Mermaid Birthday Party
As you probably know by know I love cake decorating and there is nothing I like more than creating a cake table. They are a lot of work though so I only do them twice a year. Once for Teddy's birthday and once for Cosy's. Luckily they are six months apart which gives me plenty of time to recover! For some reason my husband always seems to be away in the lead up to Cosy's birthday which is frustrating as it's when I need him most. This year he was at his brothers stag party and didn't get back till the night before the party. That meant that as well as effectively being a working single parent for the week I had to work cake making night and day to get all the treats prepared for the cake table. When I say had to obviously I mean want to but it does always turn into a big commitment on top of everything else. This year I did a couple of things I haven't got round to before. One is I printed off some mermaid themed 'food cards' from Etsy which my talented adult daughter wrote on in calligraphy. I think this really pulled the whole look of the table together and made it look more finished. The other thing is that I set the table up and photographed it before the guests arrived to make sure I got some good picks before everything got mauled. Also, I got a pic of the mermaid birthday cake in situ before whisking it away to bring out as a surprise for the magical moment when everyone sings 'Happy Birthday'. Unfortunately the mischievous birthday girl snuck a good look at whilst I was taking the pics. Next year I may need to arrange someone to take her to the park whilst I do that. Having done all this in advance did mean that I was able to socialise a bit during the party and have a few drinks rather than my usual rushing around like a mad person. I did indulge in a couple of bottles of Corona beer and relaxed whilst the kids did a great job entertaining themselves. In fact I relaxed so much that it wasn't till everyone had left that I realised that I'd totally forgotten to do the Pinata! Still at least I didn't forget the cake! The funny thing was I had thought I was so organised, wrapping the parcel for pass the parcel (or parcel, parcel, as my kids call it) and prepping the party bags in advance. There's still always something I've overlooked!
Cookie Girls Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Truffles
300ml double cream
20g butter
300g dark chocolate (min 70%)
a pinch of salt
Cocoa powder for rolling
Optional; dessert spoon of brandy, rum etc
Heat the cream in a pan over a medium heat but don’t let it boil. Add the knob of butter when tiny bubbles appear and stir until it has melted. Pour this hot mixture over the chocolate pieces, whisking as you go until the chocolate melts. If the mixture splits slightly you can bring itby adding a splash of boiling water.
Add a pinch of salt to the mixture, followed by the alcohol if using (personally I like my chocolate unadulterated!)
Once completely melted and smooth, put the saucepan in the fridge for a couple of hours to set. Take the mixture out of the fridge half an hour before you want to make the truffles. Use a teaspoon to take out truffle size amounts of the chocolate mixture. Lightly roll them in your hands (I quite like them not being too round) and then roll them in the cocoa powder.
If you want the keep them for three or four days you can keep them in the fridge covered with cling film.
Take them out at least half an hour before you want to eat them.