We thought we’d continue the Spring theme this week, in the hope that the sun might come to stay some time soon! Not to mention, Lenny the Lamb needs a little company, so meet Charlie the Spring Chick!

What you’ll need…

Pre-coloured Orange Sugarpaste (Or coloured with Tangerine/Apricot Gel)
Pre-coloured Yellow Sugarpaste (Or coloured with Egg Yellow Gel)
White Sugarpaste
Angled Palette Knife
Non-Stick Rolling Mat
Non-Stick Rolling Pin
Round Cutter (to fit the top of a cupcake)
Star Cutter Set of 3
Scriber Tool
Edible Glue & Paintbrush
Cupcake & Buttercream

1. Take a walnut sized piece of orange sugarpaste and split into 3 equal pieces. Roll two of these into longish fat sausages to make his legs, then make grooves in one side all the way down with the side of your palette knife. Trim if needs be (they need to stay upright and hold his feet!)

2. Take the remaining piece of orange sugarpaste and split into two. Form these into rough pear shapes and flatten. Take your smallest star cutter, then using just one point of the star, cut out two triangles from each foot to make his toes.

3. Now shape his legs and feet, creating one slightly bulbous end on each leg and one slightly thinner flat end. Then shape his toes and curl a little, remembering that we’ll be looking at the bottom of them so curl upwards from the smoothest side. Glue his feet (smooth side up) onto the thinner end of his legs, with your leg grooves facing the front. Leave to dry.

4. Now take your cupcake and put a dollop of buttercream in the centre. Roll out a bit of yellow sugpaste to about 5mm thick, then cut out a circle to fit the top of your cupcake. Put into place, tucking the paste into the inside of the cupcake case.

5. Now roll and cut out another circle in your white sugarpaste. Before placing it over your cupcake, take your smallest star cutter and cut out two stars. Now place it over your cupcake, being careful to cover the yellow paste right down to the case. Then use your scriber tool to create a “cracked” effect in your egg, working from the points of each star.

6. All thats left to do now is pop his legs in place. Don’t worry if they’re a bit wonky, he’ll probably be a bit wobbly when he finally comes out of his shell!

If you like Charlie enough to give him a go we’d love to see your photos on Facebook and don’t forget, you can buy everything we used in our online shop HERE

Jenny x

After a contestant on one of our favourites programs, The Great British Bake Off, brought to light the dilemma of whether a glitter used to decorate cupcakes was truly edible, the cake world has descended into chaos and confusion! So we thought we’d shed a little light on the matter and try to clear up any misunderstandings on one of the industry’s most used products…

The issue…

In recent guidelines on edible glitter and dust, the FSA have now decided that in order for a product to be sold as “edible” the ingredients must all be digested by the body. They have recommended that non-toxic glitter be used on cakes for decorative purposes only and should not be intended for consumption.

In most cases cake glitters are in fact non-digestible so can no longer be described as “edible”. While the majority of glitters on the market are non-toxic and will not cause any harm to anyone eating them, there are a number of products available out there that are misleading in their marketing and description. So it is important to find out the ingredients of a glitter before purchasing – these should be readily available from your supplier so don’t hesitate to check with them if you can’t see anything outlining this.

Our products…

For this reason we have reclassified the glitters we sell as “non-toxic”, so as not to mislead our customers, and avoid any confusion.

The glitters we sell are made by EdAble Art. Certification from Trading Standards of the EdAble Art glitters’ safety is freely available and the company works hard to keep up to date with new regulations and legislation.

So, to put it plainly, while the products are not considered to be a food item under The Food Safety Act 1990 they can be consumed without injurious effects and Trading Standards results indicate that the range of glitters is safe for consumption.

Please be assured that there is no threat to health in eating our glitters on a cupcake or as decoration on a cake, as they are intended, in small amounts. They’re made up of two materials known as Mica (E555) and Titanium Dioxide (E171), both of which are permitted additives, as outlined by the FSA.

We’ll do our very best to keep up to date with any changes to classifications and regulations of any of the products we sell and we’ll make sure you’re the first to know about anything and everything we find!

Our experience…

We have supplied and used these glitters to pretty up our cakes for a number of years without ever having experienced any problems. Lots of other companies in the industry use them and as far as we are aware, there have been no incidents of anyone suffering as a result of using them.

While we think EdAble Art glitter is safe to eat in small amounts, we also feel it is our responsibility to let you know as much as possible about it and give you the latest news on the subject, as well as our honest opinion. So you can decide whether you’d like to use it or not!

More information…

For more information on the subject please see the FSA’s recent article on edible glitter and dust guidelines HERE

An article on the moment the issue was brought to light HERE!

And, of course, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us if you’d like any more clarification on our products and what you should/shouldn’t be using.

hello@bluedoorbakery.co.uk

We hope this helps make things a little clearer. Together we can get over Glittergate!

Jenny x

With the erratic weather of late we thought we’d encourage Spring to take a stand and get the sun shining with our very own Lenny the Spring Lamb! Lenny’s very simple to make and will most certainly steal the heart of anyone he meets.

What you’ll need…

Black Pre-Coloured Sugarpaste
White Sugarpaste
Liquorice Edible Ink Pen
Edible Glue & Paintbrush
Ball Tool
Scallop, Comb & Smile Tool
Cupcake & Buttercream
Angled Palette Knife
Sugar Pearls (place in a bowl – enough to cover the bottom of the bowl plus a bit more)

1. First we need to make all the pieces of Lenny. Its a good idea to start with his eyes as they need white sugarpaste, which may turn a little grey if handled after the black sugarpaste. Roll out 2 very small balls of white sugarpaste and gently squash a little. Then draw black dots in the middle with your edible ink pen.

2. Roll out 2 similar sized black balls and squash to form his ears – shape them a little, tapering one side to make a pear shape. Then use the small end of your ball tool to make indents in them.

3. Now take a walnut sized piece of black sugarpaste and roll into a ball. Then gently shape it into another pear. Flatten the top of Lenny’s head while almost pinching the underneath to make your pear a bit square. Finally, roll out 2 small sausages to form his front legs.

4. Making sure your hands are clean, glue Lenny’s eyes in place, followed by his ears. Then indent some nostrils with the small end of the ball tool and give him a smile with the scallop, comb and smile tool. Leave Lenny to dry.

5. Now take your cupcake. Flat ice the top with buttercream using your angled palette knife – don’t worry if your top isn’t perfectly smooth, just make sure there is a good layer of buttercream covering your cake and its not overhanging the case too much. Now turn the cupcake over and dip it in your bowl of pearls to completely cover the top.

6. Now its time to assemble Lenny. Push his head into the buttercream so that his chin is roughly in line with the halfway point of the cupcake top. Then put his feet in place a little below his chin. If you struggle to get him to stick, just move the pearls out of the way a bit with your ball tool, so you can see the buttercream, then pop him in.

7. Give Lenny a good home.

Jenny x

We hope you all had a lovely Easter and managed to cook up some treats, as well as receiving many too!

This week we’re giving you three tutorials in one, just because we like you. If you haven’t yet seen them, we’ve recently started selling a brand spanking new product – Edible Icing Sheets available with two very different but equally lovely patterns, as seen in our Shabby Chic Cupcake Class. From what we hear you’ve absolutely loved them and we’re struggling to print them fast enough! So we thought we’d show you a few things you could do with yours…

What you’ll need for all of this week’s tutorials…

Ditsy Vintage Rose Edible Icing Sheet
Blue Door Bakery Polkadot Edible Icing Sheet
Scissors
Edible Ink Pen in Liquorice
Edible Glue & Paintbrush
Bow Cutter
White Florist Paste/Sugarpaste mixed with a little CMC Powder
Rolling Pin
Non-Stick Smooth Rolling Mat
Round Cutter (to fit the top of a cupcake)
Cocktail Sticks
Royal Icing for Flag Piping (optional)
Cupcakes
Buttercream (in a piping bag fitted with a 1M nozzle)
Blue Polkadot Cupcake Wrapper

Beautifully Wrapped Parcel Cupcake

1. Make a bow for your parcel using your bow cutter and florist paste/sugarpaste with CMC, plus 2 strips long enough to cover the width of your cupcake top. For an in depth tutorial on how to use your bow cutter please see our YouTube video below…

How To Make An Edible Bow For Cupcakes

2. Roll and cut out a piece of sugarpaste using a round cutter the same size as your cupcake top. Using the same cutter as a guide, cut out a circle of your polkadot Edible Icing Sheet (use your edible pen to draw a circle first if you’re not happy to do it freehand!). Remove the backing on your sheet and glue onto the sugarpaste, then fix your strips and box in place.

3. Pipe a rose swirl on top of a cupcake, then gently place your parcel circle on the top. Add a blue polkadot wrapper to really finish it off!

Edible Cupcake Flags (Minus the Cocktail Stick!)

1. Cut strips out of your Edible Icing Sheets roughly 6.5cm long and 2.5cm wide. Cut out an inverted “V” into one end of the strip and taper the other end. Making sure to remove the backing, glue your flags to the cocktail sticks, so that the tapered end is hidden – it works best if you seal the top just above the top of the cocktail stick to help the flag stay in place.

2. We’ve added a few phrases to ours using Royal icing but they look just as lovely proudly displaying nothing but the patterned icing. You may have to let everyone know that the flag in their cupcake is edible but don’t forget to warn them we haven’t quite managed the edible cocktail stick just yet!

Ditsy Vintage Rose

1. Take your rose Edible Icing Sheet and using your edible ink pen draw a large spiral – don’t worry about how neat your spiral is, the wonkier the rose, the more charm it has!

2. Cut along the line of your spiral. Remove the backing and beginning at the outer most point, start to roll your spiral so that the wider side forms the top of your rose, adding a little edible glue to the first twist to help it stick.

3. When you reach the end of your spiral cut of any excess and edible glue the free end to the side of the rose. You can shape the rose a little as you go, slowly allowing it to splay out a little towards the end. Leave it on a flat surface before adding to your cupcake, keeping one finger underneath whenever moving – it’ll be nice and secure once atop your cake!

We hope we’ve inspired you to get creative with your Edible Icing Sheets, as always they and all of the other products featured in the blog are available from our online shop HERE and you can learn more about using them in our Shabby Chic Cupcakes Class.

Jenny x

For the last two Easter themed blogs we’ve focused on cupcake decoration so this week we thought we’d share a fantastic Easter recipe with you all (and a cheeky bit of decoration…)

What you’ll need…

To Make the Cupcakes

125g Unsalted Butter
125g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
125g Self Raising Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
The Zest of 1 Medium Orange
50g Sultanas
1 tbsp Mixed Peel
The Juice of 1 Lemon

1. Turn the oven to 170C and line a muffin tray with cake cases.

2. When used in a sponge cake dried fruit can sink to the bottom so to stop it doing this (and add a bit more zing) put the sultanas and mixed peel in a bowl, cover with the lemon juice and zap in the microwave for 1 minute, then put to one side to cool slightly.

3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, each time adding a tbsp of your flour. When combined add the rest of the flour and the milk and mix in by hand.

4. Now add your vanilla, cinnamon, sultanas, mixed peel and orange zest. Gently mix through.

5. Divide between the baking cases and bake for roughly 20 minutes, turning if necessary, until the cakes are golden brown on top (oven times and temperatures may vary so bake accordingly). Then leave to cool.

To Decorate

Buttercream
Non Stick Rolling Mat
Rolling Pin
Sugar paste in white, coloured brown with Chestnut, and some black (use pre-coloured for less dyed hands!)
Edible Glue
Confectioners Glaze
Paintsbrushes
Angled Palette Knife
Round Cutters (To fit the top of your cupcakes)

1. Roll out your brown sugarpaste and cut out a circle to fit the top of your cupcake. Put a dollop of buttercream on top of a cupcake and gently put the sugarpaste circle in place, slotting it down inside the case. Repeat with all cupcakes.

2. Roll out your white sugarpaste quite thinly. Using your palette knife, cut long strips and cut to size using the same round cutter as you used for your circle. Glue in place to form your crosses.

3. Paint a little confectioners glaze over each cupcake.

4. Roll out small balls of black sugar paste for your currants. Glue in place, pinching as you fix them to give them a more “curranty” shape!

Enjoy these yummy treats! We hope you’ve enjoyed our Easter specials, and put them to good practice this coming week. Remember we sell all of the products we use in our online shop and we love seeing your versions of our tutorials so please share on Facebook!

Jenny x