After chilling in the fridge for half an hour, I final coated with milk chocolate ganache, made with Callebaut 823 callets, smoothing it as much as I could with a heated tall metal scraper. (To do this I had a tall jug of hot water that I dipped the scraper in, wiping off any excess water on kitchen towel before using)
I made the antlers out of Callebaut milk chocolate callets and free handed piping the shape on baking parchment. I inserted lollipop sticks whilst the chocolate was still wet, attaching them once they were good and set! The rest of the features were made from Renshaw sugarpaste in poppy red, chocolate brown, white and black.
I placed the cake on a 10ā round cake drum covered with Renshaw poppy red and Lincoln green sugarpaste, partially kneaded together to create a slightly marbled effect, then finished off with a red ribbon.
Et Voila!
The recipient of this cake, my friend Steph from Panto, won a cake from me in a charity prize draw earlier this year, and this is what she chose. I had great fun making it and it smelled amazing!
Iām ashamed to say that itās been a month since I last posted!
Iām guessing that, like me, you were all busy busy busy with the run up to Christmas?
Personally, I had other issues to deal with as well, with my husband, who is also my carer, being put āout of actionā with a suspected slipped disc š£
Glen helps me with my personal care, keeps the house clean and tidy, does the laundry, is my āchauffeurā, and our little dogās playmate.
I bake cakes and Chair a Panto Society only because he enables me to do so. Actually thatās not fair, close family and friends also have to take some credit for that! But my husband is there 24/7. He sees both sides. He sees my pure elation when Iāve successfully finished a cakey creation, or come back from a particularly good Panto rehearsal, but he also sees how long it takes for me to recover, and is there to wait on me hand and foot whilst I do! (Or just let me sleep š¤ )
Thank goodness for those aforementioned friends and family! Theyāve been amazingly supportive, whilst Glen was frustrated by the slow recovery process. Heās ok now, but unlike me, heās wasnāt used to limitations on his mobility, so it was hard on both of us. But you have to manage donāt you?
Anyway, back to just before Christmas, and actually even further back to September when at my Macmillan coffee morning, I offered a custom cake as a raffle prize. One of my elderly neighbours won and wanted to give it back because āthey didnāt have anyone to gift a birthday cake toā. Glen, who had gone round to let her know sheād won, suggested a Christmas Cake, which I was more than happy to do.
Hereās what I came up with, a mix of traditional and contemporary, all liberally ātwinkledā with glitter dust!
Top view Side view
On top of that the general busy-ness of Christmas and New Year has been partly responsible for my neglect, and Panto rehearsals became more intense too, the nearer we got to opening night, (Oh! and I had a couple of cake requests in there too! )
As you know, because of my condition, I have to factor in rest and recovery times from all of the above. Much as I love my therapeutic hobbies, they do incur ārepercussionsā. Itās my responsibility before I undertake any āactivitiesā to decide whether the benefits to my emotional health outweigh the physical after effects. If I think they do, I make sure Iāve allotted a few days to just rest.
Of course, thatās all well and good, but it doesnāt just affect me. Iām well aware that without the support of my wonderful family and friends, I couldnāt do it, for which Iām extremely thankful and blessed.
At home, where I do my baking, itās usually hubby cleaning up after me then waiting on me hand and foot for a few days, (when heās not out of action) and at rehearsals I have my Panto family making sure Iām not overdoing anything. Iām a very lucky lady!
Shortly before Christmas we had our annual Panto Christmas party. This was held at Northern Relish, a local venue, and they really did us proud. I go there every week with my Mum to have lunch with my son James who works nearby, so I knew the food was good, but they really exceeded all my expectations. We had a fabulous night, and to say thank you, I took them a cake, Rudolph, pictured below was a rich chocolate cake, with solid chocolate antlers. In fact I used almost a kilo of chocolate altogether!
Rudolph Chocolate Cake
Christmas brought my daughter and her boyfriend home from Bucharest for 5 days. As if that wasnāt enough of a treat, they also insisted on cooking on Christmas Day, and a brilliant job they did too. They actually ended up cooking on Boxing Day too which was an added bonus, but it was just a really lovely family time – minus my son and daughter in law who were in New Zealand and Australia! But thatās ok because we had an early Christmas celebration with them before they went, and spoke to them on the day. We hosted my Mum, Glenās parents, and my niece and her boyfriend too, so it was still a houseful!
It all flew past in no time at all and then there was Panto! Weāve just had our last night, after a very successful run, and it was a very emotional finale, as our very talented Director, script writer, set designer, performer and my Vice Chairman, not to mention a very dear friend, Edward Munday resigned. His involvement over the past years has seen the Society grow enormously and he will be very sadly missed. I will still see him, his lovely wife Bev and family socially, but Greenbrook Pantomime Society will not be the same without him. There were tears from everyone on Saturday night š showing just how highly he is thought of by those who matter, the adult cast, the children, the parents and everyone who has helped out in any of his fantastic productions š
So – the other cakes Iāve made recently included this Golden Wedding Cake for a friendās parents. I sparkled it up with gold cake lace, flowers and lettering and was really pleased with the result.
And more recently a lady my hubby used to work with asked me to make this pretty white chocolate and raspberry confection for her daughterās 21st. I do love a bit of glam!
I canāt believe that itās been a month since I posted!
Preparations for the Christmas Fair went much slower than I anticipated, as my helper (Mum) ended up being ill for 2 weeks, so I just had to soldier on as best as I could.
Up to the week before, I concentrated on things that could be prepared in advance, and just took it slowly which was fine.
Of the things I had planned to make fresh…fudge, gingerbread, shortbread etc…..only the fudge got made and packaged. As I also had a Children in need cake to make, I just couldnāt find time for the others without making myself physically ill!
I had Mum to help package and label from a few days before when she had recovered, and Glen (hubby) to do the delivery and set up with me.
However, 2 days afterwards I received a call from the organiser asking for more fudge and Christmas cakes! This meant buying more supplies, making the fudge, allowing it to set, and packaging up another 6 batches to take over! And decorating another half dozen Christmas cakes!
In the end, I brought very little back home with me, which was a great result. However, it did mean making yet more fudge and reindeer hot chocolate cones for my local church Christmas fair last Saturday!
In amongst all this I also ātestedā 2 versions of a new Sugar and Crumbs flavoured icing (cream cheese, mmmm yummy, more on that next time) made 2 birthday cakes, and cupcakes and scones for the Ladies fellowship Christmas lunch! And had an early āChristmasā celebration with my son and daughter in law as they are away in New Zealand and Australia for most of December. Add Panto rehearsals into the mix, and my time management almost went out of the window!….almost.
I managed by scaling back and doing only what was essential. As mentioned earlier, that meant not taking some of the things Iād planned to take, but it was the only way I could make it work.
All was going to the ānewā plan, when more spanners were thrown into the works last week, with my poor hubby copping for it. Firstly by having a cluster of three migraines, and then by seriously hurting his back. Luckily family and friends rallied round to help, God bless them, but he is still in a lot of pain ā¹ļø
My son and Mum helped set up and clear away at the Church Christmas Fair, and friends have been giving me lifts as hubby canāt even get into the car let alone drive it! My son also came to take the dog out for a proper walk, and picked up what was left of my Christmas fair stock to take to work.
Iām really hoping that Glen is well enough to attend the Panto Christmas meal on Friday evening, but will have to play that one by ear. At the moment itās looking unlikely ā¹ļø
Anyway, here are a few pictures of what I managed to do over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, there arenāt many of the Christmas fair goodies, as the priority was just getting stuff done!
Harley Quinn birthday cake Pudsey Bear cake for Children in Need Panto fundraising Christmas cake for our early Christmas celebration Made using the fabulous Patchwork Cutters āIgloo setāSmall selection of Christmas cakes Cupcakes and mini scones for Ladies Fellowship Fortnite Cake
For the next two weeks or so, Iām going to be micro managing my time as I prepare some of my goodies for a craft fair. Learning from my first experience last year, I am starting early, and have roped in my Mum to help.
Last year, I did way too much and made myself ill and exhausted. It was my first time at an event that ran over 9 – 10 days and basically, I had no idea what to take! This year, Iāve cut down my āmenuā, concentrating on just a few items that are easy to prepare in advance. And of course I have the advantage of knowing what was popular last time too!
Using my usual āPros and Consā list to decide whether the āconsequencesā are worth the effort, I decided way back in May when I was invited back, that yes, it is.
One of the biggest things in its favour, is that it is manned by the organisers, who take a percentage, which in my case is completely worth it, as thereās no way I could do it otherwise! You take your stock, set up your area, and leave them to it! Iāll have my hubby to help with this, and collecting any remaining stock afterwards. During the week, the staff may contact you if anything needs restocking, but other than that, you leave them to it. Perfect for me š
So that just leaves the preparation beforehand. Iām taking lots of Christmas cakes, which were baked over the last few weeks and will be finished off over the next two weeks.
As for my other stuff, as a general rule, we start after lunch, and as Mum has osteo arthritis, it suits us both to ādo a bit, rest a bitā……otherwise known as stop for a cuppa every 5 minutes! We do like our tea āļø I set everything up so that we can sit at the table, and if either of us needs to change position or get up and stretch, we just do it! Using my hands for more than a few minutes at a time is painful for me, and I donāt do well with anything āfiddlyā, so we swap tasks out accordingly. Mum helped me package up my reindeer poop and snowman poop! (Kids find anything remotely poo related absolutely hilarious š) Chocolate raisins and mint imperials if youāre wondering š¤
Today weāve had a production line of āCookies in a jarā mix on the go
Tomorrow, weāre going to make a start on some Rudolph hot chocolate cones! And the day after, (if weāve finished the cones!) Gifts in a Christmas mug! (Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Pud in a Mug!)
Wish me luck!
Stay safe and healthy
Debbie ā¤ļø
Update: I forgot to post this last week, it was still sitting in my drafts! Oops! Anyway, as is apt to happen, a spanner hit the works ā¹ļø My poor Mum has been ill with a cold, so we actually got nothing done last week! (Apart from me designing and printing some labels)
You see? This is why I start early š Hopefully, weāll have better luck this week, š¤
Baking for Therapy 