Facecake: the finale

The final frontier: assembly. Once you've prepared all the components, this cake practically makes itself. And not in the way beds are "self-made" like my brother claims. No, you still need to do a bit of prep, but really, the hard part is over: the buttercream is whipped, the cake's baked and the trim prepared.

Facecake Part II: Return of the Buttercream

So, I left you in suspenders with my last post, didn't I? Will she finish the facecake or be washed off a cliff out to sea like Madge on Neighbours? I'm happy to say the cake was finished and really, the most delicious part is yet to come.

Facecake

Today, I bare my soul. I show you my baby, my sweetheart, my precious.

It's my facecake.

Tropical cream pie

As soon as summer hits, my fruit intake goes through the roof. And while it's mostly eaten in its natural state, sometimes I like to up the calorie content. This one manages to celebrate the fruit that's in season now in Aus while also making it abundantly clear that this pie, the one white as snow on top, is not good for you. I get a muffin top just looking at the thing.

Caramel popcorn

I've mentioned before how we were an overwhelmingly savoury family growing up. Chips, nuts and dry biscuits were our snacks of choice when watching movies, normally Weekend at Bernies or Terminator 2. My brother and I have watched the latter approximately 50 times, no exaggeration. I do an outstanding Robert Patrick impression - it's all in the crazy eyes.

12 tips to myself

There's no point in making resolutions - I never follow them. I have a bash for a week (or a day. Or a meal) and then fall in a big, disorganised, fried food heap. So instead I give myself tips. Take 'em or leave 'em Bennetto. If I follow them, I'll be a better cook, a better girlfriend and a happier person. Let's see how I go with these 12 tips instead of resolutions.

Sugar cane juice cocktail

Our Bennetto Christmas this year was not a terribly alcoholic one. My Mum normally opts out after one glass and Alex, my brother's gorgeous girlfriend, will also have a couple but not much more. So when it came to fancy drinks, I needed to think a little harder than my usual routine of "Plonk a couple of bottles of wine on the table". I also needed to be prepared. There was the year we ran out of suitable drinks and my brother and I invented out first cocktail: The Volvo. A mixture of vermouth and Solo, it was a barely passable, dry second rate cocktail. Never to be repeated (though at the time, we thought we were on a winner).