Bog Kage / Book Cake

Så blev det tid til at lave klassens-time-kage sammen med den 12 årige igen. Han bagte, jeg pyntede, og det endte sådan her (undkyld dårlig billedkvalitet):

It was time again for the 12 year old to bring cake to school. He baked, I decorated and this is what we ended up with (excuse the poor quality of the pictures):

Kagen er en Chocolate Chip Kage, fyldt og smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant.
The cake is a Chocolate Chip Cake, filled and frosted with Chocolate Buttercream and covered with Wilton's fondant.

Til den obligatoriske fejlrapport: Jeg lavede 1 1/2 portion af kagedejen, og bagte den i 2 forme. Jeg var forberedt på at skære en hel del top af, da den hæver meget i midten, men jeg var ikke forberedt på at begge bunde var meget højere i den ene ende end den anden. Jeg kunne så vælge mellem at ende med 2 meget tynde lige bunde, eller forsøge at smøre den lige op. Jeg valgte det sidste, da der trods alt skulle være kage nok til alle de sultne klassekammerater. Det var noget værre pangel, og nogen må have fået stykker med en hel del smørcreme (men ingen klager), så næste gang, så skal jeg altså bare spise kagerne og bage nye. Det er trods alt verdens nemmeste opskrift. Og hvis jeg skal lave en sekskantet blyant igen, så skal jeg lige huske at klippe takker i den gule del, der vender mod stiften, for at gøre den mere naturlig, men ellers var jeg meget tilfreds.
My mandatory error-report: I made 1 1/2 batch of the batter and backed it in 2 oblong pans. I was prepared to have to cut a lot off the top, as it raises  a lot in the center, but I wasn't prepared for both layers being way higher in one end than the other. I then had to choose between ending up with 2 very thin but level layers, or having to correct the difference with buttercream. I chose the latter, as we still needed to have enough cake for all those classmates. It was a lot of trouble, and some of the students must have gotten quite a lot of buttercream in their piece (but no complaints), so next time, I really should have just eaten the cakes and baked new ones. It is the simpest recipe after all. And if I ever have to make a six sided pencil again, I need to remember to cut points in the yellow end closest to the writing tip, to make the transition more natural, but other than that, I was happy with the result.

Opskrift på Chocolate Chip Kage / Chocolate Chip Cake recipe:
250 g mel / 2 cups flour
225 g brun farin / 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
100 g sukker / 1/2 cup sugar
3 tsk bagepulver / 3 tsp baking powder
1 tsk salt / 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsk natron / 1/2 tsp soda
115 g smør/margarine / 1/2 cup shortening
3 dl mælk / 1 1/4 cups milk
3 æg / 3 eggs
100 g chocolate chips / 1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsk vanilie essens / 1 1/2 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 form og bages ved 175 C  i 50 min i aflang form, 40-45 min i springform. Denne portion rækker til en aflang form 33x23 cm, eller 2 lag i 20-22 cm rund form.
Heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour baking pan 13x9x2 inches, or two 8 or 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 50 minutes, layers 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out cean. Cool.

Flæse Kage / Frilly Cake

Denne kage har jeg lavet sammen med min ældste datter til en af en hendes veninder. Hun bagte og lavede fyld, og så lagde jeg kagen sammen og smurte den op mens hun var i skole, så den var klar til at hun endelig kunne lære at overtrække med fondant, da hun kom hjem. Jeg havde med vilje planlagt designet, så det kunne skjule evt folder hun kunne komme til at lave på siderne af kagen, men hun lavede slet ikke nogen, men fik bare nogen luft bobler ovenpå kagen. Så nu regner jeg med, at hun selv kan klare kagerne til veninderne fra nu af - så kommer jeg nok bare til at klage over manglen på anledning til at pynte kager...
I made this cake with my daugter for one of her friends. She baked and made the fillings, and I filled and buttered the cake while she was at school, so it was ready for her to finally learn how to cover a cake with fondant as soon as she got home. I had planned the design on purpose to be able to cover any folds she might make in the fondant on the side of the cake, but she didn't make any and only had a few air bubbles on top of the cake. So I guess she can handle all the cakes for her friends on her own now, and all I am left with is my own complaints about the lack of occasions to make cakes...

Jeg blev inspireret til at lave flere flæsekager ved at se alle de romatiske kager, som DafiCake laver for tiden. Jeg bestilte jo for lang tid siden en flæse cutter til en Dåbskage som blev væk i posten, og derfor først nåede frem lang tid efter, så nu fik jeg endelig brugt den.
I was inspired to make a frilly cake by watching all the romantic cakes that DafiCake makes these days. A long time ago I ordered a frill cutter for a Christening Cake, but it ended up lost in the mail and didn't get to me in time, so now I finally had the chance to use it.

Kagen var iøvrigt Lette Lagkagebunde med Blåbærmousse og Hvid Chokoladecreme med Dajm, opsmurt med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med PME Sugarpaste.
The cake was Sponge Cake Layers with Blueberry Mousse and White Chocolatecreme with Dajm and covered with Chocolate Buttercream and PME Sugarpaste.

Påske kage / Easter Cake

Jeg havde besøg af min lille søster og hendes kæreste i påsken, så jeg ville også lige lave en lille kage. Egentlig havde jeg vilde planer om pynt, men kunne ikke helt beslutte mig for én af de mange (alt for) vilde idéer, og når jeg nu endte med at bruge en hel del tid på cakepops, macarons og cupcakes også, så endte jeg med at det hellere skulle være noget hurtigt, for at jeg kunne nå det hele. En gang imellem er det også rart at lave en kage, hvor pynten tager under en time at lave (ja, jeg er altså langsom):
My sister and her boyfriend visited during Easter, so I wanted to make a small cake also. Originally I had lots of crazy ideas for decorating, but couldn't really decide on one of the many (way too) crazy ideas, so when I ended up using a whole lot of time on cakepops, macarons and cupcakes as well, I finally decided to be reasonable and make something simple, so I would have time for it all. Once in a while it is also nice to make a cake where the decorations take less than an hour to make (yes, I really am that slow):

For ikke at vække mandens vrede, når jeg nu havde gang i kageriet i så mange dage i træk, så måtte det blive hans yndlings: Mudcake med After Eight Creme, smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med PME Sugarpaste, som jeg ikke har prøvet før, men helt sikkert vil bruge igen - den er helt vildt nem at overtrække med. Blød som Satin Ice, uden at tørre så hurtigt.
So as not to encur the husband's wrath, after caking for so many days, I decided it was safest to make his favorite: Mudcake with After Eight Creme, covered in Chocolate Buttercream and PME Sugarpaste, which I haven't tried before, but definitely will be using again - it is really easy to cover a cake with. Soft and pliable like Satin Ice, without drying out as fast.

Påske Cupcakes/Easter Cupcakes

Mere leg i køkkenet med den 6 årige. Han har bagt (med lidt hjælp), jeg har pyntet:
More playtime in the kitchen with the 6 year old. He baked (with a little help) and I decorated:

Det er Nati's Caramel Mudcake Cupcakes med IMBC og fondantpynt.
We made Nati's Caramel Mudcake Cupcakes with IMBC and fondant decorations.

Note til mig selv: Vinduet skal ikke stå åbent, når det er så koldt og man laver smørcreme. Flere sprøjteposer gik i stykker under forsøget på at swirle mine cupcakes. Med en "stuetemperatur" der er køleskabskold, så er cremen altså lige lovlig hård :)
Note to self: Don't leave the window open when you make IMBC and it is this cold. Several piping bags ripped as I tried to swirl the cupcakes. With a roomtemperature that was similar to the fridge's, the buttercream gets a tad too hard really fast.

Påske Macarons/Easter Macarons

Nu har det jo været "in" ret længe at lave macarons i kageverdenen, og jeg har længe haft lyst til at prøve. Selv om jeg aldrig har lavet dem før, er det lidt typisk mig, at gabe over for meget i første omgang, og så prøve at dekorere forskellige macarons inden jeg har fået lært den grundlæggende teknik... Men så har jeg tilgengæld lært en hel del forskelligt på en aften (eller nat var det vist).
It  has been "IN" for quite some time now to make macarons, and I have wanted to try to make them for a long time. Even though I haven't made any before, I (as usual) go way overboard and have to try and decorate several different mcarons, before learning the basic tecnique... But at least it resulted in lots of lessons learned in one evening (or should I be honest and say night).

De er alle lavet af én portion, efter opskrift der kan downloades her: Master the Macaron og blev delt i 3 og så farvet. De er også alle pipet inden nogen var bagte, så derfor nåede jeg ikke at lære noget før alle var bagt, og så kan jeg bare være bagklog og så ellers huske det hele til næste gang. Jeg lavede først de hvide lam, og jeg vidste, at dejen skulle være ret tyk, for at beholde formen, men jeg fandt senere ud af, at SÅ tyk, som jeg lavede den, havde nu ikke været nødvendigt. De lyserøde troede jeg, at jeg havde ødelagt ved at overrøre dejen, da jeg farvede den, men det var faktisk dem, der lykkedes bedst mht. foden (den hævede nederste del), nogle enkelte krakelerede, men de var heller ikke helt tørre, da jeg satte dem i ovnen - jeg opgav bare, eftersom de allerede havde stået i 2 timer. De gule lavede jeg til sidst, og der er dejen så igen for tyk - og så var det alt for svært at lave ovaler - jeg skal da helt sikkert holde mig til cirkler indtil jeg har fået det grundlæggende på rygraden.
They are all made of a single portion of the recipe that can be downloaded here: Master the Macaron, split in 3 and then dyed. They were all piped before any of them were baked, so I didn't get to learn anything before they all were baked, so now I have to remember it for next time instead. I made the white ones first, and knew the batter had to be pretty thick to retain the shape, but as I later got to see, it didn't have to be THAT thick. The pink ones I though I had ruined by overbeating them when adding the colour, but they actually turned out best. A few of them cracked, but they weren't quite dry when I baked them - I just gave up, since they had already been sitting for 2 hours. I made the yellow ones last, and once again, they are too thick - and besides, I really shouldn't try ovals again until I have the basics down.

Til sidst vil jeg lige sige, at de har ret, når de siger, at selv de mislykkede (udseendemæssigt), jo smager fint nok stadigvæk. De hvide er fyldt med vanilie IMBC, de lyserøde er med hvid chokoladecreme med hindbær og de gule er fyldt med lemoncurd, og de sidste var altså min favorit - det syrlige fyld stod rigtig godt til de meget søde macarons.
Finally, I will just say that they are right, when they say that even the failed ones (on the looks) still taste fine. The white ones are filled with vanilla IMBC, the pink ones with white chocolate/raspberry creme and the yellow ones with lemoncurd. And the last ones were my favourites. The tart filling goes really well with the very sweet macarons.

Påske Cake Pops/ Easter Cake Pops

Når man ikke har nok gul candymelt-overtræk hjemme, så må man jo finde på noget andet, når man har lovet at lave påskekyllinger med den 6-årige...
Since I didn't have enough yellow candymelt, I had to be creative, since I'd promised to make Easter chicklets with my 6 year old....

De er bare overtrukket med hvid chokolade og vendt i kokosmel, der er farvet med gul frugtfarve.
The cakepops are just covered in melted white chocolate and dipped in shredded coconut, which has been dyed with liquid food colouring.