Its Christmas time

Its Christmas time, and whilst in the past I have baked short bread, cookies and gingerbread men, this year, I didnt have the passion, but after a 2 hour cupcake class with Irene (an older lady that is as cute as a button) and my friend Leanda we decided on cupcakes.

Christmas Character Cupcakes

So I set off the week prior on practicing a few great recipes for butter-cream icing, the pre made stuff isn't the same, it lacks flavor! As much as those shop assistants try and convince me.....I dont care...how easy it is,.....I like the real stuff

Trolling through my cookbook collection I remembered that a few years ago whilst on my honeymoon to New York, we stopped by to have magnolia bakery cupcakes and ended up searching Barnes and Noble and Borders for the magnolia cookbook. It took me about 3 different stores but we finally found it. Well the icing was a success more than I can say about my first attempt which I inserted caster instead on icing sugar. Lets just say american cook books may as well be written in chinese sometimes.

Cupcake with vanilla butter-cream

Christmas Cupcakes in my cupcake courier

So after a long christmas day visiting 3 different houses, the cupcakes were a HIT. Parents love the mini size for there kids, however I also made that standard ones as a special request for my hubby.  I was thrilled that all of them disappeared, thats over 50 cupcakes!

Nicole's Baby Shower Cake

Well this was only my second attempt at icing ready to roll icing, I have never had a class or anyone show me so I think it was still a good effort, I need to work out how to get those fondant balls a little more event. Thanks to Ab for recommending weighing them! And good old Irene, bless her little hands helped me out with my mocha baby. Nicole and her guests loved the cake....and Rawle was pretty impressed also!

The Baby Shower Cake

The original plan was to make a belly cake, but after 3 attempts to get the cake out of the mould I gave up and made a bow cake instead

My first iced cake

Inspired from the Planet Cake cook book, I thought I would give this a go.

It isn't as easy as the instructions say, but I was over it after a solid couple hours decorating. It was way to much icing for my liking but the chocolate mud cake and chocolate ganache was delish! Looking bak on this picture it looks awful, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Lets document this as my first ever decorated cake....and then lets hope it only gets better from here.

My first attempt at cake decorating

In the begining

Being of Greek descent food has always been important, its certainly what united us as a family. A pot of avgolemono (egg lemon soup) always got us together, a table where only 3 people could sit, would often seat 7 of us for grandmas famous soup.

In 2009 when I got married, I found a passion that never knew existed. I have spent a lot of time with the true chef's in my family (giagia, Thea Athina) and my Mother in Law observing them dance around the kitchen, and create beautiful food. As such I started to embark on trying to re-create recipes which date up to 60 years old.

Grandma Angeliki in my kitchen teaching me a thing or two

If we are being honest though the true start of my hobby originated from my cousins wife Abbi....lets just say her baking inspired me to purchase my kitchenaid. I was lucky my grandmother and Uncle Peter purchased it, she wanted to buy something that would stand the test of time, and something I would always remember her by when she passed on. Having spent 2 lovely years married and with my kitchen aid, I created some great sweets, not everything turned out great, there have been a few disasters. 

The baking passion continued and got to point were I slowly branched into cake decorating in 2011.

These are my adventures on baking and keeping you all up to date with What Katie Bakes.

I hope you enjoy and that it inspires you to get in the kitchen and start beating away.

Love Katie