Engagement Party Cupcakes!

08/17

This weekend, Tim and I had our Engagement Party! 💍 You can read all about our evening over on my lifestyle blog; She Who Blogs

I wanted to do some baking for the party but I knew I didn’t have time to make a big cake with everything else we were organising, so instead I took my time over the days and made cupcake toppers in advance and made the cupcakes on the Friday afternoon.

I went with three different flavours; classic vanilla (one to please everyone!), salted caramel and dark chocolate chips and lemon and white chocolate chips (my favourite!). I made them in blue and white cases and topped them all with an aqua blue vanilla buttercream to match our colour scheme. Coloured with Sugarflair Aqua concentrated food colouring.

For all three flavours, I started with a classic vanilla cupcake recipe, (you can find the one I use here as well as the buttercream recipe I use) and I then added either lemon or salted caramel flavouring and 100g of dark or white chocolate chips. Nice and simple!

For the toppers, there were two designs. One of white shells made from Karen Davies Marshmallow Sugarpaste, which is my favourite thing to model with, in a silicone shell mould from Iced Jems sprayed with a pearl lustre spray. The second was a heart, also cut out from the Karen Davies paste, ‘B&T’ letters made from Mexican paste and Tappit cutters (read my blog on these beauties here) and little shell and pearl sprinkles also from Iced Jems. The mermaid tail cupcakes were made using a mould from Iced Jems and Karen Davies sugarpaste, coloured with Sugarflair Aqua and sprayed with pearl lustre spray.

I was super pleased with the end result! They were delicious and fit the beach theme perfectly! I showed them off on a square perspex stand I hired from The Unique Cake Company in Rainham.

Hope you like them as much as we did!

Happy baking,

Britt xo

 

New SundayGirl Company Apron!

08/17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New blue apron to go with my new blue tipped hair! By The SundayGirl Company!

The SundayGirl Company are a creative award winning British design brand who take an innovative approach into breathing new life into the glamour of yesteryear with our beautiful Pinnies for Pin ups and Little Misses. Based on original mid century apron styling, we design our own fabrics which are screen printed on hard wearing durable cotton drill. We’re inspired by all things feminine, beautifully vibrant and engagingly kitsch. 

They have a wide range of gorgeous aprons in lots of colours and styles, all made here in the UK. The fabric feels amazing! If you want to feel like a kitchen goddess when you’re baking up a storm, go check these lovely ladies out here!

Have you got one of these beautiful aprons? I’d love to see! Send me a picture on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Happy baking!

Britt xo

Essential Tools For Icing A Cake

08/17

No matter where I am, in my kitchen, teaching or demonstrating, if I’m icing a cake there a few essential tools I have got to have with me so I know I’m going to get the best results. These tools are so well used when I am decorating that I can get them out of the drawer and lay them out like this, pretty much without looking!

I know everyone will have different ways they get the best results, but these tools have never failed me and I recommend them to anyone looking to up their icing game.

If you want to turn your baking hobby into a career, check out my book Cakes, Bakes & Business for everything you need to know about running a successful baking business, including pricing, marketing, insurance and much more!

You can buy the tools below from Iced Jems.

essential tools numbered

  1. A large non-stick rolling pin. I recommend using these kind of rolling pins over wooden ones or a few reasons. Wooden rolling pins can sometimes leave a grain effect on your icing (which is great if that’s part of the design!) and they can be tricky to keep clean. With one like this, it’s non-stick, so perfect for sugarpaste/icing and by having a large one it’s easier to roll out the sugarpaste and get it on to your cake, as I generally use the rolling pin to lift the icing off the surface.
  2. Spacers. These little beauties have been a life saver in my career as a cake decorator. They ensure you roll out your sugarpaste to the optimum thickness, ¼”. Years on from when I started, I can roll out sugarpaste to ¼” thick without too much bother but I still use these as a back up. They are also brilliant for rolling out marzipan and cookie dough.
  3. Cornflour. I use cornflour in a shaker to stop my sugarpaste from sticking to the side. I know using icing sugar may be the standard in kitchens but I much prefer using cornflour. I find it doesn’t make my sugarpaste grainy, I don’t have to use as much, it’s easier to dust off once I’m finished, easier to clean up (sticky surfaces anyone!) and it’s cheaper. Win.
  4. Smoothers. You can buy these individually but I recommend using two. They are for smoothing the sugarpaste onto and around your cake and board. I use two so that I can hold the cake in place with one and smooth with the other, that way eliminating any fingerprints or hand marks.
  5. Cake leveller. If you’ve ever tried cutting the top off a cake with a knife, you will know it’s seemingly impossible to cut in a straight line, I can’t do it to save my life! So, by using a cake leveller, you can level the top with ease and also split your cake into as many layers as you like knowing they will be nice and even!
  6. Cranked pallet knife. With the cranked shape of the knife, it makes spreading buttercream in and on your cakes so much easier and gives a nice, smooth finish and is easier on your wrist!
  7. Cake! It seems obvious I know. But what I mean by this is a good quality, sturdy cake for decorating. Whenever I ice a cake, I use my Madeira cake recipe. It bakes at 3″ deep which is great for splitting into layers, it’s nice and even and has a great crumb structure which lends well to carving, too. Something like a Victoria sponge is really light and I wouldn’t recommend icing it. You will get a better finish with a stronger cake, like a Madeira.

As well as this I use good sugarpaste/icing, buttercream, a thin cake card for underneath the cake and a 12mm thick cake drum (iced too, of course!).

For more information on the different types of icing available and what they are best for, check out my article Which Icing Should I Use?

Also, check out my ebook How To Start A Cake Business From Home for everything you need to know about running a successful baking business, including pricing, marketing, insurance and much more.

Happy baking!

Britt xo

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