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.

Bare nogen blomster.../Just some flowers...

Så blev min ældste datter 18 år, og hun gik fra ikke at ville holde en fødselsdag, til lige pludselig at ville holde fødselsdag for hele den pukkelryggede, og når jeg nu havde travlt nok med kager i forvejen, så ønskede hun sig en kage, bare med nogen blomster - hun ville jo ikke være for besværlig. Så det blev til blomster - masser af blomster, perler, flæser, knapper - ja der var jo nærmest ikke én udekoreret plet på kagen til sidst:
My daughter turned 18 and went from not wanting a brithday at all, to suddently wanting a birthday for extended family, and since I am busy enough with other cakes these days, she wanted a cake, just with some flowers on - she didn't want to be too much trouble. So flowers she got - lots of flowers actually, beads, frills, buttons - basically it was difficult to find an undecorated spot by the time I was done:

Det kostede da også lige én nats søvn eller to, men det var lige så meget fordi jeg skulle lave en stakket dåbskage til samme dag, og så havde jeg et mindre problem (ok, det var faktisk et kæmpe problem) med den øverste kage. I et forsøg på at tage hensyn til muslimer ved festen, prøvede jeg at bruge Alaska 666 i stedet for husblas. Det står godt nok, at den ikke trevler, og det gjorde den sådan set heller ikke. Den klumpede bare. Meget. Da jeg endelig havde noget ok fyld, der var stivnet nok til at fylde i kagen, lod jeg den stå og sætte sig på køl i 6 timer inden jeg vendte den ud for at smøre den op. Men så var fyldet lige pludselig ret flydende igen og kagen var umulig at smøre op, så der var intet andet at gøre end starte forfra. Datteren lavede fyld (med husblas), jeg havde heldigvis mudcake i den rigtige størrelse i fryseren, men jeg endte med først at have en overtrukken kage klar til at begynde at pynte kl 1 om natten, og kagen skulle med ud af huset kl 10.30 næste dag...
It did cost me a sleepless night or 2 though. Mainly because I had another tiered Christening cake for the same day, and because of a minor problem (ok, it ended up pretty major) with the top tier. I was attempting to be considerate to the muslims at the party and not using gelatin sheets for the fillings. Instead I was using Alaska 666 (whoever came up with that name?) which is beef based. After issues with clumps, I finally had a filling that was stiff enough to start filling the cake. I let the filled cake set for 6 hours before gtting ready to crumbcoat it, but now the filling was quite liquid again and there was nothing I could do about this cake, except start over. My daughter made the filling using our normal gelatine sheets, I luckily had a mudcake of the right size in the freezer, but I ended up not having a covered cake ready to decorate until 1 am, and I needed the cake ready for 10.30...

Heldigvis havde jeg allerede lavet al pynt, som kunne laves i forvejen, så kagen var færdig kl 7 om morgenen, og så manglede jeg bare at pynte en masse cupcakes, spise og gøre mig klar til festen....
Fortunately I had already made all decorations, that could be done in advance, so I had a finished cake at 7 am, but still needed to decorate a lot of cupcakes, eat and get ready for the party...

Den øverste kage var Mudcake med After-Eight Creme.
The top tier was Mudcake with After-Eight Creme.

Tutorial til pynten på siden kan findes hér.
Billowing tutorial can be found here.

Den nederste kage var Drømmekage-bunde med Blåbærmousse og Hvid Chokoladecreme Dajm. Begge kager var smurt op med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant.
The bottom tier was Dreamcake-layers with Blueberry Mousse and White Chocolate Creme with Daim. Both cakes are coated with Chocolate Buttercream and covered in Wilton's fondant.

Dåbskage / Christening Cake

En tidligere kollega ønskede sig en dåbskage til sin lille søn. Jeg fik frie hænder, så længe den var blå, og jeg valgte at benytte mig af muligheden for at bruge mine patchwork cutters:
A former colleague wanted a Christening cake for her son and the only requirement was the colour blue, but other than that the design was all up to me, so I chose to finally use my patchwork cutters:

Lille Magnus har det fineste røde hår, men da jeg ville male håret på babyen, opdagede jeg, at jeg har alt for få pulverfarver uden glimmer (og så fimset er den lille dreng jo ligesom ikke - endnu i hvert fald), men det lykkedes at få den ønskede farve ved at blande Skintone og Primrose.
Baby Magnus is a redhead, but to my dismay, I  discovered that I have way too few non-glitter dusts (and he is not that into sparkling hair-products - yet at least), but I managed to get the colour I wanted by mixing Skintone with some Primrose.

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

Kolonihavehus Kage / Allotment Cake

Min tidligere kollega ønskede sig en kolonihavehus kage til at fejre sin mormor, så det fik hun:
My former colleague wanted an Allotment Cake for her grandmother, and this is what she got:

Kagen er Lette Lagkagebunde med Chokolade Ganache og Hindbær Mousse, opsmurt med Chokolade Smørcreme og overtrukket med Satin Ice Fondant. Al pynt er spiseligt: Huset er lavet af Cocopops Treats og resten af pynten er lavet af fondant (Wilton's, Satin Ice, Pettinice, PME Sugarpaste og Rød Candymelts Fondant), Wilton's Decorating Icing, Royal Icing og Piping Gel.
The cake is Classic Sponge Layers wit Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Mousse, coated in Chocolate Buttercream and covered with Satin Ice Fondant. Al decorations are edible: The house is made using Cocopops Treats and the rest of the decorations are made in fondant (Wilton's, Satin Ice, Pettinice, PME Sugarpaste and Red Candymelts Fondant), Wilton's Decorating Icing, Royal Icing and Piping Gel.

Selv flagstangen var spiselig...
Even the flagpole was edible...

Og trellis'en der drillede mig en del, lykkedes da også til sidst.
The trellis was a pain to glue together, but succeeded in the end.

Og så må jeg hellere skynde mig videre med en af de 5 kager mere, som jeg skal have lavet på 11 dage, så enten kommer jeg til at spamme, eller også kommer jeg til at have for travlt til overhovedet at blogge...
I have got to hurry and get on with one of 5 more cakes that I have to make in the next 11 days, so either I will end up spamming, or I will be too busy to blog at all....