Babies, balloons, boxes and berries.
Babies, balloons, boxes and berries. Make your next celebration a magic one with this gorgeous Ottolenghi Celebration Cake and a beautiful baby hamper
One of the most lovely things about being pregnant or having a newborn baby is you get totally spoilt with attention and baby gifts. People love showering a mother-to-be and celebrating the upcoming birth of a new baby. Also it is a wonderful excuse to gather family and friends together over a special event to give presents, eat cake and sip champagne.
Just recently we did just that. Held a lunch party to celebrate the impending arrival of a school mum’s baby. We decided to embark on the Ottelingi Celebration Cake under the watchful eye of the mother of a very good friend. This stunning cake had caught my attention when she orchestrated it for another celebratory event. She kindly said she would teach us and I was hoping to nail this masterpiece so it could be my ‘go to’ cake for future special occasions.
With the help of her and my good friend the ‘sous chief’ or maybe I was the sous chef, as we swapped positions depending on the difficulty of the task and whether we were up for the challenge. My kitchen soon turned into a scene from the popular TV show Bake Off!
First there was gathering of all the ingredients, edible flowers, rose petals (did you know they were edible), all the berries needed including blackberries, that are sometimes a rare find. We then got to work making the three layers of chocolate sponge.
There was stress in the kitchen about over-whipped ganache, whether we basted the layers with enough aged brandy, whether the cake was going to crumble before us as we flipped the sponges over to make the tiers, whether we were selecting and positioning the flowers correctly!
We worked up until the last minute when the girls arrived but it all came together perfectly imperfect 'super rustic' as Ottolenghi would say. I was proud of our efforts but in the afterglow of the party my heart was most warmed by the way creating something in the kitchen and the excitement of a new baby had bonded new friendships and brought us all together.
Why don't you give it a go!
Ottolenghi Celebration Cake (serves 10 - 20)
This blog was created or shared for the enjoyment of visitors to Little Kisses baby gifts and baby hampers www.littlekisses.com.au.
