Stephen Witherden’s Website :: Cakes

Today a friend and member of my church is leaving. He’s on his way back to South Africa after spending over 10 years here in New Zealand (he arrived shortly before I did). He’s an Anglican priest and has taken up a position in Cape Town, which is wonderful for him.

Anyway, as a part of his going away bash, we had a pot-luck dinner.

I decided to being a dessert as always. Now I should have done something uniquely New Zealand, but since he’s returning to South Africa, I decided to make a distinctively South African treat: koeksisters.

Now, these delicacies are created by deep-frying batter and then immediately dumping it into chilled sugar syrup. The batter soaks up the sugar and you’re left with little golden brown bits of sweetness. It’s diabetic shock waiting to happen.

Anyway, enough with the descriptions, this is how you make it.

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A few weeks before the end of the year in 2007, my friend & colleague Richard turned to me and asked “would you be willing to take an order of a cake?” It had been so long since anyone had requested this that I didn’t know what he meant at first. He meant, of course, that he wanted me to make him a cake. Not just any cake, though, a birthday cake for his son Hari’s 4th birthday. Now, a child’s birthday cake is quite a special thing. In my mind, it’s far more difficult to make a cake for a child, because for children it has to be interesting. Adults will put up with any old thing.

The theme for the party would be the movie “cars” since that was Hari’s favourite movie. I bought a 3D cake tin in the shape of a car and set about making sponge cake prototypes. I endured flop after depressing flop. Every cake I tried went soggy in the middle. I realised it was because of the shape of the tin. After reading about it online, I finally swallowed my pride and bought some cake mix. As if by some dark cake voodoo, my cake mysteriously rose in the previously impossible-to-rise cake tin. I don’t know what they put in it, but it’s not natural, that’s for sure.

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Sally & Andrew came around to see us. The real reason they came was to watch Sarah & I watching TV.

It starts with what’s known as Choux Pastry. Click More to find out how.

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At long last I have managed to get my hands on some copies of my sister’s wedding photos. I am resisting the urge to post a picture of the cake first.

So first, here is a picture of the happy couple: David & Susan Simpkin. I find it difficult to disagree with my father on this one: this is definitely the most beautiful bride I have ever seen or will ever see.

And at last, the picture you’ve all been waiting for, here is a picture of the cake on the left. I made it myself. It’s three layers of chocolate mudcake, covered in white fondant. The little blue shells and seahorses are white chocolate which I have coloured.

Oh and the top layer is gluten free (Buckwheat flour) it worked out reasonably well

Cécile from Beca had her birthday recently. I took the opportunity to chronical the steps required to ice a cake in fondant.

Requirements:

• Cake
• Cake leveller
• Icing sugar
• Butter & Milk
• Fondant
• Fondant applicator

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She said yes, apparently. Sarah & I made this wedding cake for our dear friends Andrew & Sally:

It’s 3 layers of solid chocolate mud cake. Covered in layers of chocolate icing. The chocolate decorations are moulding chocolate piped in a zig-zag pattern, then stuck to the sides with more chocolate. It feeds over 100 people and there was plenty to spare after the wedding.

Click more for the recipe (more…)