Ever since The Great British Bake Off, baking has once again become cool. No longer is it reserved for grans on a Sunday morning nor is it limited to rice krispie cakes. It is no longer just a ‘specialist’ area. If my Facebook and Twitter are anything to go by, nearly everyone I know is baking and it’s fantastic! It’s amazing to see how widely spread it has become and the supermarkets and chain stores are of course, noticing.
On my trip to Sainsbury’s today, I spotted several new products in the ‘home baking’ section. (Even if I don’t need anything, I still find myself wandering that way subconsciously… Well played Sainsbury’s.) There are now things on sale, shall we say, generally, that not so long ago you would have only been able to find in specialist cake baking and decorating shops. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this little beauty;
As sad as I am, I grabbed it instantly. As far as I’m aware (and please, correct me if I’m wrong) I’ve never seen flower paste or modelling paste sold commercially in a supermarket before, so I was very excited. And at £2.50 for 250g it was fantastic value.
Once I got it home, the fun began. The packet says it’s ‘perfect for modelling cake decorations’ so I thought I would put it to the test.
The packaging is lovely. It’s pink, pretty and polkadot. Three things I love. AND it’s got little cartoon cupcakes on it! Irresistible. The cupcakes on the front are a great touch too, showing the little white roses that can be made with this stuff. They have also provided a guide on the side of how to make basic roses;
So the packaging is a yes from me. Now, how about the product. Upon opening, the paste has no obvious scent and I found it really easy to knead but still tough enough to tell that it is a strong paste. I did several things with the paste including rolling it thinly, used both veined and plunger cutters, made the roses in their suggested way and also used silicon moulds with it too. It passed every test I threw at it! Also it coloured really easily and streak free with the sugarflair paste colours that I swear by. And once dried, I painted on it well without any bleeding or disfigurement.
So 10 minutes later, here’s what I ended up with!
So, what’s the verdict? The sort of customer I feel this is aimed at, the home baker, will LOVE this product. To the mum or dad who want to make a teddy to go on their child’s christening cake, the teenager that wants to practice their love of decorating or just to experiment on, I have to say, I’m very impressed. Great value, great packaging, great product. Well done Sainsbury’s.
I give it 5/5 cupcakes!
Have you tried it? What do you think? Let me know either on my Facebook or Twitter. Don’t forget to check out Sainsbury’s baking page for recipes, hints, tips and lovely things to buy!
Britt xo