Monday 9 May 2011

Ever thought "I need to get off Facebook and put my face IN A BOOK"?



Well, now you can!

This is probably definitely the geekiest cake I've made. 

Did it help with any revision for my upcoming exams? No. 

But was it tasty? Yes. Well, I hope so anyway :)

This is a post for those of you who have upcoming exams (or have already had a few!). I'm not sure about other universities, but at mine we call Easter term 'exam term', though as my friend very rightly pointed out, it should probably be renamed 'procrastination term'. This is very true. From what I have observed, we have two types: a) those whose facebook usage increases exponentially b) those whose facebook gets disabled and actual work takes place. I have, unfortunately, this term, begun to fall victim of the former category.




Incidentally, I have created a facebook page for my blog! I would be eternally happy and smiley if you would hop over and take a look. You could even click the 'like' button if you fancied it :)

This cake was meant to be a sort of 'chocolate layer cake' to resemble a book, but I didn't have a recipe to go by so I sort of made one up (so no it's not from the Green & Black's cookbook!). I'd like to think that by now I could alter and experiment with my own quantities, but I did jot everything down (on the bottom of my revision timetable), so you can take a look at the recipe at the bottom.


This was actually a page copied from my macroeconomic textbook, so bonus points to anyone who can point out what graphs these are! 

The top layer was another thin vanilla sponge, as the top layers of the chocolate didn't fall into quite a book shape. I did get a nice photo of it though, even if it doesn't really fit with the style of the other photos of this post. But you've seen it now, and that makes me happy :)




In the end, I was really proud of how book shaped it turned out. Then I was look at it and thought: 'it looks a bit like lasagne doesn't it?'

But hey, that's a studenty thing to eat right? I'll roll with it.


In terms of the icing, this was all made with fondant icing, rolled and cut. I do have one tip though (see photo above): if you're going to make thin lines from rolled icing, it's better to put the icing on the cake and then cut it afterwards.

And before I go back to work, I have some exciting news!


Cambridge University has a TV website, and a few weeks ago I got an email from the Vice President. She said that she had seen my blog and was wondering if I wanted to do a cooking show for it! So I said YES and JUMPED at the opportunity. I won't be doing anything till after exams, and then there's the initial brainstorming of how I should present it, but watch this space! See, I'd like to do it without actually being in it, which may pose a slight problem. This is why the initial brainstorming programme might take some time :)

I won't be baking much more until my exams are over in mid June, but I do have a few more posts saved to put up on here. I will be desserting you, but hopefully I won't be deserting you, and I'll be back with avengance in a few weeks! (Green & Black's cookbook, watch out, I'm ready to finish baking everything you present. Ha.)

Good luck to anyone who has got exams, stop stressing, you'll be fine!

Now, if anyone could explain CAPM theory to me, I'll bake you anything on from this blog. ANYTHING.

Lesson learned today: I love Economics. Really, I do.

Chocolate Layered Cake with a sponge layer topping and white chocolate icing

Cuts into about 16 slices
You will need a rectangular cake tin (I think mine was  7” x 11” x 2")

Chocolate Cake
150g caster sugar
200g butter
3 eggs
175 self raising flour
25 cocoa powder
100g dark chocolate
1tbsp instant coffee, dissolved in 2 tbsp of boiling water

Sponge layer
1 egg
2 tbsp self raising flour
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sugar

White Chocolate Icing
100g white chocolate
45g soft unsalted butter
250ml half fat crème fraiche
125g icing sugar

Fondant icing (white and assorted colours)


Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a rectangular baking tin.

For the chocolate cake, cream the butter and the sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until light a frothy. Sieve in the flour and cocoa powder. Melt the chocolate in in a bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering flour (alternatively microwave in short bursts) and mix in. Pour in the coffee and use a spatula to mix everything together until well combined.

Pour into the tin and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the sponge layer. Since the quantities were so small I put everything together in a small bowl and used an electric whisk to whisk everything together. After the chocolate cake came out of the oven, I relined the tin and baked this mixture for 12 minutes.

Leave both cakes on a wire rack to cool. Before you slice the chocolate cake, it may help to put it in the fridge for an hour to make it easier to cut.

For the icing, melt the white chocolate and butter in the microwave on medium for 1-2 minutes, until just over half melted. (Be careful not to overheat the white chocolate, as it burns more easily than regular chocolate). Stir gently until smoothly combined. Let cool slightly, then beat in the crème fraiche, followed by the sifted icing sugar. Beat until smooth. Store the icing in the fridge until needed.

Cut the chocolate cake in half widthwise (is that right? Cut it where the book binding would be, if that makes sense) and each half into 4 layers (I found this hard, it kept breaking, so you could only do 3).  With the top layer, cut that again in half widthwise and stack them on top of each other so it gives a slope.

In order to make a neat icing of the layers, line the exact same cake tin that you used with cling film. Put in the first layer, then a layer of icing, and repeat until you have done all of the layers. Place the sponge layer on top and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Roll out the white fondant icing and cover the cake. Trim to size and icing out one of your books. It’s time to get creative!

57 comments:

  1. Cute cake. Great news about your TV opportunity.

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  2. I think that reproducing a textbook page definitely counts as studying. :) Your cake is fabulous! :)

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  3. Wow! I am so impressed... that looks absolutely gorgeous... I am sure this cake will make 'Exam Term' much more bearable! And I am glad to say I have NO idea what those graphs are... :) Great job, Xinmei! :)

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  4. so cute! thanks for the reminder of my Econ lectures :D

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  5. I'm so glad you made this cake, my son's exams are starting soon and I'm sure he'll love to see a delicious book which he can eat and enjoy. Very creative indeed.
    Please drop me an e-mail I would love to have you in MunatyCooking Magazine :)

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  6. You are vry talented coming up with this original cake; woow!Good luck with the exams. Your blog is really fun.
    Rita

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  7. your handwriting in icing is appalling, i can't read any of it! :P

    great cake as always though.

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  8. Hehe, can I just say, you have intertemporal macro next to your cake... I'm impressed that you're multitasking revision-wise ;)
    (OMG such a geeky comment >.<)

    xx

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  9. That cake is awesome! Great job with the icing.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  10. Hahaha! I got such a laugh when I realized this was a cake! I hope you're taking a culinary course ... that's an A+ cake there! Now, about those other classes ... ?

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  11. Cake is well known for its brain cell enhancing properties - you made the right choice to bake!

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  12. Wow, this is so impressive! You have done a great job with the cake. It looks fabulous and delicious too! All the best in your exams and looking forward to see the cooking show featuring you in it! How exciting! :)

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  13. Ah! That cake is amazing!

    Following =D

    http://irishwishesarespecial.blogspot.com/

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  14. Cake looks awesome. I love the blog and how cool would it be to actually have this address, Im looking forward to more browsing..
    Thanks!

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  15. Wow love the geeky cake, it is awesome...and so is the TV show news!

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  16. What a creative cake. I love it!

    www.birdietobe.blogspot.com

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  17. Amazing looking cake! Hope the exams go/went well!

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  18. How cool...and how geeky...;)! But I love it, this is a genius idea, reminds me that I don't have to do exams anymore...;D!!

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  19. I am so impressed, and would love a slice...I need to try fondant

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  20. Three things:
    1. LOVE the cake!! You are so creative!! Don't know why you're studying economics when you could just open your own bakery or cake decorating business!!
    2. CONGRATS about the cooking show idea!! I love it!
    3. I always need to Facebook less, and I'm not even a bad Facebooker. My current book is collecting dust. But I'll pop on long enough to like your new page!!

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  21. Wow...just WOW! If you don't remember those graphs in your exams I'll be surprised. I think even I'm going to remember them :P

    And also congratulations on your chance to be on TV! That is VERY cool! Good luck with exams and your impending fame!!!!

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  22. Cooking show, awesome! I'd watch it for sure =)
    Best of luck for exams!

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  23. wow what amazing cake first class will like your page all the best for the exams

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  24. um, wowowow? Your cake making skills make me proud :) xxx

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  25. I hope your exams go as well as your cake. This is really very clever and I'll wager it is delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  26. This is incredible! I had to look twice to see that it was really a cake and not a book. Excellent job!

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  27. Wow! That's an amazing geeky cake! I made a cake related to my field of research for my 1st blogiversary.

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  28. What a great cake! I studied macroeconomics a long time ago, and those graphs look vaguely familiar. Still, I like your cake better than any textbook!

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  29. Wow... Xinmei! You made another great cake! I'm so impressed!! Good luck with your exam. And congratulations on the Cambridge Univ TV website. You totally deserve to be there. And it's so cool VP saw your website! I can't wait to see you in action online!

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  30. Haha you are too cute! What a great job you did and I love the detail you went into to make it look like a real book! :D

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  31. Seems like a good way to cope with the stress of exams, or at least minimise it a little!

    Duncan In Kuantan

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  32. Fantastic new on the TV and for your blog success. Good luck with the exams and bravo on the fun cake. Nice one!

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  33. Oh my goodness, Xinmei, this cake is a riot! It's so darn cute and creative. Great job!

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  34. That is a great looking cake (er, procrastination project)! Kudos to your skills. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I've added yours to my Google Reader and look forward to reading your future posts.

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  35. How fun making a cake in a shape of a book...and you did great. Hope you are having a wonderful week Xinmei :-)

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  36. Xinmei, that's awesome and very creative! I just love the way you did that cake.

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  37. WOWWWW, you are amazingly creative and I am blown off by the design :) It is needless to say, awesome and many more adjectives as used by everyone in their comments to describe this unique piece of cake! Are you a celebrity baker/chef? You should be!! :D

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  38. That cake is fabulous! You have done a great job . It looks great and I bet delicious too

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  39. Its not geeky, its so adorable! I love it...the 'pages' especially.
    And I feel like I need to get off Twitter, not FB :)

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  40. Wow what an amazing cake. Good luck with your exams!
    PS great blog :)

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  41. Wow what an amazing cake. Good luck with your exams!
    PS great blog :)

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  42. Cute cake! Most of the time I feel like I need to get off the computer/phone, period. Congrats on your TV spot!

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  43. That cake looks very impressive! All the best for your exams!

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  44. Thankyou for all of your comments! More to come after my exams...

    @Christy Haha, I wish I could be instead of doing said exams!

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  45. This looks amazing. You are super talented. I amazed at your details.

    Facebook can be very addicting. I actually deleted mine because I was wasting way too much time...lol, rather be blogging:)

    Good luck on your exams! How exciting about your cooking opportunity! Looking forward to hearing about it:)

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  46. This is a very good idea. And beautiful workmanship.

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  47. What a fun cake! I'm sure everyone studying for finals would LOVE a slice of this cake!! You did a great job :)

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  48. What a brilliant cake! Good luck with those dreaded exams. Cake always makes things a little better.

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  49. It's a wonderful cake! Much needed to take your mind off the exams. Good luck with them.

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  50. I love this cake! Although it does remind me that I should be doing GCSE revision - but its so clever and it looks delicious :)

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  51. Oh that cracks me up--and I bet it's delish!

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  52. That is pretty damn fabulous! I wish I was so clever with cake decorating :D
    *kisses* HH

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  53. Amazing! I'm exactly the same, except I make cakes when I have an upcoming exam :-)

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  54. hmmmm likee it :)
    http://medicart.blogspot.com

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  55. Oh I LOVE LOVE LOVE this beautiful 'Facebook' cake! It really looks like a book! This is the most creative and beautiful cake I've ever seen! ;D
    Congrats on the cooking show and wish you all the best in your exams! ♥

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