Bonsoir à tout le monde,

tout d'abord: Bonne Saint Valentin!

(et pour les célibataires qui détestent cette fête "commerciale"....;) : bonne NON-Saint-Valentin)

Pour ma première participation à un concours, j'ai décidé de participer au concours organiser par Les Petites Marmites (www.lespetitesmarmites.over-blog.com) : VALENTINE'S DAY CUPCAKES.

L'ojectif du concours: présenter un cupcake sur le thème de la Saint-Valentin.

Pour moi, il n'y a pas de Saint-Valentin sans chocolat.

Je suis donc partit sur cette idée. Mais je voulais y ajouter un twist, un ingrédient "secret" qui donnerai un "kick" au goût intense du chocolat: BAILEYS!!!

Un cupcake au chocolat, avec un coeur de Bailleys Buttercream et couvert d'une Ganache Baileys / Chocolat. 

Le coeur est un cookie couvert de pâte à sucre. Les ailes sont elles aussi faites en pâte à sucre. 

Voici les recettes:

Cupcakes Chocolat: 

Pour 16 cupcakes (ou 48 mini-cupakes)

115 g de chocolat noir de très bonne qualité

85 g de beurre doux

175 g de sucre de cannes

2 gros oeufs (les jaunes séparés des blancs)

185 g de farine

3/4 tsp de levure

3/4 tsp de bicarbonate de soute

1 pincée de sel

250 ml de lait demi-écrémé

1 tsp d'extrait naturel de vanille

Préchauffer le four à thermostat 5 (190°) et préparer les caissettes dans les moules à cupcakes.

Faire fondre le chocolat au bain-marie. Le laisser ensuite refroidir légèrement.

Mixer le beurre et le sucre jusqu'à l'obtention d'une pâte claire. 

Mixer les jaunes d'oeufs légèrement. Les ajouter ensuite à la précédente mixture (beuure + sucre).

Y ajouter ensuite le chocolat fondu.

Dans un bol, mélanger la farine, la levure, le bicarbonate et le sel.

Dans un autre bol: mélanger l'extrait de vanille et le lait.

Ajouter 1/3 de la farine à la mixture au chocolat: mixer.

Ajouter 1/3 du lait à la mixture au chocolat.

Continuer ainsi de suite jusqu'à ce qu'il n'y ait plus de farine et de lait.

Dans un bol: battre les blancs en neige légèrement et les ajouter ensuite à la mixture très délicatement.

Remplir au 2/3 les caisettes à cupcakes.

Les enfourner pendant 25 à 30 minutes.

Baileys Chocolate Ganache:

500 g de chocolat noir

500 ml de crème entière (Elle & Vire)

50 g de beurre

50 g de Glucose

2 Tbsp de Baileys

Faire fondre le chocolat au bain-Marie.

Faire bouillir la crème et le glucose.

Laisser légèrement refroidir avant de mélanger la crème et le chocolat.

Y ajouter ensuite le beurre.

Ajouter 2 Tbsp de Baileys (selon goût souhaiter)

Laisser refroidir pendant au minimum 2 heures ou toute une nuit.

Baileys Buttercream:

beurre

sucre glace

1 TBSP de Baileys.

Malheureusement, je n'ai pas de recette: j'ai fait au piffe sans réfléchir:

C'est au goût vraiment!

 Et voilà! le tour est joué! plus qu'à assembler avec les décorations et à prendre une centaine de photos avec différents fonds avant de décider quelle photo envoyée!:

Hello there,

After over a month of complicated and extremely busy time, I can finally concentrate on my cakes!

I had an order this week: three elements to include: a little boat, a dog and an island.

Barque:

The main element had to be the boat.

The boat was made with sugarpaste and the dog and the base of the tree with cocoaform/sugarpaste.

The rest grass and leaves were made with vegan buttercream.

This cake was a bit of a challenge but not for the same reasons as usual. The difficult part was the inside of the cake itself.

It had to be a "charlotte poire-chocolat". This is made with chocolate mousse, pears and soacked biscuits.

Not really ideal as a structure! and it had to be vegan....

It was an exciting challenge.

I found a great little recipe for a Vegan Chocolate Mouse.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse Recipe:

2 x 12 ounces boxes silken firm tofu (2 x 340g)

10 oz finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (280 g)

2 tbsp agave (or maple) syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

Drain the water from the tofu.

Place of the ingredients in a Mixer and mix until smooth and combined.

Refrigerate for at least an hour.

It really tasted great. I wasn't sure about this recipe to start with as it is based using TOFU, which can easily overpower the rest of the ingredients and taste slightly strange, even more for people not use to eat it.

I actually added more vanilla extract than indicated. More like a TBSP instead of a TSP.....and obviously by accident!

To make the whole cake: I took the biscuits, soaked them in Pear syrup, then i placed them at the bottom of the tin and on the sides. then, I added one layer of chocolate mousse, one layer of pears (oven baked) and one layer of soaked buiscuits and then the same again.

I left it in the fridge for few hours for it to set properly before covering it. 

For the 23rd of december, I had to make a birthday cake for a little boy named YAEL.

The theme: TOY STORY & CARS.

I had to think a lot about how to make these two themes work together on the same cake. I didn't want to just make two cake toppers and put them on top.

The idea: BUZZ lightyear getting Cars figurines and a race track for his birthday.

BUZZ & Cars CAKE

This was made with chocolate cake & chocolate chips layers filled with chocolate ganache.

As you can see, we have the name and age made in the same way as TOY STORY, the cake itself represent the desert and Route 66 from cars and finally the toppers:    

 We have the birthday present filled with pieces of a race track and the PISTON Cup and BUZZ Lightyear playing with Lightning MCQUEEN and the other two race cars from the movie (I have forgotten their names now!)

I really wish I had more time to make this cake.

I thought my idea was great but poorly executed.

The main character didn't look great and the rest of the cake looked empty.

But I did not have enough time to remake it all and I had to deliver a cake.

I think Yael was happy anyway (i HOPE so...).

You live and learn, don't you...

The Xmas market for my son's school is over!

I don't know how many chocolates I have made in the past few days but It must have been over 100!

And there was barely any left at the end of the Xmas Market!

This has been great time for me: I voluntered to help today and I had a great time. I met some really nice people and I had a lot of fun.

And, best of all, I now know exactly how to make my chocolates for my Xmas MARKET next week end!

At first, we made only dark chocolate ones, but, as these were mainly for kids, we went ofr white & milk chocolates.

The chocolates all wrapped-up and ready to be sold and eaten!!! 

  People were able to buy chocolate lollipops or little bags filled with different types of chocolates

This week, I had to redo the Spiderman Birthday Cake I made two weeks ago (I did not take any monre pictures as the first version of the cake was better than the second one!) and I also had to make a CINDERELLA birthday cake for a 5 years-old little girl: Mathilde.

CINDERELLA BIRTHDAY CAKE

   I really tried to make her look like CINDERELLA. Not a perfect replica but not far!

 This Birthday Cake is made with three layers of Vanilla yogurt cake filled with vanilla buttercream and organic strawberry jam.

This week-end is the Xmas market on my son's School.

I have been making Xmas Chocolates with the help of my neighbour.

I did not even think of taking any pictures! But I am making some more tonight so I will post some photos tomorrow!