A Thread For All Uk Bakers!!
Decorating By hailinguk Updated 25 Aug 2017 , 10:29am by Magic Mouthfuls
I know what you mean my daughter is off school for a week now, she loves doing cakes stuff with me but sometimes you just want to be left alone to get on with it.
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Original message sent by roxylee123
Siany did you use the amounts for the 8" square from the recipe or scale it up?
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Original message sent by roxylee123
I know what you mean my daughter is off school for a week now, she loves doing cakes stuff with me but sometimes you just want to be left alone to get on with it.:)
Awww no Siany was it not quite cooked enough. I'm sorry that's happened
AMorning all. :-)
I'm OK nanny, well, not OK OK but certainly getting there. I don't seem to have much spare time lately but thats more to do with my auntie having a fall (she's 87) and my grandad being poorly (he's 95).I'm spending so much time there it feels more like home than my house! You've started your cakes then? You're gonna be so busy! Keep us posted, can't wait to see them all. (And don't flap!) :-)
Yes I did change my ebay password Roxy, didn't think to change my PayPal one (duh!) But I will now!
AW Siany! I hate it when they sink! You're using a new recipe aren't you? Are you using sr flour AND bakiung powder? I know a lot of people do with no problem but the only time I did was when I was making a gf cake and the first two sunk. When I changed it to plain flour and baking powder it was fine. Apparently to much raising agent makes the cake rise to quickly then sink. I was so frustrated with my gf cake and natt I think suggested I switchto plain flour and iI worked. Might become I was using gf flour but it might be worth a try.
AWas supposed to say "might be 'cos"! I hate this tablet! There's an auto correct for "Roxy" but not for "recipe"! And every time I write " too" it corrects it to "to". It's so going back!
Morning Maisie sorry to hear you auntie and grandad are not well you have a lot on your plate at the minute. I have spent the last 5 or so years looking after my Nana, when my grandad passed away we moved her from Liverpool to Manchester to be with us and not long after she got dementia and alzhiemers and was having extreme hallucinations so I know what it's like, I think my daughter and partner thought I'd left home. Glad to here you doing ok though these things take time.
I don't envy you Nanny. How long before you need the cake do you bake it?
I just got my daughter a kindle fire Hd for her birthday Maisie seems really good so far and cheaper than an Ipad. I stick to my laptop myself.
AMorning cakey friends - got back from my hols late last night. Yes Maisie I had to find something to do while we were getting ready to go out as all the telly was in a variety of different languages and only bbc world news was in English! Nice to hear from you again. I shall catch up properly later on.
Anyway I am so excited as it's my birthday today and I wanted to show off my pressie from my kids! However, for some reason, I can't upload a photo - but they bought me a Dinkydoodle airbrush kit!:D
My daughter has made some amazing cakes but I can't get the pics to load. Will try again later. Must be the bucks fizz!
Kathy
Roxy, I've had MMF success!!! I believe the addition of liquid glucose really helped!!! The MMF was pretty stiff to begin with but after microwaving for a total of 20secs it rolled out ok. It's not sticky at all, I popped the bubbles with a needle and they rolled out and disappeared, but the best bit is the lack of elephant skin when placing on the dummy. In fact my biggest problem was trying to get it to stick to the dummy which was covered in trex.
I cannot recommend it enough 
Here are some pics of it on the dummy. This first photo is the dummy covered in 4mm of MMF (sorry it's blurry, I didn't realise until I'd uploaded onto the computer).
This one is much thinner MMF. I think I would only roll it this thin if my cake was covered in absolutely perfect ganache or buttercream, because it was difficult to smooth it and get all the dummy bumps out:
I'm hoping it 'performs' just as well for the sharp edged cakes. I used my bevelled dummies so no tearing whatsoever at the edges. I have a feeling it will do quite well with sharp edges.
Siany, sorry to hear about your cake! I hope you can salvage it? If it's not sunk that much it probably won't be noticeable once you torted and filled?
Maisie, sorry to hear about your aunt and grandad. It's must be so difficult for you right now what with everything else you have to deal with emotionally. *HUGS*
Kathy, lucky you with the airbrush! You must be raring to try it!
AIt's hard isn't it Roxy? Can just leave em to it tho, wouldn't have it any other way. I actually thought my grandad had had a mini stroke Thursday, his speech was slurred and he was very confused, not himself at all. Got the doctor and it was a water infection. According to doc water infections are the "number one cause of confusion in the elderly". I never knew that, who would've thought it? I really miss my iphone! I had a blackberry but spent so much time on my sons iPhone when he had a new one he gave it to me. I used it for about a year, dropped it and it won't even switch on now! I've gone back to my old blackberry for a phone but got this tablet for everything else.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dayscakes hope you have a great day 
Fab present off the family you'll love it. Hope you enjoyed you hols to.
Petitecat the dummy looks fab, did the last recipe you tried for MMF not have glucose in it then? I found it difficult to get all the bumps out but had never covered a dummy before so I didn't know if it was that or the MMF or me that's why I am going to try mixing it with fondant, I'm thinking because there is so much stretch in the MMF the fondant will reduce that slightly and allow it to be smoothed a bit better. Glad it worked out for you.
AUpdate
It's really greasy. What have I done to cause that? I used the all in one method.
Edited to add, the first one isn't as had but still a bit greasy.
I didn't know that that about the water infections causing confusion in old people myself Maisie until my Nana had one, the doctor told us and tested her because she was more confused than normal.
My phone broke not long ago to so my mum gave me her samsung galaxy it has a few niggles but it's ok for what I do on it, I can't stand Blackberry phones. My brother was suppose to be upgrading to the Iphone 5s in a month or so and I was hopefully gonna be getting his 4s but he's going on a sim only contract now so that's not going to happen now oh well.
Maisie, is your grandad on antibiotics? Will that clear the infection and reduce the confusion if not clear it away entirely?
Oh yeah, Happy Birthday Kathy!!
Sorry Siany I can't help with that one have never known it to come out greasy.
Roxy, no my first MMF didn't have any glucose in it. It was terrible.
Well Petiecat at least you didn't waste your efforts this time.
ASiany, dont know whats happened mine are certainly never greasy, I baked two this morn and they are perfect
Happy birthday Kathy, what a prezzie, actually just discussing one with hubby, he said I must have one, well it would be rude not too wouldn't it?
Hope relatives are OK Maisie?
Haha Nanny your Hubby sounds like a lovely man who knows what he's talking about 
AAw Siany, dont know what to say, mine dont sink, there isn't enough in the tin to sink, I use gas 3 fan assisted for0, always turn out all the same, will send pic of filled one I did earlier.
A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3241015/width/200/height/400[/IMG] This is mine from this morn.
A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3241016/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
Also you everyone can put a face to me, this is me yesterday in Cardiff outside Hamlets toy shop having a photo with good ole Darth Vader. I'm the one in the black, you can decide which one it is, ha ha.
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Original message sent by Lizzybug78
Of course, although it's not so much of a recipe as plonking vodka and beans in a bottle!
You need to clean out a red wine bottle really well, then put in a good handful of beans, cut open but not scraped (I also use spent beans to top up every so often).
Pour in a bottle of vodka to cover the beans and reach the top of the bottle, then shake and leave for a couple of months, shaking every week or so.
You don't need to make that much btw, but I get through a ton so I make a big batch.
I know it sounds expensive as pods at the supermarket are ridiculous, but I buy the cheapest vodka I can find - usually Russian standard of similar, and I get my beans online. The last lot I bought were extract grade Madagascan and cost £18 for 500g (I used maybe a 5th for one batch). When I find a good deal on vodka it works out to under £15 for about 700ml,and is lovely.
The original recipe is here http://www.vanillamart.co.uk/recipe-for-homemade-vanilla-extract/ and this is where they sell the beans too. They do have smaller quantities if you don't fancy buying that much (or larger if you're really going for it!).
Their proper Madagascan pods are very very good too, the last time I bought it was under £8 for 20 top grade ones. In all honesty though, even the extract grade Madagascan is good, and I would use them in a pinch.
Their recipe leaves it for longer than I can wait for, so I just use a little extra bean to hurry it along and use when it looks and smells good enough to me.
It also makes fantastic vanilla vodka if you cut down on the beans ;-)
Ps - has anyone tried using Tahitian vanilla? I keep reading good things about it but haven't tried yet.
Thanks I'm going to give this a go. I got some good vanilla pods from lid at Xmas. They were so cheap, about £1 each I think so I stocked up! Bought tonnes of it. I've been making vanilla sugar with it all year so will try some vanilla essence. I'm just hoping they have some more in next Xmas because I've not been able to find anymore since.
AThanks Jean, he is definitely the strong silent type. Its my grandson b'day on Wed he's 5 and star wars mad, so we all went down to take a look, bless him he even invited Darth to his party, Darth bent over and said, he would have consult the emperor, so cute!
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