Baking highlights - 2011

Wishing everyone a very happy 2012 - looking forward to lots of exciting baking adventures with you xx

Guest Post

I'm so thrilled to have been invited to do a guest post on Best Friends for Frosting. I absolutely love this blog - it's packed with gorgeous baking projects for all occasions.

In my guest post you'll find the recipe and some tips on how to make a Shabby Chic christmas cookie tree...

I had so much fun making this project. Click here for intructions on how to make one too.

Stay tuned for more Christmas treats soon!

Happy baking xx

Cake International

Over the weekend I had the most amazing time at Cake International at the NEC in Birmingham. It was a full weekend of justing talking cake with my cakey friends. The entries in the competition categories this year were mind blowing, here are just a few of the amazing creations on display:

 The photo of this tiger doesn't do it justice. Each strand of fur was individually created by hand.....amazing

Each strand of fur on the cat was hand piped - the attention to detail on the cakes was incredible. Some of them must have taken months to complete.

This is just a section of a gorgeous fairy-themed cake.

This mermaid cake was one of my favourites - the beautiful coral and shells under the cake was so detailed, you could spend hours looking at it. Here's a bit of a close up....

 

Here's a section of another sea-inspired cake - love the little sea creatures

In the doll section -this entry blew me away. Everything you see has been made in sugar - even the crocheted table cloth was piped in royal icing. The miniature cakes on the doll's table were so detailed - I just loved this.

My mate Laura from Cakeology made this amazing sushi cake - it made it all the way in the car with us from London. She was awarded silver - I'm so happy for her.


As well as cakes, there were amazing floral entries. Some of these flowers look so real ....

I was a finalist in the live cupcake challenge - I had to decorate 13 cupcakes in 2 hours along with 8 other competitors. It was a lot of fun and I managed to finish in time. I decorated in my signature shabby chic style.....

 

and came 2nd place! I was so thrilled. Here's the winner's entry - her monkey cupcakes were so adorable.

Can't wait until the next show.....

Hope you all have a lovely week xx

Playing around with flowers

Last week, I spent quite a bit of  time practicing different cupcake designs in preparation for the Live PME cupcake finals which will be held at the Cake International exhibition on 4th November. I'll be there along with 8 other contestants decorating 13 cupcakes in 2 hours in front of everyone. If you're at the exhibition that day be sure to pop over and say hi.

Here are some of the cupcakes to come out of the kitchen recently....

Hope you all have a lovely week.

Happy baking xx

Cakelets

This week I've been making cakelets (mini cakes). Here's what has come out of the kitchen.....

 Candy-striped bow cakelet

 Gardenia cakelet

 Calla lily cakelet

and last but not least - ribbon roses cakelet.

Although mini cakes take a lot longer to make than cupcakes, they are definitely worth the effort, and make beautiful gifts. I'll be making a series of christmas cakelets soon to share with you all. Stay tuned.

Happy baking xx

This week in the kitchen.....

I've been busy baking this week for National Cupcake Week. Here are a few more creations from the kitchen.....

Gardenia cupcake. You can learn how to make these at my Garden Party Cupcake class at Cakeology.

Shabby chic kitchen tea cupcakes. So girly and pretty.....

 

White ribbon rose cupcake with glitter.....

Hope you have all enjoyed National Cupcake Week xx

Shabby Chic Couture

Hi everyone,

Here are a few more cupcakes that have come out of my kitchen this week to celebrate National Cupcake Week.  I've been playing around with fabric-inspired effects....

What have you all been baking this week?

xx

Lemon Meringue Cupcake Bliss

For national cupcake week, I've been trying out different recipes and this lemon meringue cupcake is definitely up there as one of the loveliest flavours I've done so far. I just have to share the recipe with you so everyone can make these. Here's what you need:

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 250g self raising flour
• 250g unsalted butter
• 250g caster sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 5 eggs
• Jar of lemon curd (or you can make your own if you have time!)

 Meringue Topping

• 2 eggwhites
• 220g caster sugar
• 80ml cold water

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced). Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes on high speed until the mixture is pale and moussy in texture. Next, gradually add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing them in well after each addition. Add the vanilla essence and the lemon zest and mix well. Fold in the flour with a spoon or spatula until it is well combined then spoon the mixture into your cupcake cases (in your cupcake or muffin baking tray). Bake for 18-20 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. Once the cupcakes are ready, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool in their tin for about 5 mins before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once they are cool, core them using a knife or a cupcake corer (don't cut all the way through the cupcake, just half way) and fill with lemon curd.

To make the meringue topping, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir it over a medium heat, without boiling, until the sugar is dissolved (if you put some mixture between your fingers it should be silky smooth). Next, bring the sugar mixture to the boil, without stirring, for about 5 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer you are aiming for 116C). The syrup should be thick but not coloured. Remove from the heat and allow the bubbles to subside. Beat the eggwhites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. While they are still beating, add the hot syrup in a thin stream to the eggwhites. Continue to beat for a further 10 minutes on high speed until the mixture is thick. Pipe the meringue mixture using a star tip nozzle onto the cupcakes. If you want to be extra fancy, you can toast the meringue with a gas blow torch - but be careful not to set the cupcake cases on fire!

Hope you have fun making these cupcakes - they are so delicious x

National Cupcake Week and Cupcake Kit Giveaway

Hi everyone,

Happy national cupcake week!! To celebrate this exciting week of baking, I'll be posting different pictures of some of my latest cupcake creations as inspiration for your own bakes. To start with, here's a selection of pink frilly cupcakes:

All of the decorations are made with modelling paste and are edible.

As another exciting part of National Cupcake Week, I am also giving away one of my "Fashionista cupcake kits" on Friday to a randomly selected follower of my facebook page. The competition is open to everyone (worldwide) so be sure to follow my facebook page by the end of the week (see facebook tab on the left of this page or go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Icing-Bliss/128307480559950#!/pages/Icing-Bliss/128307480559950) to be in the running to win all of this stuff:

The kit contains 24 baking cases and 24 plastic fashion-themed decorations which you can wash and reuse!

Stay tuned for more cupcake inspiration this week.

Happy baking xx

Ribbon Rose Tutorial

I love ribbon roses. You can make them with any type of edible paste (sugarpaste, modelling paste, flowerpaste, marzipan etc), and they are really simple to put together. I often spend a lazy afternoon making a whole batch of them, then leave them to dry in a container so they are on hand as decorations for any last minute cupcakes I need to make.

If you want to make some ribbon roses as well, here's a simple tutorial to help you along the way.

1. Roll out some paste on a non-stick board with a non-stick rolling pin. If the paste is quite sticky, put a little bit of icing sugar on your board. Roll the paste out into a thin ribbon.

2. Fold the ribbon of paste in half.

 3. Start at one end of the ribbon and begin rolling it (like a snail shell).

 4.  Next take the long end of the ribbon and start to wrap it around the centre of the rose.

5. Pinch the paste as you wrap it around to give it a ruffle effect.

6. Once the rose is the size you desire it will have quite a long tail.

 

 7. Snip off the excess paste with scissors.

Your ribbon roses are then ready to use and enjoy.

Happy baking xx

Cupcake Month

It's cupcake month on food network uk. Each day you can find a new cupcake recipe on the calendar and enter in a daily prize draw to win exciting cupcake-related prizes. You can also go in the running to win a Kenwood Chef Titanium! So what are you waiting for?

Cupcake Corer

I wanted to do a quick post to share with you my new favourite kitchen toy - the Cuisipro cupcake corer.

I've always used a knife to scoop out the centre of my cupcakes before filling them and was a little skeptical about this corer, however it is so easy to use and ensures that the same amount of cake is taken out of each cupcake. All you do is twist it into the centre of  a cooled cupcake, then pull it out - simple!

Eating my way around the Lake District

I spent last week in the beautiful Lake District, going on walks, taking in the breath-taking scenary, and most importantly, sampling the local cakes and bakes. Here are a few of the delicious treats I got to try.....

These chocolate cakes were 12 inches in diameter and filled with layers of cream.....so delicious.

Next up are lovely little fruit scones slathered with jam and cream - yum!

Pretty flower chocolate pops decorated with smarties in 'Relish' in Hawkeshead.

Deliciously moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting from the Wild Strawberry Cafe in Keswick.

More scones - these beauties were huge and filled with cream and raspberry jam

Here are some of the delicious slices for sale at the farmer's market in Keswick

I couldn't resist trying the local specialty - gingerbread cake

 

It was so moist - I can't wait to try and make it.

This was the most divine eton mess - I just had to share it with you - from Cuckoo Brow in Sawry.....loaded with light meringue and blackberries.
 

Last is the Kendal mint cake. This treat was carried to the top of Mount Everest in May 1953, on the first successful expedition to the summit.This is the chocolate covered version - yum. If you want to make a Kendal mint cake for yourself here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 500g white granulated sugar
• 150ml milk
• 1/2 tsp of peppermint essence 
• 100g milk or dark chocolate (melted)

Method

Put sugar and milk into a saucepan and bring it slowly to the boil. Stir until the mixture becomes thick. You can test if it is ready by dropping a small amount into a glass of cold water and see if it forms into a soft ball when rolled between finger and thumb.

Remove from the heat and add the peppermint essence, then beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it is smooth and slightly setting but still pliable. Pour mixture into a buttered shallow tin and leave it to set in the fridge. Once set, pour melted chocolate over it and leave mint cake to set in the fridge again before turning it out of the tin and cutting into thin bars. Store mint cake in an air-tight container. 

Happy baking x