The Happy Blog

  I am definitely a lover of cakes but there is nothing that says "Good morning sunshine!" as much as a good cup of coffee with some butter (Irish butter of course!) melting on top of a warm slice of banana bread...yum!   Today I am going to share with you my all times favourite recipe for Banana Bread. This beauty is moist and rich - the perfect comfort food. It takes no time to put it together (about 10 minutes only) and the rest is oven time. It freezes well too so if you have extra banana's hanging around by all means use them.                 Makes 1 loaf HAPPY TIP : Measuring your ingredients by weight will provide more accurate results in your cooking. INGREDIENTS: 225gr (3/4 cup) of PLAIN FLOUR 1 tsp of SALT 1 tsp BAKING POWDER  1tsp of CINNAMON 110gr (1/2 cup) of SUGAR 1 EGG (beaten) 75gr (75ml) of SUNFLOWER OIL 1 tsp of VANILLA EXTRACT 65gr of PECAN NUTS (or walnuts if you like although it's extra especial with pecans), chopped 4-5 RIPE BANANAS (the more spo

  I don't know about you but I think a tall cake brings something special to any occasion. Somehow it stands more elegant, outstanding among other decorations causing all the guests to marvel at the beautifully created piece while secretly wishing they could take a bite. Although we all love the looks of a tall cake the truth is it can be a bit intimidating to cut it i f you are not exactly sure of what you are doing. So, in order to help you, I have put together a quick guide to my favourite technique so you can cut your cake with confidence and no stress. STEP 1 : REMOVE INEDIBLE PIECES. It should be the goal of a good cake designer to make the cake as edible as possible but at times structures are needed in order to hold a particular shape or material so you must be careful not to eat those. Ideally, you should receive guidance as to where these structures are. Note that the unicorn cake in the example has an edible horn, edible flowers and edible ears (all made with sugar paste

"  When you buy something from an artist you are buying more than an object. You are buying hundreds of hours of error and experimentation. You are buying years of frustration and moments of pure joy. You are not buying just a thing, you are buying a piece of a heart, a piece of a soul...a piece of someone's life." I read the piece above a few years ago and despite not knowing who the author is he/she couldn't have said it better...     Each cake I design requires lots of planning and brainstorming. At times some research is involved as I create and test something new... but regardless of what kind of work is involved in the end my heart and soul went into creating you the best possible interpretation of your dream cake.                It is kind of a funny feeling if you ask me, but moments before the collection of the cake I get both excited and anxious wondering if the cake will make you smile as I hope it will. Last weekend I finished the cake above - The Blue Sta