Lie Back and Think of England

I'm not particularly knowledgeable  or swayed either way, when it comes to British culture, but you have to give them one thing.......their icons are globally recognisable and incredibly stylish.  Is it the fabulous combination of Navy and Red or that the Union Jack seems to be plastered on any piece of furniture that stands still long enough to be painted at the moment?  Maybe it's just that I have British blood running in my veins.  I can't pin it down, but I do take notice when I see a Union Jack, or some of the other bright red icons Britain is so famous for.

Recently I made an Australian flag cake and I mucked up the Union Jack.  I left the red cross horizontal bar of the Cross of St George out and only realised once I had finished the cake and looked at the shots.  So I wanted to have another go at it, in a bigger space.

I made a double quantity of Stephanie Alexander's simple carrot cake and here's the result.  Decorating it wasn't as fiddly as the Aussie Flag cake and I planned it better this time, by drawing an outline of the pattern in the icing with a pointy knife.

I began with the cross of St George (England)

I used a double layer of strawberries and layered them over one another, so as not to let any white icing show through.

Next was the cross of St Patrick (Ireland).  Here I used only one row of strawberries and cut them into squares to even them up.  I should also say, I cut my strawberries into 3s from top to bottom.  It gives a flatter surface on the under side to work with.  I don't use the middle bits of the strawberry, as they're not as red as the outer layers.  The Beach House Brats are willing take the middle bits off my hands.

They also play with my props as I am trying to shoot a post.  One way to keep the troops occupied I guess.

  

The blue berries were the fiddliest part.  I started to chop them in half as it made them smaller and easier to squash into  a small space.  Just be aware that if you do cut them in half,  the juice leaves a reddish stain on the white icing as soon as you put them down and it means you can't move them around without leaving a stained mess behind.  Personally, I would go for the whole blueberry, so as to avoid this problem.  It just means you will need 2 punnets of blue berries instead of one.  I used 2 punnets of strawberries as well, but had a third on stand by just in case.

To make the cross of St Andrew (Scotland), I came out of the 'V' using one row of blueberries and then widened it to 3 as there was more space to fill.

This cake is going to be fabulous for you Northern hemisphereites for the Queen's birthday weekend in June or for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations throughout 2012.  This is Summer fruit and won't taste good in Australia then. That's why I am making it now.  At least I can drool over the photos when it's cold down here during your Northern Summer. 

This is just one of many cakes I have made or decorated for this blog.  As the list is growing, I have added a link near the top of my side bar, so you can check it out.  I love no hassle baking and the ones on my baking page are simple and delicious.  They are also guaranteed to increase your domestic goddess status with family and friends.  I took this cake to the post match racing BBQ at the yacht club last night.  Lets just say I came home with an empty cake stand.

While you are at the top of my side bar, you may notice I'm now taking advertisements on Desire Empire.  So if you would like a global presence have a look at my terms.

If you would like to know more about the Union Jack or how it relates to the Australia flag go here.  Did you know that in 1788 Arthur Phillip, Australia's first Governor, placed a flag with a different Union Jack onto the beach at Circular Quay, when British settlement began in Australia. I didn't!!!!

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