Party Pinata Cake

Alexandria is turning 9 on Thursday but had her party early. Every year I let the birthday person choose the cake that they would like and Alex decided that she wanted a Party Pinata Birthday Cake. Infact Alex has been eyeing this cake off for several years but has always chosen a different cake so I had a feeling that it would be this one I was making this year before she told me.

The cake recipe is actually from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Birthday Cake Cookbook, which has so many cake recipes in there and trust me, a cookbook worth buying especially if you are the birthday cake maker for kids young and old!

Although you cannot see the cake itself, it is actually decorated in chocolate butter cream (chocolate frosting) topped with lollies and then enclosed in a chocolate shell which is also decorate. Sounds hard but the cake wasn't too much of a challenge to make and the decorating although looking simple was probably the most fiddly part of the process.

Needless to say Alex enjoyed cracking open the casing with a hammer to expose the bounty of lollies hidden. As she hit the casing lollies flew off landing all over the table and then it was a scramble with her and her friends to eat the lollies off the table - I am actually not sure how many of them ate the actual cake!!

Party Pinata Cake
(recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Birthday Cake Cookbook)

For the sponge:
3 eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup cornflour
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup jam, your choice of flavour

For the chocolate butter cream icing:
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk

For chocolate shell:
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
450 grams milk chocolate melts

Pinata fillings/decorations:
2 bags (approximately 20) gold coins
100 grams various milk buds
100 grams fruit chew/jubes
50 grams milk chocolate
50 gram packet Smarties
200 gram packet giant Smarties
5 ladybirds
5 bumblebees
** note you can decorate with any lollies of your choice
toy hammer, for cracking pinata

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease and line 2 20cm round cake tins.

Beat eggs in a small bowl with electric mixer for about 8 minutes until thick and creamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition until sugar dissolves. Transfew the mixture into a large bowl.

Sift dry ingredients together three times then sift evenly over egg mixture. Fold gently. Spread cake into prepared cake tins and cook for 10 - 12 minutes or until cake is cooked. Remove carefully from tins and cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile beat butter in a small bowl with electric mixer until as white as possible. Sift together the cocoa powder and half the icing sugar. Gradually beat icing sugar and cocoa mix into the butter along with the milk. Beat in the remaining icing sugar.

Grease a large pudding basin (make sure it's bigger than the cake) with vegetable oil and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. In a small glass bowl over a simmering saucepan of hot water, melt the milk chocolate melts, stirring continuously until all smooth. Ensure the bottom of the glass bowl does not come into contact with the hot water. Remove pudding basin from the freezer and working quickly, place the melted chocolate in the basin. Swirl melted chocolate around to coat the inside of the bowl completely and evenly. Continue swirling until chocolate begins to set and stops flowing. Return bowl to freezer and freeze until chocolate is set completely.

Once sponge is cooled place one sponge on the cake board, spread with jam and then sandwich together the other sponge. Cut a deep hollow circle in top cake. Cover completely with chocolate butter cream. Top with coins, chocolate buds and fruit lollies.

Carefully place the pudding basin with set chocolate shell over decorated cake. Using a hot cloth rub outside of the bowl until the chocolate shell slips out of the basin.

Melt the milk chocolate and working quickly secure smarties, ladybirds and bumblebees to the chocolate shell.

Allow the birthday person to break chocolate shell open with toy hammer.

Cake iced (frosted) and lollies scattered on top.

The plain casing.... lots of chocolate!! My kids were in heaven!

Before it got smashed with the hammer to find the cake and lollies.....

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

American Style Lamb Ribs

Last night we had Nasi Goreng for dinner, so no new recipe to post on this blog as I have already blogged that dish before. However I will say, as usual, the Nasi Goreng was delicious, didn't fail to impress the tastebuds and more importantly easy and quick to make! And we all know that easy and quick are the best part of the recipe instructions when it comes to cooking especially in my case where last night my plans went haywire.

I do however want to share another recipe with you, if I may?

I cannot take credit for this recipe at all as this recipe belongs to Noel, who is fast becoming the "master rib cooker" in the house!! These ribs (this recipe) are what he made for his 40th birthday party back in April and went down a treat. As proof of their success they were devoured that quickly it was obvious he just didn't cook enough!

As I mentioned Noel has become the master chef in our house when it comes to cooking ribs. Infact I think he has somewhat challenged himself to make them better each time. In the beginning he was experimenting with pork ribs but is now also cooking lamb ribs or riblets as they are often called.

Noel boils the ribs prior to marinating them as this removes excess fat/oil from the cooking process and therefore removes some of the "grease" and the "richness" that puts some people off eating ribs. I have read many recipes, especially asian, that calls for the ribs to be boiled prior to using in a recipe and I think this actually also assists in tenderising them also.

I am not quite sure where Noel got this recipe from. I suppose, if asked, he could say that he found this recipe on the "back of his forehead"!! LOL!! Unconventionally Noel often makes a lot of his dishes from scratch which are more often hit rather than miss and to his credit the majority of the flavours that he does create are wonderful!! He never fails to amaze me or others who are lucky enough to experience his cooking.

Getting another recipe from Noel in my books is an honour for me - so thank you my darlin'.

American Style Lamb Ribs

recipe source - noel

Serves 4 as a main

or 8 as an entree

Points per serve: main: 9

or entree: 4.5

1 kilogram lamb ribs

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1/3 cup tomato Ketchup

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teapsoon mustard

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Bring a large saucepan filled with water to boil and add the lamb ribs. Boil for approximately 10 - 15 minutes. Drain and leave to one side.

In a frying pan add oil and cook onions until soft. Add all remainder of ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 150 deg C.

Once sauce has thickened add ribs tossing to ensure that all the ribs are covered in the sauce. Place ribs in a baking dish (or foil trays) and cook in oven for 3 - 4 hours or until ribs are tender and easy to remove from the bone.
Serve immediately - enjoy!!

~ ~ o 0 O 0 o ~ ~

WW Note: To be honest and although I have put a WW points value against these ribs I have also labelled this recipe as a WW "Danger Beware". The points value I have allocated is definately only a rough guess due to the fat content of the lamb ribs prior to boiling and how much it is reduced after cooking is something I alone cannot work out. My only advice, especially after eating these myself, is that you do not have these as a regular meal on your diet plan. I say this not only because of the guesstimated points value I have allocated but because they are very morish and you could easily eat the whole lot without realising it! Hence the warning!