The Annual Cake Challenge began, simply enough, with the birth of my daughter. Until now I have not shown pictures of her nor included her name in any of my public work. She is now more savvy than I will ever be when it comes to internet safety. Besides, while I find her the most wonderful creature on this planet, I assumed “child stories” bored others.
I cannot seem to find pictures for each of the cakes, but when I do, and master scanning they will be uploaded to complete this post.
It started quite simply at the first birthday- a cake without sugar or heavy in fats that might tax her liver and kidneys as she was prohibited, by doctor’s orders, from such things until she was 3. It was a challenge I was willing to accept (but she did have her first taste of ice cream, raspberry, when she was about 1 and 1/2).
Challenge 1: No processed sugars, heavy fats, but tasting good.
Solution: Carrot cake with an unsweetened cream cheese frosting which she smushed into her father’s face as it was more fun than eating.
Method: substitute defrosted apple juice concentrate for the sugars, use the sweetest carrots available, substitute canola and walnut oil for butter. Mix agave syrup into the cream cheese and make spreadable by adding low-fat milk.
Result: It looked very good on her father’s face.
Challenge 2: This cake was hardly a cake at all as I had been released from hospital for the night to celebrate her birthday. Luckily she was still uninterested in cake. Her iaia came to the rescue.
Challenge 3: This cake was not memorable. Here in Japan, children attend preschool starting age 3 through to age 6. At age six they can enter primary school. Parties are not given for birthdays; they are not celebrated outlandishly for the most part. This was a small event as my daughter was not yet attending preschool. She still did not live for cake or sweets as ice cream was the sweet of choice.
Challenge 4 The lemon cake with Tinkerbell. The least said about this the better.The lemon cake was devoured, though tinkerbell did not survive.
Challenge 5 The cupcake decorating cake party.
24 cupcakes were made in three different flavours. Bowls of sweets, nuts, and icing were placed on the table . The children decorated and then devoured their own creations.
Result: My daughter suggested we never have a birthday party with others again,please.... so much for that idea of cultural exchange but who could blame her after the shouting and fighting she watched.
Challenge 6 The Stitch sheet cake.
Stitch was made by decorating with gels and chocolate glaçage piping onto rice paper and transferred onto the cake.
Result: Successful if not amateur but she was happy and it did taste nice.
Then she started to up the ante.
Challenge 7: Ice cream Cake. Three flavours of homemade ice cream sandwiched between layers of genoise cake, covered in whipped cream frosting made with marscapone and decorated with chocolates.
Result: not a crumb was left.
Challenge 8: Strawberry shortcake These were the times when strawberry shortcake would be her favourite.
The one problem is there are no strawberries in subtropical Japan until December. Solution: frozen inside, compote syrup to enhance the strawberry flavor.
Challenge 8: Triple chocolate cheesecake.
A New York style cheesecake made with couverture, a dark cocoa cookie base, and finished with a dark chocolate ganache glaze.
Recipe available upon request; it became a best seller at the cafe where I was working.
Challenge 9: Chocolate sponge, with chocolate ganache, and chocolate whipped cream icing. Result: Death by chocolate.
Challenge 10: Cat Cake
Challenge 11: Roll Cake. Filled with whipped cream and fruits.
Challenge 12: Big Hero six made with low gluten flour genoise, low sugar, fresh white peaches, marscapone whipped cream frosting, raspberry cookies and a chocolate plastique girl .
Result: Reminder to buy new mini freezer to store so next it’s okay to go to sleep before finishing.
Challenge 13 Basketball cake for the weight conscious teenager. Soybean flour chiffon layers, decorated with soy milk whipped frosting and fruits, decorated with tempered chocolate glaze.
Result: May this never be repeated.
Challenge 14 Two cakes please: one a traditional shortcake, Japanese style. One,
The other, Flurry, the fluffy unicorn. I really should have bought that freezer
Challenge 15: Unicorn mania: A “unicorn poop” cheesecake. Who would have ever known that unicorns expel rainbows for flatulence?
And, one unicorn cake: all the colors of the rainbow(Victoria Sponge ala Mary Berry) cookies and cream between the layers, Oreo truffles, dripped chocolate ganaches, sprinkles in the colors of the rainbow mixed into the outer layer cake covering and a molded marzipan unicorn.
And just when I thought it might becom easier, after spending some time overseas, she has come to tell me- Mummy, next year I’m 16!!!!
