C is for Christmas and for Cake

This weekend we had the Christmas 'get together' for the pile of relatives we can't fit round the table on Christmas day.  So presents were wrapped and my old ...sorry should I say, "Vintage" fairy was looking as lovely as always.

And this year, much to the amazement of my guests, I baked Cakes!!!

With lots of tips from the brilliant Pink Whisk Blog , I tried my hand at individual, 'mini -ish' Christmas Cakes. Well, as Iceland tell us ....You can party like a celebrity with mini food.  I started with the Delia Smith Christmas cake kit from Waitrose.

Then with the help of the  Paper cup Christmas Cakes Post by Ruth Clemens of the Pink Whisk, I cooked the mixture in paper cups.  Ruth even provided a handy template to use to line the cups.

Let's just say my cake decorating skills are very much in their infancy, I did manage to cover the cakes with marzipan and icing but finished them off with little sugar decorations I bought from John Lewis.  This is cheating a little I know but, there's always next year.....

Decorating skills aside, they tasted gorgeous.

I also made vanilla and chocolate cupcakes for the mini guests (see we're still partying like celebrities).  This meant having another attempt at using a piping bag. Again I have a lot to learn in this this department but who cares, it is a lot of fun !

Finally I made a carrot cake.  This is only my second attempt at making a 'sandwich' type cake. My cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts covered a multitude of sins.

But it seemed to go down very well with my guests.

Remove All Labels Before Baking

                                                                   image source
I am about to spend 2012 learning to bake.  I love cake and I have always wanted to be able to bake it.  So why have I never done it before ? Why now? Many people will think I am jumping on the 'baking band wagon' as it is so on trend at the moment.  Maybe I am, but here's my story.....

Although I am a creative type, ( I have been a Wedding Florist for years), my experience of baking when I was young led me to believe "I don't do baking".  My Mum went back to work when I was about 5 years old and although she is a good cook, she worked full time and didn't really get chance to bake much.  Having Pastry for tea in our house circa 1980 usually meant opening a Fray Bentos pie.  No blame being apportioned here Mum !!

However, my main problem came when I started cookery lessons at school.  I think nervousness and lack of confidence caused me to make stupid mistakes.  This did not go down at all well with my teacher who was Sergeant Major and Mrs.Slocombe rolled into one.  Her lesson would start with dormitory style inspection of our work benches. This would soon be followed by bellows of "Girls stop what you are doing and gather round this bench...this is how NOT to do it !!"  My face and cakes often burnt in equal measure.  So I attached my 'Rubbish Baker' label firmly to myself and wore it for years.

                                                                    image source
However, this summer I very sadly lost a friend to Cancer.  During her treatment she talked of things she wished she had done before and would do when she was feeling better.  Those things are now left undone.  This had a big effect on me and made me look at my life.  The result....is baking. I know, I know it's not watching a sunset at the top of Mount Fuji or swimming with dolphins. To me it's more than that. My friend was unable to fulfill her wishes because she was restricted by Cancer. I have not fulfilled some of mine because of the restrictions I have put on myself.  Baking is one thing I can do simply by removing my label.

Soon after her death I saw in the media it was time to host Coffee mornings for Macmillan.  I sent off for a pack and invited loads of friends round for coffee.  Having done this I panicked. Opening my usual packet of Jaffa Cakes was not going to cut it on this occasion.  So I started to bake, my cakes didn't burn, my friends ate them and lived to tell the tale and I raised nearly £500 for Macmillan.  Now there is no stopping me. Mount Fuji with Frosting here I come...... and look no labels....