Hummingbird Brooklyn Blackout Cake and the Class of 2011

Hummingbird Brooklyn Blackout Cake is perfect if you want to make a chocolate celebration cake.  It’s a moist cake, baked in three separate layers and then sandwiched together with luscious eggless chocolate custard that looks lovely and glossy, a little bit like a ganache, but without all the rich cream.  Once constructed, you decorate with even more of the custard and a sprinkling of chocolate cake crumbs…mmm…

I made one for H’s graduation last week and was really pleased with the results.  As you may have realised by now I’m not the best cake decorator…I know I should take more time and effort but food is more about taste for me…so I didn’t even attempt to make the decorations, especially when we have the most amazing shop in the covered market that makes awesome decorations…so I ordered a little mortar board, scroll and girl pirate, (because I thought H would appreciated the humour) with the obligatory sparkler it was ready for the celebrations.

You can find the instructions here if you would like to have a go for yourself, or page 54 of The Humming Bird Bakery Cookbook. They are very easy to follow.  I only have a couple of recommendations and that is to ensure that you use the correct size baking pans as the ingredients make three very thin cakes and if you used any larger they would be so thin that they would be difficult to work with.  The custard is easy to make but does require a lot of vigorous whisking and when I next make this… which I’m sure I soon will;I’ll use an electric whisk to ensure any lumps are removed more easily.

After a panicky week helping H move out of her old student house, then looking after 'A' who was really ill but thankfully ok for the graduation, then help moving her into a new house...the celebration in-between was a welcome break.   Especially as although H studied in London, the graduation was held in the impressive Guildford Cathedral. It's only fifty years old, and so new in cathedral terms and situated in the grounds of Surrey University, where one of my sisters works.  So, kind sister, arranged for a celebration party at her home in Sussex afterwards...and an amazing two days. 

Gloriously sunny, first the formal bit even more emotive for the grand setting, being congratulated by the chancellor, children's author Jacqueline Wilson, the throwing off, of hats (I nearly wrote 'throwing-up' then), photo's and champagne and canapes.....back to sister B's sunny garden for the five of us that had been to the actual celebration.  Lunch and board games whilst waiting for absent friends and family members, then party...accompanied by the most delicious fruit and cream Pavlova courtesy B and lots of other yummy food and more champagne...


Evening constitutional to walk off all that cake and meet the local horses and llamas in a field across the road...then back to candlelit garden to listen to music and talk until we all exhaustedly dropped into our beds.

...then the best breakfast in the world...mostly because of the company....

...thanks B and M for an awesome time...must get that Pavlova recipe off you...

Oh and congratulations H...well done you...!