Pairs

#1: Dreamy electro

Ignoring the slightly creepy video clip, this is a rather charming song.




although they can't compete with RÜFÜS (although I'm partial to umlauts).



#2: Absurdly catchy synth Choruses

This song by Twinsy (self-described Aussie 'D list supergroup') has been all over triple j like a rash recently, but if you prefer the convenience (& lack of mundane chatter) of online streaming, or just happen to not spend as much time as I do in the car travelling to debating venues on Friday evenings with nothing but jjj for sustenance, please avail yourself of this song.

Particularly enjoying the contrast between the zesty choral arrangement and the synth chorus. The synth part of which reminds me of...




 this utterly danceable track from Architecture in Helsinki.




#3: Errr... female voices?

My attempts to create some tenuous links between the songs breaks down shamefully here...

Firstly Gossling (she of 'Boys like You' fame with 360). I suppose you either love or hate her nasal, prepubescent voice, but this single has grown on me (and it's also available for free from the triple j website, which helps).



And... The original song was pretty incredible unto itself, but this cover is a perfectly acceptable trance-y  update (wouldn't recommend staring at the video pic for a long time though).



c.l.

Balmain to Birchgrove II

The route:
N.B: Please excuse my terrible attempt at a map, scanned from the bushwalking book; clearly a bit of a fail as the two parts don't connect, but you get the idea... For a better copy, ask me for the book.

After overshooting the start, we found ourselves wandering down Young St, with spectacular view of Cockatoo Island/Parramatta River, and rather amusingly, bumped into another family clutching a copy of the same bushwalking guide, just finishing the walk (having done it starting from the other end); we didn’t ask them how the walk was, choosing to adopting the maxim ‘ignorance is bliss’.

At this rather advanced stage in the walk (read: outset), a toilet stop was needed but although the local toilets were adorned with the most whimsical graffiti, they were less than whimsical within, so it was decided we could wait, which as it turned out was for the best, as the architect-designed toilet block at Ballast Point park was a Wonder of the Modern World by comparison.

A tale of two toilets

We took the opportunity to admire the views of Cockatoo Island from the park at the end of the point, mentally bookmarking it as an excellent picnicking spot for future food-laden trips, before threading our way along a rocky path, past the unconventional Dawn Fraser swimming pool (I think she actually lives in Balmain, which is fitting), brushing aside overhanging branches.

Willows obscuring the Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool (photo credit: 52 suburbs)

We then followed the trail past yacht moorings, latticed Federation homes with minimalist Christmas decorations (e.g. few sparse twigs bent into a wreath shape painted silver) and mini Coopers galore. At the end of Louisa Rd is Birchgrove Wharf and Yurulbin Park but being lazy sods we cut this part out of the walk, instead making a Beeline across Birchgrove Park (possibly the most scenic place in Sydney for a cricket or football game; it surely helps local mums and dads summon up enthusiasm to go watch their kids play Saturday sports).

The next point of interest was Ballast Point Park; formerly a Caltex oil depot and now beautifully designed Public Park (cleverly referencing its industrial heritage). Here I will direct you to a few stunning pictures taken by the lady from 52 suburbs, and then my own curious photo, which if anyone has an explanation for it, I would be very interested to hear it.

Lock dumping ground (or this could have been the designers being a bit too clever – I don’t get it!)

The walk then loops around Mort Bay. For a maritime/history tragic like myself, this was a complete boon, Mort Bay being the place where ferries and tugs are moored and serviced (and go to die, I presume?), and is fringed by old factory buildings that have been converted to covetable apartments blocks (e.g. the Palmolive building).

Palmolive Buildings & Ferry/Tug Graveyards

After some increasing desperate strides on the part of my family, we emerged back on Darling St, at the eastern end, where the street dives steeply down towards East Balmain wharf. The view is quite the salve to any pain that might have built up from walking so far, and the sun-drenched park at the end (yes the sun came out, although only for a while), perfect for loitering in whilst waiting for a normal breathing pattern to resume.

Here a sane person might catch a bus back to the shops and cafes, rather than brave the hill and several kilometres between themselves and their car, or even catch a ferry if they were so clever as to have planned that far ahead. Rest assured, we did not take the sane option and I won’t bore you with details of my complaining (somewhat stifled by an ice-cream pit-stop). When we eventually reached the car 30 mins later, we were all thoroughly exhausted but satisfied at having experienced a more intrepid and invigorating day-after-the-day-after-Christmas day than normal.

C.L

The day after the day after Christmas day: Birchgrove to Balmain walk I

What does one do on an overcast day after the madness of Christmas and Boxing day? Compile Hottest 100 lists whilst watching the ‘excitement’ of the cricket test unfold on TV and endlessly clicking refresh on the Sydney to Hobart yacht tracker (just me? Oh…)? Or hit the shops to glare at/elbow fellow bargain hunters in the $5 bin at Hipster?
The answer: a bit of all of the above, unless one is feeling particularly masochistic and chooses to spend the afternoon braving the steep inclines and relentless trendiness of Balmain whilst looking utterly washed up as a result of over-indulgence in Christmas cheer.

And so our family set off for what our trusty “Sydney’s Best Harbour and Coastal Walks” book (2nd edition), informed us would be a 8km loop of about 3 hours duration, taking in the surrounds of Balmain and Birchgrove.

We subtracted 1 hour from this estimate on account of the Sheriff, little tortoise and myself’s speed-walking, then added hour back on account of the Heart Patient’s glacial pace and our collective propensity to stop every few metres to take photos of what normal people would consider banal scenes (see below for Exhibit A), consume food and drink (mainly food) and of course, search endlessly for public toilets.

Exhibit A: I managed to make the beautiful Mort Bay (not a promising name; literally ‘Death’ in Latin) look completely boring. Probably to the delight of the locals, sick of keen-bean bushwalkers like us spoiling their afternoon by taking pictures of them socialising their dogs (see exhibit B) or taking their children on spontaneous fishing expeditions (exhibit C).

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Getting there
The book suggests the romantic option of a ferry ride to East Balmain, or the less romantic option of a bus ride from the city. We opted for the least romantic option (in addition to being anathema to the bicycling/vespa riding population of Balmain), by driving. If you do drive, the hot tip is: don’t be council-coffer enrichers like us, and park in the sections of Darling street close to the shops because these are likely to be metered. Instead go further up, close to the cross streets where the walk starts, as even though you will still be limited to 2 hours (all the best with finishing the walk in that time!), you don’t have to pay. Or, as a kind, hipster couple informed us (after we had bought a parking ticket, but the thought was there), there are some shops with unlimited parking behind them.

Terrain
The book had this walk down as ‘Easy’ which I presume means a-just-learnt-to-walk-6-month-old-could-breeze-through-this-so-stop-complaining. However, the prevalence of steep stairs (see below photo for just a taste) throughout seems to contradict this and the Heart Patient nearly threw in the towel after enduring a few of these (I should note that I probably added to the stair-quotient by misreading the map a few times). HP did eventually continue, after aiming a few murderous stares (no pun intended) in my direction.

It is also worth noting that this is a very exposed walk; barring a few shaded sections, it was completely open to the elements. Therefore, unless you do the walk in winter, it is best to choose an overcast day and attempt it in the afternoon or early morning – and despite doing so, I managed to get a slight tan from when the sun showed its face for a mere half an hour.

Notable features


Views! Vistas! Panoramas! Scenic sights! There was so much to take in ; on land and on the harbour that even the lady behind 52 suburbs (who I’ve borrowed some photos from; let’s face it, she had warm gooey light on the day she visited, plus a slightly superior camera) couldn’t help reverting to postcard clichés. History alongside modern marvels; industrial grit alongside trendy gentrification. Beautiful Parks with jaw dropping bridge(s) (Anzac and Harbour) views, clever installations (+not so artistic photo-taking of said installations on my behalf), oddly named yachts, Islands (Cockatoo and Goat). Intricately latticed Federation homes. Oh and a shipwright’s cottage (near cnr of Cooper and Darling St). Swoon.

My only gripe is that the walk skirts around the foreshore of Balmain and Birchgrove, meaning that we missed out on exploring the interior, which is just as interesting, with some of the oldest and most majestic churches in Sydney (if you look across from the train when crossing the Harbour bridge, you’ll see the elegant spire of the Anglican church pointing to the Heavens and you’ll know what I mean), the boutiques and quaint pubs and good ol’ Unity Hall where the Labor Party originated, back when Balmain was a working class ‘burb. Oh well, excuse for a repeat visit I suppose!

Sustenance

This can be found in the form of delightful cafes and restaurants galore lining Darling St, or in our case, several chunky choc-cononut cookies (1 for 50c), sold to us a barefooted 10 year local entrepreneur, who had set up a rickety table on the footpath. They were good, and by good I mean there wasn’t even a crumb left.

There is also a grungy, madalt Woolworths, featuring exposed ceiling beams in a 19th century building.


...see part 2 for the Route
C.L.

My Life is Complete: Mud in a Mug

My dearest eighth street-ers,

I do feel that there is a despairing lack of posting happening in the past... 4 months. So in true procrastination-during-stuvac fashion, I shall be posting your saviour - the ultimate mud in a mug, lovingly adapted from a recipe send to me by She Wears Skirts.

Unfortunately, I ate it too quickly to satisfy my sweet/chocolate/cake/fudgy/gooey/hot craving and therefore do not have any pictures. But do not despair! I promise to give thorough descriptions of what it should look like and trust me, it's so freaking amazing you will forever be grateful.

So to all you fellow stuck-in-an-unending-hole-of-study friends and those damn-you-free-as-a-bird-but-so-cold-right-now friends, here goes. Note the measurements are in no way exact and you should just go by feel.


Mud in a Mug
Get a mug. One you can microwave, not too big, not too small. This recipe doesn't make too much (the cake turns out to be maybe 3/4 cup size) but it's rich enough.

Put 1 1/2 tbs milk and 3/4 tbs unsalted butter in in. Microwave for about 20 sec on high so it melts a bit. Stir this with 1 1/4 tbs sugar to dissolve the sugar and completely melt the butter.

Add 1 3/4 tbs plain flour, 1 tbs cocoa and 1 pinch bicarb soda. Stir it to incorporate everything, don't worry, it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth. The consistency should be like normal cake batter, not too thick, but a thick kind of runny. Sort of like the picture of pouring batter in this blog: click me! (scroll down a bit ps. how good does this look?)

Stir in 2 tbs chocolate chips. Yes! Do it!

Microwave on high for 30-40 seconds. The cake should be hot and super moist & muddy because it's only partially cooked. The top has a shiny sort of skin/layer. It sort of looks like this but not as high. click me! This is because we only partially cook it so it's super muddy. Oh yeah.

So eat! Enjoy! And much thanks to She Wears Skirts. I do enjoy, perhaps too much.

Good luck with exams, eighth street-ers!

cc

For those of you also studying babies like me or excitedly looking forward to Louis Tiffon's (or is it ala Louie now?) new sibling: here's a token picture to satisfy your cluckiness.

Back to the future

Back to the Future is quite amazing!!!!

~ Hurley Who?

Yang:

The riot of colours in this month's Vogue Australia editorial shot in Mexico never fails as a pick-me-up:

The rest of the editorial (in slightly better quality) can be found here.

Speaking of Mexico, I'm quite enamoured of the two newest additions to my matchbox collection:

a soldier with hearts issuing from his gun & an assortment of masks; both images from Mexico printed onto plain matchboxes (2 for $5 at Glebe markets).


Lastly, these photos of Iceland by hound.design via Lovelorn Unicorn are just spectacular - especially the volcano crater; it seriously looks extra-terrestrial!

c.l.

Yin : bleak times ahead.

A few weeks ago when I was at a friend's house, I heard the song 'Alors on danse' (So we just dance) by Stromae, courtesy of someone having downloaded it onto their phone whilst in Europe (elsewise it would've remained an 'unknown unknown' for me)

It was a pretty massive hit in that part of the world last year, reaching number one in 18 European countries plus Turkey (I bet Turkey were wishing that common music tastes were high on the criteria for joining the European Union). And that standard-bearer for our modern age, Kanye West, has done a remix for the English-speaking world, who apparently can't handle the song in its original form.

The song itself is orright (the vuvuzela sounding trumpet is a bit irritating after a while) and the split screen video clip below, similarly so. The main redeeming feature for me at least, were (was?) the lyrics.




Although I have been informed by my francophone insider, The Free(wo)man, that the lyrics are held in general contempt by young people in France, I actually quite like the flow of the verses - they have a morose, almost poetic quality, and the ideas while a bit trite are still nicely expressed (or maybe I have low expectations; yea I'm looking at you, Katy 'Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?' Perry):

(English translation: I just copied this off lyrics translation and can't vouch for their accuracy):


-
So we just dance
So we just dance
So we just dance

When we say study, it means work,
When we say work, it means money,
When we say money, it means spending
When we say credit, it means debt,
When we say debt, it means bailiff,
We agree to being in deep shit
When we say love, it means kids,
When we say forever, it means divorce.

When we say family, we say grief, because misfortune never comes alone.
When we say crisis, we talk about the wold, famine and then third world.
When we say tiredness, we talk about waking up still deaf from sleepless night
So we just go out to forget all our problems.

So we just dance… (X9)

So you say that it’s over because the only thing worse would be death.
When you finally think you’ll make it, there’s more and more!
Ecstasy means a problem, problems or just music.
It grabs you by the guts, it takes hold of your head and then you pray for it to end.
But your body is no heaven so you block your ears even more.
And then you yell even louder and it goes on…

So we just sing
Lalalalalala, Lalalalalala,
So we just sing
Lalalalalala, Lalalalalala,

So we just sing
So we just sing
And then only when it’s over, then we dance.

So we just dance (x7)

And well, there’s still more (x5)

-

opinions?
And to compound the dismal, existential despair that the lyrics invoke, have a lark at Allen Ginsberg's reading of 'Howl' - his seminal beat generation poem which begins with the famous line 'I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked'


Apologies for possibly subduing the pleasant mood of a languid, sunny Friday afternoon (the following post shall hopefully restore it)

c.l.

Movie Review: Black Swan

What people are saying about Black Swan is true – the film IS brilliant, and Natalie Portman is very convincing as the highly driven, perfectionist ballerina Nina Sayers. In a nutshell of adjectives, the film is confronting, graphic, sexual, tumultuous and a visceral experience which finishes on a thrilling climax.

There was a constant motif of mirrors - but what is real and what is just a reflection of reality?! Ooooh!

At first, we get the sense that Nina is nothing special notwithstanding her almost painful dedication to the world of ballet. Her mother is one of those pushy, helicopter-Mum types. A former ballerina herself, she is simultaneously supportive, yet she also feeds Nina’s warped view of reality by smothering her. Their relationship is unsettling at first – her mother tucks her into bed every night as if she is five years old, and opens a musical jewellery box which plays the tune to Swan Lake and has a rotating ballerina figurine as Nina sleeps – and gets progressively more disturbing as Nina embodies the persona of the evil Black Swan. A particularly chilling scene comes when there is a close-up of the broken ballerina figurine, rotating slowly to the haunting music of Swan Lake.

Seedy man Leroy 'seducing' Nina

Nina’s quest for perfection is the cause of her ultimate demise. “I just want to be perfect,” she says to the seedy ballet director Thomas Leroy. He chooses her to play the Swan Queen in the production of Swan Lake. Nina is the perfect White Swan – beautiful, controlled, uptight. However, she is a dismal Black Swan, not nearly captivating or sensual enough. Leroy, in an effort to loosen her up, questions Nina about her sex life and even tries to seduce her. It’s really awkward and just reinforces what a massive creep he is.

A major part of the film focuses on Nina’s psychosis. In the beginning, it’s almost suffocating to watch Nina’s daily life. It really does seem like she has no social life, no contact with anyone besides the people at the ballet company and her mother. But her encounters with Lily, another ballerina who is seemingly the perfect Black Swan-type dancer, trigger something dangerous. Nina’s OCD turns into hallucinations, fits of rage and self-harm. Here is where the film gets reeaaallly trippy – there is no telling what is real and what is imagined. This is also where the film gets graphic – blood, broken toe-nails, a rash that won’t go away. Oh, and a yummy scene where Beth (Winona Ryder), a has-been ballerina, stabs herself multiple times in the face with a nail file, though rest assured I think that was all in Nina’s head.

Nina is extremely threatened by Lily despite Lily being ostensibly supportive. Lily becomes her doppelganger, an alter-ego. In fact, in a lot of scenes, there are flashes where Lily turns into Nina in what is ultimately the culmination of one big mind game. Leroy’s words to Nina are true – “the only person standing in your way is you”. The final scenes are quite thrilling: the film goes in and out of Nina’s mind and you have no idea what is real and what is imagined.

Creepy

The other things that I found interesting was the way in which the ballet scenes at the beginning and at the end were shot. The camera moved with the dancers so that the audience had a front view of Nina’s face most of the time which looked cooler than it sounds. It gave a sense of really being there, as if you were on stage with her and experiencing the same things as well.

This film was chillingly good. And Natalie Portman got a Golden Globe for her performance, which is affirmation of the hype surrounding this film. I’m going to shut-up now.

9 out of 10.

~ Hurley Who?

pensioners' music

I think you need to be in a particular mood to enjoy this song.

Movie Review: Love and Other Drugs

Admittedly, the prospect of seeing Jake Gyllenhaal’s naked and artfully covered physique is probably one of the major reasons why women, girls and ladies watched this movie. While not a Gyllanhaal-lover myself, I concede that he does have a cute smile. Oh, and a hawt body. But enough about that. Love and Other Drugs was a conventional drama-rom-com dressed up in a few accessories – early onset Parkinson’s disease, the booming pharmaceutical industry and unconventional characters.

Anne Hathaway plays Maggie, who is in her 20s but has Stage 1 Parkinson’s disease. As a result, her attitude towards life is ‘what the hell – why not?!’ Which is why she decides to get with chronic womaniser and Viagra salesman Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) despite a somewhat turbulent first impression (lets just say Maggie’s handbag makes contact with Jamie’s eye… many times).

At first it’s just casual – they know what they signed up for. But then Jamie realises he loves Maggie in a memorable scene. As a person who has apparently never said those three words to someone before, it’s interesting/funny to see him hyperventilate at the realisation. Then there’s the hurdle of dealing with Maggie’s Parkinson’s. How do you deal with loving someone who you know will need you more than you need them? They break up and make up a number of times before their collective ‘epiphany’ (see below for details).

What surprised me was how effectively the emotional and sentimental scenes tugged on my heartstrings. There are a few very touching (literally, and figuratively… geddit?!) scenes notwithstanding the main ingredient to any rom-com: the ‘epiphany’ – a teary confrontation in rainy or dreary weather, preferably the result of a high-speed pursuit by boy in a car trying to catch up to girl who is ahead of him in a bus/cab/another car, where both boy and girl realise they cannot live without each other. Cue tears/hugging/kissing.

Another quintessential rom-com ingredient included a funny fat guy (we have Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill to thank for this). This time it was in the form of Josh Gad who plays Jamie’s nasty, sexually frustrated, unloved, unshaven younger brother Josh who is unceremoniously dumped by his wife. Some of the funniest lines in the movie came from him.

Cannot believe those two are related. Natural selection sucks.

Also, before seeing this movie I had read a few reviews that warned me that this movie is “sex, sex, sex”. While there are a few scenes of that nature, it was by no means a porno. In fact, I think the sex scenes added another emotional layer to the movie – you get the feeling that Maggie and Jamie truly have an exceptional physical and emotional chemistry.

First date - success?

All in all, it’s a good escapist rom-com. The attractiveness of the lead characters certainly help with marketing this movie. It’s funny, a bit dramatic, set against an interesting backdrop (the invention and boom of Viagra – the miracle little blue pill) and, of course, romantic.

7 out of 10.

~ Hurley Who?

Easy eh?

AT FIRST GLANCE Easy A is one of those All-American high school films which make me go "I will watch this at some sleepover.  Two years from now.  On a pirated DVD from Hong Kong."  The trailer made me yawn and irritable for more reasons than one - I was fixated upon the line where Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) says "Tom Cruise?" with a scrunched-up face to Amanda Byne's pious remark about some higher power judging indecencies.  I didn't get it, and I still don't.  When I watched the film I winced when it came to that line. Somebody please explain?


However the premise of the film, bar that single irritating line, is adequately original.  A modern take on Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Woman", Easy A scores high in its frank humour and refreshing focus on something greater than the usual fare of tension between girl loser, popular hotties and desirable male figure named Corey X.  Sadly, the fact that such an archaic concept of "hating on the whore" still makes perfect reasonable sense today is a disappointing reflection on feminist standings and gains.  What's more interesting is the entrepreneurial aspect of Olive's decisions to get in the red.  It's more or less a tale of "girl sells illusion of sex for money".   Whilst there is no actual hanky-panky going on, there's some kind of socio-tabloidesque prostitution happening here which I don't have a certifiable opinion on, but it's certainly interesting.  "Let's not, but say that we did" - marketing for teenage abstinence?  Or perhaps pathological lying?

This is how pretend-sex blossoms between a heterosexual girl and a homosexual boy.  

The best scene I must say, comes early on in the film when Olive turns down a camping trip with 'Big Tits' best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka) to spend the weekend at home, belting out the lyrics to "Pocket Full Of Sunshine", courtesy of Granny's birthday sing-along card.  Happily the incessantly groovy song makes a recurring appearance as Olive's ringtone throughout the film, a massive perk to be sure.





Another highlight is the genius casting of Olive's parents in the form of Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci. Like the refrigerated-yet-still-fresh leftovers of the summer of '69, two such amazingly liberal and self-liberated parental figures could not be more welcome to teenaged viewers.  Amazing people.  And despite the  clichéd appearance of the token black adopted kid (Bryce Clyde Jenkins), it's feasible in a family as chill as this one.  Moreover it was probably inevitable that he got ticked off the list of 'what white people like'.

Relaxing is good for many reasons.  White people like to relax in the presence of a black person, as indicated.

The portrayal of religious zealots in this film was another commendable take. Amanda Byne's overly-wholesome Marianne functions as little more than the conservative plot device to stir up opposition, whilst her boyfriend/family/devotees/cult members are largely exposed as hypocritical sex-deprived perverts.  Go team!

Your teeth are too white.

Some faux-Christian noob. Twilight can only get you so far bro. The last shot of him in the film is of him scratching his balls.

The only thing that niggled was the amazing persistence of Hollywood films in perpetuating the MSSE (Miserable Secondary Schooling Experience).  Perhaps this may ring true in most American high schools.  But really, enough is enough.  I want to watch a film where a teenage noob-geek studies real hard for their SATs and triumphs by getting into Harvard.  Like Pandora from Skins, but with noticeably more effort.  


At the end of the day all is good as every Hollywood teen film should be.  Olive bows out gracefully with a song and dance, gets the guys she's meant to end up with and they ride off into the sunset on a lawnmower.

Moral of the story is - always trust Woodchuck Todd.

Thus painful as it is for me to end a review in this way, the cast and originality of the film made it difficult to resist cracking this pun - a big fat A for Easy A.

In the Falkland Islands a thumbs up can get you arrested, deported and fined 500 Falkland dollars.  Sticking out one's thumb heaven-ward is deeply offensive to the local culture.  

[disco.read]

How to make a... Rainbow Cake!

We all love rainbows, everyone loves rainbows! Rainbows are fun and colourful and happy happy happy! So when I stumbled across Whisk Kid’s Super Epic Rainbow Cake I knew this was something I needed to make. So this is actually the second time I’ve made the cake… I sort of forgot about the possibility of blogging last time.

Rainbow-y Goodness

With this cake, everyone's first impression is wow! Then eww! Wow because it looks amazing, eww because they immediately think about how much food colouring has gone into it. I am a fan of food colouring. There is very little that can turn me off cake. But in saying that, I would just like to point out that this cake uses gel colours which means you actually don't put much in it because the colouring is strong. It's not actually that much colouring... and what's so bad about food colouring anyway? It looks good! It's called food colouring for a reason - to be eaten! Eat the cake, people! Okay, okay. I'll stop my rant now.

Basically the cake is made of 6 layers, each one coloured a different colour and then all iced together with white (buttercream) icing. It really doesn’t take too long, it’s just a bit of effort, but then what isn’t? So because I am rather lazy, I actually use cake mix… hehe! For each packet, I make 2 layers and bake them at the same time. This means, 3 lots of cake.



Cake mix..



Wilton Gel Colours - a must!



I figure cooking/baking is an imprecise art, to me measurements aren’t that important… maybe it’s because I’m just too lazy, but instead of measuring out the cake when I divvy it, I just guess. It works alright and uneven layers can easily be turned around to look straight.

(Sorry about the sideways pictures, I can't figure out why it came out all sideways and couldn't rotate it! Help?)



Mixing in (blue) colour

Ka-Pow! Blue cake!

Dyeing the cake is the tricky part. Well it’s not really, but you must must must make sure you use gel colours! There is no other way you will be able to achieve such vivid colours. You would have to use a tonne of liquid colour and still not get the same effect, whereas with gel colours, you only need like 1/2 teaspoon of colouring or even less! I use the Wilton gel colours, which are pretty pricey and I only have red, blue and yellow so had to do a bit of mixing... After this second go, I have realised mixing colours, especially purple is extremely annoying, it’s probably time to invest in a wider range of colours! (just editting this - I was given so much food colouring for chrissy I now have no idea what to do with it, please everyone make this cake and borrow my colours!) The red also needs a lot of gel to get a bright colour, so if you’re planning on trying, be prepared to use a substantial amount.

 

Here’s an artsy shot of all the cake layers pre-icing. Now we get excited!!



The cake starts to come together... excitement!

Buttercream icing is super easy to make. 2 cups of icing super for every 125g of softened butter plus a tablespoon of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. (I think I used 4 cups of icing for this cake... or maybe it was 6. I'm not sure, but it does use a lot of icing and better to have too much than not enough!) Start with the softened butter and sugar, then when combined add in the milk then vanilla. Beat everything together until it’s smooth - be patient with this. I used to be incredibly impatient which meant my buttercream was never smooth. Now I've realised beating is very therapeutic (haha!) and it looks better too!



Buttercream icing... mmmm

Make sure you beat it until it's smooth, be patient!

Then we get to put everything together. I start with the purple layer of cake. Put it on a cakeboard, top it with some buttercream, then blue, then some butter cream, etc, etc until I reach red. Make sure you spread the buttercream right to the edges, but don't freak too much, you can fill it in later.



Yay!

Now because I’m icing the cake white, we really don’t want to get any crumbs in the icing and ruin it. So the trick to this is crumb-coating the cake. This is when you ice the cake with a really thin layer of icing first and let the icing set so it effectively catches all the crumbs. That way, when we get to the real icing, we can just ice/spread it easily and there aren’t (well shouldn’t) be any crumbs in it. That way you get that really neat finish. (Unfortunately for me, on this particular day it was really hot, which meant the icing wouldn't set so I couldn't get it all nice and smooth...)

If you are able to get the icing to set and want to make it smooth, what I would do is I get a knife that's not too serrated (or a spatula) and dip it in hot/warm water and then go over the icing. This sort of smooths out the icing and makes it pretty. On an interesting side note, I was watching Cake Boss and they use a clothes steamer which sort of melts the fondant (which they use instead of icing) and makes it all smooth and shiny! Same idea really.

The cake is white!

Then decorate the cake as you like (I liked it better when I left it blank white last time, I didn't really like what I did with it this time..) And voila! We have our rainbow cake. A little effort but not too much skillz involved. Just make sure there are lots of people to eat the cake because it's kind of massive. Enjoy!

Yay! As you can see, I gave up on smoothing the sides
and spiked it instead, not my best effort, but I tried!

c.c.