Having cake tins made in India

I have literally thousands of photos from my trip to India. They could never be one post. I shared many photos whilst I was in India both on the Kiwicakes Facebook page & Instagram - thanks so much to all those who commented and kept asking for more.

It was hard to decide which blog post to start with, rather than a chronological order for my posts, I decided to just pick a topic and leap right in

I travelled to India with the lovely Pereira/Mascarenhas family. Who I will be ever grateful to for welcoming me in to their family fold and taking such great care of me for the 2 weeks we were in Mumbai.

My sweet friend Florinda asked me "what do you want to do in Mumbai" my reply was always "I don't care, I am happy to do anything". I was not being polite, I was being 100% truthful, I really was happy to do literally ANYTHING as every sight sound and smell was new to me. Perhaps I should have said "I want to do it all". Florinda suggested I might like to have some cake pans made, from the man she has used for many years to make all her wonderful shaped pans I readily agreed.

We arrived in Mumbai just after Christmas day, above is the adorable home I stayed in for 2 weeks. (Pali Naka Bandra) I had the entire top floor to myself. My hosts Florinda & Leyland lived here for many years before moving to NZ.

So it was by Rickshaw we went to Florinda's "cake pan man" At Jyoti Tin Works. A ride in one of these Rickshaws is so much fun and costs between 20 and 40 cents NZ depending on how far you need to go (we could fit three adults across the back seat). I tried to describe the road noise to my kids on my return from India, I've never heard anything like it (including having been to Shanghai). The horns beep non stop, as in the never ever stop and there's hundreds beeping all at once. I had the biggest grin on my face the entire time. 

This tiny little store is located in a narrow alley way, we arrived at Friday lunchtime to find the roller doors down on every store in the alleyway and the lane was filled with men dressed in white thobe kneeling in prayer. I discovered this was to last one hour. We'd arrived just as they started, so we popped down the street for a spot of Sari shopping (more on that later)

As I cannot speak Hindi, I left my lovely host to order my two cake pans, they were to be ready the following week and I paid a 50% deposit. Both pans costs less than $20

The staff at Jyoti Tin Works were so friendly, I asked if I might take photos and they happily agreed (I found this the case, every time I asked anyone during my stay)

At the time of our visit they were making cookie cutters 

My pans we repeatedly not ready, and it was not until the last day of my stay that I was able to collect them. I took with me from NZ these line drawings, my pans did not go according to the paper plan.

I gave the line drawings on paper, and asked for them to be the size of the paper. The team at Jyoti Tin works took this as a guide (I think) - as this is what I received. 

However I took it all in my stride, I actually had no need of the pans, I just really really wanted to experience going to the cake pan maker to have them made. My host assured me, she had always received exactly what she asked for. The pans had not cost much at all, so I decided to pay my remaining balance and take them, as there was no time left for them to correct them.

When I ordered the fern cake pan, I'd had in mind to create a brush stroke style fern. As the exterior of my original drawing was styled to fit what I needed, my brush stroke fern came out a little chunkier than I wanted, however I wasn't unhappy with it, and it still looks like a fern. I've yet to try my kiwi, he may need a little work in the feet department, as they are far too long, but my basic outline is there.

I coloured the base of my cake with buttercream and coloured with Grey Progel.

 I really like how the Grey Progel tones perfectly with Rolkem Super Silver lustre, as you can see from my photo below, there's no need to paint the buttercream silver too.

I painted my chocolate brushstrokes once I had placed them on the cake by mixing Rolkem Super Silver with Rose Spirit to form a  paint.

Overall there's no mistaking this is meant to be a silver fern, albeit a little on the chunky side.

Mini chocolate bars cupcake decorations

These cute little cupcakes were super easy to make. I'd been dying to get my hands on some of the limited edition Caramilk by Cadbury, as it had been a favourite of mine as a teen. I teemed it with a Millionaires caramel drizzle over vanilla buttercream

To create the drizzle, I popped a spoonful of Millionaires Caramel in to a disposable piping bag and zapped in the microwave for ten seconds, I then snipped off the end and drizzled over the cupcakes. The larger you cut the hole in the end of the bag, the heavier your drip will be, I did both fine and heavy drizzles, to test out which I liked better. Start small though, as you can't go backwards if you cut the hole too big.

These are super easy to make, each little bar weighs aprx 7 grams, so you get a heap from one block of chocolate. I used this mould -5-with-chocolate-printed-on-each-square I melted the caramilk gently int he microwave and spooned in to the mould, Tap underside of mould gently on bench to expel air bubbles

 Lots of cute little bars just waiting for their cupcakes.

Kiwicakes article in Creative Junction magazine

Our new range of cakes is profiled in the latest issue of Creative Junction magazine. You can read all about it here 

SPCA Cupcake Day 2017

I recently took a trip to the Whangarei SPCA to deliver some cupcakes and chocolate VW cars to Andrea (manager fo SPCA Whangare at right) and the staff/volunteers who work so tirelessly. I felt they deserved a treat.

The cupcakes were decorated with our 4 new sprinkle medleys which have been created in support of SPCA cupcake day 2017.

$2 from the sale of every pack of these 4 animal themed cupcake medleys will go to SPCA Cupcake Day. You can grab a pack here If oyu love the cupcake papers, you'll find these here too 

Trainer Tom comes to visit Kiwicakes for Pokemon Go

Recently we had a visit at Kiwicakes from Pokemon Go Trainer Tom. Kiwicakes baked cupcakes to sell for $2 each with all funds going to Toms charity Live More Awesome (supporting mental health awareness). We also made Tom a special cake just for him

A great time was had by all, then Tom had to scoot across town to take part in a level 4 Pokemon Go gym raid for a Tyrannitar.

If you'd like to create your own Pokemon go cakes & cupcakes, you can using these 

Check out Tom's YouTube channel, this video includes his visit to Whangarei

Red Velvet cupcakes in support of All Blacks rugby

I recently outed myself as a closet rugby fan. I attended the first Lions test match her in my hometown of Whangarei and have been glued to the TV ever since. Tonight the Lions take on the Maori All Blacks. I'll be perched on the edge of the couch screaming at the TV as all good rugby supporters like to do.

I seemed a good day for some rugby cupcakes. I'd been wanting to try the new Whittakers Full Eighty chocolate bars. Which consequently are very nice. Using Rainbow Dust edible metallic lustre dusts, I trialed "metallic dark silver" left, "metallic light silver" (middle) and "starlight silver saturn" (right) - whilst the beauty of each colour is hard to portray in the photo, my favourite was the "silver saturn". I dusted the lustre powder straight on to the chocolate and on to grey fondant silver ferns, made using this mould

I Wanted a black cream cheese icing for my red velvet cupcakes, so I first made a chocolate cream cheese icing to which I added black progel food coloruing . I find a good dark cocoa such as this one makes a nice dark buttercream/icing meaning you need less black food colouring to go from dark chocolate brown to black 

Recipe

125 grams softened buter

125g room temp cream cheese

4 cups icing sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

6 Tbsp water.

Beat together butter and cream cheese. Add. cocoa powder. Add 1 cup of icing sugar at a time and continue to beat. Add a little water after the addition of each cup of icing sugar.

If you do not want chocolate flavoured icing, omit cocoa powder and add a good squeeze of lemon juice instead.

Because I'm 99.9% sure the Maori All Black are going to come out on top It's black icing atop red cupcakes for me today

Easter Bunny Cake fun tutorial from Kiwicakes

This cake was so much fun to make, and it made everyone smile that saw it.

I wanted to be a little different and use a white bunny, which I dusted with Rainbow Dust Pearl Blush Pink. You simply brush it on dry and it sticks beautifully. 

The cake was 6'' in diameter and is over 6'' high. I sandwiched the two layers together with millionaires caramel and then used Bakels white truffle to coat the cake. I went for a semi-naked cake look. I then added Rainbow Dust Caribbean Blue dust to more white truffle and mixed to form this lovely blue shade for the drip effect. I popped it in to a piping bag, first piping a ring around the outside and allowing it to drip. Once set, I then filled in the centre (if you cover the top and allow it to drip, you get too wide drips and too much dripping)

Before the truffle set, I sprinkled some Easter Sprinkle Medley around the rim of the cake - placing by hand some of the larger elements from the medley.

I couldn't decide at first on the final placement for my Easter plaque. In then end I placed it on the board.

I used some speckled candy eggs from the store, as well as dusting some plain white eggs (you can make these using this mould) with Rainbow Dust irridescent lilac fusion dust.

The shards were made by spreading melted Wilton candy melts on to baking paper and allowing to cool, then breaking up using my hands. Don't fret about waste, as any left over can simply be broken up for remelting another day

I used a sharp knife to cut a slit in the cake, then pushed the candy melt shards down in to the slit. It was certainly a quick cake to make, and a very effective finish with the help of some wonderful lustre powders and sprinkles.

Kumara cheesecake recipe

Last year on a trip to NZ's Kumara capital (Kaipara district). I was thrilled to discover something new - Kumara cheesecake. Once I returned home I was determined to create my own version of the dish. Whilst mine differs from the one I ate, I was very happy with the taste and texture of mine. And it couldn't be easier to make. The topping has a fudgy texture which contrasts nicely with the cheesecake filling.

My recipe makes a large cheesecake, you could half the recipe if you have a smaller pan. I used a 10" diameter Fat daddios springform pan

For the base

1 packet of Superwine biscuits crushed

1 tbsp sugar

150g melted butter

Mix and press in to base of pan

For the Cheesecake filling

500g kumara peeled and cut in to small pieces

500g Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temp

3 Tbsp condensed milk

Boil kumara until soft. Allow to cool. Place in food processor and blend until smooth add cream cheese and condensed milk. Pulse to combine. Pour on top of biscuit base.

For the topping 

2 cups brown sugar

125g butter

Good handful of macadamia nuts

Warm the sugar & butter gently together in a pan on stove top until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool slightly stir in nuts and pour over top of cheesecake filling.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.

Dome shape desserts using millionaires caramel from Kiwicakes

These delicious desserts were made by my 13 year old at Christmas time, using an idea given to her by the lovely Laurel Watson (dessert lady extraordinaire). With three simply ingredients, these are actually created from ready made ingredients, which made it easier for my 13 year old to cope with.

Using an size sphere shaped mould fill 2/3 full with either white or dark Bakel's truffle (a type of ready made ganache avilable from Kiwicakes) cut circles of trifle sponge slightly smaller than the dome using a round cutter and press down in to the truffle mix. They have a tendency to want to float upwards, we found poking a hole in them with a skewer helped the trapped air escape making them less likely to do this. Freeze.

Remove from freezer. taking a sharp knife gently remove some of the sponge. Taking some warmed millionaires caramel, to which we added some sea salt (30 seconds in microwave), fill a piping bag and pipe a small amount in to each cavity. Replace sponge discs on top of caramel and freeze again.

After 30 mins (or longer) remove from freezer and spread more truffle sealing the base. Freeze again.

Once frozen to this stage, the desserts are ready in their basic form, as we were ready to serve we took a strawberry and dipped it in the opposite colour truffle, placing the strawberry on the frozen dessert provided the chill factor needed to set the strawberry coating

I prefered the look of the drip above, however if you prefer the neater look below, this was how they naturally ocurred, I had to encourage the drip above by giving it a slight shake.