Triple Chocolate Peekaboo Cake with a Vanilla Chilli Pink Surprise!

Wow I hadn't baked for years and years and then BANG! 

A month after starting my new job, a baking competition was announced, sort of a friendly Great British Bake Off! 

Perfect opportunity to test that new oven, shape some sugar paste, try that chocolate ganache recipe AND most importantly try a PEEKABOO cake!!!! 

Oooh but hang on, shouldn't I make a decision on what technique to use first before getting too excited? 

Nooooo, let's do them all! 

On one cake!

So I set my heart on attempting a chocolate peekaboo cake, the inside cake being a vanilla, chilli, and pink cake in the shape of my company's name. 

It would then be covered in chocolate ganache and I would use some sugar paste for the decorations! Quite a grand project for someone who hasn't baked for a while, and never decorated anything - apart from my friend's cake (see post below).

Because we have this new thing about Vine, I made a Vine video! If you'd like to follow me, I'm HERE

 

Here are a couple of pictures here below:

First Cake, pink, vanilla with a hint of Chilli was baked, cut and frozen before being re-placed in the baking tray

I could have added more chilli, it was almost imperceptible within the chocolate cake

Peekaboo cake before the ganache. I cut the top because it had risen too high. Notice my installation: cake on top of its own baking tray, on top of a tupperware to catch all the extra ganache

After pouring the ganache, setting in the fridge

Decorations time. Strawberry-flavoured sugar paste, rolled out on some icing sugar, shaped and sprayed with a golden sparkle

My company's motto

I decided last minute to add some sugary flowers. The chocolate ones are ganache and the white ones are butter mixed with icing sugar. All were sprayed with the golden spray

Admittedly I'm a bit disappointed with how it turned out, the PAN letters are not very visible, I should have used a ARIAL police instead of keeping as it is on top of the cake. But for a first attempt, not too bad!! I'm still victim of my pet fear though which is to underbake, so naturally it was overbaked and a bit dense

I will finish this post asap with the recipes.... To be Continued...

Sugar shapes

For my BFF's daughter's 2nd birthday, my BFF wanted to create a Maya the bee sugar shape to place on top of the birthday cake.

For him and for her

We finally got our furniture from Belgium and this bed is kind of a King size one! I don't have any fitted sheet that fits so decided to take advantage of the fact that the mattress is 2 single ones attached to one another!
It didn't even crossed my mind to do this purposefully, it just happened and thought Waaahh, what a coincidence!!!

Pinterest...

Hell yeah, I finally gave in and am deep deep into the Pinterest wave...

Feel free to come and visit...

Brit Brit...

How did I not know about this??????????
First, Britney released her second greatest hits album called Oops I did Again, the Best Of!!! There was no press release and it was all hush hush probably because she's too busy on Xfactor USA. Also she's now in the top again with Will.I.Am with Scream and Shout...

Second, there is a French website that gives you a NON STOP Britney Radio!!!!! aaarrggghhhhh Love it, and not only the famous and released songs but the unreleased and demos are being played... Thank you Twitter for telling me!!

D.I.Y. Dip dye...

So this is the first time in my life I don't have to study, go to school, or Uni, or work, or interviews to find a job, so this was my chance to do something extravagant in my hair like I've always wanted to do!!!
My original idea was to do an Ombré dark blonde and light blonde, but am so glad I changed my mind and fulfilled one of my dream... have pinkish hair... lol
Pfffiiioou, I've never done this myself, I wanted to do it but was scared, however with baby Nuno, I litterally had no time at all to go to a salon so it meant I HAD to do it myself... And I am Really happy with the result!

So first I had to dye my hair back to dark blonde because I had 4 months old highlights. 
I wanted to smooth out those ugly lines with a natural colour so I chose L'Oreal Excellence Natural Dark Blonde 7.
Then I tied my hair in a poney tail and dyed the second half of it with L'Oreal Feria P37 Plum Power.
However I forgot to add that oil you're supposed to pour into the bottle... Oops!

Will see how the colours hold...
Update January 2013: They DON'T hold AT ALL!!!! lol And I've ruined a few head towels, basically everytime I dried my hair! How crazy! Of course if I had bleached that part of hair first that might not have happened but still, I wasn't expecting this!

One Happy Femme Fatale

As a massive fan of Britney and living in London, I could not not go to her concerts! Yes ConcertS because she's performing 3 nights and as a fan, i have my tickets for all nights! So far, she's had her first 2nights at the O2. And although I loved her Circus tour for all the entertainment we were offered, I have to say this one is bigger, better, brighter and louder!!!! The whole show is just one big party with thousands of people jumping up and down on her latest hits!

Critics in stupid London papers are not being nice to her, as usual, but she is still the best performer and entertainer who's been around for 13 years, and counting... and going stronger!!

Even Poor Fiance (who's this time if called like this coz I made him come with me) loved the show and told me he was a bit disappointed I hadn't got a second ticket for last night show for him!!! Of course he doesn' know/like the songs but he loved the show and the atmosphere was absolutely fabulous! The only song he knows is Baby One more Time which she did a special version of, and as a musician, he could only give positive feedback!

O2 London 27-10-11

Now, I'm sure lots of people are going to ask me if she sings live! Well, she does for most of the songs, the rest being pre-recorded in a live setting so you can hear it's not perfect but what do you expect from a dancer??? I'm always so annoyed that people criticize her for this but they don't even realise that all artists have always mimed on their songs, including Madonna, MJ and Beyonce!! It would be foolish to think otherwise! I guess people only believe what they read in the papers and are incapable of forming their own opinions, in French we would call them "Moutons de Panurge!".
Personally, miming or not, I can't wait for Monday for her 3rd London night!!!

O2 London 28-10-11

PF has stopped criticizing her because not only he saw the performer in her but also he saw how happy I was, how happy everyone in the audience was, isn't this the most important thing you should get from an artist? Artistic satisfaction and musical peace. I am one happy Femme Fatale ;)

O2 London 28-10-11

My Goddaughter

Victoria Esmeralda Jeanne

I haven't met her yet as she was born, by C-section, in Belgium on the 10th October and I'm stuck here in UK. But not long to go now... I'm going tomorrow.

In the meantime, my brother - her daddy - sent me pixies:

New Mummy and Daddy



The New and Happy Grand parents! (ours on the left)





So I went on to check if she looked like my brother, but realised looking at my own baby pix, that she looks like me! At the moment of course, since babies change so much so fast!!!






More pix probably when I get back from Belgium!!!

Pink Challenge

I was logging in into my blog when, there on my dashboard, in H.U.G.E, appeared a photo of myself shaking a coconut... what what?

But there it was, Bibil, a good friend from Belgium, advertising my introduction to the blogosphere, on her blog!!!! You can view it HERE.

Needless to say I'm very flattered and decided to waste no time to act on the challenge she gave me which is:

" Describe your surroundings with all the pink things!"

Ah ah easy I'm thinking... I looked around and realised there are not many!!! how sad!!!

I do have, a pink nemo type fish toy (yep!), a pink folder and my office neighbour Iphone cover is pink!!!

But if you want me to name all pink things I have in my bag, that is much easier!!!!!

So... let me take my bag and open it... I have:

• A pink Nokia C3 phone with a sparkly black and pink back cover with a butterfly motif
• A pink agenda with butterflies (my second obsession after pink!) from Paperchase (amazing London shop for stationery)
• An Ipod touch with a pink cover
• A purse, very pink, from Jane Norman
• And a small mirror, sparkly turquoise, with the letters Love written. The O in the shape of heart, And last but not least filled with the colour pink!!!
• And on myself, my socks are pink too...

I would say that is a pretty no pink day, some days are actually much more pink...

Like yesterday for example when I wore a black dress, accessorized with a soft pink belt with a butterfly (above). Black tights with sparse tiny soft pink bows, and last but not least OMG my new shoes....

Here you go, the pink challenge is now ticked!!! ;)

If anyone would like to reciprocate with its own colour, put your link in the comment section, I'll come have a look.

Have a fabulous day!!!