Wimbledon cake

A post in which the writer proves her lack of piping skills.

(ps, I know I misspell Murray above but it was too late to change)

It  probably won't surprise you to learn that were many different cakes and sweet treats baked in my house while I was growing up. Syd special, melting moments, the rude Christmas cake, lemon drizzle, my Dad's chocolate cake and ... the Wimbledon cake. This was in the days when Borg, Mcenroe and Nastase were the stars. Traditionally, in honour of the men's final, my Mum would dig out her bumper Marks and Spencers cook book and make a Wimbledon cake. 

I have followed Wimbledon on and off during the past few years, and never felt inspired to make this cake. However, as there is a Brit in the final for the first time in (insert number, probably about 70, can't be bothered to google) many years, the time has come.

Unfortunately my parents haven't been answering their phone, they are either too busy watching Wallender or something else Swedish or are flooded out of their home! So I had to recreate the cake from memory.

It was a light fruit cake, with water icing and, I recall, a vague orange tang. The tennis court is piped onto the green icing and the names of each of the finalist piped on the opposite ends of the cake. Then, with great ceremony, the losing end is cut and eaten first.

Now I did consider covering the cake with fondant, and painting a beautiful court, with portraits of Murray and Federer, but, apart from the lack of time, I really felt I should stick with tradition. Plus, the cake benefits from the slight crunch of the icing rather than the softer fondant.
You can add any fruit you like, I included some freeze dried strawberries I found in my local supermarket to give it that real Wimbledon feel.

Wimbledon Cake

Cake mix

300g unsalted butter (at room temperature)

300g caster sugar

6 large eggs (at room temperature)

300g self-raising flour

250g mixed fruit (I used dried strawberries, apricots, cherries, raisins and sultanas)

Grated rind and juice of an orange

Grated rind of a lemon

Icing

350g royal icing

2 teaspoons orange blossom water (or orange juice)

water

Green food colouring

For the cake:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (or 175°C for fan-assisted ovens).

Butter, flour and line a 20cm x 27cm rectangular tin.

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for a few minutes until they become creamed and lighter in colour. Add the eggs one at a time and beat into this mixture (if it curdles add a teaspoon of the flour), then add the grated rind and mixed fruit. Sift the flour into the bowl and fold it into the mixture with a spoon. Fold in the fruit and then add the orange juice into the mixture too.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 35 -45 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Make sure to take the cake out of the tin and leave to cool on a cooling tray.

For the icing: Beat all the icing sugar with the orange blossom and then add water until you get the consistency of double cream. Set aside a small amount of the icing for the piped details. Beat in the food colouring and then pour over the cooled cake. When the icing has hardened slightly pipe the markings of a tennis court and the names of the finalists.

You can get a downloadable version here

I don't hold out much hope of a Murray win, but it is fabulous to have a Brit in the final of anything!

Enjoy the match!

xxx

The Games

The Berkhamsted Games, yesterday, were an amazing event and something I'm sure the kidlets will always remember. Especially, as the littlest one walked away with a silver medal, for the standing long jump.

Now, I am about to share some pictures of the day with you, do you think I resisted the urge to tilt shift? Of course not (see immediately below!)

I arrived early to set up my cake, all was fairly peaceful.

Then the ten schools taking part began to arrive, each school had a different coloured t-shirt.

Once all the children were settled the opening ceremony began. They all sang the Olympic song. (I wiped away the tears from my eyes, I'm so soft!)

Then we had a parade of the nations.

Followed by all the local head teachers and the Olympic torch.

There was a very exciting torch lighting ceremony!

(warning imminent tilt shifting!)

The children then were placed in a holding area while the games began.

There was a very exciting tug of war match that almost ended in deadlock!

When all the events were over there was a closing ceremony including a balloon release. (Again with the tears)

A massive thankyou to everyone who helped organize the day. It was a rip roaring success!

(I know, excessive pictures of the balloons, but don't they look magical?)

xxx

The Berkhamsted Games cake!

This is a cake for The Berkhamsted Games, a fantastic event in my town organised by local people, including some Olympians.

There were over 2,500 school children involved. Each child got to compete in at least one event, and they all got ice cream and goodie bags to take home. There were stalls with refreshments for the adults, I sampled the paella, chocolate brownies and ice cream (why can't I shift that weight?). It was an amazing feat of organising and really brilliantly done, I only choked up a few times when all the children were singing the Olympian song and at the balloon release.

I was asked to provide a cake. So I referred back to an old favourite here. There were wrist bands made for townsfolk to purchase with mottos to convey the spirit of the Olympian games, Friendship, Equality, Respect, Courage, Excellence, Determination, Inspiration. I included these in the design, along with a winners podium, and then illustrations of some of the events. I was particularly pleased with the pole vaulter.

I decided to make an animated gif of the cake which was really easy using this online gif maker. It is my first ever it and could be better, but I am really pleased with it, and, myself!

xxx

Robin cake

This was a version of an old favourite for a lady turning 90. The client asked for a robin to be incorporated into the design and for some geraniums. It was a lemon cake.

xxx