5 Summer Ready To Roll Icing Cupcake Ideas

Summer is nearly here, and although the sunny weather hasn’t managed more than a sporadic showing it’s time to start getting ready for picnics and days at the beach. What better cakes to make for lazy summer days than cupcakes. Small, portable and oh-so tasty, cupcakes are great for including in picnic hampers and packed lunch boxes.

Here are 5 ideas for summer themed ready to roll icing cupcakes.

1. Bee Topper. What says summer more than the gentle buzzing of bees skipping from flower to flower. So why not create your own cute bumblebee topper. All you’ll need is some yellow, black and white ready to roll icing. Simply roll a flattened ball of yellow icing for the body and fix a few

7 Tips To Get The Best Results When Decorating Your Wedding Cake With Ready To Roll Icing

A wedding cake is a very important part of a wedding. When the moment comes for the bride and groom to make that first cut together everybody gathers round and their eyes will be as much on the cake as the happy couple.

These tips will help you avoid disaster if you’re decorating your wedding cake with ready to roll icing. Some of these pointers will help with decorating while others will help in other ways that are equally important. 

1. Make A Pinterest Board. This might seem an odd tip but whether you’re making your own

Spring Bird Cake Pops - Cooking with Kids

With the Daffodils and sunshine making an appearance more regularly we decided to make some Spring Bird Cake Pops.

These were inspired by an Easter recipe I discovered on Baking Mad, although ours look a bit more like a cross between owls and chicks, so we just settled with a bird theme in general!

The Mini Mes enjoyed making them and they taste delicious so that's all that really matters, right?!

Quick and Easy Valentine's Cupcakes

The baking is generally left down to me, although the Mr certainly can cook! 

We recently received a Cupcake Frosting Pack from Renshaw including Chocolate Snip and Swirl, Vanilla Snip and Swirl, Strawberry Snip and Swirl, Pink and White Pearls, Mini Chocolate Beans, Multi-Coloured Sprinkles and Red Cupcake Cases so the Mr decided to make some Valentine's inspired cakes... for me!

He likes simple, quick and easy recipes so this is perfect for anyone with little time on their hands or for novices. The ready made icing tastes delicious and saves lots of hassle creating your own with the perfect consistency.

Ingredients

4oz butter

4oz sugar

4oz self raising flours

2 medium eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degree

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.

Divide the mixture equally between 10 cupcake cases

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden

Move to a wire rack to cool

Decorate with the Renshaw toppings and Snip and Swirl frosting

Scoff!

Will you be baking for Valentine's Day?

The Best Flower And Modelling Paste Decoration Techniques

If you want to explore the world of sugarcrafting then eventually you’re going to start using flower and modelling paste. On the surface this looks a lot like fondant icing, but it actually has very different properties. Flower and modelling paste dries much harder than fondant icing which makes it perfect for creating intricate models such as flowers, butterflies and so on. 

Working with flower and modelling paste has its own unique set of challenges, but like everything else in the sugarcrafting world, with some advice and practise you’ll soon get the hang of it. Here are a few Renshaw flower and modelling paste decoration techniques to help you get started.

• Start Simple. Nobody takes their first packet of flower and modelling paste and creates stunning hand-made roses right off the bat. Instead, to get you used to the properties of flower paste and how it behaves try making simple flowers with plungers. You can press out the flowers and then experiment with moulding them slightly by hand or layering different cuts to create a three dimensional flower.

• Use Colour. It’s fine to use plain white flower paste to create your models, but eventually you’ll want to use colour to liven things up. You’ve got a couple of options. You can add some food colouring to the flower paste and then work it through to colour the paste. This will give you a milder colour, and is great for creating pastel shades. Alternatively you can wait for your flower paste model to set and then paint directly on to it. This yields brighter and more vibrant colours.

• Mix It Up. Flower paste is great for making decorations that have a lot of intricate details. It’s also good for adding stiffness to fondant icing when you’re making large figurines. Because fondant icing is softer large figurines made with it can sag and lose their shape. By using flower paste mixed with fondant icing you can retain the rigidity of flower paste while also getting the malleability of fondant icing. You’ll be able to make colourful figures to top your cakes that don’t collapse under their own weight. 

• The Devil’s In The Details. Thanks to its hard setting properties, flower and modelling paste allows you to make very fine details to your decorations. To achieve this you’ll need some tools. A toothpick is really handy for making small lines and also applying tiny amounts of food colouring with precision. There is an enormous variety of sugarcraft tools out there for working with flower paste. Be sure you have a selection on hand to achieve details like fine lines on butterflies and leaves.

•  All That Glitters Is Not Gold. When you’re making flowers or butterflies and other delicate flower paste models a hint of lustre dust or glimmer sugar can really make your creations come alive. All you need to do is lightly brush your model down with some cool water and then apply the glittery covering of your choice with a brush.

What tips do you have for cake decorating?

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