Graduation Cake

Here is a chocolate flavoured cake that my friend gave as a surprise for his girlfriend's graduation. A cake like this starts at $90 and can be personalised with the graduate's favourite colours, or by adding the year to the graduation cap or the area of study to the spine of the book(s).

Butterfly Naming Day Cakes

This weekend I had two very girly cake orders, which are always a lot of fun to make. The first of which were naming day butterfly cupcakes, with a larger cake to go on top with the girl's name. The cupcakes were strawberry flavoured, with a tasty cream cheese icing that was tinted light green, and the cake was vanilla bean and tinted with different shades of pink for a fun surprise when sliced. 

I absolutely loved the look of these cupcakes, and once you get the hang of it the butterflies are pretty simple to make! Here is the way I went about making the butterflies:

Candy Melt Monarch Butterflies

200g candy melts (colour of choice - or white chocolate)

100g black candy melts (or dark chocolate)

White sprinkles (optional)

1.  Before making, cut out individual squares of baking paper (a little larger than the size of one butterfly wing), and draw the outline of the wing on one sheet.

2.  With the remaining squares, trace the rest of the wings, remembering to alternate the sides so that the wings aren't all pointing to the same side.

3.  Melt each colour of candy melts separately, but be careful not to overheat. I did this by placing them in a mug and microwaving 10 seconds at a time. If you think the melts are too thick then you can add a little bit of shortening (or vegetable oil) to make it runnier.

4.  Pour into a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip (or a sandwich bag with a small hole snipped from the corner).

5.  Place one square of baking paper onto a flat baking tray (drawn side down) and pipe the outline of the wing in black, followed by the coloured inside. Leave a few millimeters between the black and the colour as they will spread together.

6.  Gently tap the baking tray down on the bench until the candy melts have spread together and no gaps remain. Before the candy sets hard, use a toothpick or skewer to quickly draw lines from the black of the wing in to the colour (wiping down with a paper towel when needed) and, if using, add the sprinkles to the black edge. Tap the baking tray on the bench again to make sure the wing has a nice smooth surface.

7.  Repeat with the rest of the wings (you may want to get comfy as it can take a while) and allow the butterflies to set in the fridge.

8.  Once set, place into iced cupcakes at a 45º angle, and pipe some melted chocolate or candy melts down the middle for the butterfly's body.

I definitely recommend a lot of patience when making these butterflies, as you can expect a few messy ones before you develop a rhythm. It can be a bit frustrating when the weather is cold as you may need to remelt your chocolate a few times throughout making to keep it runny - and I need to top my baking tray with a tea towel as it was too cold and making the butterflies set too quickly.

More Little Mermaid Themed Treats

Vanilla rainbow cupcakes with turquoise white chocolate icing, toasted coconut 'sand', 

edible pearls and white chocolate shells.

Sugar cookie thank-you bags, incorporating the red, purple and green colour scheme.

Oreo pops with coloured candy melts and confetti sprinkles - a bit hit with the kids!

Little Mermaid Cake (& Licensed Character Policy)

This weekend was my friend Louise's 21st birthday party, and for her present I made her a strawberry flavoured Little Mermaid cake!

A cake this size and style would cost $150, however the photos of this cake are an example only as, due to copyright laws, I am unable to sell cakes that have licensed characters (such as Ariel or Flounder) without a copyright release. When browsing online for cake ideas, it is likely that you will find many different licensed character cakes, but these cakes would have been made for personal use (such as this one), with a copyright release, or illegally - without the copyright owner's permission.

If you would like to order a cake with licensed characters, you can either contact the copyright owner to obtain a release (which can be expensive and take a long time) or request that the cake matches the theme of the party as much as possible (eg. a coral reef themed cake), for which you can buy licensed accessories to put on your cake after receiving it.

Oakland Raiders Cake

This is a white chocolate Raiders helmet cake, the first of two very different cakes for this weekend. It was so hard to try and get every detail right, but I think it turned out pretty well considering how little about gridiron I know!

A cake similar to this one would cost $100.

This Week...

This week I have been busy with cupcake orders, making sugar cookie gift bags, trying a new Cookies & Cream Cupcake recipe, and preparing gum paste figures for this weekend's cakes, which I am so excited to start making. And it's only Tuesday!

Dried Pineapple Flowers

Dried pineapple flowers make for an eye catching garnish that are sure to impress. I use them as decorations for my favourite cupcake flavour - hummingbird! The best part is they are much easier to make than they look. Depending on your oven they can take several hours to make, but with the oven on such a low setting you don't need to worry about checking on them too often.

Dried Pineapple Flowers

(Makes 24)

1 large pineapple, peeled*

1.  Preheat oven to 100ºC and line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper.

2.  Remove the pineapple eyes using a melon baller or paring knife.

3.  Slice pineapple with a sharp knife - the thinner the better - and place on trays.

4.  Bake until the top appears dried (about 30 mins), then flip. Don't worry if you need to do this several times, it is important that they dry out as much as possible so that they aren't sticky.

5.  Remove from oven and place in a cupcake tray to curl up the edges. Allow to cool.

6.  Remove from cupcake tray and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.

*Don't worry if the pineapple looks too big in diameter for the cupcake, you would be surprised by how much they shrink.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.