Just a quick note to let you know I can’t finish decorating the cupcakes until the weekend… got an order for a REAL cake!

If any of you have made some fake cupcakes and want to be ready for the post you will need paintbrush, acrylic paints and a tub of…wait for it… POLYFILLA!

See you Saturday fake cakers!

Anyone want to have a bit of fun?

Want to make some fake cupcakes?

You will need;

An old deep opening muffin tin (and I mean old because if you use your mum’s best one and you ruin it she’s gonna be MAD!)

Muffin cases, like bun cases but a bit deeper! and any colour you want!

One canister of foam insulation filler! You can use own brand, I just have the real deal because thats what my fella came back from B & Q with!

Now to the fun part…. shake your canister real good…. go on…. shaky, shaky, shaky!

NOW…. pop one cute muffin case into each of the muffin tin openings….

Fill each one two thirds full of the foam filler… DO NOT fill more as believe me, this stuff really really EXPANDS!!!!

These little babies are gonna get bigger……

And bigger…….

And BIGGER!!!!

Now you have to be PATIENT!!! leave them in the tins overnight to set up real firm.  Come back tomorrow and we’ll have a go at decorating them to look like proper cupcakes!!

x

Nikki

Sorry for my prolonged blog absence…. I have been very busy doing something very exciting!

Well it’s exciting to me! I am in the early stages of setting up my very own cake and cookie company!! Once I get a few necessary tasks out of the way I think you’ll see my blogging increasing and there will probably be a lot more links to some extremely talented people I have found and some cute cake and cookie tutorials!

Thanks to all my new ‘Followers’ who magically showed up in my inbox today…. WOW!

I promise to post something really cute this week…a nice recipe and instructions!

eleanorjane asked: Why are you such an amazing cook?! =D

Because there is a little sprinkle of love in everything I make! xx

tumblrbot asked: WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

Wanting to stay on a little fairground ride because I’d wet myself and didn’t want my mum to be mad

Two posts in one day… I know, I know, but I was feeling inspired and wanted to try a few recipes out that I found!

This recipe was originally posted back in 2008

http://sitsgirlsrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/09/somewhere-over-rainbow-by-little-momma.html

I decided I wanted to try them but put them on sticks like lollipops!!!

First I made and coloured my cookie dough and rolled it into little balls…..

Then I pressed them together and rolled them into swirls as per the recipe…. I have to say I wasn’t liking the dough consistency much, a little too crumbly and inflexible.

 SO… I think next time I make these I will use my own favourite sugar cookie recipe and just colour it brightly!

I put in the lollipop sticks and flattened the cookies out a little (I baked a test one and it didn’t flatten at all) they looked incredibly CUTE….

All that’s needed now is a little nice packaging and………….. VOILA!!!!!

Now all you need to do is go make some of your own…. I think pastel coloured ones would look really, REALLY cute for a baby shower or little kiddies birthday party…Hmmnn…. maybe I need to go back and try them again in new colours!

I had LOTS of fun today making my very own rainbow lollipops!

I sometimes wish my girls were still small so they could do these things with me and then help me taste test afterwards!

ANYWAY…………….. Here are a few photo’s of my little creations :-)

These were straight out of the oven and I had some HOT little fingers after getting the lolly sticks in place…. it was a race before the candy went hard!

I thought they looked really cute, and the size is a bit deceiving, they are bigger than you’d think! SO…. I wrapped one up all pretty for you to see!

Hopefully one day these will be in my own little shop!

I am always on the lookout for new things to try in the kitchen and found this brilliant idea on another blogspot. 

 I think everyone should go try it and then post their own photo’s on their blogs…we could rainbow blog together!!

Anyway, the cookies are cool, colourful and awesome…. go make them now!!

http://sitsgirlsrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/09/somewhere-over-rainbow-by-little-momma.html

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t at some point, played with and been enthralled by Plasticine! Well as an adult there seem to be few opportunities to get to play with such things.  This is why making cakes and cookies is such fun, because you get to put all that youthful practice to good use. You can make your own edible version of Plasticine using chocolate and syrup (recipe available at the bottom of the post) and if you use white chocolate then you can create your own rainbow of colours with the addition of special candy colouring.  Don’t be intimidated by the need for special ingredients, they are easily found in many online stores and I’ll list vendors so those brave souls among you can have a go!

This week I was asked to make a rainforest themed cake for a lady who’s daughter was returning from six months volunteering work in a rainforest region. All I was told was that she like dragonflies and pretty things. I did a little online research and thought the cutest things I could find were the tree frogs.  I made up a couple of batches of modelling chocolate in white and plain and set out to create a little bit of edible fun!  

  This is one of my little froggy friends who featured on the cake……. cheeky looking isn’t he! Also very flexible, and this is the one advantage of using coloured modelling chocolate to make figures and decorations rather than fondant.  Modelling chocolate can be stretched and twisted and pulled into many more shapes and positions than fondant ever could.  While fondant is a nice medium to use, it can become brittle and dry out quickly when making smaller models. The modelling chocolate gives you a little more durability.The branches winding their way round this cake were made with the darker modelling chocolate too, they would be fantastic for an oriental themed cake, you could make a brilliant Bonsai tree out of this stuff!

You make much more detailed models with modelling chocolate than with fondant, the finer detail is held in place and doesn’t crumble if you need to adjust it. The only downfall is that of handled too much the modelling chocolate can become a little ‘too’ stretchy…. a few minutes in the fridge solves this problem and you can get right back to work with it! Here’s a little pooch I made a couple of weeks ago and he was my first experiment with modelling chocolate, I have to say that letting him leave on his cake was sad… I wanted to keep him! 

Anyway, for those of you who would like to try this here is the recipe for making your own ‘edible plasticine’

10oz of chocolate broken up into small pieces or you can use ready made chocolate chips.1/3rd cup Golden Syrup (in the USA equivalent is corn syrup)
Melt the chocolate using a double broiler or the microwave.  Only use half power in the microwave as chocolate should be only just melted and cool when you add the syrup.  Then mix well.  It will come together but may still appear a little soft. This depends on the brand of chocolate used.  You need to leave it to firm up and cool fully.  You can place it in the fridge for a while to speed up this process.  Once made you can store the mix in an airtight container in the fridge until you need to use it.

If using white chocolate that you wish to colour, then you will also need candy colouring.  This is oil based or powdered colour rather than water based colour.  Do not use water based colourings in the modelling chocolate as the water will cause the chocolate to seize up and be unusable. Candy colours are available online, my own preference is the Wilton brand candy colours.

http://www.sugarshack.co.uk/product/35869/Garden_Candy_Color_set_of_4

http://www.sugarshack.co.uk/product/35870/Primary_Candy_Colors_set_of_4

Happy modelling! 

They say the weather is about to get worse, which is probably a good thing as I’m going to be stuck inside for the next few days! I am about to attempt four different fondant celebration cakes and making iced cookies for a Christmas fair on Sunday… Oh, and I must not forget, making my first ever Whoopie Pies!!
I asked my facebook friends to suggest flavours and pulled one at random, so off to make some cherry almond ‘Whoopie’ right now!  Photo’s to be posted very soon……