Raspberry-layered butterfly cake

I have mentioned before how B & I love making special birthday cakes for family and we have shared with you a couple of our creations so far along the way. I made this beautiful cake for my gorgeous girls to share on their birthday. I usually try to make them a cake each but seeing as Miss 4 turning 5 didn't seem to object to sharing this event with her big sister this year (don't think I can get away with it for much longer!), I decided to opt for the one special cake. I didn't exactly time their Birthdays very well did I? Having them one day apart from each other with nothing that exciting going on 9 mths before hand that I can think of!

I wanted the 'WOW!' factor from their little faces and oh how I loved looking through all the kids cake books to find something that my girls would love. I sometimes think how lucky I am to have some little people to make my creations for or else I'd end up making them for my parents and at their 'mature' age, getting the Woman's Weekly swimming pool cake might look a little odd!!

You might think this cake looks really hard but trust me not only did it look the part it tasted great and was actually very easy, all you need to do is just follow the instructions closely.

Now I know what B is going to say "Not another kids cake book", but she will thank me once her little bub is born and she will be begging me to borrow my collection trust me! I have a confession to make, yes I found this cake in yet another book I bought (I just HAD to have it). It's another Women's Weekly called "More Cakes For Kids".

Equipment
two deep 17cm round cake pans
20cm round prepared cake board or plate
oven tray
small piping bag ( I just used a glad sandwich bag that I just cut the tip off )

White Chocolate Cake
185g  white eating chocolate, chopped coarsely
90g unsalted butter, chopped coarsely
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 Quantities fluffy mock cream frosting (which I will show you further down the page)
1/4 cup raspberry jam, warmed, strained, cooled
pink food colouring

Decorations
125g white chocolate melts, melted

1.Preheat oven to 150 degrees. Grease pans, line with baking paper.
2.Stir chocolate, butter and buttermilk in a medium saucepan over low heat until smooth, cool 10 minutes.
3 Whisk sugar, eggs and extract into chocolate mixture. Whisk in sifted dry ingredients until mixture is smooth and glossy.
4. Divide mixture between pans, bake about 1 hour. Stand cakes in pans for 5 minutes, turn top-side up. onto wire racks to cool.

For the butterflies
Using the letter B shape ( like half a butterfly wing shape) trace them onto some baking paper. I used 3 different sizes, a large, medium and small for my butterflies.
Tint the melted chocolate buds pink , spoon into a piping bag (this is where I used a glad sandwich bag and just cut the corner tip ever so slightly).

Pipe chocolate around the inside butterfly shapes on the tray, stand at room temperature until set.

Fluffy mock cream frosting (you will need two quantities of this)
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup water
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon gelatine
2 tablespoons water, extra
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine milk, the water and sugar in small saucepan, stir syrup over low heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved.

Sprinkle gelatine over the extra water in a cup, add to pan, stir syrup until gelatine is dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Beat butter and extract in a small bowl with electric mixer until it is as white as possible. While motor is operating, gradually pour in cold syrup, in a thin steady stream, beat until light and fluffy. Mixture will thicken more on standing.
Remove half the fluffy mock cream frosting to a medium bowl, stir in jam, tint pink.
Split cold cakes in half, sandwich cakes with raspberry pink frosting on cake board. Spread cake all over with remaining plain frosting. Position butterflies on cake and decorate with a ribbon.

So beautiful and watching my girls faces was all worth the effort!

Enjoy! M x

Rhubarb custard tea cake

I think this cake is one of those old fashioned type of cakes that you may remember your Grandmother making or you may have bought from one of those school cake stalls (not that I'm showing my age of course, I'm still very young!!). I really wanted to make it as I love custard and with rhubarb being in season at the moment, I thought it would be perfect to give it a go. It's very easy to make and was a hit with most of the gang. Mr M wasn't exactly giving me all the usual delightful sounds that he usually makes when being my chief taste tester and I asked him "was everything ok?" He just nodded and said "yeah it's ok".
Well I was a little disheartened by his comments, as the last time he said something like that was when I made apricot chicken and that was before we were married and I've since been banned from ever making it again. I was annoyed as usually Mr M has very few words and you mostly know when something is good and bad by all the moans and groans he makes whilst eating my samples, but this time my "man of few words" was speaking!!! (I think I preferred it when he said nothing!)

Everyone else that had a sample loved it!!  Mr M is now banned from making any comments, what would he know anyway, he thinks putting tinned peaches in a stir-fry is acceptable!!!

rhubarb custard tea cake - (The Australian Women's Weekly - The Cake Stall)

200g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups of self-raising flour
1/3 cup custard powder
4 fresh rhubarb stalks, sliced lengthways, then cut into 10cm lengths
20g butter melted
2 teaspoons caster sugar, extra

custard
2 tablespoons custard powder
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup milk
20g butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1. Make the custard first.
Combine custard powder and sugar in small saucepan, gradually stir in milk. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens slightly. Remove from heat, stir in the butter and extract.

Press plastic wrap over the surface of custard to prvent a skin forming, cook. Whisk until smooth before using.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Greese deep 20cm (8-inch) round cake pan, line base with baking paper.
3. Beat softened butter and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in sifted flour and custard powder.

4. Spread half the mixture into the pan, spread custard over the cake mixture. Dollop small spoonfuls of remaining cake mixture over custard, carefully spread with spatula to completely cover custard.

Top cake mixture with rhubarb, brush gently with melted butter, then sprinkle with extra sugar.

Bake cake about 1 1/4 hours, cool in the pan.

Enjoy!