Two

Turi turned two yesterday.  With everything that is going on at the moment it was seeming impossible to find time to celebrate, so I decided to take a little cake down to the building site so we could all sing happy birthday together.  We sat in our future dining room, with a makeshift table and camping chairs and enjoyed the view.

The cake was my go-to quick chocolate cake recipe, 'simplicity chocolate cake' from the nursing mother's cookbook.  I grew up making this cake and I could do it with my eyes closed.  This is the recipe I use for last minute cake emergencies, as it literally takes about 10 minutes to throw together and then 30 minutes in the oven.  I decorated it with a simple chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of edible gold stars.  I've included the recipe at the bottom of this post for those of you who'd like to try it out.

In lieu of traditional party hats I made the kids some little gold lace crowns (inspired by these).  Basically you just paint the lace gold, coat with about 5 layers of mod podge and then hot glue the ends together.  I'm sure these will be an awesome addition to our dress up collection - perfect for those moments when little people decide they need to be a prince or princess!  Besides, I'm trying to make the most of the few short years that people allow me to indulge my whims and put lace on their heads!!! 

After cake, I took the kids to visit our neighbour's horses.  There are so many horses living in the paddocks around our new house and the kids love them so much.  I've already had to start fielding requests for a pony of our own!! (My Little Pony is probably as close as they'll ever get, but I'm not quite ready to crush their dreams!)

Simplicity Chocolate Cake

60grams butter

2 tablespoons cocoa

125g self raising flour

225g sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee

grease an 8 inch ring tin (I used a 6 inch for Turi because I think the proportions look cuter).  Heat the oven to 180C.  Melt butter.  Put all other ingredients in basin and add butter.  Beat for 3 mins.  Put in tin.  Bake for 30mins.

Chocolate Ganache

150ml double cream

150g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

1 tablespoon golden syrup

Put cream, chocolate (cut into small pieces) and syrup in a pan over a low heat.  Whisk until the chocolate has nearly melted.  Remove from the heat and continue whisking until the mix is smooth and glossy.  Pour over the cake.