Sky High Mud Cake with Party Pink Icing

Four layers of dense and fudgy chocolate mud cake, covered in sweet Swiss Meringue Buttercream and topped with luscious, rich chocolate ganache drips and outlandish decorations. 

Happy birthday! Party time!

I've always loved birthdays and never understood why people didn't. What's not to love? Everyone wishes you well, people give you presents,  calories agree not to count as their present to you and...there's cake. Any day that you get to have cake is a good day.

Those Smarties didn't find their way on to the cake...but they did find their way into my tummy.

And, in part, my love of birthdays comes from my mum. The other parts of my love for comes from cake and presents, but a big chunk is from mum. My mum likes birthdays and Christmas because she's awesome. And what does an awesome mum need on her birthday? An awesome big pink cake, just for her!

Lush cake mix.

We have a go-to chocolate cake for birthdays in our family, but once in a while it's time to do something different. So I decided to make a mud cake. I wanted to make it stacked to the sky so the firmness of a mud cake was well suited.

I could happily drown in this.

I decided to use Swiss Meringue Buttercream to get the cleanest line possible on the side of the cake. I coloured it bright pink because it looks awesome. This cake is all about awesome. Because my mum is awesome.

This marbled chocolate is so easy and looks so cool.

I'll stop using the word 'awesome' now.

I definitely poured too much chocolate on top, trying to take photos.

But, this cake is OTT. Inspired in no small way by the cake legend Katherine Sabbath, I decorated the top with bits of broken meringue, silver and pink cachous, dripping chocolate ganache and marbled chocolate shards.

Ta-da!

Oh, and French macarons!

A spacescape of sweets.

I think it's a spectacular looking treat, however it couldn't be easier! Mud cake doesn't require any creaming of sugar and butter, it's dense and fudgy quality comes from melting the butter and chocolate together in a pan (with a few other ingredients), then beating in some eggs and the flour. This recipe also has sour cream in it which makes it especially moist.

Cool card, huh.

You know, why do people hate the word moist so much? I'm so tired of hearing how gross it is. It's just a word! Annnyyywwwaaaayyy...

Drippy and awesome. Oh shit, I said awesome again.

Once the cakes have been baked, trim the excess and then halve each layer to create 4 even sized cakes. For this cake and the OTT styling, I decided to use a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The consistency of SMB is smooth and great for tall cakes.

More is more.

Then it was about the toppings. I decided to buy some macarons and store bought meringue kisses along with some coloured cachous. I marbled some dark chocolate with some white chocolate that I coloured using oil-based colouring and cut shards to place atop the cake.

Those are water balloons blown up. So cute.

And then, get creative. The great thing about this look is that imperfect and asymmetric decorations actually add to the look. Have a bit of fun and remember more is more!

Birthdays are THE BEST!

Sky High Mud Cake with Party Pink Icing
Cake adapted from Bakers Corner
For clear instructions on making Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I always recommend Sweetapolita's fantastic post

Prep time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 90 mins

Total time:  2 hrs 

Servings: 12 very large servings

Chocolate Mud Cake

400g dark chocolate, chopped

400g butter, chopped

2 ½ cups (550g) brown sugar

1 cup (250mL) hot water

2 teaspoons instant coffee

1 cup (100g) cocoa

6 eggs, lightly beaten

300g sour cream

3 cups (450g) plain flour

1 cup (150g) self-raising flour

Chocolate Ganache
300g dark chocolate

350ml heavy cream

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
7 large (225g) egg whites, free range 
1 ½ cups (375g) caster sugar
2 ½ cups (510g) butter, cut into 2cm cubes - should be cool, not cold. Take butter out of fridge 10 -15 minutes before required.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pink gel food colouring

Marbled Chocolate
300g dark chocolate

150g white chocolatePink oil-based food colouring

Various toppings eg macarons, coloured jimmies, cachous, sprinkles, smarties

Chocolate Mud Cake

1. Preheat oven to 140ºC.
2. Grease and line two 20cm/8 inch round cake pans.
3. Add dark chocolate, butter, sugar, water, instant coffee and cocoa in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir until mixture is smooth and chocolate has melted.
4. Cool 10 minutes then transfer mixture to a large bowl.
5. Meanwhile, combine eggs and sour cream in a separate bowl then add to the cooled chocolate mixture and stir to combine
6. Sift both flours into the chocolate mixture then stir to combine.
7. Divide mixture evenly among prepared pans.
8. Bake cakes on same shelf in preheated over for 90 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of cake comes out mostly clean - there may be a little moist cake mixture on theskewer, this is normal for mud cake – do not overcook.
9. Stand cakes in pans 15 minutes to cool slightly, before transferring the cakes to wire racks to cool completely.
10. Use a serrated knife to trim and split each cake in half.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

1. Melt the chocolate in a large microwave proof bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals.
2. Once melted, add cream and stir to combine until smooth.
3. Allow to cool slightly. Ganache should be pourable but not hot.
4. Set aside until required.

Swiss Meringue Butter Cream

1. Wipe out the metal bowl of stand mixer with a paper towel moistened with lemon juice to ensure the bowl is grease free.
2. Add egg whites and sugar, and simmer over a pot of rapidly simmering water, whisking gently until temperature reaches 60°C or until sugar is dissolved.
3. Take the bowl off the heat and put onto stand mixer. Whip on a medium speed until the egg whites have cooled to room temperature. This will take 8 - 10 minutes, or more. Do not add butter until bowl is neutral to the touch.
4. Switch over to paddle attachment and with mixer on low speed add butter cubes one by one in 30 second intervals until all butter has been added. 
5. If the mixture becomes lumpy and looks like scrambled eggs, do not panic. Keep mixing on a low speed and the mix will come together and become smooth. 
6. Add vanilla and a small amount of pink food colouring to reach desired base shade.
7. Set aside until required.

Marbled Chocolate

1. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
2. Melt white and dark chocolate in small, microwave proof bowls, 30 seconds at a time for each bowl.
3. Once chocolate is smooth, add colouring to white chocolate til desired colour is achieved.
4. Pour dark chocolate over prepared sheet, then add now pink chocolate in random places on top of the dark chocolate, then drag a metal skewer through the chocolates to create a marble effect.
5. Sprinkle crushed meringues and cachous over chocolate.
6. Once chocolate has cooled, cut into shards with a sharp knife.

Assembly

1. Place one of the layers on a cake board, using a dab of Swiss meringue buttercream to adhere the cake to the board.
2. Spread approximately 1 cup of SMB on top of the cake and smooth the icing til even and smooth then place second layer of cake on top.
3. Repeat til all cakes are layered
4. Add approximately 1 cup of SMB on top and spread until the entire cake is covered in a thin layer of SMB; the crumb coat.
5. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
6. Remove cake from fridge and add a thicker layer of icing and smooth using cake scrapers and offset spatulas. Continue adding layers of icing to cake til SMB is very smooth.
7. Slowly pour ganache on top of cake; using a small offset spatula, tease the ganache into long drips over the sides of the cake til desired look is achieved.
8. Decorate top of cake with macarons, marbled chocolate, crushed meringues and sprinkles.

REVIEW: La Quinta

La coo ca raa cha! La coo ca raa cha! La quinta la la la!

It's been a while since we visited La Quinta so it was high time we got back. La Quinta is the older sister of the American restaurant directly next door, Southern Attitude, which I reviewed early last year. And while usually older sisters are just the warm-up for the smarter, prettier, better at cooking and shut up Tegan for the younger sister, in this case, the original really is the best.

La Quinta is always pretty busy of an evening, so lunch time is the best time to go without making a reservation. Although one time we made a reservation and they didn't have a table for us but for this review, that's neither here nor there.

We went to a restaurant "to celebrate the jobs they hadn't actually performed, with money they hadn't actually earned"

La Quinta have a fantastic ordering system. When you wish to have the attention of the waiter, you place a little flag atop a wooden cactus. The staff are really quick at noticing the flags and the whole system is very efficient. Drinks arrive very quickly. We kicked things off with some ice cold Coronas ($7.50 each) and a frozen margarita ($12) which went down an absolute treat on a steamy hot Saturday afternoon. To see exactly how it went down, check out my flip book on Instagram.

Pro dip combo right there.

We ordered a few starters to go with our icy cold beverages. We choose the Trio of Dips ($16) with Corn Chips and Tortillas, and since we're flipping pros by now at La Quinta, we choose the creamy Guacamole, the cheesy Queso and the LQ Fire Roasted Corn Jalapeños. Can you see how that combination works? Amazingly.

Dang, yo. Mexican food does not photograph well.

Our next starter to share was Smoked Chorizo with Sofrito Paste ($10.50). Sofrito paste sounds pretty unappealing but don't think so hard about it cos it's delicious. It's a tomato based sauce and pro tip: get a bit of the chorizo, with a scoop of the sofrito and pop it in a bit of tortilla and a dollop of the queso. Your mouth is now in party town.

I'm gonna have to do this..."If you like pina coladas..."

A piña colada was now in order to take the heat down and La Quinta's Original Puerto Rican Piña Colada ($12) was simply too good. I smashed it in about 30 seconds. So then we followed it up with more coronas! This was turning into a most enjoyable fiesta!

Those beans look like mice poops.

The first main was two tacos for $15, one taco with Hickory Smoked Chicken, Avocado, Pineapple, Chipotle Mayo and one with Refried Black Beans, Pico De Gallo, Cheese taco. The chicken taco was tasty and full of Mexican flavour however the refried bean taco left a little to be desired, with no cheese or pico de gallo to be seen. So a bit of a miss on the tacos.

They're not the prettiest, but ugly is tasty.

Next up, a serve of Beef Enchiladas, topped with Ranchero Sauce and Jack Cheese ($22.50). Though not the prettiest of dishes, the enchiladas were saucy goodness, wrapped in La Quintas chewy, fresh tortillas. The accompaniments were huge, and went some way to improving the lacking tacos.

Look at those bubbles of crispy goodness. This is by far my favourite dish.

Finally, although my eyes scanned the menu and my mind turned over many options, I returned to my old favourite: The Tostada El Grande ($24.50). It sounds suitably grand, doesn't it. The tostada el grande is a moreish and crispy fried flour tortilla bowl, filled with pulled chicken, lettuce, tomato salsa, cheese, refried beans, rice, guacamole and sour cream. I don't think there's been one occasion that I haven't ordered this, and trust me, if you are at a table with friends, and you don't order this, you'll be very jealous. Luckily, it's so huge, you'll probably end up getting to try some as even I can't finish it.

La Quinta is a great, casual restaurant with a fun vibe and unique ordering system which is a novelty. It's been around for years and it's easy to see why. The food is fresh and generous, I always recommend La Quinta for a casual meal out.

Food: 3.5/4
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/4
Atmosphere: 3.5/5

Cake Roundup

Would you believe I still have Christmas posts to do? I do. How terrible of me. I will post them soon and everyone will forgive me because I'm lazy and the posts are awesome. In the meantime, I thought I would slap together a quick cake round up. Here are some of the cakes from the last year or so that I have made. Some of these have been on the blog, some are yet to be posted because of my aforementioned laziness and some are wedding cakes that you may have seen on my Instagram account. So here is my cake round up!

Ahh cheesecake. My Caramel Easter Egg Cheesecake. I thought about whether or not to include this, since it's not a cake-cake but it is so damn good, it would be a crime not to include it. I've made this cake with non-Easter Caramello chocolate and it worked out amazingly. It's interesting to see the quality of the photo too, taken on my iPhone. I might revisit this recipe and take photos with my lovely new Canon 700D. And then I would get to eat another cheesecake!

Oh Eggnog Cake, Oh Eggnog Cake, how pretty is your fondant wreath! This was a great cake with a wonderfully spiced flavour. The decoration was so easy and looked amazing.

This cake was epic. The Chocolate Fudge Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream, Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate Ganache. Such a descriptive title. Says it all. Literally. I shifted this cake slightly after I poured the ganache and the drips got messed up. Also was the first time I tried moody photography, didn't quite work on an iPhone. The cake sure tasted good though. Sugar. Coma.

This is a photo of a wedding cake that I did for a ceremony on the Tweed Coast. There were flowers that were yet to go on the cake but I wanted to get a photo of the cake before it went down. The gold was edible fine glitter dust and vodka painted on. I wish I had a photo of it with the flowers on, it would have been amazing!

The bubbles cake! The Pink Bubble Strawberry Butter Cake. I made this cake to test out making an ombre cake and also to test out my new camera! Aww this cake will always have a special place in my heart now. A Cassie Cakes turning point.

Here is a teaser for an upcoming post. A Pink OTT Mud Cake I made for my mums birthday, inspired by all the Instagram stars around at the moment.

This pretty layer cake was made for my Grandmothers 90th birthday. I love the light in these photos and can't wait to share the rest of them with you!

Finally, this is a wedding cake I made for a fantastic New Years Eve wedding, officiated by the most talented celebrant, Annie from Celebrant Lady Love. 

This post is like a clip show, which I hate but I should have a post up this week. A Christmas post, cos why should Christmas finish in December? I'll tell you why, cos that's the rule. Laziness trumps rules though.  

Do you need a cake for a special occasion? Get in contact with Cassie Cakes via cassiecakes@live.com.au or Facebook to discuss.

Food Gifts Three Ways

Food gifts to giveaway but make sure you keep some for yourself!

My goodness, we just seem to be hurtling towards the big day now aren't we! With less than 10 days to go, you may be well in to your Christmas shopping with hardly anything left to get or maybe you haven't even started! In either case, these three food gifts may be just the thing for gifting to friends and family. And since they are all mail-friendly, they might be just the thing for those a little further away.

Last Christmas, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and came upon the hashtag '#foodiesecretsanta' - a fantastic food swapped organised by the Brisbane based blogger Claire from Claire K Creations. I signed up at the first chance I got! And I am so glad I did! There is few things more fun in the world than coming home to find a surprise package waiting for you. And it's even more fun when you can eat it! I've received two of my three gifts from my Foodie Secret Santa's, check out my Instagram for the photos. I haven't seen my reciepents get theirs yet but I'm so excited to hear how they like them.

So here are the three foodie gifts that I sent...

Sweet, creamy eggnog fudge.

Fudge with big eggnog flavours! Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and creamy, sweet eggnog. This fudge is easy, made easier with the help of marshmallows to stabilize it. Because of the high proportion of sugar, fudge will withstand being mailed and will keep for two weeks in the fridge.

Eggnog Fudge

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Total time:  25 mins

Servings: 50 pieces of fudge 

2 cups caster sugar
150ml thickened cream
125g butter, cut in to pieces
¾ cup eggnog
200g white chocolate melts
200g white marshmallows
1 tablespoon spiced rum
1 teaspoon nutmeg - approximately 1/2 a fresh nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Line a 30cm x 20cm tin with baking paper
2. In a large, heavy based pan, place the sugar, cream, butter and eggnog and melt over a medium-high heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
3. Use a sugar thermometer, bring the sugar mixture to the soft ball stage - 118°C-120°C/235° F-240° F. This can take some time, stay with it and wait patiently.
4. Once it has reached soft ball stage, turn the heat down to low.
5. Add the white chocolate and marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon. The marshmallows will take some time to melt down.
6. When the marshmallows have begun to melt, turn heat off.
7. Add the rum, nutmeg and cinnamon and continue to stir until the marshmallows have completely melted.
8. Pour mixture in to prepared pan and grate over extra nutmeg and sprinkle with extra cinnamon.
9. Refrigerate overnight.
10. Cut fudge into small pieces and wrap with vellum or baking paper.

Homemade Nutella

Who can resist the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate! This is a chocolate lovers dream. You will be on the top of your friends nice list when you give them a jar full of delicious Chocolate Hazelnut spread!

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread - Homemade Nutella
Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Servings: 2 cups

250g whole hazelnuts

400g milk chocolate melts

3 - 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

50g icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line a cookie sheet with baking paper
2. Add hazelnuts to tray and bake for 10 minutes until skins have blistered.
3. Place the hazelnuts in a tea towel and roll gently to remove the hazelnut skins. Allow to cool.
4. Melt the chocolate in short intervals in the microwave, or over a double boiler, until completely melted and smooth.
5. Place the cooled, skinned hazelnuts in to the bowl of a food processor and process until they form a paste.
6. Add vegetable oil, icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla and pulse until thoroughly mixed.
7. Add the melted chocolate and process until desired smoothness is achieved. Add more oil if necessary.
8. Add hazelnut spread to jars and seal.

Crunchy and delicious!

The American treat gets an Australian makeover with Macadamia brittle. Ludicrously simple and ridiculously delicious, add to ice cream for a taste sensation or enjoy on it's own!

Macadamia Brittle
Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Servings: 2 large trays

500g raw whole macadamia nuts

500g caster sugar

125ml water

100g butter, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line 2 cookie sheets with baking paper 
2. Add macadamia nuts to one tray and bake in the over until nuts are just turning golden.
3. Allow nuts to cool and roughly chop. Divide the nuts between the two prepared trays and spread evenly.
4. Place sugar and water in a large, heavy based pan and melt over a medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Cook the mix without stirring for 5 - 10 minutes until the sugar has turned golden.
6. Turn off the heat and add butter, swirling pan to melt.
7. Pour half the sugar mix over the macadamias on one tray then the other half over the nuts on the second tray.
8. Allow to set, then break into portions.

Merry Christmas!

Visit Four Weeks of Christmas Baking past!:2015
Week 1: Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Shortbread

Week 2: Bauble Macarons

2014
Week 1: Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
Week 2: Raspberry Jam Drops
Week 3: Rum Ball Trifle
Week 4: Eggnog Cake