Queen for a day, king for a lifetime? The thing that strikes me about this Disney-regal cake is that it looks positively pedestrian after Princess Beatrice's recent millinery madness...
Whether it’s the skill
required to create the perfect disguise, or the surprise of discovering
something quite different to what was first expected, I have a definite
thing about food that looks like... other food. Because when you think
of an ice cream cake, I suspect this isn’t
the first thing that comes to mind (although it might be a much more practical
choice than the real thing, given Sydney’s current chilly snap*)...
When I said I needed cake minions, what I meant was that I needed a troupe (just a small one would do) of general spatula-wielders, icing stirrers and washer-uppers. This wasn't quite what I had in mind...
A confession: I had no idea what angry birds were until I saw them on a cake. And then I got curious, and googled. And dowloaded. And played. And discovered a new and addictive form of procrastination. And then (when the iPhone battery went flat) I discovered just how much food out there was inspired by those cranky featherballs.
In Italy, the hot chocolate can be so thick that a spoon just about stands upright by itself*. So when I first came across this hot chocolate, I had to look twice to decide whether you eat it or drink it...
People can be very particular about when they eat breakfast. It might have to be before getting ready, or not until after a good hot shower. Some like to exercise beforehand, others need at least one cup of coffee. A few (and a good many more on weekends, I reckon) don’t even like it to be in the morning. For me, weekday breakfast only ever happens once I get to work. It’s never as late as mid-morning, but I much prefer to be at least almost (and preferably completely) awake before greeting food for the day.
This cupcake looks like the perfect iced excuse...
The henna-style piped icing detail on this trio of peacock cakes is just beautiful...
This illustration by Natalie Dee confirms what I've long suspected - cake really is good for you...
Too much stress? Not enough time? Can't stop worrying? Struggling to achieve that desired state of zen? Somebody else already has it all figured out...
The first reference I came across to steampunk sent me Googling in mystification. It seems to pop up all over Etsy with lots of cogs, wheels and widgets applied to cufflinks and jewellery and things. And once there’s a trend, it gets applied to cake...
According to the sort of bad joke usually reserved for Christmas crackers (and dads), polar bears don't eat penguins because they can't get the wrappers off. If this doesn't make any sense, chances are you're not familiar with the penguin biscuit, a chocolate biscuit similar to (but not quite as good as) a Tim Tam.
But before all those penguin biscuit lovers come chasing after me with pitchforks*, let me distract you with some other ways to keep your penguins and polar bears separated...
This is not a treatise on the dimensions of a baking tin that will produce the perfect cake-to-icing ratio, prevent crispy edges or avert sticky middles. It definitely isn’t about appropriate portions of cakes to eat in one sitting – that’s one fraught question to be tackled alone, preferably under cover of darkness in the privacy of your own kitchen, potentially with the sparse light emanating from a fridge door cracked ajar as you forage for a fork without waking anybody up... Sorry, got all distracted there for a second. It’s not about midnight cake snaffles, anyway.
What makes a holiday a great one? Is it about lying prostrate on a sun-lounger beside a swimming pool that shimmers beneath the sun while liveried butlers bring you vibrant cocktails with garnishes as big as your hat? Or about an urban oasis full of laneways, people and fabulous shoes. Perhaps it’s as simple as quietly retreating to a snug cottage in the middle of nowhere terribly much, with picturesque countryside, a little town to pootle in that looks like a bigger version of a model village and a towering heap of books.
If you can't stand the heat, then you might be a penguin! Sydney has been sweltering by just about any standards and when the mercury soars above 40°C, getting in the kitchen - let alone anywhere near the oven - becomes so much less appealing.
The mood around here is something more like this...
Exercise should be fun, at least some of the time. It’s unlikely to be quite anywhere as fun as a boisterous evening trying out a new restaurant with a crowd of friends. It’s also unlikely to compare to curling up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and a glossy new magazine. If it’s an abject misery, then perhaps you just haven’t found the right sort yet*.
And it makes it (even) easier to thoroughly enjoy all sorts of coronary-inducing deliciousness**
The Australia day holiday isn’t really long enough to get away terribly far unless it bookends neatly with the weekend*. Much as I wish it was longer, there’s something fun about a mid-week day off. So many options for small pootles – wandering to a beach or a park, maybe having a gelato, catching up with friends and maybe ending with a batch of baking, or just a snooze in a shady spot with a good book. Lovely!
But if I had longer (and bottomless pockets), Antarctica would be one of my dream destinations. And in the middle of a Sydney summer**, it’s even more appealing. So this cake seemed like a perfect fit for today, with its holidaying penguins...
When you were young, did you ever wonder what was inside the TV?* If the people you could see really lived in there, and what they did when you changed the channel or (heaven forbid!) turned it off... **
TVs are actually very like onions (well, they’re both ubiquitous and can sometimes reduce you to tears). When you peel an onion, there’s just another layer of onion underneath. And inside a TV... there’s just more TV...
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