Brown - Debbie Browns enchanting magical cakes

Enchanting magical cakes combines twoof Debbie Browns best selling titles into oneeasy-to-use volume.

Enter Debbie Browns wonderful and fabulousworld of exquisite cake decorations. From theSnow Queen, the Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella,to sparkling Pegasus, beautiful sea witch and wisewizard owlthere is an amazing variety from thiscollection to choose from that will charm childrenof all ages and help adults to recapture the magicof childhood.

The cake designs cater to both beginnersand more experienced cake decorators, withclearstep-by-step instructions and beautifulphotographs.

For information regarding masterclassesplease visit www.debbiebrownscakes.co.uk

Introduction

Enchanting Magical Cakes is a pretty subject to base cake designs on. Itwas quite easy to think of ideas because of the broad range of enchantingtales and folklore that are ever popular with children.

At certain moments, when thinking deeply aboutdesigns, I must admit that childhood tastes cameflooding back. Im afraid that up until the age of eightI thought everything beautiful should be coloured pink!Pink dresses, pink ribbons, pink bedroom. Blue wasfor boys. Green only for grass and trees. Thankgoodness colour tastes change when you grow up.

I must admit that I did bear this in mind when designing some of thesecakes as girls tastes havent changed that much. When makingCinderella, the most enchanting figure of fairy tales, I consideredcolouring her dress blue, which in my grown-up head Ithought would look rather nice. But the child in me saidpink! A compromise was reached and I gave her awhite dress, dusted it with a little pink dusting powder(petal dust/blossom tint) and added lots of extra sparkle.

Some of the cakes in this book are quite involved,with lots of detail that appeal to children andadults alike. I have made them this way so thatthere are lots of ideas and you can take theelements from them that you want, or leave outparts if you are short of time.

Many of the cakes will still look pretty with less detail in them. The would look complete with only half themodelling projects. Or a single, pretty fairy on top of a cakewould look just as enchanting as three or four, and can belifted off and given to the birthday girl, as a special treatwhen the cake is cut.

Because of the enchanting subject of all these cakes,many can be mixed around to give different looks. The for a change.

I hope you use this book as inspiration for your own creative ideastoo. If you make cakes as a hobby or business, or evenjust for the occasional birthday, you have a creativestreak that should not be neglected. Dont beafraid to try things out. The basics of cakemodelling are covered in most projects in thisbook. Have a go yourself and I guarantee thatyou will be pleasantly surprised.

Happy cake decorating!

Recipes and Materials

MADEIRA SPONGE CAKE

Madeira is ideal for shaping without crumbling.

The secret of successful cake decorating isto use a firm, moist cake that can be cutand shaped without crumbling. Madeiracake is a good choice and can beflavoured for variety. To make a madeiracake, follow the steps below. For the required..

Preheat the oven to 160 170C/325F/Gas 3, then grease and linethe bakeware.

Sift the self-raising and the plain/all-purpose flour together in a bowl.Then, put the soft margarine and caster/superfine sugar in a large bowl and beatuntil the mixture is pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs to the mixture, one at atime with a spoonful of the flour,beating well after each addition. Add anyflavouring required (see ).

Using a large spoon, fold theremaining flour into the mixture.Spoon the mixture into the bakeware,then make a dip in the top of the mixturewith the back of the spoon.

Bake in the centre of the oven until askewer inserted in the middle comes outclean (see for ).

Leave the cake to stand for about5 minutes, then turn out on to a wirerack and leave to cool. When cold, storein an airtight container until ready to use.

Madeira cake flavourings

• Vanilla Add 5ml (1tsp) of vanillaessence/extract to every 6-egg mixture.
• Lemon Add the grated rindand/or the juice of 1 lemon to every6-egg mixture.
• Almond Add 5ml (1tsp) ofalmond essence and 30 45ml(2 3tbsp) of ground almonds toevery 6-egg mixture.
• Chocolate Add 30 45ml (2 3tbsp) of unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with 15ml (1tbsp) of milk to every 6-egg mixture.
• Chocolate swirl cake A delicious and unusual alternative tothe chocolate cake is to fold in 155g(5oz) of dark melted cooking chocolateinto each 6-egg madeira mixture, untila swirling effect is achieved. For amarbled effect, gently stir in thechocolate. Spoon the mixture into therequired bakeware and follow cookinginstructions. For an even moreluxurious chocolate swirl cake, foldin 75g (2oz) each of melted white anddark cooking chocolate into each 6-eggmadeira mixture.

Chocolate swirl cake.

SUGARPASTE

Sugarpaste is an easy, smooth cake covering.

I recommend using ready-madesugarpaste (rolled fondant), which is ofhigh quality and is available from cakedecorating suppliers and supermarkets.The sugarpaste used in this book is firmbut pliable it smoothes well and keepsits shape when drying. Try differentsugarpastes to find your own preferenceor use the recipe below.

Makes 625g (1lb)

1 egg white made up from driedegg albumen

30ml (2tbsp) liquid glucose