Showing posts with label Havana Santiago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Havana Santiago. Show all posts

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Havana Santiago Part 2


I just wanted to let you guys know how I got on at Havana Santiago. It was a lovely three days and I'm really proud of Pia and Thristian for putting on something so cool!

My sister and I made a selection of cakes inspired by Cuba and the Caribbean.

Menu


Cakes
- Caribbean Black Rum Cake
- Lime and Coconut Cake (click here for a blog post and recipe)
- Carrot Cake
- Banana Cake (a number of different variations)


Cupcakes
- Chocolate with Fudge Sauce
- Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream
- Chocolate with Chocolate Buttercream
- Mojito (lime and rum flavour with a rum flavoured frosting)
- Pineapple with a citrus glaze and pineapple chunks





I thought it would be nice to show some photos of the day. I didn't take many myself as I was busy trying to be organised so most of these aren't mine. Thanks to Vanessa & Iesha for sending them on to me! 









Thanks for stopping by!

Peace & Love
xx
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Sunday, 11 March 2012

Lime & Coconut Cake




You may notice that this is the first loaf cake that I have done on this blog and there is a good reason for this: my sister is the taker, collector and keeper of loaf tins! She will of course deny this, but let me lay out the evidence.

Exhibit A - I can't find any of my loaf tins, even though I have bought at least 2 of my own.

Exhibit B - Strangely, she has a zillion loaf tins, maybe even 6, some of which look exactly like my missing ones. And if we are honest with ourselves, no normal person has a zillion loaf tins!

Exhibit C - We often share baking equipment and I often forget when I lend her stuff.

Exhibit D - I'm sure she did it!

She has of course strongly denied this accusation, claiming that I should look after my tins rather than accusing her of harbouring borrowed goods. But I have a blog. Plus I'm right. And I'm 80% sure of it!


Anyways, I 'borrowed' one of the (my own) loaf tins to recreate a cake that I made for Havana Santiago: a Lime and Coconut Cake adapted from a recipe by NestlĂ©. 

I always have a bit of trouble making an icing glaze and I honestly have no reason why something so simple has eluded me thus far. It always turns out looking too watery and a lot like something that really shouldn't be on a cake....

I digress, I decided to use the leftover condensed milk from a standard tin (397g) and jazz it up with some lime juice. It worked really well and tasted great but you need to pipe it if you want the lines or maybe warm it slightly as it's quite thick. I'd compare it to a sort of sweet custard, lovely :).



This cake is a lovely afternoon tea cake, not as rich as some of the cupcakes and things that I usually bake. If you would like to try it, I have put the recipe here; 


Ingredients

Cake:

  • 175g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 300g (10½oz) Condensed Milk
  • 55g (2oz) desiccated coconut
  • finely grated zest and juice 1 lime
  • 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt

Icing:

  • 90g (3oz) Condensed Milk
  • Lime zest and the juice ½ lime

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, (150°C for fan ovens), Gas Mark 3.
  2. Grease and base line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
  3. Place all the cake ingredients together in a large bowl (or food processor) and beat until smooth and pale. Pour into the loaf tin and cover the top with a strip of baking parchment so that it doesn't get too brown whilst cooking. Bake for 55-65 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. 
  4. Whilst the cake is cooling, make your glaze. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime to the condensed milk and mix thoroughly. When the cake is fully cooled, pipe the glaze on the top. You will need to pipe it as it is too thick to drizzle! Finally, sprinkle some lime zest on top to garnish.




You may be interested to know that I have also purchased another loaf tin to make more loafy type things. I think my next one will be a banana cake, that is so overdue!


Peace & Love


xx
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Monday, 27 February 2012

Havana Santiago



Happy Monday People!

After being in a bit of a funk for the last few weeks, I had a conversation with an old friend who basically told me to get over myself and get on with it... Sometimes you need to hear the truth spoken in love and it's done me the world of good. It's so easy to look at your circumstances and get discouraged but as he said, life will throw things at you but you've got to fight back. Also I do believe that contentment is a state of mind and has little if anything to do with what's going on around you. It's time for me to look within! I even went as far as sending myself a card filled with a loving & encouraging message, I can't wait for it to come in the post...don't judge me! :)

On an even more exciting tip, this Friday - Sunday (2nd-4th March 2012), my friend and her man are staging a Cuban inspired take-over at Rich Mix in East London, following their trip there last year. It will be 3 days of culture including film, music, photography, cocktails and other delights. I'll be there on the Sunday with my cakies so come along and get involved. You can get more details from this site (click here). If you are in the London area on any of those days, especially Sunday, come down, I'd love to meet you!


Have a great week,

Peace & Love

xx
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