In our last blog of the year we wave goodbye to a very eventful and enjoyable 2011 and say hello to an exciting 2012 with a fantastic cupcake companion… The New Year Clock!

We’re a fan of Martha Stewart’s book “Cupcakes” so thought we’d do our own version of her “New Year’s Clock Cupcakes”.

What you’ll need…

12 Cupcakes
Buttercream
White sugar paste
Black florist paste
Trex
Set of round metal cutters
Tappits Upper Case/Number Cutters (includes cutting template stick)
Non-stick smooth rolling pad
Foam drying pad
Rolling pin
Angled palette knife
Edible glue & paintbrush
Cocktail sticks
Edible glitter (we used silver)
Large cake board

1. Take your black florist paste and work it in your hands until soft and pliable (using a little Trex if necessary), then roll out very very thinly.

2. If you have one, cut out a strip of the paste using the template stick included with your Tappits (this gives the perfect size strip to cut out each number with your Tappits!). Then, placing the “1” over the paste, create a cross and push down firmly, wiggling the Tappit cutter to make sure you get a clean edge.

3. To remove the “1” from the cutter, quite firmly tap the end of the cutter against your rolling pin until the number comes loose. Carefully place the number on the foam drying pad and reshape if necessary. Continue to cut out all of the numbers until you have “1” to “12” and leave to dry. The numbers can be very fiddly so if you can, its best to use cocktail sticks to pick them up and reshape them.

4. Roll out your white sugar paste, leaving it quite thick for a smoother finish. Then cut out a circle using the circle cutter most similar in size to the top of your cupcakes.

5. Now, using your palette knife, put a small mound of buttercream in the centre of a cupcake, being careful not to push it too close to the edge of the cupcake or onto the case.

6. Gently pick up the circle of sugar paste and place it so that one portion of the side sits snugly into the inside of the cupcake case. Then slowly work around the edge of the paste, almost pulling back the edge to slot it inside the case. Gently tuck the last bit in and smooth all around the edge with a finger.

7. Add a very small amount of glue to the centre of the cupcake and add a number. Repeat until all 12 cupcakes are covered and have been paired with their number.

8. Place the cupcakes around the edge of the cake board and use either paper cut out or sugar paste dial hands (we rolled 2 pieces of our black florist paste into very long thin sausages – one slightly longer than the other)

9. As its New Year we added a little celebratory glitter to our clock cupcakes!

Thank you for joining us in our blogs, its been very lovely to have you! We hope you have a fantastic New Year party and an even better 2012!

Jenny x

Nearly there now! We’re so excited about Christmas here at BDB and will miss making our festive blogs each week, but we love our last one and hope you will too…

What you’ll need…

Cupcake, flat iced with buttercream
Buttercream coloured dark green (we used Sugarflair Gel Colour in Holly Green)
Piping bag
Wilton 1M nozzle
Non-Stick smart mat
Rolling pin
Ready coloured red & green sugarpaste (if colouring use Christmas Red and Holly Green Sugarflair Gel Colour)
Holly leaf plunger cutter
Sugar pearls

1. Firstly, roll 3 very small balls of red sugar paste to make your holly berries.

2. Then roll your green sugar paste thinly and cut out 2 holly pieces, using the plunger cutter to “vein” the leaf. Put these and the berries to one side to dry (preferably over night).

3. Cut a hole in the bottom of the piping bag, big enough to fit the 1M nozzle, and secure in place.

4. Put 2 or 3 spoonfuls of green buttercream into the bag, push down towards the nozzle end, keeping it as air-free as possible. Twist the top of the bag at the point where the buttercream begins.

5. Hold the piping bag at the twist between your thumb and forefinger. Now hold vertically over the cake, at the edge, and gently squeeze until the buttercream starts to come out. Almost immediately stop squeezing and pull away the piping bag. Continue to do this all around the edge of the cake until you reach the point you started at.

6. Before the buttercream dries add a few sugar pearls, just to the wreath.

7. Then add the 2 holly leaves, followed by the berries. Lovely!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from the Blue Door Bakery team, we really do hope its lovely!

Jenny x

Less than two weeks to go before the big day now so for our third Christmassy installment, a lovely snowy Christmas Tree!

What you’ll need…

Non-stick smooth rolling mat
Rolling pin
Dark green sugar paste (we coloured with Sugarlflair Gel Colour in Holly Green)
A little red sugarpaste (or a star shaped sprinkle!)
Set of 3 Star Cutters
Mini star plunger cutter (for tree top star)
CMC powder
Foam drying pad
Piping bag with a little buttercream coloured dark green
Pearl white dusting colour
Cupcake, iced flat with buttercream

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1. Start by making the stars to create your Christmas tree. To do this, mix a little CMC powder into your sugarpaste, the roll out thinly. Then, using your set of 3 star cutters, cut out 4 stars in each of the 3 sizes.
2. Then, if you’re making red star from sugar paste rather than using a sprinkle, roll out and cut out a star with a mini plunger cutter.
3. Leave all of your stars on the flat side of the foam pad to dry over night.

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4. Now to construct your tree! Cut a very tiny hole in the bottom of your piping bag (or use a writing nozzle), and place a splodge in the middle of your cupcake. Pop the first star (one of the largest 4) onto the splodge. Then place another splodge in the centre of the star and place another large star on the top.

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5. Repeat until all of your stars are used up, using the next smallest size as you go up the tree. You may not need all 4 of the smallest stars so discard the last couple if you think its tall enough!

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6. Add one last, very small splodge to the top of the tree and fix your tree top star.

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7. To complete your beautiful Christmas tree, add a generous sprinkle of pearl white dusting colour. Normally we’d encourage a gentle hand with lustre dust but in this case, a heavy hand has quite a lovely effect!

Cue oooohs and aaaaahs from all who set eyes on the starry starry Christmas tree!

We hope this makes a nice addition to your Christmas cupcake collection and that you enjoy our final Christmas cupcake blog next week!

Jenny x

We’ve been itching to make this little guy for weeks now, so drum roll please….. its the Blue Door Bakery Christmas Turkey!

Make your friends and family giggle by including him in your Christmas cupcake selection, but be aware, he may steal the show.

What you’ll need…

Sugar paste coloured light brown (we used Sugarflair Gel Colour in Chestnut)
White florist paste
Angled palette knife
Scriber tool
Edible glue
Paintbrush
Black dusting colour
Confectioners glaze

1. Take a walnut sized piece of your coloured sugar paste and mould into a pear shape, with one slightly tapered end to make the body.
2. Now take a hazelnut sized piece of the sugar paste and split into 2 equal pieces. Mould these into 2 smaller pear shapes to form the legs.
3. Using the scriber tool, draw a line down the length of the body, in the centre. Then prick the body and legs to make small “pluck” holes!

4. Using the edible glue and paintbrush, stick the legs to the side of the body at the back, with all tapered ends facing the same way.
5. Roll a small piece of florist paste into a long, thin sausage with rounded ends. Then cut the 2 ends to make the leg bones. Curve them slightly and glue to the ends of the legs.

6. Lightly brush black dusting colour over the turkey with a clean paintbrush to give him a little definition!

7. Complete your turkey by giving him one or 2 coats of confectioners glaze, to make him glisten!
8. Now add him to your cupcake (we’ve placed him on a rose swirl using our BIG rose and swirl nozzle). Done!

We hope you enjoyed our turkey tutorial and that he makes an appearance on your dining table this Christmas!

Jenny x