This Month's
Special Offers
 | | 20% OFF Gingerbread man cookie and pastry cutter is now £1.28 |
 | | Santa Surprise design pack of 10 cellophane bags are now £4.17. That is a 10% discount! |
 | | Christmas Night cellophane bags are now 10% off at £4.64 for pack of 10 |
| 15% off the set of 6 plastic star cutters - Now £3.91 while stocks last! |
| A whopping 25% off our end of line mini gingerbread pan. Now only £11.25 |
| This candy cane ribbon was used on my rudolph cake and is on special offer this month with 10% off. Now £1.80 per metre |
| The mixed bag of silver dragees used in my Take 1 Make 1 cake are now 10% off at £1.38 for a 30g bag |
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Take One then
Make One
Many cake decorators pride themselves on their homemade fruit cake recipes but some of us put the trust in our supermarkets and buy ready made. In fact, we have found a supplier of such yummy fruit cakes that I would definitely recommend you try them.
The cake above shows how a plain white ready iced cake, bought from a shop, can be totally transformed into something very sleek, modern and stylish. I have used black and silver as my colour theme but with our huge range of ribbons and christmas decorations, the possible variations are endless.
The decoration on the cake comes in a set which includes a silver poinsettia posy with flower pick and 1.5 metres of ribbon which completes the cake and looks stunning wrapped around and tied into a bow. We have decorated the cake with a ring of silver dragees in different sizes. Brush edible glue over the cake where you wish them to stick but larger dragees may need a little royal icing stay on.
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Hello Readers,
Welcome to our special Christmas newsletter. I have tried to get this to you early so that you have time to try out some of my recipes and ideas this month as I know you will all be so busy as the festive season approaches. In these financially testing times I truly believe that it is a perfect opportunity for all you cake bakers and decorators to make good use of your creative ability and instead of buying presents for friends and family, have a go at making them. This makes even more sense when you see all our special offers available this month and remember that the offers are only for a limited period while we have the stock so don't delay, order now! We also have some fantastic packaging for Christmas this year so not only will your cakes and fancies taste nice, but they will look professional too. As usual, I have included some photos of cakes made by our very talented readers and I look forward to seeing your Christmas cakes in my Hall of Fame too.
To make life easier, I have linked all the items in blue to the website so just click the blue words and it will take you directly to the website. If you are interested in our Special Offers, just click the picture and you will be taken to the offer page on our website. Easy!
May I take this opportunity to thank all the readers and customers who took time out of their Saturday to come and join us for our Macmillan cancer coffee morning on Saturday 9th October. Due to your efforts and generosity we managed to raise £523.49. Well done everyone!
Until December, happy baking.
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When I give these truffles to people they always think I have slaved over them for hours and although it is tempting to just nod and agree, I always come clean about how easy they are to make! In the time it takes to go to a shop and buy a box, you could make these at home and they will taste so much better.
Chocolate Truffle Recipe - Melt 300g plain chocolate (at least 75%).
- Add 125g of unsalted butter and 4 tbsp of double cream.
- Stir, then add 200g of icing sugar and a dash of rum or brandy.
- Stir until thick and then roll into balls.
- You can either chill them now or further roll them in chocolate vermicelli or cocoa powder and then chill for 1-2 hours.
They are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, or if you like to have brandies and ports after dinner. Children love them, so they are nice to have around the house at Christmas. You can make a big batch of truffles - it's not hard to make them look pretty for a present, especially with our gorgeous new boxes. I think it makes it so much more special and personal if you have made them yourself, and in these difficult times, it will save you a bit of money too. Icing holly and berry decorations finish these festive truffles off beautifully. |
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5 ways with a Snowflake Cutter
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When you invest in a cutter, you wa
nt to get use out of it so here I have come up with 5 different ways of using this amazing set of snowflake cutters.Nothing is more effective than a white snowflake
on a striking background like the cupcakes below.
I like the red and white effect so much that I have repeated
it below but on a large cake and I have layered the snowflakes
to give more dimension. The colour scheme matches
 To take the layering idea one step further, to the layered snowflakes to give the impression of soft
If you have any of the layered snowflakes left over, you can always pop them on top of a matching cupcake, as above.
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I love this new sugar Rudolph plaque on the cake below. It is perfect for a fun children's cake and so easy to make. Just cover your christmas cake with marzipan and then red sugarpaste. When the sugarpaste has hardened, add the sugar Rudolph plaque and secure with a dab of sugar glue or royal icing. If the smoothness of your sugarpaste covering leaves a little to be desired, this Christmas candy cane ribbon is the perfect cover up at 63mm wide! The ribbon used here around the board is a new Christmas ribbon that comes in 2 widths and the cake is edged with white snowball sprinkles. This cake would be perfect for children's Christmas party or even a seasonal baby shower party and you could have any name or inscription on the top using the great FMM Tappit cutters.
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I adore cookies so obviously this selection of decorated
seasonal goodies have been a pleasure to make.
For the snow covered house above, I used our
can create some gorgeous cookies. I even pierced a hole
in the top of them and threaded some 3mm red ribbon through to hang on the Christmas tree.
This handsome gingerbread man looks great
presented in this Christmas cellophane bag. He is on special offer
this month! You don't have to choose this ribbon though,
CLICK HERE for our full range of Christmas ribbons.
For our full range of Christmas cellophane bags
CLICK HERE
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How to Make.....
a Gingerbread Christmas Tree
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I made this stylish looking Christmas tree from the gingerbread dough I had left over from making the Christmas cookies together with our set of 6 plastic star cutters and I am very pleased with the outcome. It is simple, yet very effective. Most importantly, it is easy and quick to make. I don't give out my secret recipes often but as it's a Christmas edition, I thought I would share my gingerbread cookie dough recipe. It is sticky, rich and very moreish........
Gingerbread Cookie Dough
- Place 90g (3oz) of clear honey in a pan with 175g (6oz) of dark brown sugar and 60g (2oz) butter and melt over a gentle heat, stirring until all has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
- Sift 350g (12oz) plain flour with 1 level tsp of baking powder, ground ginger and mixed spice into a bowl. Pour in the melted mixture and 1 lightly beaten egg and mix well.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and thoroughly mixed. Keep the dough well wrapped (a freezer bag is best) until needed.
- Set oven temp to Gas 4, 180C/350F.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to the required thickness (10mm max), cut out the shapes and transfer to lined baking sheets.
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, depending on size and thickness, until they start to brown. Remove and allow to cool on the baking sheets.
Having now made the gingerbread dough, you need to roll it out to about 7mm thick and then cut out 2 each of the set of 6 plastic star cutters. I made an extra star for the top of the tree so don't forget to do that. When they are baked and cooled, start constructing the tree by securing the largest star to a round cake board with a small dab of royal icing. Next, take the second star (same size) and secure on top of the bottom one, ensuring that the points alternate around the tree. Repeat the process until each tier is stacked and secured on top of each other as in the above picture. To finish, place the extra star upright on top of the tree. Dust the whole tree and board with icing sugar and edge the board with your favourite 15mm ribbon.
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We have an endless range of Christmas wrapping, boxes, bags and ribbons. I could not possibly show you each and every idea that I have in my mind as we would be here until next Christmas so I have just picked a few to show you and hopefully inspire you to experiment yourself.
This silver snowflake chocolate box is ideal for 6 chocolates and are available as a pack of 5 or pack of 50. The ribbon is wired so easily shaped around a pen and then released to give this sprial effect.
A full selection of boxes are available on the website or by clicking here.
This simply decorated mini cake is relying totally on the packaging to do all the work. Items used are sheer green ribbon with holly edge, satin honey gold ribbon, 4" acetate box with gold base, sheer Christmas metallic stripe ribbon and velvet gold holly posy with gold berries. Beautiful!
Plain white cake boxes make these decorated cupcakes look ultra cool. If, however, you like more colour or seasonal flair, click here for our full Christmas cake box collection. |
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I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter and that I have given you some ideas for Christmas treats and gifts to give away to friends and family.
Next month I will be focussing on some last minute Christmas ideas, New Years Eve cakes and a touch of romance will be in the air as we lightly touch on Valentines......
Until next month, keep your photos and emails coming in to me at louise@cakecraftworld.com. I love to read them and add your masterpeices to our online Hall of Fame.
Have fun readers! |
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Calling All Cake Decorating Students!
Drop us an email to:
Please include:
Address of the class
Your full name
Discounts will last for one year
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