Cash from Baking??

olliesmummy06

karenccs67 wrote: »

I use unsalted butter and icing sugar, eg 100g butter to 200g icing sugar, butter should be room temperature, if a little bit stiff i add a little drop of milk. hope that helps. x

Yes, that helps a great deal. I am baking tuesday so will give it a whirl. Thank you.xx

esmer

I put my buttercream recipe on my blog, and it never fails. HTH

babyplum

Can i ask you guys what recipe you use for a vanilla sponge please?

I seem to have perfected the chocolate sponge and madeira cake now but every time i try a vanilla sponge it just doesn't turn out right!

karenccs67

babyplum wrote: »

Can i ask you guys what recipe you use for a vanilla sponge please?

I seem to have perfected the chocolate sponge and madeira cake now but every time i try a vanilla sponge it just doesn't turn out right!

for an 8" round i use:

200g s.r. flour
200g marg or butter
200g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tspn baking powder

20/25 mins @ gas mark 5,

i throw it all in and mix together, none of this creaming sugar & sugar etc! am i bad? lol

i split this into two sandwich tins, i prefer layers to a deep sponge and trying to slice evenly which im rubbish at!

Karen x

hayley11

karenccs67 wrote: »

for an 8" round i use:

200g s.r. flour
200g marg or butter
200g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tspn baking powder

20/25 mins @ gas mark 5,

i throw it all in and mix together, none of this creaming sugar & sugar etc! am i bad? lol

i split this into two sandwich tins, i prefer layers to a deep sponge and trying to slice evenly which im rubbish at!

Karen x

You can buy a cake leveller which is great, cuts perfectly straight and not too expensive, can't remember exactly how much it was though.

karenccs67

hayley11 wrote: »

You can buy a cake leveller which is great, cuts perfectly straight and not too expensive, can't remember exactly how much it was though.

ive got one Hayley, but i cant get on with it, the cake seems to slide as i try to cut, any hints on how to use it properly? Karen x

polkadot

The Wilton cake leveller is around £10 and you can get them at Hobbycraft-but they take ages to master.Im saving up for an Agbay,but in the meantime, here's how I torte my cakes....

I have a bunch of cake drums-6 inch ones.Once the cake is cooled I put it back in the tin and cut off the domed top using a long,sharp,serrated knife.Then I take it out and fill the tin with the drums-if Im torting it to two I use 3 drums stacked on the bottom of the tin,put the cake back in the tin and use the top of the tin as a guide. If Im torting it in 3 I use 2 drums,cut,remove the cake,add two more drums (so 4 drums now)and use the top of the tin as a guide. Before you "split the *slices* for filling-use a smear of buttercream down the side as a marker so you can line it up perfectly after filling (like a puzzle) perfect level straight cakes.

Give it a crumb coat and pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes (this is the only time my cake sees the inside of a fridge) to firm up the coating and you have a perfect foundation for sugarpaste covering.

polkadot

And Karen if you want to try and master the Wilton one,use a "non slip mat" under the cake.I got a load of them in Lidl-the ones with the different size rounds meant for rolling pastry.Works a treat too.

karenccs67

polkadot wrote: »

The Wilton cake leveller is around £10 and you can get them at Hobbycraft-but they take ages to master.Im saving up for an Agbay,but in the meantime, here's how I torte my cakes....

I have a bunch of cake drums-6 inch ones.Once the cake is cooled I put it back in the tin and cut off the domed top using a long,sharp,serrated knife.Then I take it out and fill the tin with the drums-if Im torting it to two I use 3 drums stacked on the bottom of the tin,put the cake back in the tin and use the top of the tin as a guide. If Im torting it in 3 I use 2 drums,cut,remove the cake,add two more drums (so 4 drums now)and use the top of the tin as a guide. Before you "split the *slices* for filling-use a smear of buttercream down the side as a marker so you can line it up perfectly after filling (like a puzzle) perfect level straight cakes.

Give it a crumb coat and pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes (this is the only time my cake sees the inside of a fridge) to firm up the coating and you have a perfect foundation for sugarpaste covering.

thanks, i will give this ago. this morning im making a heart shaped cake and its going to be covered in fresh cream and strawberries, its for OH....

Fizzy12

Can anyone recommend a good value piping starter set to get me started on icing cupcakes please?