Dåbskage / Christening Cake

Så fik jeg endelig lov til at lave en dåbskage uden den lille sovende baby - men det blev nu en anden klassiker: Baby numsen :) Det var nemlig lige præcis, hvad Victor's forældre ønskede sig, så det fik de. Moren bryder sig virkelig ikke om fondant, så efter lidt snakken frem og tilbage, lovede jeg at rulle fondanten så tyndt ud, som overhovedet muligt, og så tage de problemer der følger med. Derfor er numsen faktisk kun halv klædt med hvid fondant, så der ikke er dobbelt lag under tæppet, og der er brugt romkugledej, istedet for ren fondant i alle større dekorationer:
Yay, I finally got to make a Christening cake without the little sleeping baby - but it was another classic: The baby bottom :) That was exactly what Victor's parents wanted, so that is what they got. The mother really doesn't like fondant, so after discussing pros and cons, I promised to roll the fondant out as thin as possible, and then deal with any problems that that causes. That is why the bottom is actually only half covered in fondant, so there isn't a double layer under the blanket, and all bigger decorations are made out of fondant covered truffles instead of just pure fondant:

Kagen er en chokoladekage med Jordbærmousse og Hvid Chokoladecreme, smurt op med Hvid Chokoladesmørcreme og overtrukket med Wilton's fondant. Ben, fødder og klodser med navn er lavet af romkugledej, overtrukket med fondant.
The cake was a Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Mousse and White Chocolate Cream, coated with White Chocolate Buttercream and covered in fondant. Legs, feet and cubes with name on are all made of fondant-covered truffles.

Kagen var lidt svær at arbejde med, når nu fondanten skulle være ekstra tynd. Jeg valgte at bruge hvid chokoladesmørcreme at smøre op med, da jeg ellers risikerede at en mørk creme kunne ses igennem fondanten. Ulempen med hvid chokoladesmørcreme er så bare at den ikke stivner helt så meget, og når opsmøringen samtidig skulle være enormt god, når den kun er dækket med et tyndt lag fondant, så.... men jeg var tilfreds med resultatet.
The cake was a bit difficult to work with, since the fondant had to be extra thin. I chose to use white chocolate buttercream to crumbcoat, as I didn't want to risk a dark creme showing through the transparent fondant. The disadvantage to using white chocolate buttercream is that it doesn't set as hard, and at the same time the coating had to be extremely smooth as such a thin layer of fondant can be extremely unforgiving. But all in all, I was quite pleased with the result.

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.

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.

Barnedåb/Christening

Min tidligere kollega's barnebarn skulle døbes og i den forbindelse ønskede moren sig en kage med lyse Lette lagkagebunde, tobleronecreme og jordbærmousse. Hun kunne godt lide babyen fra en tidligere dåbskage, jeg har lavet, så det fik jeg følgende ud af:
My former colleague's granddaughter was being Christened, and the mother wanted a cake with classic sponge layers, Toblerone Creme and Strawberry Mousse. She liked the baby I had put on another Christening Cake, from before I blogged, and I ended up with this:

Min perlemould drillede altså lige lovlig meget denne gang - typisk når jeg nu skulle bruge den meget mere, end jeg plejer. Fondanten var alt for levende og klistret i forhold til hvad den plejer, og selvom de problemer det gav, er lidt for svære at forklare her, så vil jeg prøve at putte lidt tylose i fondanten næste gang, hvis jeg har problemer igen. Men jeg var ikke rolig eller fornuftig nok til at komme på løsninger, mens jeg var i gang. Hjernen har det med at stå af, når jeg som sædvanligt har taget natten i brug for at få kagen færdig til tiden - og så har glemt alt om at tage hensyn til sommertid og den manglende time i tidsplanen :) Jeg var oprindeligt kommet bagud i tidsplanen, fordi størstedelen af kaninørene knækkede af. De var gennemtørret da jeg brugte dem, men jeg må have brugt for meget lim - de var i hvert fald ligesom opløste i den del, der var stukket ned i hovederne. Og så sad jeg ellers pænt og hold dem på plads, til de tørrede igen - godt jeg havde Medical Night (House, Grey's og Private Practise) optagelser til at holde mig underholdt imens :)
My pearl mould was teasing me like crazy this time - typical since I had to use it so much more than I usually do for a cake. The fondant was too sticky and "alive" compared to how it usually is, and the problems that resulted from this are a bit too difficult to explain, but if I have similar problems again, I will try and add some tylose to the fondant. I was just not levelheaded or sane enough to come up with solutions when it happened. My brain tends to shortcut when I (as often is the case) am working through the night to get the cake ready in time - and suddenly realise that we are changing to summertime and I am losing an hour. I was behind schedule because most of my bunny-ears broke off. They were fully dried, when I used them, but I must have used too much glue - at least the part of the ears that was stuck in the heads seemed to have dissolved. So I redid it without glue and sat and held the ears in place while the head dried around them. Good thing I had several weeks of Medical Night recorded (House, Grey's and Private Practise) to keep me entertained, as it is almost as much fun as watching paint dry after all :/

Opskrift på Tobleronecreme/Toblerone Creme recipe:
300 g Toblerone/yup, 300 g Toblerone - just in case you don't read "black"
1/2 L fløde/ 1/2 L whipping cream

Smelt chokoladen sammen med fløden over vandbad. Varm godt igennem. Tildæk med film, helt nede på overfladen af fyldet nede i skålen og op langs siderne. Stil på køl til næste dag. Pisk igennem til den stivner og brug den.
Melt the chocolate with the cream in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water (don't let the base of the bowl touch the water. Warm through, remove the bowl and cover with clingfilm all the way down in the bowl - covering the surface and continuing up the sides. Refrigerate until the next day or at least 8 hours. Before use, whip it stiff, but don't overwhip as it will curdle.

Opskrift på Jordbærmousse/Strawberry Mousse recipe:

6 blade husblas/ 6 gelatine sheets
400 g frosne jordbær/ 400 g frozen strawberries
ca. 200 g sukker/ about 200 g sugar
1 spsk vanillesukker/ 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1/2 L fløde/ 1/2 L whip cream

Husblas sættes i blød mens jordbær og halvdelen af sukkeret 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 mere sukker gradvis (mængden afhænger altså af hvor sur/søde bærene er) og vanillesukker. 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 half the 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. Gradually add more sugar (amount depends on how sweet/sour the berries are) and vanilla. 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.

Barnedåb/Christening

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opskrift på Skildpaddecreme/Caramel-Chocolate Creme recipe:

6 Kæmpeskildpadder/170 g chocolate with runny caramel filling

1/2 L fløde/whip cream

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

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

Opskrift på Hindbærmousse/Raspberry Mousse recipe:

6 blade husblas/gelatine sheets

400 g frosne hindbær/frozen raspberries

200 g sukker/sugar

1 vanillestang/vanilla pod

1 citron, saften af/lemon, juiced

1/2 L fløde/whip cream

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

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