Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a "Happy Easter"!







I will be back next week with more photos, all the details and recipes...

Have a sweet day!

Pretty neon egg cups

As part of my Easter table settings I wanted to add some pretty neon egg cups, so I made my own. Here's how...

Pretty neon egg cups
Tools and Materials

• Neon pink acrylic paint
• Neon yellow acrylic paint
• Plasti-kote super satin paint in white
• Thin washi tape in pale pink
• Thin washi tape in neon green
• Neon pink satin ribbon

Pretty neon egg cups, How-to step by step


Carefully paint the inside with neon paint and leave to dry. Place Egg cup upside down and following the instructions on the spray paint, carefully spray the wooden egg cup until you have an even coat of paint and the original colour of the egg cup is no longer visible. Leave to dry. Wrap washi tape round top of egg cups in stripes. Paint a thin layer of modge podge over the washi tape, leave to dry. Tie ribbon round egg cup and secure with a bow.







Have a sweet day!

Gluten free mini chocolate nests

Rather than giving decorated egg boxes of the same sweet treats I made a selection of four gluten free sweet treats all of which look like little nests to fill my egg boxes with. Yesterday I shared you my mini pina colada doughnuts, turkish delight mini doughnut nests and earlier today my white chocolate rocky road nests. So last but not least are the chocolate cornflake nests...



Mini chocolate nests (makes 24 mini size cupcakes)
Ingredients

• 100g milk chocolate chips
• 50g gluten free cornflakes, lightly crushed
• 50g raisins
• Edible pink glitter
• Pink sprinkles
• Jelly bean eggs

Method

1. Line mini cupcake baking tray with mini cupcake cases
2. Melt chocolate in microwave on low power for about 1-2 minutes (the exact amount of time needed will depend on the type of chocolate being used so remove and stir the chocolate every so often to ensure it heats evenly)
3. Once the chocolate is melted, remove from microwave and gradually pour into bowl of crushed cornflakes and raisins
4. Stir chocolate, cornflakes and raisins until the dried ingredients are completely covered in chocolate
5. Spoon mixture into cases and make a hole in the center
6. Sprinkle with pink sprinkles
7. Fill hole with jelly eggs and sprinkle with edible pink glitter, leave to set

Have a sweet day!

White chocolate rocky road nests

I have been meaning to make rocky road for a while now, so I decided Easter would be a perfect time! I went for white chocolate and made them into mini nests, more sweet treats for my egg boxes...



Mini white chocolate rocky road nests (makes 24 mini size cupcakes)
Ingredients

• 100g white chocolate chips
• 50g gluten free digestive biscuits, crushed into small pieces
• 50g mini marshmallows
• 25g desiccated coconut
• Edible neon yellow glitter
• Pink sprinkles
• Jelly bean eggs

Method

1. Line mini cupcake baking tray with mini cupcake cases
2. Melt chocolate in microwave on low power for about 1-2 minutes (the exact amount of time needed will depend on the type of chocolate being used so remove and stir the chocolate every so often to ensure it heats evenly)
3. Once the chocolate is melted, remove from microwave and gradually pour into bowl of crushed biscuits, marshmallows and coconut
4. Stir mixture until the dried ingredients are completely covered in chocolate
5. Lightly stir in pink sprinkles
6. Spoon mixture into cases and make a hole in the center
7. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut
8. Fill hole with jelly eggs and sprinkle with edible pink glitter, leave to set

Have a sweet day!

Mini Pina Colada doughnut nests

To go with my Turkish Delight mini nests I also made some mini Pina Colada inspired doughnut nests, a pineapple doughnut with a pineapple glaze sprinkled in desiccated coconut. I plan to package them up in my decorated egg boxes.



Gluten free Pina Colada doughnuts (makes 24 mini doughnuts)

Ingredients

• 110g (1 cup) gluten free flour
• 1 tsp xantham gum
• 115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 4 slices of pineapple finely chopped

What you will need

• Mini doughnut pan

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C, fan assisted (370 deg F)
2. Lightly spray doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray
3. In a bowl beat the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla essence and oil together until you get a foamy mixture
4. In a separate bowl, add the sieved dry ingredients to the sugar and mix
5. Gradually pour foamy mixture into dry ingredients and stir until mixture is combined
6. Stir in chopped pineapple, till well combined
7. Pour mixture into greased doughnut pan until each cavity is 3/4 full (I prefer to use a piping bag to fill each cup more evenly and cleanly)
8. Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 mins or until doughnut springs back when lightly pressed
9. Turn out onto baking rack and leave to cool

Pineapple Glaze
Ingredients

• 60g (1/2 cup) icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
• 1 tablespoon of pineapple juice

Cooking instructions

1. In a bowl add the sieved icing sugar to the pineapple juice
2. Whisk all of the ingredients together until you have a smooth paste
3. Pour into a small, shallow bowl

Decorating the mini doughnuts
What you will need

• 24 mini doughnuts
• Pineapple glaze
• Desiccated coconut
• Mini jelly bean eggs
• Edible neon yellow glitter

Decorating instructions

1. Dip doughnut into pineapple glaze, shake off any excess
2. Sprinkle coconut onto icing
3. Place three eggs in centre
4. Sprinkle with glitter
5. Leave to set

Have a sweet day!

Turkish Delight mini doughnut nests

I have made these turkish delight inspired pink rose flavoured doughnuts many times as my Dad loves turkish delight! So for Easter I decided to make them into nests by dipping them in crumbled flakes and adding jelly eggs. I used a mini doughnut pan and a tiny doughnut pan, so I have some mini ones for my Easter table and some tiny ones that I will package up in my decorated egg boxes.







Gluten free turkish delight doughnuts (makes 24 mini doughnuts)

Ingredients

• 110g (1 cup) gluten free flour
• 1 tsp xantham gum
• 115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon rose essence
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Pink food colouring

What you will need

• Mini doughnut pan

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C, fan assisted (370 deg F)
2. Lightly spray doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray
3. In a bowl beat the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla essence and oil together until you get a foamy mixture
4. In a separate bowl, add the sieved dry ingredients to the sugar and mix
5. Gradually pour foamy mixture into dry ingredients and stir until mixture is combined
6. Stir rose essence and pink food colouring in to mixture, till you have an even colour
7. Pour mixture into greased doughnut pan until each cavity is 3/4 full (I prefer to use a piping bag to fill each cup more evenly and cleanly)
8. Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 mins or until doughnut springs back when lightly pressed
9. Turn out onto baking rack and leave to cool

Dark chocolate icing
Ingredients

• 150g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Cooking instructions

1. In a microwavable bowl, melt dark chocolate in microwave on a low heat, stirring every minute so chocolate does not burn

Decorating the mini doughnuts
What you will need

• 24 mini doughnuts
• Melted dark chocolate
• 2 Flakes crumbled
• Mini jelly bean eggs
• Edible neon pink glitter

Decorating instructions

1. Dip doughnut into chocolate, shake off any excess
2. Dip into crumbled flakes
3. Place three eggs in centre
4. Sprinkle with glitter
5. Leave to set

Have a sweet day!

Copper bunny jar

I love the bunny jars I made for Easter last year and after Easter I repurposed them into storage jars for my craft room. So I just had to make more for this Easter, starting with the cute little grooming bunny that I spray painted copper and decorated the jar with neon washi tape...

Bunny jars for Easter
Tools and Materials

• Schleich Rabbit grooming
• Recycled glass jar, label removed and cleaned
• Fast dry enamel spray paint in copper from Plasti-Kote
• Super glue
• Washi tape

Bunny jars for Easter, How-to step by step



Start by carefully gluing the rabbit to the jar lid and leave to dry. Place lid on a platform you don't need (I used an old glass pot I did not need anymore). Following the instructions on the spray paint, carefully spray the glued rabbit and lid until you have an even coat of paint and the original colour of both the rabbit and lid are no longer visible. Leave to dry. Carefully adhere strips of washi tape to jar in a stripe pattern. Fill with Easter treats.



Have a sweet day!

More neon & pastel birdhouses with free print

Last week I showed you three of my Neon & pastel birdhouses and how to make them. After much searching around and not finding a print for the other three houses I decided to design my own. Feel free to download it and use it for your own craft projects like these bird houses, just remember that if you are using it on the bird houses you will need to print it using a laser printer so you can use PVA glue/mod podge on the top, if it is inkjet printed the print will dissapear and smudge when adding PVA glue or mod podge to the top layer!








Have a sweet day!

Decorated egg boxes

Hello sweets! I have been very busy over the past few days trying to get myself ready for Easter. Gluing and spraying bunnies for this years bunny jars, melting pounds of chocolate into lollipops, eggs and carrots etc. Painting and decorating egg cups and dressing my bunnies!
So I am just dropping in to share with you my decorated Easter egg boxes that I shall fill with mini chocolate nests, chocolate eggs and mini cupcakes.

Egg boxes £3.87 for 20 from Chickengear
Washi tape from Superlovely
Neon ribbon from Paperchase
Easter Labels free to download from Friday's post




Have a sweet day!

Free Easter Labels

I have been working on some labels for my egg boxes and some tags to add to my Easter gifts...





Please feel free to download them and use them on your own Easter gifts!

Have a sweet day!

The Country Living Spring Fair

Yesterday I went to The Country Living Spring Fair,it may have been cold and dreary outside but Spring was definitely in the air inside the fair! Alongside the lovely stands of beautiful treasures what really caught my eye was the inspirational Easter table setting...



I loved the rustic vintage charm of it...



the Country inspired garden...





and the tree hung with Easter eggs and pretty little glass votives full of Spring blooms...



Have a sweet day!

Featured in Somerset Life

Today I am delighted to share with you the lovely feature on me in US magazine, Somerset Living, Winter 2013 issue...











Have a sweet day!

Tate & Lyle sugars tasting house

Yesterday I went to the Tate and Lyle sugars tasting house, press preview...

"Coinciding with the launch of their 'taste experience' range of golden and brown sugars, Tate and Lyle are giving Londoners the rare opportunity to visit their Tasting House in Soho - just be sure you don't have a dentist appointment booked for the next day. Visitors will enter a Hansel and Gretel-esque house, where there will be edible furnishings, fluffy macaroon banisters, cupcake fairy lights, carpets made from cake and windowsills built from fudge alone. With eight different tasting rooms, there will be over 100 different types of edible art that are all based around the new range of sugars."

The Soho based cake hotel was created by a team of 14 cake makers that spent over 2,000 hours baking, 900 hours decorating and used more than 600 kilos of Taste Experience sugar. Inspired by regions around the world, the eight new and distinctly different fair trade sugars showcase the diversity of flavour and texture available exclusively from cane sugar.

Upon arriving I got to taste all the sugars from the lightest golden caster sugar to the dark Muscovado all with subtle flavour differences, texture and appearance, my favourite being the Golden syrup sugar!



The sugar tasting was housed in the British Inspired room, that had the most fantastic edible vase full of sugar flowers...



Cake stands full of sugary sweet treats...



Then I headed upstairs past the rows and rows of coloured macarons, tasting a couple along the way!...



To my favourite tasting room, the Mediterranean inspired bedroom, that had the prettiest edible cushions on the bed...



Meringue draped chandeliers...



A rainbow rug made from 1,081 meringues...



and a bath filled with caramel-coated popcorn...



Window sills adorned with glittered frilled cupcakes...



and decadent pearly ones...



I can't wait to try out the new Tate and Lyle sugars in my Easter baking!

For a chance to win an overnight stay in the Tate and Lyle Sugars Tasting House in London with a friend.

Why not enter the prize draw, simply tweet a message to @welovebaking, saying why you want to stay at the cake hotel and include the hashtag ‘#cakehotel’.

The competition opened at 9am on Tuesday 19th March and entries close at midday on Wednesday 20 March 2013 and one winner will be selected at random. The winner will be notified via Twitter, Good luck!

Have a sweet day!