Di-licious

Arrrrghhhhh! Captain Olive and her scurvy crew of pirates celebrated on the high seas this weekend with a Pirate Birthday Party to remember. Mr Di-licious and I had a lot of fun putting it all together - from making the bunting and treasure bags to constructing the 'Pirate's Den' and last but not least the food. Captain Olive The Pirate Barbie Cake Olive's birthday cake this year brought together four of her favourite things: Barbie, pirates, cake and chocolate. The vanilla buttercake was filled with blackberry jam and vanilla buttercream before being swathed in chocolate ganache and the chocolate fondant skirt. I found the Barbie pirate costume on eBay and had it shipped over from the US. So what do you feed a horde of hungry pirates? ----x---- Pirate Party Menu Fish finger boats Octopus frankfurts Pirate hat Oreo pops Buried treasure chocolate crackles Chocolate dipped [pretzel] swords Pirate Barbie cake Tropical ...

I had a lot of fun planning my daughter's 3rd birthday cake.  However even the best laid plans can go awry. Initially I'd planned to make a two-tiered white chocolate mud cake, covered in fondant and decorated with fondant strawberries, leaves and flowers in a homage to Cath Kidston .  I wanted my first fondant covered cake to be stunning. Sometimes though, you have to let the cakes (or lack of cake) decide what your design will be. The 9inch cake worked out perfectly - it was tall and even and cooked through. At the time I thought I was on fire!  Then I cooked the 6inch cake. The worst thing a baker can do is start to feel cocky before the cake is finished.  I must have invoked a curse because my 6inch cake had a big crack on the surface.  I tested it with the skewer (in multiple spots) and came out clean.  Fantastic!  I let it rest on the bench and got busy with cleaning up. Fifteen min...