A CAKE FOR A BABY SHOWER - 2

Last time, it was just the cake whereas this time, we hosted a baby shower on Saturday for a dear blog reader turned a very good friend of ours, R & R. It's really amazing how people get to know each other and how things turn out to be in a matter of  a few months!! R & R are expecting their first baby GIRL in April and we are super duper excited to have hosted her baby shower and also cannot wait to hold that precious little thing!

If you know me any bit, you will know that I can really get into the details of each and everything if I wanted to.That reminds me of our wedding. I was a bridezilla. I went crazzzyy with details and still feel that I could have done a LOT better.I really feel sad for all those who were a part of that journey with me.I must have fought with every possible person who I came across to get those things done :-) I think everything would have been under control if we lived anywhere other than Kannur because sourcing anything is a big thing there :-) Whatever said and done, Kannur is my most favourite place on earth!!

This time, I was bent upon finishing all the baking, decorating and shopping a day before R's big day. I couldn't afford to miss on anything and then have a panic attack at the last minute. I have had enough of those and I'm not up for any more of it ;-) So 2 days before their big day, we both sat down and sorted out all what we bought. I was telling Jobin that I love doing such stuffs and that it reminded me of my birthday parties Appan & Amma used to host when I was a kid. I remember fighting to get a 'carry home' gift for myself.

So that night once I finished baking the all the cakes and cupcakes, I sat down to pack the cupcakes up which would be the favors. I asked Jobin to help me with it because it was already late in the night and I was really sleepy after the productive day. But once I was on it, there was no looking back, I don't know where I got the energy from and where all the tiredness went off to.

Jobin told me we could finish the later next day. I just smiled and told him,'I could do this all night!' :-) Give me something to do creatively and I can be up all day all night!

I baked 2 x 8inch  Chocolate Fudge Cakes , 2 x 6 inch Chocolate Fudge Cake cakes which were sandwiched and covered with a rich chocolate buttercream. The cakes and 24 cupcakes were later covered with fondant. It's that simple! : ) 

I really hope you enjoyed looking at the cake as much as I enjoyed baking and decorating it. I just love such days. It gets the best out of me. Once again...oh how I love saying this...I'm not a Wilton product :-)

A CAKE FOR A BABY SHOWER

Iam mighty pleased with what I have done with this cake.This cake kept me awake for many nights and finally now that I am done with it, I can sleep in peace. Zzzzzz (not really!).This is for a couple here in Minneapolis and everything was left upto me to decide. All they wanted was a chocolate cake with a chocolate frosting. So after a few days of brainstorming session with Jobin & myself, I was able to decide how I wanted the cake to look like in the end.

So what do you guys think about my cake? I really don't think my heart can bear to see that being cut :-)
And for your kind information, I'm not a Wilton Cake Decoration class product :-)

My blog is loading very slow for the past 2 weeks and that's why you are not able to see the comment section. Can I request you guys to please wait for the blog to load completely so that you can tell me how you like this cake? Pretty please? Thanks so much! I am working on getting it back to normal soon!

A reminder: I am giving away some cookies, so don't forget to claim it!

HONEY COMB CAKE...celebration time for 200,000 hits!

Before we move on to the post, I would like to re-name this cake from Chocolate Buttercream & Vanilla Bubble Cake to HONEYCOMB CAKE. The credit for the new name goes to 'Appan', my dad. He said the former name was very lengthy and asked me to re-name it :)

This cake was featured as the Recipe Post of the Day on Foodblogs.com! Thank you all very much!

Okay, now onto the post.

I was very happy for my blog when it had 100,000 hits (in 7 months time) on 10 June 2010.  Today, I am even more excited that my blog had another 100,000 hits in less than 2 1/2 months! What more should a blogger ask for?

Thank you all very very much for your valuable support!  I have done a special something for you all, today.

If you look beneath my header, you will see a tab called YOU & I. Do read it if time permits. That's one way that I could show my appreciation for you all.

Now onto the cake.Let's celebrate people! Instead of opening a bottle of bubbly, let's dive straight into this decadent 3- layered Bubble cake! So get your forks ready! I'll provide the paper napkin :-) and yes, the cake too! ;-)

HONEY COMB CAKE

Things you'll need:

Traditional Vanilla Cake

Chocolate Buttercream

Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Surprise element- Bubble Wrap

Traditional Vanilla Cake
Recipe source: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook


Ingredients:
Unsalted Butter- 1c
Sugar-2c
Eggs-4 large,at room temp
All purpose flour-2 3/4 c
Baking powder-2 tsp
Milk-1 c
Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C
• In a large bowl, cream butter on medium speed till smooth, about 2 mins.
• Add sugar gradually and beat till fluffy ,about 3 mins.
• Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
• Combine flours , add in 4 parts , alternating with milk and vanilla, beating well after each addition.
• Pour into the prepared pan (I used a 9" round tin) and bake for 35-40 mins or till the inserted skewer comes out clean.
• Cool in tin for 10 mins, then invert it onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Buttercream {EGGLESS}
Recipe source: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook


Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 1c, very soft & NOT melted.
Milk- 1 tbsp +1 tsp
Semi sweet chocolate- 6 oz, melted  & cooled to room temp
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Confectioner's sugar/Icing sugar- 1 1/4 c


Method:

• In a medium sized bowl, beat butter until creamy for about 3 mins.
• Add milk and beat until smooth for about 1 minute.
• Add the melted and cooled chocolate and beat well till everything is mixed well.
• Add in the vanilla extract and beat for 3 minutes.
• Gradually add in the sugar and beat until creamy and of desired consistency.

Bubble Wrap Decoration
Ingredients:
Semi sweet chocolate-10 oz

Method:

• Cut a template out of a fresh bubble wrap.
• Melt the chocolate and let it cool to room temp.
• Pour over the template and wait till the chocolate is half set.

Assembly:

• Cut the cooled cake in 3 layers, horizontally.
• Apply the buttercream in between the layers ,sides and on top.
• When the chocolate is half set, invert the bubble wrap over the cake and press it slightly.
• Leave the cake with the bubble wrap on in the freezer for 15 mins.
• Peel away the bubble wrap carefully.

Verdict: 
It was difficult for me to cut through the bubble layer. I actually did hear Jobin gasping when I cut through it. We both were admiring the bubble layer even while I was clicking the pictures,but when I had to slice it, our hearts broke.

But the moment we had a taste of the cake...we were least bothered about the bubble layer! :-)