Mini cakes

For quite some time I have been wondering why my cakes seem to bulge (which is something that Peggy Porschen's cake never do!), and I came to the conclusion that it's because I always make layered cakes. The mousse simply can't stand the pressure from the marzipan and fondant, and the cake ends up being rounded on the sides.

Studying the sites of Peggy and other amazing cake-making ladies, it dawned on me that they use either mud cake or sponge cake. Both of which isn't nearly as yummy as a layered cake, but I thought I would give it go. So I made a victorian sponge cake soaked in raspberry syrup to add flavor and moist covering the cake in chocolate ganache and marzipan. To use the firmness of the sponge cake I cut out small squares of cake (5x4cm) and put them on top of each other to make miniature cakes.

My friend, H, came round for tea and chic flick, so I gave her the cakes to take home to her family, and I am still waiting to hear the judgement on the taste and texture.

But what ever the verdict is I think the miniature cake idea works.

Movie reel cake

My oldest friend has turned 40. That's completely overwhelming. 40 years. That's a whole life. And what a life. It has been so much fun and full of drama (because that's what she is like).

The cake was 27cm in diameter and 9cm high. A layered cake: three sheets of sugar cake, raspberry jam and two layers of strawberry mousse. All covered in chocolate ganache and half a kilo of marzipan.

This was by far the most difficult and frustrating cake I have made to date. As a matter of fact this cake would never have been finished were it not for the good will and help of friends and family and complete strangers!

Eva, Jon, James and Karen were kind enough to searched for and trust me with old photos of Anne Katrine to document her entire life.

My brother-in-law, Jacob, took charge of getting the photos scanned and generally setting them up and getting them ready to be printed.

At first I wasn't too impressed with the customer service displayed by KageKompagniet, but they did do an amazing print job (http://kagekompagniet.dk/)

My parents, Ingolf and Kirsten, not only babysat my daughter (so I could focus on the baking job), they also drove all the way to Rungsted to pick up the printed photos (thus saving me from a nervous fit)

Johan displayed stoic calm in the face of the cake chaos that invaded his home.

and last but not least:

Clare, a professional Australian cake maker (http://clarescakes.com.au/), who has made the best movie reel cake I have ever seen (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35918036@N08/5925965482/in/photostream), generously took time out of her very busy schedule to answer my "how-to-do"questions.

Gift box cake

Sometimes, if you are really fortunate, you may find that your neighbor is in fact your friend. Not just someone you nod to in the hallway or someone from whom you can borrow an egg or some milk in cases of emergency - but someone you enjoy spending time with. My neighbor is such a person. She is fun and kind and full of energy and good humor. And I am proud to call her my friend.

A couple of weeks ago we were talking about all the birthdays coming up in September (and all the cakes I would have to bake), and she remarked, that she wasn't expecting a cake for her birthday. I couldn't really tell her that her four year old daughter, the amazing Isabella, had in fact only a few hours before been sitting in my living room flicking through Peggy Porschen's "Pretty Party Cakes" and had requested that I make a gift box cake for her mother. How could I refuse?

The cake was a layered cake - three sheets of light sugar cakes, lemon sirup and two layers of Morten Heiberg's awesome chocolate mousse (the best ever!!!!) (http://dessertcirkus.dk/default.aspx?pageid=42)