My friend Eve of thebottomsupblog.com wanted a two-tier cake for her children's combine birthday celebration. She was hoping for something healthy, if there is such a thing at all when it comes to celebration cakes. Well, I think the Hummingbird cake fits the bill if you discount the fondant and Eve was game to try this fruity treat. The theme was spots and stripes and she had put in such an amazing effort for the party, from the invites to the decoration and the dessert table! Read about the party preparation here.
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| We're going to the party! |
When I was doing research on the cake design, I was pleasantly surprise to find that the spots and stripes combination is pretty popular in fondant cakes. Eve had designed a party logo and the cake would reflect the same colours pink and turquoise blue.
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| The party logo designed by Eve |
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| The stripes and spots cake |
She also showed me some cake designs and there was one that had a really neat-looking fondant bow. I love bows and it looked simple enough, so I decided to try my hand at making one. Well ok, it was not as easy as I had imagined but with some perseverance and Youtube as my instructor, I managed to fix a bow that I'm quite proud of. Check out this video for one of the best fondant bow instructions I've come across, there's nothing you can't learn online these days ; )
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| My first fondant bow |
My other contribution to the lovely dessert table was Raisin Cinnamon Cookies iced according to the theme. This is such a great cookie recipe to make for kids and with kids, it's simple – mainly butter, cinnamon and raisins – yet yummy and healthy!
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| Individually wrapped cookies |
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| All set for the party! |
When I got to the party, the dessert table was the show stopper... it didn't matter that Eve had a whole buffet spread outside, everyone had their eyes on the table of striped and spotted goodies ; )
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| Party time! |
It was truly a party that inspired creativity and I am so glad to have been a part of it. Thanks Eve! Love those paper medallions!
Birthday Cake No.2
A friend and ex-colleague who had been following my cake story decided that she had enough browsing and it's time to do some tasting, so she contacted me for a cake for her brother's birthday. When she requested for something fruity as they were getting a bit tired of chocolate cake, I immediately suggested the Hummingbird.
For this Hummingbird cake, I included walnuts, which is part of the original recipe. With Eve's cake, we left out the nuts in case any of the children have nut allergy. But a Hummingbird cake complete with nuts makes for a wholesome, healthful cake that's full of flavours and textures.
Since I made such a large batch of cream cheese, I went a little crazy covering this birthday cake... forgetting it's for a guy ;p
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| Looking like vintage lace |
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| Melvin's not so macho cake |
I also have a few recipe variations for the Hummingbird cake. I've made it with mangoes and peaches as well. The flavour is intense and the cake is VERY moist! Apart from walnuts, pecans are also commonly used though they are more expensive. Like a hummingbird to a bird feeder, you'll go back for more once you've tried some.
FYI, the Hummingbird makes beautiful cupcakes too!
Contact me for more details.
FYI, the Hummingbird makes beautiful cupcakes too!
Contact me for more details.
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