I found a recipe! (A Hungarian Kuglóf, to be precise)

Well, I didn't quite 'find' this recipe, it's the 'Hungarian Kuglóf' adapted from my Green & Black's cookbook. What I mean is that I made this cake twice for two friend's birthdays, took a load of photos (no really A LOAD, you have been warned) intending to blog about it.

Then I forgot - I probably got distracted by something shiny. Or chocolate. Or better still, shiny chocolate.

So I can blog about it not feeling guilty that I should be working, because I've already made this cake, and the time spent writing this post would probably be the same amount of time I spend procrastinating on youtube.

This pretty pizazz-ey (and slightly podgy) panda topped version was also for a friend's birthday (you can skip to the panda sculpting here). And just for the record, she was turning 20. Not 2, as the cake would suggest.

I had to order a special kugelhopf tin for this, which I was extrememly proud of. I'm not sure why really, it just made me happy (maybe because it was shiny...?)

And then off I went with the usual routine.

The recipe wanted 6 egg yolks, and I was going to be so proud and get a perfect photo, except one yolk broke and now it just looks funny.

Whisk, whisk, whisk away, gently round the bowl. Merrily merrily merrily merrily, chocolate cake is my goal :)



After I made the cake mix, I added chocolate to one half so then I could swirl them together in the tin. You might be able to see from the photo later that is didn't quite come out as I wanted it to. But whatever, it would just be boring if it was aesthetically pleasing as well as being delicious.


I mean, it looked alright in the pan...right?

Oh yes, when I made it the first time, the cake stuck slightly to the bottom of the pan. Usually it's fine if it's a normal round cake tin affair, but because the pattern of the cake was shaped by the bottom of the pan, this was a bit more problematic. If this happens, you have a few options:

1) Do a bit of patchwork with honey.
2) Dredge with icing sugar so they are none the wiser.
3) Start again. And um, eat the evidence.

I did all three.

Voila! Finished product!




You see the chunk missing out of the right hand side? Yeah, that was me. 
Ain't gonna lie, I was hungry.

As you can see, it's more blobby than swirly. But it will do.




And here it is...again!

**************

How to make the marzipan panda

Oh, I only have one photo of this. Well, that was an anti-climax.



1) Roll marzipan into two small balls (one bigger than the other)
2) Squash together.
3) Roll ready-to-roll black icing (can be bought from any supermarket) into two paws and two feet.
4) Squish them on.
5) Repeat 3 for the eyes, and squish those on too.
6) I tried to make white pupils for the black eyes too, but I think I just ended up making the panda look evil. It didn't help that the green line across its face was meant to be bamboo, but it looks makes the panda look like it's stealthily smirking. Or grimacing lopsidedly.
7) Eat the leftover marzipan.

I hope you like the photos, and that those who tried it liked it, I would love to hear your comments!

Which brings to close with: Danielle Steel apparently said "A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best ingredients and having someone sit on it."

I'm just hoping you don't have a big butt ;)


Lesson learned today: there is the slight possibility that you can take too many photos of cake. Actually, no. Not possible.

Hungarian Kuglóf Adapted from the Green & Black’s cookbook Preparation time: 45 minutes (if you don’t get distracted by something shiny). Cooking time: 1hr 20mins Serves 10-12, depending on how many boys there are (it’s true!) Don’t forget that you will need a kugelhof mould! (I used a 20cm wide one) Ingredients 6 large eggs, separated 300g sugar 200g butter 450g plain flour 200ml milk 2 teaspoons lemon juice 150g dark chocolate (min 60% cocoa solids) icing sugar for dusting pandas and glacé cherries for decorating Preheat the oven to 140°C/275°F. Brush the inside of the mould with melted butter, and dust with flour. Whist together the egg yolks, sugar and the butter. Sift the flour and add it to the mixture together with the milk and lemon juice, mixing well. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold gently into the mixture. Divide the mixture in half. Melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, and mix into one half. Pour the non-chocolate mixture into the tin, and top with the chocolate mixture. Swirl around to get a marbled effect. Bake for about 1 hr 20 mins (checking every ten minutes after the 50 minute mark), until the kuglof cracks slightly on the top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack. Once it is completely cooled, go crazy with the decorating.