Hand-made chocolate butterflies

Chocolate butterflies
What you will need:

• Butterfly chocolate mould
• White chocolate drops
• Pink dusting powder
• Blue dusting powder

Instructions

1. Temper (melt) white chocolate
2. Stir in pink powdered food colouring a little at a time until you have desired colour. Stir well so colour is even
3. Spoon chocolate into icing bottle or bag fitted with a small nozzle
4. Squeeze chocolate into moulds
5. Lightly tap moulds so chocolate lays flat and air bubbles are removed, and leave to set
6. Turn out chocolate butterflies
7. Repeat steps 1-6 with blue food colouring

I displayed my chocolate butterflies in my perch glass apothecary jar with pink and white Easter M&M candy on my Easter table this year. I love how bright and colourful they look and will definitely be using this idea again on my candy tables and not just at Easter!






Have a sweet day!

Hand-made honeycomb chocolate bunny head

Last Easter I made chocolate bunny heads filled with home-made honeycomb and they went down such a treat with my friends! This year I made them again but this time I made their faces with white chocolate and coloured their eyes with blue chocolate and their noses with pink chocolate.

Hand-made honeycomb chocolate bunny head
What you will need

• Mini non-stick cake pan, 6 cavity - bunnies
• 100g White chocolate drops
• 400g Milk chocolate drops
• Half a batch of home-made honeycomb
• Pink powder food colouring
• Blue powder food colouring
• Aluminium foil

Instructions

1. Temper (melt) 2 tbsp white chocolate
2. Place 1 tbsp of the melted white chocolate in small bowl and stir in pink food coloring until colour is even
3. Place a small drop of pink chocolate into nose of bunny moulds
4. Place 1 tbsp of the white chocolate in small bowl and stir in blue food coloring until colour is even
5. Place a small drop of blue chocolate into eyes of bunny moulds
6. Lightly tap moulds so chocolate lays flat and air bubbles are removed, and leave to set
7. Temper (melt) rest of white chocolate
8. Pour into bunny moulds so white chocolate is about 1 cm deep and leave to set
9. Fill bunny moulds with chunks of honeycomb
10. Temper (melt) milk chocolate
11. Pour milk chocolate over honeycomb to fill the moulds and leave to set
12. Turn out chocolate bunnies and wrap in foil.

The pretty pink rabbit aluminum foil is from Daiso Japan a Japanese 100 yen ($1, £1) store. I bought mine from Jusco, the Hong Kong equivalent of a £1 store, back in November of last year on a work trip.




Available in my store.

Have a sweet day!

Easter chocolate simnel cake

Easter Chocolate Simnel cake (serves at least 10)

Ingredients

• 225g (1 cup) unsalted butter softened
• 225g (1 cup) light muscovado sugar
• 4 eggs
• 225g (1 cup) plain white gluten free flour
• 125g (2/3 cup) glace cherries, chopped
• 350g (3 1/2 cups) luxury dried mixed fruit
• 75g (1 cup) slivered almonds
• 50g (1/2 cup) Hotel Chocolat organic cocoa powder
• 100g Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate drops

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 140 deg C (300 deg F)
2. Line and grease 20cm cake tin
3. Roll out 125g marzipan to 5mm thick and cut into a circle the same size as the cake tin, leave to one side
4. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns a pale colour
5. Gradually beat in eggs
6. Stir in flour, glace cherries, dried fruit, almonds, cocoa powder and chocolate chips
7. Divide half the mixture into the cake tin
8. Place circle of marzipan on top
9. Spoon rest of cake mix on top
10. Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes
11. Place cake on a wire rack to cool

To decorate (one cake)

What you will need

• 500g white marzipan
• 500g white ready to roll icing
• Green vanilla buttercream
• Icing sugar
• 3 tsp apricot jam
• 6 white fondant bunnies
• 4 blue fondant butterflies
• 4 pink fondant butterflies
• 24 large fondant flowers
• 16 small fondant flowers

Equipment

• Cake stand or board
• Rolling pin
• Cake smoother (optional)
• Sieve
• Icing bag or bottle fitted with Grass icing tube no.233

Decorating instructions

1. Place cake on stand upside down so top is completely flat
2. Knead marzipan into a ball
3. Dust icing sugar onto a hard clean surface and roll out marzipan to 5mm thick
4. Melt the apricot jam
5. Brush cake with apricot jam
6. Lift up marzipan using rolling pin
7. Place on cake and smooth out so entire cake is covered in marzipan
8. Cut off any excess, leave to dry for 24 hours
9. Knead roll-on icing into a ball
10. Dust icing sugar onto a hard clean surface and roll out roll-on icing to 5mm thick
11. Lift up icing using rolling pin
12. Place on cake and smooth out so entire cake is covered in icing (I use a cake smoother to give it a polish and professional finish)
13. Cut off any excess icing from base of cake
14. Spoon green buttercream into a piping bag or bottle fitted with no.233 nozzle
15. Pipe buttercream grass in a circle on top of the cake
16. Push fondant bunnies into grass so they form a circle, push one small fondant flower between bunnies, alternating the colour of the flowers
17. Pipe buttercream grass in a circle on the outside edge of the top of the cake. Push one pink butterfly and three flowers into grass, repeat with blue butterfly and so on, until you have used all the butterflies
18. Pipe buttercream grass around base of cake
19. Push three large flowers and two small flowers into grass, repeat until there are no gaps

Have a sweet day!

Gluten-free strawberry choc chip cupcakes

Gluten-free strawberry choc chip cupcakes (makes 24 cupcake size cakes)

Ingredients

• (4.5 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon (1/6 ounces) natural vanilla extract
• 250g (2/3 cup) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 250g (1 cup) self-raising flour
• 150g (5 ounces) Blended fresh Strawberries
• 175g (6 ounces) Hotel Chocolat milk chocolate drops

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160-180 deg C (325-350 deg F)
2. Line muffin tray with paper cases or baking tray with silicone cases
3. Beat butter, eggs, vanilla extract and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns a pale colour
4. Stir in flour, blended strawberries and chocolate chips
5. Divide mixture among cases
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes
7. Place cakes on a wire rack to cool

To decorate (24 cupcake size cakes)

What you will need

• 24 white fondant bunnies
• 56 small fondant flowers
• Green vanilla buttercream
• Grass icing tube no.233
• Icing bag or bottle

Instructions

1. Spoon green buttercream into a piping bag or bottle fitted with a nozzle attached
2. On top of the cakes, starting at outside edge and working in circles, pipe buttercream by squeezing a small amount onto cake at 90 degree angle, then stop squeezing and pull up and away at various angles when icing strand is long enough (about 3 cm)
3. Push fondant flowers and bunny lightly into iced grass

Have a sweet day!

Buttercream grass

Vanilla buttercream frosting (to decorate 24 cupcake size cakes)

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
• 600g sieved icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk
• Green food coloring

What you will need

• Grass icing tube no.233
• Icing bag or bottle

Instructions

1. Whisk butter until smooth and creamy
2. Gradually whisk in icing sugar, 100g at a time, so the mixture is smooth
3. Whisk in the vanilla extract and 1 tbsp milk at high speed until fluffy and stands in peaks
4. Spoon into a piping bag or bottle fitted with a nozzle attached
5. On top of the cakes, starting at outside edge and working in circles, pipe buttercream by squeezing a small amount on to cake at a 90 degree angle
6. Pulling up and away when icing strand is long enough (about 2 cm) stop squeezing and pull tip away at various angles
7. Repeat until cake is covered
8. Push fondant flowers or bunny/butterflies lightly into iced grass

Have a sweet day!

My Easter Table 2011 Part Two

Easter chocolate bunny

My Easter chocolate simnel cake

Banoffee cupcakes, mint choc chip cupcakes

Strawberry choc chip Easter cupcakes

Hand-made chocolate butterflies

In yesterday's post I shared with you some of the photos of my Easter table with links to all the posts I published about my decorations and sweet treats. In part two I am sharing more pics of my Easter table, this time revealing the posts still to come. So stay tuned for gluten-free recipes for cupcakes and cakes and more chocolate goodness! One day I hope to get the posts done before Easter but for now I will have to live with them going out after Easter!

Have a sweet day!

My Easter Table 2011 Part One

Easter Butterfly Bird Houses

My Easter Tree, Easter Hanging Butterflies, Découpage Eggs

Easter chocolate lollipops

Butterfly Floral Napkin Holders

In my Easter table part one I am sharing with you pics of my Easter table with links to my posts about how to make, where to buy, etc. the parts to my Easter table. Tomorrow I will share with you more photos with what is yet to come!

Last Monday I hosted my Easter tea party. I had stayed up late Sunday night piping and decorating the cupcakes after an afternoon of playing in my folks' garden with my niece and nephew. I woke up early Monday morning to a beautiful sunny day. As the weather was gorgeous, which is so rare in rainy old England, it seemed a shame not to enjoy it. As I set up my Easter table I made a last minute decision to make my Easter table more like a dessert bar inside and set up the garden furniture outside.

As usual, I had not finished taking all my photos as the guests arrived. So, whilst I poured Pimm's for the adults and juice for the kids one of my sweet guests took over from me on the photo helm. Thank you Liam!

Although my guests didn't get to sit in front of their little bird house place settings, they got to take them home. Molly was especially delighted by her pretty pink one that matched her bunny outfit!




Have a sweet day!

Easter Fabric Birds - free pattern

Easter fabric birds for my Easter tree

A couple of years ago I made felt birds for my Easter tree. This year I wanted to make some but in a style to match the birds on my bird trail fabric so I came up with my own pattern for the bird using a cookie cutter as the starting point, and added wings!
I picked up the cute pastel polka dot brushed cotton fabric from a fabulous quilting shop near Hampton Court called Creative Quilting.

Unfortunately I have only been able to finish making a couple, oh well there's always next year !?!

Easter fabric birds
What you will need:
Pattern printed out
Pencil
Pink polka dot brushed cotton
Blue polka dot brushed cotton
Pink thread
Blue thread
Pink beads
Blue beads
Green wooden beads
White sequins
Pale green embroidery thread
Pink embroidery thread
Blue embroidery thread
2mm double face satin ribbon





Instructions

1. Print out pattern, cut around edge of bird and wings. Place pattern pieces on fabric and draw around two of the birds, four of the wings
2. Cut around pattern pieces leaving 5mm gap round pencil line, pin right sides of fabric together
3. Hand stitch around solid pencil line, leaving the dotted line clear
4. Turn bird and wings inside out.

5. Push stuffing though hole, use chop stick to get stuffing right into the beak and tail
6. Turn raw edges in on bottom of bird and hand stitch close, pull needle and thread up though centre of bird at top, coming through the centre of the seam. Thread 20 small wooden beads down needle so they sit at top of bird. Tie end of threads round ribbon and knot to secure. Tie knot in end of ribbon end and knot to secure
7. Embroider three lines of stitch down tail
8. Push stuffing through hole in end of wings, turn raw edges in and hand stitch close. Hand stitch underside of wing to body on one side, repeat with other side, angling the wing differently. Stitch sequin with small pink bead through centre for the eyes

Have a sweet day!

My Easter Tree 2011

My Easter Tree

As usual I was running around at the last minute before Easter trying to get my table and food looking the best I could. So, apologies for my Easter posts coming after Easter, but hey I think the tree could be cute wedding table decor.

I love Easter trees and have made several over the years. From the bird-filled one of 2009 or last year's cherry blossom sprigs in a vase. This year I wanted to make my Easter tree look like a mini potted tree. After gathering a couple of handfuls of twigs in the local woods I used a similar method to my Halloween tree but this time doing it in soft pastel shades of green.

I also wanted to add flowers and went for making my own paper ones so I could match the colours perfectly to my Easter colour palette. I then hung hand painted butterflies, hand decorated eggs and handmade birds, all in my Easter colours. Unfortunately I ran out of time and only finished a couple of my birds (free pattern and how-to coming soon!). I think the fabric birds would look cute around the house at any time of year!

Easter Tree
What you will need:
Branches
Plant pot
Pink paper filler
Pale green paint
Apple green paint
Plastic leaves
Small pebbles
Pink paper flowers
Blue paper flowers
Easter hanging butterflies
Decoupage eggs
Hand-painted surprise eggs
Candy filled Easter eggs
Polka dot Fabric birds
PVA glue
Glue gun
Masking tape




Instructions

1. Lay branches out on newspaper
2. Spray branches with white paint and leave to dry
3. Arrange branches together and wrap in masking tape to secure
4. Paint plant pot, leave to dry

5. Place branches in pot and fill with small pebbles, pour PVA over the top of the stones and leave to dry
6. Paint branches with pale green paint
7. Attach pink and blue flowers to the branches using glue gun
8. Cover pebbles in pot with pink paper filler

9. Paint plastic leaves and leave to dry
10. Attach leaves to branches using glue gun
11. Hang butterflies
12. Hang eggs

Have a sweet day!