalje til sådan en stor fest 4 dage før den store dag. Tilgengæld var det slet ikke en katastrofe, hvis jeg ikke kunne, og der var tusindvis af andre kager planlagt også som ved alle færøske fester (måske jeg har overdrevet lidt), så vi blev enige om at "nøjes" med en kage i 3 lag til ca 60 personer - så har resterne nok også været lidt mere overskuelige. Kagen skulle bare have noget med sølv og 25, og så måtte de enkelte lag gerne indeholde forskelligt fyld:
Once in a while the Faroese people are quite funny (and I am allowed to say that as half-Faroese myself). Like when you are standing in the grocery store on a Saturday evening, and you are asked to do a 25th anniversary cake for Wednesday - serving 100 people. I have a hard time  imagining Danish people not having every single detail planned 4 days before such a big event. On the other hand, it wasn't a big problem if I couldn't do it, as there was already thousands of other cakes planned (sounds about average for a good Faroese party - slightly exaggerated maybe), so we agreed on a 3 tiered cake for about 60 people - that way the leftovers might be more managable as well :) The cake just had to have something with silver and 25 on it, and preferably different fillings in each tier:

Det øverste lag bestod af Klassiske lagkagebunde med Blåbærmousse og Hvid Chokoladecreme m. Daim.
Andet lag bestod af Klassiske lagkagebunde med Hindbærmousse og Skildpaddecreme.
Nederste lag bestod af Chokoladekagebunde med Jordbærmousse og Mintchokoladecreme.
Alle lag var smurt op med Chokoladesmørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant. Al pynt var lavet af fondant og sukkerkugler.
The top tier consisted of Classic Sponge Layers with Blueberry Mousse and White Chocolatecreme with Daim (crunchy butter almond bar covered in milk chocolate).
The middle tier had Classic Sponge Layers with Raspberry Mousse and Caramel-Chocolate Creme.
The bottom tier consisted of Chocolate Cake layers with Strawberry Mousse and Mint-Chocolatecreme.
All tiers were coated in Chocolate Buttercream and covered with Wilton's fondant.
All decorations were made of fondant and sugarpearls.

Sort BMW Kage / Black BMW Cake

Ann-Britt skulle bruge en bilkage, og først troede jeg, at det var en McQueen kage igen, men det var (heldigvis - det er jo sjovere med noget nyt) en sort BMW kage, og da jeg spurgte om modellen, var det en E30, og så kom den til at se sådan her ud:
Ann-Britt needed a car cake, and at first I assumed it was another McQueen cake, but luckily it was a black BMW she needed (more fun to make a different cake), and when I asked about the model, it was an E30, so this is what I ended up with:

Kagen var en chokoladekage med Jordbærmousse og Chokorangecreme, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant.
The cake was a Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Mousse and Chocolate-Orange Cream, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Wilton's fondant.

Her var inspirationen:
The inspiration:

Bryllups Overraskelse / Wedding Surprise

Det er altså ikke ofte, at man får lov til at lave en bryllupskage som en overraskelse, men brudens mor ville overraske hende med en bryllupskage, og den endte sådan her (undskyld dårlig billedkvalitet):
It isn't often that you get to make a wedding cake as a surprise, but this cake was made as a surprise from the bride's mother (sorry for the poor quality of the picture):

Kagen var færdig i allersidste øjeblik, så selvom jeg lige nåede at tage et billede hjemmefra, så var vinklen helt, helt forkert og på stedet fik jeg kun taget slørede billeder.... jeg burde ønske mig et kursus i julegave, men jeg bør nok opgradere kameraet først.
The cake was finished at the very last second, and even though I managed to get a picture at home, it was from a really, really bad angle and after delivery I only got blurry pictures... I probably should put photo lessons on my Christmas wishlist, but I really should upgrade the camera first.

Kagen bestod ellers af Klassiske lagkagebunde med Hindbær Mousse  og Hvid Chokoladecreme m. Daim, smurt op med IMBC og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant.
The cake was classic sponge layers with Raspberry Mousse and White Chocolate Cream with Daim (crunchy butter almond bar covered in milk chocolate), coated with IMBC and covered in Wilton's fondant.

Monster High 2

Malan skulle også lige have en lagkage. Designet var op til mig, men jeg syntes ligeså godt, jeg kunne holde mig til Monster High-temaet, så den endte sådan her:
Malan was also getting a layered cake. the design was up to me, but I figured I might as well stick to the Monster High theme, and this is what she got:

Kagen var Klassiske Lagkagebunde med Blåbærmousse og Hvid Chokoladecreme m. Daim, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant.
The cake was classic sponge layers with Blueberry Mousse and White Chocolate Cream with Daim (crunchy butter almond bar covered in milk chocolate), coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Wilton's fondant.

Her har jeg gået og troet, at en ruder-udstikker er et overflødigt værktøj, da man jo nemt kan lave dem selv, med kniv og lineal. Tjah, nemt og nemt - det ville da helt sikkert være meget tids-besparende med de udstikkere, men det var nu alligevel det hvide bånd, der tog 100 år at sætte fast på kagen - for en gangs skyld kunne jeg godt have tænkt mig, at kagen svedte, så jeg kunne slippe for at lime i hvert fald... Den var nu hyggelig at lave alligevel - bare ikke hurtig:)
Here I thought that diamond cutters were totally superfluous pieces of equipment, since you can make diamonds easily with a knife and ruler. Well, I wouldn't necessarily say easy anymore - at the very least, they would have been nice timesavers.  Still, it was the white lines that took the longest to put on the cake - for once, I wish the cake was sweating, so at least I could skip the gluing part... It was still a fun and easy (just not fast) cake to make :)

Monster High Draculaura Kage / Monster High Draculaura Cake

Når moren "bare" beder om en Monster High kage (som jeg aldrig havde hørt om, og faktisk hørte som Monster Hår), så er det godt at pigen selv ved, liige hvad der skal være på kagen: "Det skal være hende, der er vampyr, med lyserødt hår, nej sort hår med lyserøde striber, og rottehaler, og.. og..." Dejligt med en entusiastisk beskrivelse af ønsket, for så kunne kagen ikke komme til at se så meget anderledes ud, end tilfældet var:
When the mother "just" asks for a Monster High Cake (which I had never heard of before, and actually thought she said Monster Hair), it is good that the birthday girl knows exactly what she wants: " It has to be the vampire-one, with pink hair, no black hair with pink highlights, and pigtails, and.. and...". Wonderful to get an enthusiastic description of what she wanted, because I didn't have to do much thinking regarding the design, and this is what we ended up with:

Kagen skulle bare være en bradepande-chokoladekage, da pigen ikke kan lide fyld, men jeg har snydt lidt og bagt dem i runde forme, og lagt 2 ovenpå hinanden med et fad i mellem.
Kagen var en Sort Midnats Kage, opsmurt med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant.
The cake was just supposed to be a chocolate sheet cake, since the girl doesn't like fillings, but I cheated and bake them in round pans and stacked them with a cakeboard in between.
The cake was a Black Midnight Cake, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Wilton's fondant

Hun (eller nok hendes gæster), fik også en lagkage, men den må jeg vente med at blogge om til i morgen, for det er vist nok noget med at jeg også lige skal have lavet nogen cupcakes til i morgen tidlig, så må hellere gå i gang...
She (or most likely her guests) also got a layered cake, but I have to wait until tomorrow to blog about it, as I am supposed to make some cupcakes for tomorrow morning, so I'd better get started...

Cupcakes tårn / Cupcake Tower

Udover en 4-etagers kage, blev der også lavet cupcakes til den 14-åriges fødselsdag:
Besides the 4-tier cake, the 14 year old also had cupcakes for his birthday:

100 cupcakes bestående af Mudcake Cupcakes, Nati's Caramel Mudcake Cupcakes og White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes, alle sammen med IMBC og fondant pynt.

100 cupcakes made up of Mudcake Cupcakes, Nati's Caramel Mudcake Cupcakes and White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes, all with IMBC and fondant decorations.

Forsker og Univers Kage / Scientist and the Universe Cake

Denne kage er lavet til en dreng, der fyldte 14. Han vil gerne være forsker, og er meget interesseret i universet (og computere, men det er der så mange, der er, så det tema gemmer jeg altså til en, der ikke har andre interesser, og det er faktisk overraskende mange), så det endte med denne kage:
This cake was made for a boy's 14th birthday. He wants to be a scientist and is very interested in the universe (and computers, but so many are, that I decided to save that theme for someone who has no other interests - there are surprisingly many of those too), and this is what I came up with:

Det øverste lag bestod af Sort Midnats Kage med Jordbærmousse og Chokorangecreme.
Lag 2: Lette Lagkagebunde med Blåbærmousse og Hvid Chokoladecreme m. Daim.
Lag 3: Sort Midnats Kage med After Eight Creme
Lag 4: Lette Lagkagebunde med Hindbærmousse og Skildpaddecreme
Alle lag var smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med enten Sort Pettinice fondant eller hvid Wilton's fondant.
Top tier is Black Midnight Cake with Strawberry Mousse and Chocolate-Orange Creme.
2nd tier: Sponge Layer Cake with Blueberry Mousse and White Chocolate Creme with Daim (crunchy butter almond bar covered in milk chocolate).
3rd tier: Black Midnight Cake with After Eight Creme.
Bottom tier: Sponge Layer Cake with Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate-Caramel Creme.
All layers are coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in either Black Pettinice or white Wilton's fondant.

Bordet var lavet af Cocopops Treats, og overtrukket med Chokolade Smørcreme. Resten af pynten var fondant og lidt piping gel.
The desk was made using Cocopops Treats, covered with Chocolate Buttercream and then fondant. The rest of the decorations were made using fondant and a little bit of piping gel.

Kagen var vildt sjov at lave, og så fik jeg jo repeteret både fysik og kemi ovenikøbet :)
I had a lot of fun making the cake, and got to brush up on my physics and chemistry  too :)

Eve Online Logo Kage / Eve Online Logo Cake

I og med at jeg har haft så travlt med kager her på det sidste, så havde min mand frabedt sig en pyntet kage, og faktisk ville han ikke engang have en rigtig hjemmelavet. Bare købte kakao-lagkagebunde med nutella, banan og kagecreme(fra pulver!) iblandet flødeskum! Jeg gjorde da også NÆSTEN som han ønskede... men jeg kunne ikke lade være med at bage bundene, når jeg nu alligevel skulle bage 4 andre kager den dag - han kunne jo ikke holde styr på antallet af alle de bunde alligevel. Og lidt pynt skulle der også til, men når det nu både skulle være hurtigt at lave, og til at skjule for manden, så lavede jeg bare logoet til hans yndlingsspil:
Since I have been so busy caking the last couple of weeks, my considerate husband requested his birthday cake to be a simple undecorated one. With storebought cake-layers, nutella, bananas and vanilla custard. And I ALMOST did what he wanted... I just couldn't help baking the cake layers, as I had to bake another 4 cakes that day, and knew he wouldn't be able to notice the difference in numbers. And I couldn't totally not decorate it, but I had to make something simple, fast and easy to hide, so I just made the logo for his favorite online game:

Kagen bestod så af Sort Midnats Kage med Nutella, bananskiver og kagecreme, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Pettinice fondant. Og selvom jeg ikke er ret meget for at indrømme det, så burde jeg bare have købt lagkagebundene... Chokoladekagen (som ellers er god) var simpelthen alt for dominerende til det valgte fyld!
The cake consisted of Black Midnight Cake with Nutella, sliced bananas and vanilla custared, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered with Pettinice fondant. And allthough I don't like to admit it, I really should have bought the cocoa cake layers... The chocolate cake (which otherwise is just fine) was simply too dominating a taste for the simple filling.

Han havde så håbet på, at jeg ikke ville blogge om kagen, da han ikke ville have at alle skulle vide lige præcis hvor stor en nørd han er, men sådan leger vi jo ikke her på siden! Om kagerne så er mislykket, så blogger jeg stadigvæk, og når jeg ingen problemer har med at udstille migselv, så kan det da ikke overraske, at jeg heller ikke har problemer med at udstille ham :)
He then hoped I wouldn't blog about the cake, since he didn't want everyone to know exactly how geeky he is, but that is not how we do thing on this page! Even cake that go horribly wrong get blogged about, and since I have no qualms when it comes to showing my mistakes,  it can't surprise anyone that I have no qualms exposing his geekiness :)

Og så er det forresten gået op for ham, at han kunne have haft en kage med rumskibe på! Og det forventer han så, at jeg gør næste år... jeg ville komme med en eller anden plat bemærkning om, at jeg da heller må i gang med at øve mig tidligt, så jeg slipper for at skulle høre for at xx rumskib, da ikke har yy våben/udstyr, men jeg er ikke nørdet nok til at kende spillets terminologi, så jeg kan ikke engang gøre ordentlig grin med migselv :/
Of course now he has realized, that he could have had a cake with spaceships on! And now expects me to make it for next year... I would insert some corny joke about having to start practising early, so I don't have to have him point out that xx spaceship doesn't have yy weapons/equipment, but I am not geeky enough to know the game's terminology, so I can't even make fun of myself properly here :/

McQueen Kage... igen / McQueen Cake... again

Min veninde's søn er så sød. Lige siden han uheldigvis (for hans mor) så et billede af min Lynet McQueen Kage, har det været det eneste han ønskede sig, når hun har spurgt, hvad han ønskede sig i fødselsdagsgave. Så det ville hun da gerne overraske ham med, og da det så samtidig betød, at jeg fik set min veninde, hvilket er alt for sjældent i disse dage (eller år!), så har han da lige scoret nogen ekstra point i min bog, selv om det betød at jeg lavede en genganger-kage:
My friend's son is a sweetie. Ever since he unfortunately (for his mother that is) saw a picture of my Lightning McQueen Cake, that has been all he wanted whenever she has asked him, what he wants for his birthday. So she wanted to surprise him, and actually get it, and since that actually meant that I got to see my friend, which is way too rare these days (or years rather!), he scored some extra points in my book, even if it meant doing a repeat-cake.

Drengen har da også bestemt, hvad der skulle i hans kage, så det blev Sort Midnat´s Kage med Nutella og blåbær, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Pettinice fondant.
The boy might only be turning 3, but he knows what he wants, so the cake was a Black Midnight Cake with Nutella and Blueberries, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Pettinice fondant.

Selv om det har nogen fordele, at lave en kage igen, så er en af ulemperne (for mig) åbenbart, at jeg så ikke er opmærksom nok på detaljerne.. blandt andet mente jeg åbenbart, at jeg kunne lave hjulene, uden at kigge på billeder, så jeg endte med 4 af denne slags:
Even though there are some advantages to repeating a design, one of the disadvantages is (in my case), that apparently I don't pay enough attention to the details... as when I thought I could make the wheels, without looking at pictures and ended up with 4 of these:

Det var så lige en om'er...
Yeah, they had to be fixed...

Hello Kitty Cupcakes

Min datters veninde skulle have haft børnehaven på besøg i dag, men da moren blev syg, var det godt at vi bare kunne aflevere cupcakes i børnehaven, så hun kunne blive fejret der, mens børnehaven bare kommer på besøg, når mor er rask igen.
My daugther's friend was supposed to have had her playschool visit for her birthday today, but unfortunately her mother was ill. Luckily we could just drop off the cupcakes at her playschool, and she celebrated her birthday there instead, and will just have them over when mom is feeling better again :)

Sort Midnat's Cupcakes med jordbærcreme og pyntet med fondant.
Black Midnight Cupcakes with Strawberry Creme and fondant decorations.

Hello Kitty Kage / Hello Kitty Cake

Min veninde's datter, som også er min datter's bedste veninde, havde ønsket sig en Hello Kitty kage til sin fødselsdag. Jeg måtte selv bestemme fyldet, og da jeg vidste, at de godt kunne lide, det som var i Matthew's Playmobil-kage, valgte jeg det samme:
My friend's daughter, who is also my daughter's best friend, wanted a Hello Kitty cake for her birthday. The cake and filling was up to me to decide, so I just went with what I knew they liked, as I threw all my cutoffs after them, when I made Matthew's Playmobil Cake:

Kagen er en Sort Midnat's kage med Chokorange-creme og Jordbærmousse, smurt op med Chokolade smørcreme og overtrukket med Pettinice fondant. Al pynten er lavet af fondant (Wilton's, Pettinice, Satin Ice og Rød Candymelts fondant).
The cake was a Black Midnight Cake with Chocolate-Orange Creme and Strawberry Mousse, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Pettinice fondant. Al decorations were made of fondant (Wilton's, Pettinice, Satin Ice and Red Candymelts fondant).

Bryllupskage / Wedding Cake

Så fik jeg lavet min første bryllupskage, og sikken en masse erfaringer, jeg fik gjort mig:
I have now made my first wedding cake, and learned so much:

Kagen var lavet af mazarinbunde med Hindbærmousse og Chokolademousse med hakket mørk chokolade, smurt op med IMBC og overtrukket med overtræksmarcipan og fondant (blandet 6:1). Blomster og brudepar var lavet af fondant, mens blonderne og sløret var lavet af SugarVeil.
The cake was made of Marcipan Cake layers, Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate Mousse with chopped dark chocolate, coated with IMBC and covered with marzipan and fondant (mixed 6 to 1). Flowers and topper were made of fondant while the lace and veil was made using SugarVeil.

Kagen var utrolig tung (mindst 25 kg ifølge min søsters kæreste, som var så sød at bære den ned fra 5.sal og op i festlokalerne), og den fik da også lidt transportskader (Det nederste lag var trykket fladt på 2 af siderne, af kassen som den blev transporteret i). Jeg rettede dem, så godt jeg kunne, og pyntede kagen færdig, da katastrofen skete: Brudgommen (altså topfiguren) faldt og hovedet knækkede af! Jeg fik sat det på igen med en lille klump hvid fondant (derfor er hans hals hvid nu), ventede på at den tørrede, og satte den på kagen igen, hvor jeg så godt kunne se, at gommen som havde stået fint derhjemme i en uge, og også kunne stå fint i den medbragte transportkasse, langsomt begyndte at hælde bagover. Selv med en klump marcipan bagpå som støtte og tyloselim under, ville han bare ikke stå. Alle mulige alternative løsninger blev forsøgt (blandt andet overtrak jeg en kageplade, som han godt ville stå på, med sugarveil blonder, satte ham på - men nu sad bruden fast på kagen, og hendes slæb, ville sandsynligvis knække af, hvis jeg forsøgte at løsne hende, så den gik ikke), men til sidst så hjalp en lille ekstra klump marcipan under fødderne på ham - dvs, det fungerede i den time, jeg blev på stedet, for at sikre mig, at han blev stående, og han stod også, da jeg snakkede med min søster lidt senere, men efter endnu en time, ringede min søster - nu var han faldet igen, hovedet knækket af igen, og jeg var smuttet, så intet reparationsgrej. Hun fik limet  hovedet på igen med vand, og så fik han ellers en tandstik bagpå som rygstøtte, og så bilder de mig alle ind, at han så stod fint (Jeg har på fornemmelsen, at ingen tør fortælle mig andet, da det vist var tydeligt, at jeg var knust). Jeg kunne egentlig ikke forstå at han ikke ville stå, da han godt ville stå på bordet derhjemme, og kagen var i vater, men min søster bemærkede, at bordet stod og vippede, så det er en sandsynlig årsag.
The cake was extremely heavy (at least 25 kilos according to my sister's boyfriend, who was nice enough to carry it down from 6th floor and up the stairs at the venue), and it did end up with some damage during transport - the bottom layer was flattened on 2 of the sides by the box it was transported in. I corrected it as best as I could and finished decorating the cake at the venue, when disaster hit: The groom (the topper that is) fell backwards and lost his head! I reatteched the head using some white fondant (which is why he has a white neck now), waited for it to dry and put it back on the cake. After a little while, I could see he started leaning backwards again, even though he had stood without problems at home for a week, and stood fine in the transport box as well. Even with a clump of marzipan behind him, and tylo-glued to the cake, he just would not stand. All sorts of alternative solutions were attempted (including covering a cakeboard that he stood fine on with sugarveil laces, attaching him, and then realizing that I wouldn't be able to get the bride of the cake in one piece - the train would likely brake off, if I tried), but in the end a little marzipan pedestal to place him on worked. Well, it worked for the hour that I stayed to make sure he wouldn't fall again, and he was still standing a short while later, according to my sister, but after yet another hour, my sister called - he'd fallen again, and lost his head again, and I had taken the rep. kit with me, when I left. She managed to glue the head back on with water, and supported him with a toothpick behind him, and then I have been told that he kept standing (allthough I have a feeling that noone dared to tell me otherwise, as I was obviously crushed already). I actually couldn't understand why he wouldn't stand on the cake, since he stood just fine on the table at home, and the cake was level, but according to my sister, the table was shaky and that would be a likely cause.

Hvad har jeg så lært af dette?
1. Til så tung en kage, skal jeg have planlagt designet, så kagen kan transporteres usamlet.
2. Enten skal jeg finde ud af, hvor man kan få kagefade, eller drums større end 40 cm (ikke set indtil videre), ellers også kan nederste kage altså ikke være 35 cm. Selvom jeg var klar over, at der ikke var plads til meget pynt i bunden, så havde jeg ikke regnet med at transportkassen som er beregnet til 40 cm fad, ville komme for tæt på kagen når den kommer så langt ud på fadet.
3. Hvis kagen transporteres i dele, så skal jeg finde mig i ikke at bruge seperatorplates med fødder, eller have fundet ud af, hvordan lag anbragt på fad med fødder kan transporteres sikkert.
4. Jeg bruger normalt enten tandstikker eller rå spagetti som støtte i topfigurer. Fordelen ved spaghetti er at det er nemt at afkorte i den rigtige højde efterhånden som figuren tager form - ulempen er så åbenbart, at hvis figuren falder, så er den lidt for nem at afkorte i den forkerte højde (så hovedet kan knække af f.eks?). Selv om grillspyd som går længere ned end figuren, gør det umuligt at sætte figuren ned, når man tager den af kagen, så må det være at foretrække, da en figur stukket ned i kagen vil være mere stabil, selv om kagen (eller bordet) hælder.
5. IMBC og stuetemperatur, der er nærmere køleskabstemperatur er en dårlig kombination under opsmøring af kagen. (Køkkenet var klargjort til renovering, og uden varme).
6. Overtræksmarcipan er ikke så slem at overtrække med som frygtet - dvs på store kager. Jo mindre og højere kager, desto sværere at undgå folder i siden. Så blandingsforholdet må indeholde mere fondant (op til 50 pct) ved mindre kager.
7. Medbring alle farverester i reperationskittet.
So what did I learn?
1. For such a heavy cake, I have to plan the design, so the cake can be transported in seperate layers.
2. Either I have to figure out where to get cake stands or drums bigger than 40 cm (not seen so far) or the bottom layer can't be 35 cm. Even though I knew there wasn't room for much decorating at the base layer, I hadn't expected the tansport box, which is made for 40 cm bases, to damage the base layer.
3. If the cake is transported in layers, I have to put up with not using seperator plates with feet, or figure out how to transport layers on feet safely.
4. I usually use toothpicks or raw spaghetti as support in toppers, as both are food-safe. The advantage to using spaghetti is that it is easy to shorten the length, as the topper takes form - the disadvantage is that apparently is is too easy too shorten it at the incorrect length (i.e. so the head can break off?). Even though wooden skewers, that go further down than the topper, make it impossible to put the figures down when you take them off the cake, this would still be the best option, as a figure skewered down into the cake is less likely to fall, even if the cake (or the table) isn't level.
5. IMBC and room temperature, which is really closer to refridgerator temperature, is a bad combination. (The kitchen had been prepared for major renovation and was without heating).
6. Marzipan is not as horrible to cover the cake with as suspected - at least on big cakes. The smaller and taller the cake, the more difficult it is to avoid creases on the sides. So mix more fondant in (up to 50 pct) if making smaller cakes.
7. Include all leftover colours in the rep. kit.

Bryllups cupcake tårn/ Wedding Cupcake Tower

Min lillesøsters rigtig gode veninde og hendes (nu) mand stod med det lille bitte problem, at de ikke kunne finde ud af, om de ønskede sig et cupcake tårn eller en traditionel bryllupskage til deres bryllup. Jeg synes at de løste problemet på en fantastisk måde: Tårn til receptionen og bryllupskage til festen. Jeg fik lov til at stå for begge dele, og her er så tårnet:

My little sister's good friend and her (now) husband had a tiny little problem deciding on whether to have a cupcake tower or a traditional wedding cake at their wedding. They solved the problem brilliantly in my opinion: Tower at the reception and cake at the wedding. I got to make both, and this is the tower:

144 cupcakes bestående af Mudcake Cupcakes, Nati's Caramel Mudcake Cupcakes og White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes, alle sammen med IMBC og fondant blomster.

144 cupcakes made up of Mudcake Cupcakes, Nati's Caramel Mudcake Cupcakes and White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes, all with IMBC and fondant flowers.

Blomsterne var lavet for at matche brudens buket, som skulle have bestået af vinrøde roser og orange (flame) calla liljer. Dagen før bryllupet hørte jeg dog, at blomsterhandleren havde overtalt bruden til at skifte roserne til hvide, men jeg synes nu at både brud og kager var fine :)

The flowers were made to match the bride's bouquet, which originally was supposed to be wine roses and orange (flame) calla lillies. The day before the wedding I found out that the florist had convinced the bride, that white roses would match her dress better, but I think both the bride and the cakes looked great :)

Ellers var det lidt anderledes at tage fra Hirtshals til København og lave pynt, cupcakes og kager, og prøve at medbringe så meget som muligt af grej, der skulle eller måske kunne bruges, men det gik ikke så dårligt, og det var kun et par ting, jeg savnede i processen - og det kunne med min hukommelse (eller mangel på samme) være gået meget værre :)

It was a bit challenging to be far from home, making the decorations, cupcakes and cakes and trying to remember to bring as many tools as I needed or just possibly could use, but it didn't go to bad. I only missed a couple of items in the process - and with my memory (or lack of same), it could have been much, much worse :)

Meningen var, at for at lette transporten af så mange cupcakes, så ville jeg først pynte dem i receptionslokalerne, men da jeg oplevede noget af et problem med et for koldt køkken og smørcreme i forbindelse med opsmøringen af kagen dagen før bryllupet, fik jeg kolde fødder og pyntede cupcakes hjemmefra (vidste jo ikke hvad temperaturen ville være i receptionslokalerne - især fordi vejret lige havde skiftet fra dejlig lunt efterår, til sne lige pludselig). Det besværliggjorde transporten lidt, men heldigvis var min søsters kæreste virkelig flink til at hjælpe med at bære cupcakes og pynt ned fra hhv 4. og 5. sal i små forsigtige portioner :)

To ease the transport of that many cupcakes, I'd planned to decorate them at the reception venue, but since I experienced some problems with a too cold kitchen and the buttercream (hardening too fast) when covering the cake the day before the wedding, I had cold feet and decorated the cupcakes at "home" (after all I had no idea what the temperature would be at the venue - especially since the weather just shifted from a surprisingly warm fall to snow all of a sudden). That made the transport a bit cumbersome, but luckily my sister's boyfriend was extremely helpful and helped me carry cupcakes and decorations from the 4th and 5th floor (no elevator) in small carefull portions.

Opskriften på White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes er bare Nigella's kage lavet i cupcake version.

The White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes are just Nigella's cake made in a cupcake version.

Opskrift på White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes/White Chocolate Mudcake Cupcakes recipe (ca 24 stk/Makes approx 24):

250 g smør i tern/ 250 g butter, chopped

150 g hakket hvid chokolade/ 150 g white chocolate, chopped

440 g sukker/ 440 g caster sugar (2 cups)

2,5 dl mælk/ 250 ml milk (1 cup)

225 g mel/ 225 g flour (1 1/2 cups)

75 g selvhævende mel/ 75 g self-raising flour (1/2 cup)

1 tsk vanilleessens/ 1 tsp vanilla essence (or extract)

2 æg, let sammenpisket 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Smør, chokolade, sukker og mælk varmes forsigtig op sammen i en gryde ved lav varme under omrøring til en glat, homogen blanding (skal ikke koge). Hæld blandingen i en stor skål og lad det køle af i ca 15 min. Pisk først begge meltyper og siden essens og æg i. Dejen hældes i cupcake forme (3/4 fyldt op) og bages ved 170 C i 25-30 min.

Combine butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a saucepan. Using wooden spoon, stir over low heat, without boiling, until smooth. Transfer mixture to large bowl and cool for 15 minutes. Whisk in flours, then essence and eggs and pour mixture into paperlined cupcake tin (3/4 full). Bake at 170 C/340 F for 25-30 minutes.

Playmobil Borg Kage / Playmobil Castle Cake

Vores yngste søn fylder 7 år om en måned, men hans gode ven havde fødselsdag for snart en måned siden, og de valgte at holde fødselsdag sammen i Hurlumhej-huset for klassen og et par andre venner i går. Genialt sted at holde fødselsdag, og jeg skulle kun sørge for kagen, mens vennens forældre sørgede for alt andet, så det var da heldig sluppet :) Drengene havde selv valgt, at det skulle være en Playmobil kage:
Our youngest son is turning 7 in a month, but his good friend's birthday was almost a month ago, and they had chosen to do a joint birthday party at a fun venue yesterday. They had also chosen their cake - a Playmobil cake:

Kagen bestod hovedsageligt af Sort Midnat's Kage med Jordbær Mousse og Chokorange Creme. Tårnene var dog lavet af hindbærroulade, og hele molevitten var smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Satin Ice fondant. Al pynten var lavet af fondant, men Playmobilmændene havde spagettistøtter indeni, da figurerne blev lavet få timer før festen, så der var ikke tid til at lade dem tørre.
Most of the cake was a Black Midnight Cake with Strawberry Mousse and Chocolate-Orange Creme. The towers were made from Swiss Rolls with Raspberry filling and the whole thing was coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Satin Ice fondant. All decorations were made using fondant, but the Playmobile men had spagetti-supports as they were made few hours before the party, with no time to dry.

Hvad der gik galt:
Denne liste kan jeg ikke undgå at lave denne gang, da sådan ca alt gik galt med denne kage. Vi kan starte med en maveinfluenza, som gjorde, at jeg ikke kunne lave figurerne på forhånd. Faktisk var jeg oppe hele natten og havde først overtrukket kagerne kl 2-3 om natten, og kunne først der begynde at lave pynt, som faktisk burde have tørret i dagevis. Men problemerne startede før det... Først havde jeg sat kagen på et cakeboard, som ikke var stort nok, da jeg havde glemt alt om at der skulle være plads til tårnene. Så brugte jeg al smørcremen (dobbelt portion) bare på at smøre den store kage op, og selv om manden var lynhurtig til at handle ind til mere, så er det altså virkelig upraktisk at skulle stå og vente på at smøren får stuetemperatur, når man allerede er dagevis bagud... Da kagen var smurt op og overtrukket, skulle den præges hurtigt for at lave mursten, men jeg har åbenbart trykket for hårdt, og da kagen ikke havde støttepinde i endnu, skred kagen af det nederste lag fyld.
Jeg havde hverken tid eller plads til den oprindeligt planlagte pynt, men jeg er ok tilfreds med de ændrede planer (som måtte laves om, hver gang noget gik galt), men kagen var færdig i aller sidste minut, og så var der ikke engang tid til at tage et ordentligt billede *snøft* .Men drengene var tilfredse, og nu syntes jeg hellere at jeg måtte opdatere bloggen med det samme, mens jeg stadigvæk husker, at med alle de problemer jeg rendte ind i, så er jeg bare glad for at jeg havde noget, der bare tilnærmelsesvis lignede en Playmobilkage færdigt til tiden, og så kan jeg godt leve med buler, manglende pynt og dårlige billeder.
What went wrong:
Just about everything, really. Starting with a stomach-flu, that made it un-safe to make any decorations in advance, and the whole cake from start to finish was made in less than 24 hours. And there were problems from beginning to end - first my cakes weren't tall enough to split into my usual 3 layers, so I had to bake extra. Then I placed and iced the main cake on a cakeboard that was too small, as I had forgotten all about room for the towers. I hadn't made enough buttercream to start with, and allthough hubby is a really fast shopper, it is really inconvenient to have to wait for the butter to come to roomtemperature, when you are already days behind. When I had the cake covered, I needed to emboss the brickpattern really fast, but apparently used to much pressure on my still undoweled cake, resulting in the main part of the cake sliding off the bottom layer of filling.
I didn't have time or room on the board for the originally planned decorations, but I am satisfied with the changed plans (which kept changing every time I had a mishap). The cake wasn't finished until the very last minute (literally) and I didn't even have time to get a decent picture *sniffle*.
The boys were happy though and this time I figured I'd better update the blog right away, while still remembering all the problems, and that I am actually happy to have finished something that just remotely resembles a Playmobil cake on time. Bumps, dents, missing decorations and bad pictures is something I can live with today... but not in a month :)

Super Mario Kage / Super Mario Cake

Siden jeg sidste gang lavede kager for Ann-Mari, har hendes yngste søn fået konstateret Cøliaki, så til hans 5 års fødselsdag, var ønsket en glutenfri Super Mario kage:
Since the last time I made cakes for Ann-Mari, her youngest son has been diagnosed with Celiacs disease, so for his 5th birthday he wanted a gluten-free Super Mario cake:

Kagen var lavet af glutenfri lagkagebunde fyldt og smurt op med kakaosmørcreme og overtrukket med glutenfri fondant.
The cake was made with Glutenfree Sponge layers, filled with Cocoa Buttercream and covered with glutenfree fondant.

Opskrift på glutenfri lagkagebunde:
150 g sukker
3 æg
50 g kartoffelmel
60 g rød finax
1 tsk bagepulver

Pisk æg og sukker hvidt og skummende. Bland de tørre ingredienser i. Hæld dejen i en smurt springform (ca 26 cm) og bag ved 160 C i ca 35 minutter. Når kagen er kølet af, kan den deles i 2 bunde, så jeg bagte 2 kager denne gang.

Maltesere og Cadbury's fingre/ Maltesers and Cadbury's Chocolate fingers

Da min ældste søn fyldte 13, lavede jeg en hurtig kage på selve dagen, da en fondantkage skulle gemmes til festen som ikke blev holdt på dagen. Men jeg kan jo ikke lade være med at pynte lidt alligevel...
When my son turned 13, I made a quick cake on his birthday and saved the fondant fun for the party, that wasn't held on his actual birthday. But I couldn't help decorating it anyway...

Kagen bestod af 2 lag Mudcake og 1 lag Sort Midnat's Kage med Jordbærmousse og Hvid Chokoladecreme med Dajm og smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme. Låget er lavet af ren marcipan, mens siderne er pyntet med Cadbury's fingre, og pynten så bare Maltesere og mørk chokolade.
The cake was made of 2 layers of Mudcake and 1 layer of Black Midnight Cake with Strawberry Mousse and White Chocolate Cream with Daim, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and decorated with a marzipan lid, Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers and Malteser's drizzled with dark chocolate.

Hans skulle så også have cupcakes med i skole, og det blev så til disse:
He brought these cupcakes to school:

Sort Midnat's Cupcakes med Ahorn Sirups Frosting, og en enkelt Malteser.
Black Midnight Cupcakes with Maple Syrup Frosting and a single Malteser.

Krystallen / The Crystal

Det er da utroligt, som jeg har tendens til at undgå bloggen, når jeg har lavet en kage, som jeg ikke er tilfreds med. Og det hjælper faktisk ikke, at lade tiden gå, da jeg har større problemer med billedet af en kage, når jeg ikke længere kan huske den indædte kamp for at få den færdig... når det så er sagt, så er her en kage, som jeg lavede til min kusine's mand's fødselsdag. Skal vi ikke bare nøjes med at sige, at det er for ambitiøst at lave en kage, som skal forestille en bygning, hvor bygningen i forvejen synes at trodse samtlige naturlove. Ikke engang CPT/RKT gider at hænge i luften uden støtte. Dog lykkedes det faktisk at lave bygningen i CPT, smøre den op og overtrække den, selv på undersiden (dog er det altså ikke nemt at skære i CPT, når man ikke har en eneste side som er plan, og som den så kan hvile på, mens man skærer), men den gik meget hurtigt fra at være knivskarp, til at falde sammen - skide tyngdelov! Men figuren var sjov at lave :)
Odd, how I tend to avoid my blog after making a cake that I am not happy with. And it actually doesn't help to let time pass by, as I have even bigger issues with the picture, when I no longer remember the fight I put up in order to finish the cake... that being said, this is the cake I made for my cousin's husband's birthday. Lets just say, that it is overly ambitious to attempt to make a cake, resembling a building which is already defying several laws of nature. Not even CPT/RKT will float in the air unsupported (the actual building only rests on 3 spots). I did actually manage to make the building using CPT, coat it with buttercream and cover it with fondant - even underneath it (allthough it really isn't easy to carve CPT, when it doesn't have a single flat/even surface to rest on, while you carve), but it quickly went from having sharp edges, to just sagging - damn gravity! But at least I had fun with the figure :)

Kagen bestod af Mudcake med After Eight Creme, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Satin Ice fondant. Bygningen er lavet af Cocopops Treats, ellers er resten af pynten fondant.
The cake was made of Mudcake with After Eight Creme, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered with Satin Ice Fondant. The building was made using Cocopops Treats, while the rest of the decorations were made with fondant.

Afskedskage / Farewell Cake

Min tidligere kollega's datter skal til USA i et år (sjovt nok for at bo hos datteren til den familie, hendes far boede hos som udvekslingsstudent), og hun ville gerne have en kage til afskedsfesten. Designet var frit, så den endte sådan her:
My former colleague's daugther is going to the States for a year (and will actually be staying with the daughter of the family, that her father stayed with as an exchange student back in the day - how cool is that?), and she wanted a cake for the Farewell party. The design was up to me, so this is what I ended up with:

Kagen bestod at 1 lag chokoladeovertrukken mazarinbund og 2 Lette lagkage-bunde stænket med Amaretto, og fyldt med Jordbærmousse og friske jordbær, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med SatinIce fondant og rød Pettinice fondant.
The cake consisted of 1 layer of chocolate covered marzipan cake and 2 layers of classic sponge, drizzled with Amaretto and filled with Strawberry Mousse and fresh strawberries, covered with Chocolate Buttercream, SatinIce fondant and red Pettinice fondant.

Endnu en dåbskage / Yet another Christening Cake.

Karina ville gerne overraske sin veninde med en dåbskage. Fyldet skulle være som i hendes kage, men pynten var op til mig, bare den var lyserød.
Karina wanted to surprise her friend with a Christening Cake. She wanted the same fillings that were in the cake I made for her recently, but the decorations were up to me, as long as they were pink.

Kagen indeholdt Lette Lagkagebunde med Hindbær Mousse og Chokolade Ganache. Den er smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant med hindbær aroma.
The cake was made with classic sponge layers, filled with Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate Ganache, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered with raspberry flavoured Wilton's fondant.


Varme og fugt gør det altid svært at lave fondant kager, men jeg endte med at blive tilfreds med resulatet.
Heat and humidity always make it challenging to make fondant covered cakes, but I ended up happy enough with the result.

Pynt på 5 minutter / Decorate in 5 minutes

Jeg har været ved at lege med en ny opskrift, men da jeg egentlig havde travlt med at pynte en anden kage, så blev der kun 5 minutter til denne her. Tænkte på min søster mens jeg lavede den, da hun for nyligt spurgte om jeg ikke laver nogen kager med spiselig pynt! Haha, vi kan egentlig ikke li' fondant her i huset (små ekstreme slikmunde undtaget), og det er jo egentlig synd med al den tid man bruger på at dekorere. Indtil videre er det dog ikke rigtig lykkes mig at finde velsmagende alternativer til fondanten, som også er nem at arbejde med.
I have been playing with a new recipe, but I was actually busy decorating another cake, so this one only got 5 minutes. I was thinking of my sister while I made it, since she recently asked if I didn't make any cakes with edible decorations! Lol, we actually don't like fondant in the family (except the young extreme sugarlovers ), and that is sort of sad, considering the time spent decorating.So far I haven't been able to find a tasty substitute for the fondant, which is just as easy to work with.

Kagen var lavet af en mazarinbund og 2 Lette lagkagebunde, fyldt med Pina Colada Creme og Jordbærmousse, og smurt op og pyntet med jordbær IMBC.
The cake was made of a marzipan cake layer and 2 classis sponge layers, filled with Pina Colada Creme and Strawberry Mousse, and crumbcoated and decorated with strawberry flavoured IMBC.

Mazarinbunden var lækker, men jeg vil alligevel lege lidt mere med opskriften, inden jeg lægger den ud.
The marzipan cake was tasty, but I still want to play around with the recipe some more before I post it.

Kurv med garn og strik/Knitting Basket Cake

En af vores venner ville gerne overraske konen med en kage (gæt alderen - der er måske hint på kagen), og gav mig helt frie hænder både med indhold og udseende, og da hun er dygtig til at strikke valgte jeg at lave denne:
One of our friends wanted to surprise his wife with a cake for her birthday (age can be guessed if you find the hint on the cake), and let me choose both design and flavours. Since she is good at knitting, this is what I ended up with:

Kagen var en Sort Midnats Kage med Jordbær Mousse og Chocorange Creme, smurt op med lys Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med 1:1 Modellerings chokolade/Satin Ice fondant. Garnnøglerne består af romkugledej overtrukket med fondant smagt til m hhv lemon, lime, hindbær, kirsebær og pebermynte.
The cake was Black Midnight Cake with Strawberry Mousse and Chocolate-orange Creme, coated with Milk Chocolate Buttercream and covered in a mix of Modeling Chocolate and SatinIce fondant. The yarn consists of truffles covered in fondant with lemon, lime, raspberry, cherry and peppermint flavoring.

Egentlig planlagde jeg designet i troen på at jeg havde en kurvemønster præger, men da jeg åbenbart aldrig har købt en, og først opdagede det for sent til at bestille en, så besluttede jeg mig for at flette en kurv af modelleringschokolade. Jeg gik bevidst efter et lidt rustikt udtryk, og ville ikke bruge sugargun'en for at undgå at kagen kom til at ligne en spaghettikage, og i starten var det faktisk lidt svært at rulle ujævne pølser, når man er vant til at skulle forsøge at lave alt så jævnt og glat som muligt, men det gik heldigvis hurtigere end jeg havde frygtet, da jeg først kom i gang. Godt det samme, for det tog godt nok lang tid at trykke fondanten ud til garnnøglerne - til gengæld er jeg blevet rigtig gode venner med min sugargun, og det kunne jo ligeså godt have endt med et hadfyldt forhold efter alt det garn.

Originally I planned the cake, thinking I had a basketweave embosser. Turns out I never actually bought one, and found out to late to order one, so I decided to weave a basket using modelling chocolate. I chose a somewhat rustic look for the basket on purpose, to avoid the cake ending up looking like a string cake, which is what I was affraid would happen, if I used the sugargun. It was really weird in the beginning to roll out thin sausages uneven on purpose, when I'm used to trying my best to get a smooth and even look when rolling, but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot faster than expected. Good thing really, since the yarn took forever to make - but, I ended up making friends with my sugargun, which was nice , as it just as well could have ended up in a seriously hateful relationship.

Ellers, så gik der ikke andet galt, end at jeg var oppe med et sygt barn hele natten i nat, og at hun så også blev hjemme fra børnehaven og var "lidt" i vejen, da jeg overtræt skulle pynte det sidste. Men hun lavede nu ikke andre ulykker end at knække et lille stykke af en strikkepind, men så afkortede jeg bare den anden pind til samme længde, så ikke jordens undergang - denne gang :)
Otherwise, nothing went majorly wrong with this cake. I was just a little too pressed for time at the end, after staying up with my 3 year old who was sick all night, and who also stayed home today and was just a "little" bit in the way, while making the final decorations. She only broke a small piece of a knitting pin, but this time it could be fixed by shortening the other pin to match and attach ends.

Lynet McQueen Kage / Lightning McQueen Cake

Denne kage hyggede jeg mig med at lave midt i flytterodet:
I made this cake surrounded by moving boxes in my new appartment:

Lucas mor ønskede sig en McQueen Kage, og det burde ikke være et problem, men jeg må indrømme, at jeg blev lidt nervøs, da hun sagde, at hun havde et billede af hvordan den skulle se ud. For det første, så kan jeg aldrig kopiere et billede helt. For det andet, hvis jeg kunne, så er jeg ikke sikker på, at jeg ville have lyst til at kopiere fuldstændigt - man vil jo gerne sætte sit eget præg på kagen. Og for det tredje, så kan jeg jo ikke være sikker på, at den der oprindeligt har lavet kagen vil bryde sig om det - nogen ser det som smiger, og andre føler at man stjæler deres idéer. Jeg blev ikke mindre nervøs, da hun sagde, at hun selv havde taget billedet inde ved en bager, men jeg vidste, at kagen så enten var ret simpel (en bager skal jo tjene penge på sådan en kage, og kan ikke bruge så lang tid på at pynte den, som kagenørder gør), eller også var det en total fantastisk kage, lavet af en entusiast, og som jeg aldrig ville kunne leve op til.... det var så heldigvis en af de simple, så jeg pyntede alligevel lidt på den.
Lucas' mother wanted a McQueen Cake, which shouldn't be a problem, but admittedly I got nervous when she said she had a picture of what she wanted it to look like. First of all, I can never totally copy a picture. Second, if I could, I am not sure I would want to - you sort of want to put your own touch on a cake. And lastly, you often don't know how the original decorator feels about you copying their work - some find it flattering, and some feel that you are stealing their ideas/design. I didn't get any calmer, but at least hopeful, when she said it was a picture she took herself at a bakery. After all that meant the cake would either be simple (those bakers have to make money on these cakes and can't spend the hours decorating, that cakegeeks do), or it would be a fantastic cake, made by some enthusiast whose work I could never live up to.... luckily it was the former, so I changed the rather blocky looking appearance with visible joins, and added some details.

Kagen var lavet af Drømmekagebunde med Skildpaddecreme og Jordbærmousse, smurt op med Chokoladesmørcreme og overtrukket med Pettinice fondant.
The cake was made of Dreamcake layers with Caramel-chocolate Creme and Strawberry Mousse, coated in Chocolate Buttercream and covered with Pettinice fondant.

Da det ikke altid er nemt at skære en fyldt kage i form, lavede jeg nogen afvigelser fra min normale fremgangsmåde. Jeg rørte lidt af luften ud af kage-dejen før jeg bagte den, så kagen blev lidt tungere men også mere skærefast. Desuden sparede jeg på bærfyldet (som erfaringsmæssigt giver mig de største problemer), og kompenserede ved at bruge mere af Skildpaddecremen. Og faktisk drillede kagen slet ikke. Bilen er lavet af en 23x33 cm kage, hvor en tredjedel er skåret fra i bredden, den tredjedel er så halveret i længden og placeret ovenpå kagen, og så er kagen skåret i form, og alt der er skåret fra, er brugt igen:
It isn't always easy to carve a filled cake, so I made some changes to my usual routine. I stirred the batter a little extra to deflate it a bit before baking, which makes a denser and not so airy cake, but it is better suited fur cutups. I also used less of the berry filling than normally (as experience tells me, this is the filling that causes most sliding and bulging issues), and compensated by using extra of the caramel-chocolate filling. And the cake actually wasn't any trouble to cut.
The cake is made from a 9x13 inch oblong cake, where a third of the cake has been cut of the width. this third has then been halfed lengthwise and placed on top of the cake, before carving the cake and all cutoffs have been reused elsewhere on the cake:

Jeg skar lidt kage ud med en cirkel-udstikker, for at lave plads til hjulene, inden kagen blev smurt op. Kagen blev smurt op over 3 gange, men jeg har kun billede fra det første lag kom på:
I cut some cake using round cutters, to make room for the wheels, before crumbcoating the cake. The cake was covered in 3 layers of buttercream, but I only have a picture of the first layer:

Kagen var nem nok at overtrække, og det var nemt nok at håndmale flammerne på, omend det ville have været hurtigere, hvis jeg havde haft rød pulver farve (Det skal jeg altså huske, næste gang jeg bestiller hjem). Til gengæld tog det lang tid at skære "lightyear" ud i fri form i 8 eksemplarer - men mest fordi jeg spildte et par timer med en skarp kniv, som bare ikke var skarp nok, inden jeg tog mig sammen til at rode rundt i flyttekasserne, indtil jeg fandt min skalpel. Jeg hader forresten bogstavet "G"...
The cake was easy enough to cover, and it was easy to handpaint the flames on the decorations, although it would have been faster if I had had some red dusting powder (I really need to remember to order some). On the other hand it took quite some time to cut out 8 copies of "lightyear" in freehand - but mostly because I wasted a couple of hours cutting it with a sharp knife, but not being happy with the result, I scrapped it, rummaged through the moving boxes for my scalpel and made new ones. Btw - I now hate the letter 'G'...

Alt i alt, så var der faktisk ikke noget, der gik galt denne gang, så jeg var tilfreds med resultat, og det var Lucas mor heldigvis også :)
All in all, nothing really went wrong this time, and I was happy with the result - and fortunately so was Lucas' mother :)

Spiderman Kage / Spiderman Cake

Denne kage lavede jeg til min tidligere kollega's søn at have med i børnehaven. Kagen var den 7. kage på 10 dage, og der var så meget stress på til sidst, at jeg desværre ikke fik taget et ordentligt billede. Og jeg var kun lige færdig med kagen, da jeg fik at vide, at vi kunne flytte ind i vores lejlighed næste dag, hvilket var 3 uger tidligere end jeg havde regnet med, så jeg har ikke haft tid til at blogge - jeg var jo ikke engang begyndt at pakke!
I made this cake for my former coworker's son to bring to play school. The cake was the 7th cake I made in 10 days, and things were so stressed at the end, that I didn't manage to get a good picture of the cake. Right after finishing the cake, I found out we could move into our new appartment the next day, which was 3 weeks earlier than expected, so I haven't had time to blog - I hadn't even started packing!

Kagen var en Chocolate Chip Kage, fyldt og smurt op med lys Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket og pyntet med fondant.
Jeg havde købt en ny sølvfarvet fødevaretusch til at tegne stregerne på spiderman, men jeg har altså kun haft dårlige oplevelser med disse tuscher - den holdt nemlig op med at virke ca halvvejs, så jeg gjorde den færdig med en gammel sort jeg havde til at ligge (overraskende lille farveforskel), og lovede mig selv (endnu en gang) aldrig mere at planlægge en kage, hvor tuscher skal bruges. Lad os så se, om jeg husker det løfte....

The cake was a Chocolate Chip Cake, filled and coated with Milk Chocolate Buttercream and covered and decorated with fondant.
I had bought a new silver food pen to make the lines on Spiderman, but I have only had bad experiences with these pen - this one stopped working halfway, so I finished it with an old black pen (surprisingly small difference in colour) and promised myself (yet again!), to never ever plan a cake involving food pens again! Lets see if I remember this time....

Linned Bryllup / Linnen (4th) Anniversary

I går havde vi vores fjerde bryllupsdag, og det skulle selvfølgelig fejres med kage. Jeg havde lidt svært ved at bestemme mig for, hvad temaet skulle være. Dette er en af de gange, hvor det altså ikke er sjovt at tilhøre så mange nationaliteter, fordi det, der traditionelt forbindes med de forskellige bryllupsdage, afhænger om jeg skal følge danske, engelske eller amerikanske traditioner (har med vilje udeladt færøske - jeg var forvirret nok som det var). Jeg har allerede glemt, hvilket land jeg besluttede mig for, men mener det var UK  - i hvert fald det samme land som havde læder sidste år :) I år var det så linned, og da jeg heller ikke syntes det var så interessant, så valgte jeg at lave sengelinned:
Yesterday was our 4th wedding anniversary and of course we had to celebrate with cake. I had a hard time choosing a theme. This is one of those times where it isn't fun to be multinational, as the things traditionally connected with the various anniversaries depends on whether I follow Danish, British or American traditions (I left out Faroese on purpose, as I was confused enough already). I have even forgotten which country I decided on, but think it was UK - at least it was the same country that had leather last year :) This year it was linnen. Not the most exiciting theme, so I went with bed linnen:

Da kagen jo var lavet for at behage manden, så kunne den ikke bestå af andet end hans yndlings: Mudcake med After Eight Creme, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant. Blonden var lavet af SugarVeil.
Since the cake was made to please my husband, it had to be his favorite: Mudcake with After Eight Creme, coated with Chocolate Buttercreme and covered with  Wilton's fondant. The lace was made of SugarVeil.

Kage med blomster / Floral Cake

Datteren skulle jo også lige have en kage med i skole, og denne gang blev det virkelig til "bare en med blomster":
My daughter also needed a cake to bring to school for her birthday, and this time I really did "just one with some flowers":

Kagen bestod af 1 lag Mudcake og 2 lag Sort Midnats Kage. Den var fyldt med Chokorangecreme og Jordbær Mousse, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket og pyntet med Wilton's fondant.
The cake was made using 1 layer of Mudcake and 2 layers of Black Midnight Cake. It was filled with Chocolate-Orange Cream and Strawberry Mousse, coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered and decorated with Wilton's fondant.

Opskriften på Sort Midnats Kage er fra min ældgamle Betty Crocker kogebog, og er en helt vild god og nem chokoladekage.
The Black Midnight Cake recipe is from my ancient Betty Crocker Cookbook and is a really good and easy chocolate cake.

Opskrift på Sort Midnats Kage/Black Midnight Cake recipe:
365 g mel / 2 1/4 cup flour
240 g sukker / 1 2/3 cup sugar
80 g kakaopulver / 2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/4 tsk natron / 1 1/4 tsp soda
1 tsk salt / 1 tsp salt
1/4 tsk bagepulver / 1/4 tsp baking powder
3 dl vand / 1 1/4 cups water
175 g smør / 3/4 cup shortening
2 æg / 2 eggs
1 tsk vanilie essens / 1 tsp vanilla

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, meldrysset form og bages ved 175 C  i 45 min i aflang form, 30-35 min i springform. Denne portion rækker til en aflang form 33x23 cm, eller 3 lag i 20 cm eller 2 lag i 22 cm rund form.
Heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour baking pan 13x9x2 inches, or three 8-inch or  2 9-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 45 minutes, layers 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out cean. Cool.


Opskrift på Chokorangecreme/Chocolate-Orange Cream recipe:
200 g Chocolade med appelsinkrokant / 200 g Orange flavoured milk chocolate
1/2 L fløde / 1/2 L cream

Chokoladen 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 Jordbær Mousse/Strawberry Mousse recipe:
7 blade husblas / 7 gelatine sheets
400 g frosne jordbær / 400 g frozen strawberries
200 g sukker / 200 g sugar
1 spsk vaniliesukker / 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1/2 L fløde / 1/2 L whip cream

Husblas sættes i blød mens jordbær 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 vaniliesukker. 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 jordbærrene, og vend til sidst jordbærblandingen 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 strawberries 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 vanillasugar and 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 strawberries, and finally gently fold in the strawberry mix in the remaining whip cream. Refrigerate the mousse until you need it, and whisk it lightly before you use it.

Fødselsdags cupcakes / Birthday Cupcakes

Jeg havde planlagt nogen vilde cupcakes til min datters fødselsdag, hvor jeg skulle bruge SugarVeil for første gang. Selvom jeg havde lavet alt hvad jeg kunne i forvejen, så endte jeg med slet ikke at have tid til at pynte dem, da problemer med kagen til fødselsdagen stjal al den tid, der var afsat til cupcakes. Alt blev bare klasket på i huj og hast, så det er ikke nogen cupcakes jeg er stolt af, men jeg blogger om dem alligevel for at huske de meget få ting, som jeg alligevel fik lært:
I had planned some crazy cupcakes for my daughter's birthday, using SugarVeil for the first time. Even though I had made everything in advance that could be made in advance, I still ended up without time to decorate them, since problems with the birthday cake stole all of the time I was supposed to decorate cupcakes. Everything was just thrown on the cupcakes, and these are not cupcakes that I am proud of, but I am still blogging about them to remember the very few things I still managed to learn:

For det første, så har jeg ikke lavet "domed" cupcakes før, og med den begrænsede tid, så må jeg indrømme at jeg faktisk ikke rigtig lærte noget af mit forsøg denne gang, så jeg må afsætte noget tid en dag, til bare at lege med det. Mht SugarVeil, så var jeg lidt i tvivl om hvilken opskrift jeg skulle bruge - den på pakken, eller den fra en britisk kagedame som (som så mange andre) havde problemer med pakkeopskriften og havde ændret lidt på den. Jeg gjorde som den britiske (60g pulver + 40g kogende vand), men næste gang vil jeg prøve pakken, bare for at se, hvilken fungerer bedst for mig. Blandingen på pakken skal røres sammen dagen før man spreder blandingen ud på måtten, og så skal den gerne stå og tørre en nat også - så start mindst 2 dage før. Den britiske opskrift kan bruges efter 5 min, så kan stadigvæk nås, hvis den amerikanske kikser.
First things first: I haven't made domed cupcakes before, and with the limited time, I must admit I didn't actually learn anything from my poor attempt, so I will have to take some time one of these days (ok probably not until after we are done moving) to just play around with it. Regarding the SugarVeil, I was a bit torn on wether to try the recipe on the package, or a modified recipe from a British cakeartist, who (as so many others) was having issues with the original recipe. I ended up trying the British one (60g powder + 40g boiling water), but next time I will try the original, just to see what works best for me. The original recipe has to be mixed 24 hours before spreading on the mat, and then should be left to set over night - so start at least 2 days early. The modified recipe can be used after 5 minutes, so can still be done if the original fails.

Mht tørring af sugar veil, så tørrede min ikke helt i løbet af natten, så jeg gav den 10 min i kold ovn ved 75C . Jeg prøvede først kun at tænde lyset i ovnen (skulle være laveste grad), men der var ingen varme overhovedet, men satte den så på de 75 og tog dem ud ret hurtigt. Sugarveil bager i stedet for at stivne allerede ved ret lave grader, men den fremgangsmåde virkede altså for mig.
About the drying of the veil, mine didn't completely set over night, so I gave it 10 minutes in a cold oven and turned it to 75C. I tried just using the pilot light first, but it didn't warm up the oven at all, so I turned it to 75 and removed the mat after a short amount of time. SugarVeil bakes instead of setting already at a very low temperature, but this method worked for me.


Jeg havde så bare ikke tid til at klippe de forskellige designs ud, og heller ikke tid til at pynte dem pænt (snøft - jeg havde sådan glædet mig), men én ting fik jeg da lært: Sugarveil'en klaskede sammen og klistrede til cupcake carrier'en da jeg havde transporteret mine cupcakes lufttæt - det skal man så ikke gøre, hvis man ikke vil have sugarveil'en til at ligge fladt - og det ville jeg ikke med sløjferne.
I just didn't have the time to cut out the intricate designs or to actually decorate nicely with them (*sniffle* - I was so lucking forward to it too!), but I did learn one important lesson: The veil fell flat and stuck to my cupcake carrier, since I transported the cupcakes airtight - so don't do that, if you don't want the sugarveil laying flat on the surface, which I didn't want my bows to do.

Jeg havde faktisk så lidt tid til at pynte cupcakes at jeg måtte give op, og bare swirle nogen - for det kan jeg da gøre hurtigt, ik'? Tjah, det kan jeg måske nok, når jeg ikke SKAL gøre det hurtigt, for ikke engang de blev pæne, men jeg kan så trøste mig med, at de smagte lige så godt som de skal :)
I actually was so pressed for time, that I had to give up on trying to decorate the cupcakes and just quickly swirl some, since I can at least do that fast, right? Well, maybe I can when I don't have to, because not even the swirled ones turned out alright, but at least they all tasted as good as they were supposed to :)

Til sidst skal jeg lige sige, at jeg stadigvæk glæder mig vildt meget til at lege med SugarVeil, men det må bare vente indtil efter 1.juni hvor vi skal flytte. Jeg har et par kager mere, som jeg skal lave i denne uge (og et enkelt indlæg, jeg også er bagud med), men så må jeg hellere gå i gang med at pakke og så glemme alt om kager i et lille stykke tid.
I am still looking forward to playing with SugarVeil, but it will have to wait until after 1st of June when we are moving. I still have a couple of cakes to make this week (and I am a single blog post beind too), but then I'd better start packing and forget all about cakes for a little while.