Thursday, April 28, 2011

Yum Brittannia ! Prince William's Grooms Cake





As many of my faithful readers know, my beloved is deathly allergic to eggs. For many years it has been a quest to find THE CAKE that won't kill him. It's one thing to enjoy death by chocolate, quite another to die by chocolate ... cake.

A few days ago I found the elusive prize. This is it.
Earlier in the year, Clarence House revealed that not one but two cakes would be featured at the reception.
Prince William's cake is a chocolate biscuit cake, a long time childhood favourite dessert. It was frequently requested and made for the Princes William and Harry during their nursery days by the royal chef

William's cake was being made by British biscuit maker McVitie's and will be served at the royal reception alongside a traditional fruit cake.

A few years ago, The Queen's Chocolate Biscuit Cake recipe was provided to by Michael Dunn a former Chef at Buckingham Palace.
This is the cake that was served to the Princes at "Granny's House", Granny being HM The Queen and the house is known as Buckingham Palace.

And now I present this recipe to you via Canadian Living.

To make a double layer cake quadruple the recipe and use a round cake pan.

READ THE ORIGINAL RECIPE HERE-http://www.canadianliving.com/food/the_queens_chocolate_biscuit_cake.php

WATCH the Royal Wedding tomorrow LIVE -http://www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel


Ingredients
20 arrowroot biscuits , (4 oz/125 g)
8 oz bittersweet chocolate , finely chopped (Belgian if possible)
1 cup whipping cream 1 1cup cup(250 mL) (250 mL) whipping cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 1/2cup cup(125 mL) (125 mL) granulated sugar

Preparation:
Line 5-3/4- x3-1/4-inch (625 mL) loaf pan with waxed paper; set aside.

Break biscuits into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces; place in large bowl. Place chocolate in heatproof bowl. In saucepan, stir cream with sugar; bring to boil. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) of the chocolate mixture to biscuit pieces; stir to coat.

Pour biscuit mixture into prepared pan; smooth top. Cover and refrigerate cake and remaining chocolate mixture separately until cake is firm, about 4 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Remove remaining chocolate mixture from refrigerator; let come to room temperature.

Invert cake onto serving plate; peel off paper. Using small palette knife, spread remaining chocolate mixture over cake. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.) Slice thinly.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Royal Wedding Bets!!!!!



I have a confession.
I'm coming out ... to admit I'm one of those people who have an insatiable appetite for all things royal.
That's my big secret.
I'm a professional, I have a University education, I own property and possess an above average IQ.I'm not one of those "cat women" nor do I have a spoon or tea cup collection.
My " fascination" with all things royal started on March 20, 1974. I was bedridden at home, recovering from an unfortunate accident and the opportunity to watch a Princess get married seemed quite exciting at the time.
After the event, my precocious disposition drove me to want to know everything possible about the Royal Family. My parents fed this obsession by buying books about various members of the royal family for my birthday or Christmas.
Looking back I can see that this highly unusual degree interest for a very young child, probably points to a certain Aspbergers diagnosis.
As I grew older, my "preoccupation" went underground until I connected to the rest of the world through the internet.
These days, I follow everything Royal on http://www.unofficialroyalty.com.
It's a great site... very informative and well worth a look!
The world has now caught up with me and has joined the madness surrounding the Royal Wedding.
There has been much speculation about every miniscule detail and now I'm about to very publically lay my virtual bets.
Please join (and share) the wedding madness and add your own predictions!

Tiara
Spencer Tiara

Wedding Dress Designer
Kate Middleton

Honeymoon Destination
Necker

Baby Due Date
July 2012

I also predict that a "royal" will make a gesture or refer to the t-mobile spoof video.

Stay tuned for the "big" royal scoop ....tomorrow!