There’s a new way of colouring your cakes and bakes. This new product from Sugar and Crumbs is a water activated powder which produces colours so vibrant you’ll need your sunglasses! I tried it out on this rainbow cake, in both the cake batter and buttercream 🌈
Red, orange, yellow, green, blueIndigo and violet
They are aptly named ‘Colour Pop’ and can be activated in water, egg white, cream, anything with a liquid content. I’m really impressed with them!
I also used them on these Jubilee cupcakes. More on the Jubilee next time!
I have reasons, of course I do. But I’m not going to get into them now. Too much time has passed. I’ll just say they were health related and jump back in!
So, I think for this post, I’ll just catch you up on what I’ve been making for my friends and family over the last few months.
Here we go…….
I’ll start with the two most notable events ❤️
Firstly, Back in November, my brother finally got married after postponing twice because of the dreaded covid!
Rustic wedding cake for my brother and sister in law ❤️ Bottom tier chocolate and Irish cream, middle lemon and top carrot cake. Flavoured with Sugar and Crumbs flavoured icing sugars from http://www.sugarandcrumbs.co.uk All cakes ganache coated and covered with Renshaw coloured sugarpaste #sugarandcrumbsicingsugar #renshawbaking #weddingcake #rusticwedding #treebarktexture
Then in April, my daughter and son in law came over from Bucharest for their stag and Hens!
Us girls went to York on a Viking themed weekend. It was great fun, exhausting but fun!
In the lovely barn complex hired for the weekendIn the streets of York Viking Axe Throwing!Escape room Viking longship cake
Everything else! From October to May 🤦🏻♀️
Callie:
Baptism cake for a little girl. Both tiers chocolate cake, made using Sugar and Crumbs chocolate milkshake icing sugar instead of caster sugar, then using same icing sugar in the buttercream filling. Covered in Select Ireland Platinum sugarpaste. Pink colour achieved with Coloursplash pink. FMM easy rose cutters used for flowers on top. Gold accents courtesy of Sugar and Crumbs bright gold Wonderdust mixed with rejuvenator. #sugarandcrumbs1 #sugarandcrumbsicingsugar #wonderdust #chocolatecake #prettypinkcake #baptismcake #cakesofinstagram🎂🍰
Jacob:
Mr Blippi birthday cake! Flavoured with Sugar and Crumbs delicious lemon drizzle icing sugar and covered in Select Ireland platinum sugarpaste coloured with Coloursplash blue, navy and orange #spongecake #sugarandcrumbs1 #selectireland #coloursplash
Ralph:
Birthday cake for a construction mad 3 year old ❤️ Main cake flavoured with Sugar and Crumbs velvet vanilla icing sugar, cupcakes in lemon drizzle and chocolate milkshake flavour. Covered in Select Ireland platinum sugarpaste. Digger made with Rice Krispie treats and Renshaw yellow sugarpaste. Also used renshaw red and orange #sugarandcrumbsicingsugar #selectirelandsugarpaste #renshawfondant #birthdaycake #vanillasponge #constructioncake #noveltycakes #cupcakesofinstagram #cakesofinstagram
Nick:
Birthday cake made with Sugar and Crumbs lemon drizzle icing sugar in cake batter and buttercream. Coated in white chocolate ganache using Brigids ganache kit. Covered with Select Ireland platinum sugarpaste coloured with Coloursplash blue and navy. Nick’s children wanted daddy to have tools on his cake, which were painted with S&C Wonderdust silver mixed with rejuvenator spirit #sugarandcrumbsicingsugar #sugarandcrumbs1 #brigidscakeroom #selectirelandsugarpaste #coloursplash #wonderdust #birthdaycake #lemoncake #noveltycake #toolcake
Zach:
I asked my lovely niece what theme 2nd birthday cake for my great nephew/grandson substitute! (My two refuse to give me grandchildren, so unfair 😆) Apparently he likes Elmo and Woody from Toy story, so I did both! Lemon drizzle flavour in the cake batter and buttercream, white chocolate ganache courtesy of Brigids Cake Room ganache kit, then covered in Select Ireland Platinum coloured yellow, and Mona Lisa red. I marbled what was left for the board and centre trim. I used Fractal red pen to do the check effect, and made a star shape for a sheriff badge painted with WonderDust silver. The toppers aren’t edible, just printed card on lollipop sticks!
Henry:
Yummy chocolate cake filled with chocolate buttercream, coated with ganache and covered with sugarpaste. Tractor base is RKT and models all hand made from modelling paste 😊#sugarandcrumbsicingsugar #monalisasugarpaste #selectirelandsugarpasteplatinum #saracinomodelingpaste #coloursplashgelcolours #birthdaycake #farmyardcake
James:
If you’re a Terry Pratchett/Discworld fan you’ll know how pleased I was with this cake for my son’s birthday. This year’s birthday cake challenge is based on the second image. I’m super happy with ‘The librarian’ orangutan! The desk is the cake part and is chocolate fudge filled and crumb coated with S&C chocolate milkshake buttercream. Covered in Renshaw brown sugarpaste. The orangutan is made from Saracino modelling paste coloured with orange Coloursplash. Couldn’t resist blinging up the desk handles and decorative features with bright gold wonderdust mixed with rejuvenator. I used the inside of the box to set the scene by sticking some images to the sides. The stone effect floor was achieved with crinkled up tin foil! We celebrated my son’s birthday today and guess what? He said it was my best one yet! ❤️❤️❤️
Here’s a few more bits and bobs and then I think I’m up to date!
Until next time
Stay safe and healthy
Debbie ❤️
I buy all my cakey products from http://www.sugarandcrumbs.co.uk I am not sponsored by them, they’re just a really great company!
As of last Monday, I have joined the ranks of the fully vaccinated 😁
My 2nd dose of Astra Zeneca caused me no problems other than a slightly sore arm, and I feel so much safer for it. I know it doesn’t 100 percent mean I can’t catch the virus, or pass it on if I do, but it’s a step in the right direction towards getting back to ‘normality’
We have to wait until tomorrow to find out if all restrictions will be lifted on 21st June here in the UK, but if we have to wait a few more weeks to make things safer for everyone, then so be it.
Last time I posted, I told you that my furbaby Charlie was awaiting major surgery. I’m very pleased and relieved to say, the operation seems to have been a success! Charlie is no longer struggling to get up or walk, and doesn’t seem to be in any pain.
Charlie’s op site
He had a ‘blown’ disc removed, and the misaligned bones at L7 and sacrum were put back in place and pinned and cemented to keep them there. The biggest problem we have at the moment is keeping him still! He wasn’t allowed walks for 4 weeks (11/2 to go!) then he will be allowed 5 minutes, building up slowly to the 6 week mark, when he will have another CT scan to make sure his pins are still in the right place. As long as everything is ok, by 8 weeks we should be able to go back to his normal exercise routine. As you can see he’s quite happy 😃
Meanwhile, I’ve been continuing to learn new cake decorating skills in virtual online classes, and made a couple of cakes for friends this week.
I know I shouldn’t have taken on 2 cakes in one week, and believe me, my body knows it as I’ve practically slept for 2 days! But, as ever, the sense of satisfaction I get is a great boost to my mental health, and I know to block out at least 2 days of doing nothing to recover afterwards. My hubby is my carer and always gets the brunt of this, but is also incredibly supportive.
The first cake I knew would be tricky, as it involved 2 techniques that I’ve never done before. One is a ‘starburst’ or ‘explosion’ effect, and the other involves covering half the cake in one colour sugarpaste, and the other in a different colour! Who knew covering half a cake would be more difficult than a whole one?
I watched the following YouTube video for the starburst
I probably should have looked at a few tutorials on half and half cakes too……..but I winged it 😆
Luckily I had a good base for the cake, having used my Brigids cake room ganache kit. Oh those straight sides and flat top! Absolute game changer for me, as it cuts out the application of the ganache, and the constant scraping round the cake trying to get the perfect finish! Much easier on my painful hands. I’ve now got 3 of them in my most popular cake sizes.
I’m very proud of the cake I achieved, which was Spider-Man/Hulk themed. Although working with dark coloured sugarpaste on a hot day is yet another challenge!
Chocolate cake filled with chocolate buttercream, coated with ganache and covered in sugarpaste
The 2nd cake request I accepted was for twin girls who were 2. I mentioned to Mum that I could make a simple cake (as I had the tricky one also) and chose buttercream for the finish in a watercolour effect. Again, the hot weather was a bit of an issue, and at one point it was in the garage in a box as that was the coolest place (I really need a cake fridge!)
A rainbow and unicorns finished it off nicely 🥰
Chocolate cake with raspberry ripple flavour buttercream
Recipes for the cakes can be found here. In both cases I used Sugar and Crumbs chocolate milkshake flavoured icing sugar in place of caster sugar in the batter.
See the full range of flavoured icing sugars here and a list of other products used below 😀
Hi! Hope you are all doing well 😊 I have to admit that during these past 10 months ‘Baking for Therapy’ has never been more of a therapeutic tool for me!
In between taking online courses run by Sugar and Crumbs, and the odd cake request, it’s been a lifeline for my mental and physical health. I’m still struggling I have to admit, some days I find it really hard to motivate myself and end up spending the day in pjs. In the online class groups, we’ve nicknamed them ‘baking scrubs’ 😆
I know there’s lots to do round the house, but some of it I can’t physically do, so I just look at it and get frustrated! Other things I could do if I tackle it in bite size chunks but even the slightest exertion at the moment brings me out in a sweat. I think being confined to the house for so long has weakened my already admittedly poor physical health. I find myself in ‘CBA’ (can’t be arsed) mode because I know whatever I do is going to tire me out and, going off past experience, will lead to a couple of ‘recovery days’ when I will mostly sleep!
So I’m very thankful to my friends who have asked me to make cakes, as it means I have to plan my days, and once I start, I do enjoy the process. My lovely hubby makes sure I rest in between each process, to minimise the after effects, and when I hand over the finished cake, I feel a brilliant sense of achievement, which is a great boost to my mental health too ❤️
This pretty Minnie Mouse inspired 1st birthday cake was for my friend’s granddaughter and the last cake before Christmas, Christmas Eve in fact!
It’s a simple Vanilla cake, made using Velvet Vanilla icing sugar instead of caster sugar in the batter. Covered mostly in buttercream with sugarpaste elements like the ears, spots, bow and frill. I added CMC/Tylo powder to the sugarpaste for the ears and bow, so that they would stand up on their own! (See tutorial below) I then set it on a marbled sugarpaste 12” drum board, and used PME fun fonts and Faye Cahill signature gold lustre for the lettering. A pretty cerise pink ribbon finished it off nicely 😁
And this is how it turned out! What do you think? Check out below for the recipe. I’ll also leave links to the products and tools I used.
Cake Recipe
Tools and Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 150C Fan
Prepare 3×6” round cake pans. I grease mine and use a parchment circle in the base.
You will need:
250g baking margerine
250g Sugar and Crumbs Velvet Vanilla icing sugar
4 large free range eggs
250g sifted Self Raising Flour
Method:
Whip the margarine in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment until light, pale and creamy.
Add the Velvet Vanilla icing sugar and chop it in by hand until mostly incorporated, then beat on medium speed until fully mixed. Scrape down the bowl to make sure.
Add the eggs one at a time. If the mixture curdles slightly, add a tablespoon of flour with each egg.
Mix the flour into the batter by hand, then beat for about 20 seconds on med – high speed.
Transfer the batter to the 3 x 6” prepared round cake pans.
Bake at 150 C fan for approximately 30 minutes. Every oven is different so keep an eye on it and check with a skewer in the middle of the cake if you’re unsure. If it comes out clean, it’s ready!
Allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool fully
Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients:
250 g butter, softened
500g Velvet Vanilla icing sugar
Coloursplash pink gel
Warm pre boiled water – optional
Method:
Whip the butter in stand mixer with paddle attachment until increased in volume, very pale and creamy – about 6 minutes
Add the icing sugar and mix or ‘chop in’ with spatula before beating until it comes together. Add colouring if using. Scrape down, then beat on med-high speed for 20 seconds. Add water a tablespoon at a time if consistency needs loosening up.
It’s been a strange 2020, and so far 2021 isn’t looking much different!
Despite that, my friend’s daughter Freya decided to get married on New Year’s Eve, and her mum, Elaine asked me for some cupcakes for a very cosy family hen party just before Christmas. It was so lovely to find some joy in the middle of the COVID-19 chaos, and I wish the happy couple a long and happy life together ❤️
At the same time, Freya requested 40 macarons. I’d previously used some as decorations on her birthday cake ‘Pretty in Pink’. I’d used Sugar and Crumbs cherry flavour Whipping it Up to make them, and she liked them so much, she wanted more!
As I said, I used Sugar and Crumbs Whipping it Up to make the macarons. It’s basically flavoured icing sugar with pasteurised egg white powder added, and is a multi use product that makes Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Mousse, Pavlova, Meringue, Shortbread, Macarons, Marshmallow fluff, Roulade and lots of other yummy recipes! It comes in lots of different flavours too! Much easier than separating eggs, then having to find a use for the yolks! Here’s the recipe for the macarons I used half the 500g bag and got about 50 macarons! Coloursplash pink was used to colour them ❤️
40 Black Cherry macarons sandwiched together with Black Cherry buttercream
This was almost my last request of 2020, almost! There’s just one more cute cake to tell you about in my next post!
Baking for Therapy 