Tag: food art

Déjà Vu

Sometimes, it’s a bit odd finding yourself somehow doing the same thing again without meaning to, right? 😂

In the past months of lockdown, a lot of people have been baking/ cooking up a storm on social media! 👨‍🍳👩‍🍳 And one thing that frequently keeps popping up was focaccia. (Yum!😋) Honestly, the focaccia I’ve been seeing all look so amazing, I was so inspired to make my own! One of my fellow bakers on Instagram has decided to have a bake-along with focaccia this week, and I took the opportunity to also make my own! 💪 Coincidentally, I also happened to be making focaccia this time last year! 😂 (I used the same dough recipe too so you can check it out here 👉 https://tangosbaking.home.blog/2019/05/31/red-orange-yellow-green-and/)

I went with a garden-theme, having really been inspired by the sunny weather these past days. ☀️💐🌺🌸🌼🌿 Such a shame I will be avoiding parks and beaches for the time being though, but I am really looking forward to things being back to normal soon again. Beside life in pandemic, it seems the world is very much the same, so let’s look after it. 😊🌎❤️

Painting on a Cake 🖼

Having not spent many days out the door, I really do dream of the times when one can go outside and wander aimlessly. The way I try to get pass this though is to use my imagination through writing and drawing. I always think that a creative mind allows endless possibilities – a new country, a forest or a cave deep under the sea? It’s so fun just to let your imagination take you there! ❤️

To be honest, I haven’t picked up a brush or a pencil to draw for years now (possibly not since I dropped Art after my GCSE lol! 😂) But I used to really enjoy doing sketches and painting, and it was definitely a big hobby of mine growing up. (My mum and I especially had a fondness for scenery paintings back then.) So today I thought why not do a painting cake? 😉

As you may be able to tell, I was reminiscing my time in Paris last summer when I made this. 😂 The cake is a vanilla sponge covered with a coconut buttercream. The painting was done on edible wafer paper with food colourings. (I used a combination of water-based food colourings and a black food colouring pen to draw the outlines.) Also, kudos to my mum, who pointed out that she didn’t like the initial “baldness” of the lady which is why I added hair to her after! 😂

(Oh, and I just noticed this is my 100th blog post after I posted this! Happy milestone lol! 😂)

Away We Go

Finally, my summer holiday has officially begun! And as if my holiday hasn’t come quick enough, I am already packing for my trip to Paris tomorrow. 😉 I have always been very excited to visit the city again since the last time I was there when I was 4 years old, and now at last it’s happening! Hopefully, I will have plenty to share with you guys about it. 😊

One of the things I am most looking forward to now is to see all the amazing pâtissière in Paris, and I am hoping I will learn something more about them while I am there. So, meanwhile, here is a quick throw back to an entremet I did a while ago.

This entremet is composed of a raspberry mousse with a layer of vanilla sponge, sandwiching two layers of jellies, one blackcurrant and one clear strawberry. The entremet is topped with a tempered chocolate flower. For those of you who may have seen the recipe of my mango mousse cake, the recipes for the individual components follow almost the same method. (Here is the link 👉 https://tangosbaking.home.blog/2019/06/29/its-a-long-hot-summer/) To make the raspberry mousse, replace the mango purée in the recipe with a raspberry purée. The vanilla sponge is the same recipe without the desiccated coconut, and the blackcurrant jelly is made using blackcurrant juice. The glaze is made from raspberry purée. This entremet is also moulded using a silicone mould. Also a quick tip– when demoulding, dip the mould quickly in warm water to loosen the mouse up, then you should be able to get a clean finish when removing the entremet from the mould. 😉

Do you have any travel plans in the summer? Let’s share in the comments section! 👍

Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates

As the famous quote in Forrest Gump goes, ‘you never know what you’re gonna get’. Life can get tough at times, but those sweetest and happiest moments also sometimes come at the most surprising times. However, one thing for certain is you can never have too much chocolates. This rich and moist chocolate cake covered in velvety chocolate ganache will be a delicious treat at any time you desire. In fact, life should be filled with chocolates!

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

225g self-rising flour

85g cocoa powder

200g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

220ml milk

20ml flavourless oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

60 ml hot water

Chocolate Ganache:

240ml double cream

200g dark chocolate, chopped

20g unsalted butter, softened

Decorations (optional):

Coloured fondant, purple and green

White chocolate, block

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
  2. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl.
  3. Add all the other cake ingredients, apart from the hot water, into the flour mixture. Mix until it is well combined.  Then, gradually add in the hot water and mix until smooth.
  4. Grease the cake tin, and pour the cake batter into the tin. Bake the cake for 35-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out completely clean. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin before icing.
  5. To make the chocolate ganache, heat the double cream in a saucepan to boil.
  6. Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
  7. Add the butter to the ganache mixture and whisk until it is fully incorporated.
  8. Leave the ganache to set at room temperature for about 1-2 hours before using it to ice the cake.
  9. Using a peeler, scrape the white chocolate block to create white chocolate shavings. Shape the coloured fondant into flowers and leaves.
  10. Decorate with coloured fondant flowers and white chocolate shavings before serving.