Hi!
These health checks once you’re over 50 are like buses. Nothing for ages then two come along at once!
Firstly, my 3 yearly mammogram two weeks ago, and very speedy result, normal thankfully 😀
Then today, bowel screening which involved a camera. I shall say no more!
On a serious note, I’m really glad that I’m being offered these screenings. It’s so important to accept these invitations. Please don’t ignore them if they’re offered. They’re not compulsory, so it’s up to you, but why wouldn’t you? Monitoring your health can pick up early signs of problems that could potentially save your life.
Do it people!
Ok, sermon over, and on to something a bit more lighthearted.
Two of my friends recently asked me to make Birthday cakes. My friend and hairdresser Mandy aka Mummysmagicalmayhem, wanted a pirate themed cake featuring Spongebob for her little boy who was turning 4. Little James is such a cutie, with a mop of blonde curls, and features prominently in Mandy’s blog. I highly recommend taking a look 😀
Anyway, I came up with a design with a beach theme. I started with a ‘sandy’ board of crushed digestive biscuits pressed into buttercream. The bottom tier was vanilla sponge filled with jam and buttercream and covered with a blue and white marbled effect fondant. For this I used the new Renshaw Extra ……oh my word! What a revelation! This stuff is fantastic! It’s described as firmer and more elastic than the usual coverpaste, and great for covering taller cakes. I love it 🥰 I bought a 1kg pack from Party Animal Online, but I’m hoping they will bring it out in larger packs soon.
I made some seashells to set the scene and just placed them randomly in the ‘sand’ and up the sides of the cake, and then turned my attention to the top tier.
A few years ago, I had spotted a pirate ship cake mould in a sale at Lakeland for just £5. I had made 2 pirate ship cakes previously and had to carve them myself so this was a bargain, not to mention a timesaver, and easier on my hands which can get very painful. Unfortunately, I can’t find the mould on Lakeland’s website, so I can only assume it’s been discontinued, but it looks like this…..
So I made the pirate ship out of chocolate cake filled and covered with chocolate ganache. Then I cut strips of Renshaw’s chocolate fondant and textured them to look like wooden planks. I covered the whole cake with these, then started on the other fondant details. The pirate ship kit came with moulds for sails, portholes and anchors etc, and frames for the sails. I mixed some tylose in with the fondant for the sails and rolled it as thin as possible. Once attached to the frames, I left them to dry on a foam mat. I decided to use white chocolate for the smaller details and just set them in the fridge, popped them out and stuck them on with some more melted chocolate. I added some buttercream ‘waves’ around the ship…..et voila!
For Spongebob and Gary the snail, I followed two YouTube tutorials from ‘Just Cake It’
Unfortunately I hadn’t removed one of Spongebob’s arm supports (a spare piece of fondant) when I took the picture, Doh!, but you get the idea 😀
As this is already quite a long post, I’ll tell you all about the 2nd cake next time!
Until then
Stay safe and healthy
Debbie ❤️
Baking for Therapy 