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Here are a few examples of the colourful cupcake toppers and the Avengers Cupcake Toppers I recently bought from AK Giftshop on Amazon. Not only were they vibrant and cheery, but they were also conveniently pre-cut too! Although this review is predominantly for the Avengers cupcake toppers, I thought it only fair to show you a few of the other sets I bought and the quality they offer. This is so you can see firsthand the level of quality they bring. Product Packaging/Delivery The...

I found the leopard print edible cake wrap while searching for a unique cake covering for one of my daughter's 18th birthday cake tiers. It isn't something I've ever used before and is a new product to me that I haven't yet tried. After ordering the cake wrap from Sugar Fables on Etsy, here are my insights into the product. Product Packaging/Delivery Victoria, the seller, notified me when the package had been dispatched. The sheets were sent in an A4 Do Not Bend Envelope. The leopard...

Roll up, roll up, exciting news here folks! The release date for the upcoming season of our beloved GBBO has finally been announced. Following a highly anticipated wait, cryptic adverts and scouring the web to discover more. It has now officially been confirmed the Great British Bake Off will be back on our screens next Tuesday, 26 September at 8 pm. Whoop, whoop! But there's more exciting news to share! With Matt Lucas departing the show, he has now made way for the lovely and hilarious...

Here is the 18th birthday cake I made for my daughter. It comprises of 3 tiers, a 5-inch, 7-inch and 9-inch cake. Two tiers are made of up of chocolate chip Madeira cake, and the base is a dummy tier. This is probably the most expensive, busiest, time-consuming, head-scratching cake that has really pushed me. I'm not sure what was going on with the icing/fondant on the day, but it's the first time I've ever had to triple-cover a cake tier! The top tier was covered in two layers of white...

As the summer break has finally come to an end, we have now resumed our BSG meetings. During this month's meeting, we had the privilege of enjoying a delightful fairy model presentation by the exceptionally talented Lisa Courtney-Rigby. Lisa has a diverse range of skills and talents, including contributions to Saracino, her creations for Cake International and her numerous magazine features, which all keep her in high demand. We were lucky enough to see her in action, thanks to Nicola...

Macerated strawberries are when you soften the fruit in liquid. This can sometimes be done when you have below par fruit and are looking to revive it or when you are looking to enhance the flavours of fresh fruit. How do you macerate strawberries? Cut them in half and then either soak the strawberries in a liquid such as Balsamic Vinegar or Lemon Juice or cover them in a couple of tablespoons of Sugar. This helps soften the berry and extract the juices, thus giving you a sweeter...

Thank you for your help, very much appreciated my mum's birthday cake turned out lovely 😊

With it being Easter weekend, I decided to have a little fun with a Cadbury's Creme Egg and made an edible chocolate Gruffalo topper with it. Now, I know it isn't your traditional Easter theme; however, it's an amazing book and something that brings back wonderful memories with myself and my daughter hence the reason for making it. So seeing as it's made using a Creme egg, that's justification enough for me to have it incorporated at Easter. Well, that's my excuse anyway. To make the...

This month's meeting was initially a demonstration of Royal Icing with Judy Banks; however, unfortunately, the snowy weather prevented that. So instead of no meeting, Judith kindly stepped in and provided a fascinating demo on Jelly painting. Now you may be wondering what exactly jelly painting is. Well, contrary to what the name suggests, it's not the art of dipping your paintbrush in a bowl of jelly and painting with it. No, it is, in fact, a cake-decorating technique where you paint...

If you have any kind of bake sale coming up and you're looking for a few ideas or inspiration, then why not try making one of the following items? They can be altered and amended to suit your needs, and they can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be, depending on your time and budget. 5 Things to make for a Bake Sale... Biscuits and Cookies These are always a best-seller. Stick with the classic chocolate chip cookie or shortbread, or be a little more daring by adding fruits...

This is the recent Bob the Builder cake I made for my Dad's 70th Birthday. The cake is an 8-inch Madeira filled with jam and buttercream. It was then double iced in both white fondant and then pastel green fondant, which enabled me to get a smooth finish on the cake and ensured that nothing showed through, as I didn't have a lot of pastel green icing if I needed to recover it. Most of the decorations are made from Saracino modelling paste to help with their structure, such as Bob the...

This month we're back at the BSG meeting, and Feb's is one of my favourites as it's Mini Dems week. This time the lovely Lesley, Marion and Pam offered their teaching skills showing us how to make multiple things with modelling paste, sugarpaste and royal icing. To start us off, Lesley gave us a fabulous demonstration on how to make these dogs, just in time for Valentine's Day. After much discussion between her, Lucy and myself, we decided that the head part could also be used as a seal...

When you make regular buttercream, it generally takes on the colour of the butter and has a creamy yellow colour to it. Now that's great if you're not bothered about the colour. However, if you'd like to get yours into a whiter shade, then all you need to do is the following. Simply add tiny amounts of purple concentrated food dye with a toothpick, yes, that's right, I did say purple. Do it in stages and mix it in. You will see the 'yellow tinge' start to disappear and the white transform...

As we are approaching Valentine's day, I thought I would make some themed teddy bear toppers for you to have a go at. I have made them in a knitted bear design using a knitting mould and also a plain design in case you don't have a mould. They are easy to make and another project you can do with the kids. I have created two designs so you can decide which one you like best. To make the teddy bear cupcake toppers, you will need the following:- Ingredients and Equipment Brown/White/Red...

Thanks to Nicola and Judith, we're back on with the meetings again this year, and luckily they asked Neil McGrath to start us off with an array of chocolatey treats. This chocolate tulip mousse dessert was just one of the products that Neil showed us how to re-create, and we also got to taste test a few items too. The tulip was made from white and dark chocolate, mousse, a dusting of cocoa powder and a white chocolate transfer disc. Neil demonstrated how to make white chocolate hearts...

There are different types of modelling paste on the market, but I have found that Saracino gives remarkable results. (See Saracino Review) If you do not have any modelling paste and wish to make your own, then all you need to do is add one teaspoon of tylose powder to around 250 grams of icing/fondant/sugarpaste. To ensure you get the best results, add the tylose in stages so you can feel whether the paste needs all the powder or if you need a little less or more. Humidity and weather...

When using Icing/Sugarpaste or Fondant on a cake, you must always ensure that it has a good shelf life and is in date before you cover your cake. However, if you are making dummy toppers or a display cake, then the icing/sugarpaste/fondant doesn't have to be in date as it isn't going to be consumed. The only thing you may find with the out-of-date paste is that it may be harder and drier and could require a little more kneading. Tip: Always keep your out-of-date icing sugarpaste fondant...