Just popping in with a couple of bits for you – don’t want you to miss out on any of these goings on!
There’s a free PDF download of 10 of my quick and simple cake decorating projects over on The Pink Whisk Shop
Go and grab your copy here
I’ve got a bit of a giveaway going on over on The Pink Whisk Facebook page with some goodies from The Pink Whisk Shop – Books, pushpop holders, dusts and sprinkles worth £60+ Continue reading
Get yourself a good Sugarpaste Rolling Pin!
This one may seems a bit daft, but how many of you are covering cakes with a regular old rolling pin? Chances are its a wooden one and you’re finding it a bit on the short side? Sugarpaste rolling pins are super smooth and designed to be non-stick, they really are much better to work with than a regular kitchen rolling pin and mean that your sugarpaste is far smoother before it even makes it’s way onto the cake.
Get yourself a dedicated sugarpaste rolling pin, the longest you can afford (find them here in The Pink Whisk Shop). Put it on your birthday list or treat yourself. Covering cakes is a whole lot easier with one of these lovelies!
And once you’ve got it, you need to look after it. Don’t go ramming it in an already full cupboard you need to protect it from bumps and bangs. If you’re a little bit sewing handy get yourself a tea towel. Make a pocket in one of the long sides, measuring it around your rolling and stitch at either end of the pocket. Continue reading
Make your own Modelling Paste
This will save you a fortune. Using a modelling paste for most cake decorations, flowers and bits and pieces is much much easier than using sugarpaste (fondant). It dries out quicker so will hold the shape you want it to with ease. You can also roll it much thinner than sugarpaste making decorations look much more refined. The downside is it’s expensive 
Make your own instead by adding 1 teaspoon of Tylo powder (find it here in The Pink Whisk Shop) to 500g sugarpaste and knead well. Continue reading
Storing your left over Sugarpaste – Seal it Up!
If you’re like me you’ll always end up with some left over coloured sugarpaste at the end of a project. It needs storing well so that when you next go looking for the green you know you had it’s not completely dried out or welded itself together with a random ball of purple!
Save yourself a fortune and store your sugarpaste easily.
The answer…. a vacuum sealer!
Pop it in a bag, in the machine, press the button and it’s done!
Perfect, organised, fresh as a daisy, excess sugarpaste collection. Ready to be used up when you need it. It’s been one of the best bits of kit I ever bought, I have this one by JML – vacuum seal system. Continue reading
Colouring Sugarpaste – Get the Dough Hook on it!
Ever turned your hands (and the worktop) purple/orange/green/black? Mine have been all sorts and usually when you’re off somewhere important. I don’t buy ready coloured sugarpaste as I find it too sticky and rather colour my own with gel paste colours. Yes I know you could wear latex gloves but I’m not that organised!
This works a treat when you need enough coloured sugarpaste to cover a cake (350g plus) it’s not going to work with a teeny amount that you need to make a decoration you might as well do it by hand, I’m talking a big bunch of sugarpaste and a whole load of gel paste!
Grease the bowl of your stand mixer with a little bit of Trex (white vegetable fat) Continue reading
I thought I’d share my 5 top cake decorating tips this week, just very little bits and pieces that I’ve learnt along the way and make life ten tons easier!
Maybe you’ll know my top tips already but just in case…. here’s number 1
Don’t Knead – Microwave!
Sugarpaste (fondant) has to be kneaded before rolling out and using to cover a cake. It warms up the sugarpaste and makes it soft and pliable ready to cover without splitting and cracking. The only downside to kneading is that that’s when all those little flecks and bits magically jump into the sugarpaste. Yes you know the blighters I mean! Continue reading
Who wants to dive in head first?
You don’t just have to bake cakes in the your Giant Cupcake Tin – time to get them out from languishing in the back of the cupboard and put them to some inventive uses.
And if you haven’t already got a tin, I think I may have convinced you this week to give it cupboard space! You can get your hands on the Wilton tin in The Pink Whisk Shop as a special deal with both my books – The Busy Girls’ Guide to Cake Decorating and The Pink Whisk Guide to Cake Making for good measure too, you’re going to have to be quick we’ve only got a few left!
Giant Cupcake Tin & Books – The Pink Whisk Shop
Makes me look like I’m wearing a hat!
Ingredients:
Cookie Dough Shell
115g butter, softened
140g caster sugar
1 egg, large
1 tsp vanilla extract Continue reading
So I’ve given you two basic recipes for using in your Giant Cupcake Tins but I thought I’d also cover a few quick tips on working with it now.
Split it and fill it!
This photo is showing a cupcake base trimmed down, so it will fit in a chocolate shell. If you’re covering with buttercream or sugarpaste (fondant) then there’s no need to trim away the sides.
Cake is much easier to trim and split when it’s cold. Wrap your cake well in clingfilm and then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. A sharp serrated knife is the best to use and always cut in towards the centre of the cake, never letting the knife burst out of the cake through the crust as that pulls away the clean shape of your cake.
Have you ever split a cake in two, lifted off the top feeling sure you’ll remember exactly which way it goes back on…..and then instantly forget? Continue reading
Yes it’s completely chocolate!
How about sitting your Giant Cupcake Cake in this?!
To make a Giant Cupcake base chocolate shell you will need 400g of chocolate, white dark or milk. My photos show a blue chocolate shell as it’s easier to see in the photos – tips of colouring white chocolate are at the end of the post. Continue reading
Lots of you have requested cake recipes for a giant cupcake tin, so I thought I’d put them on the blog for you all to use. You can pretty much use any cake recipe but how much? I have to admit in the past I’ve just made a big old batch of cake mix, filled up the tin and then used the extra for cupcakes, so you don’t have to you’ll be pleased to hear I’ve worked out quantities for you!
Ingredients:
225g butter, softened
410g caster sugar
4 eggs, large
90g self-raising flour
280g plain flour Continue reading
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