buttercream – Little Peach Cakery

Cherry Bakewell cake pizza

What a great flavour combination for a cake pizza this turned out to be!

The sponge itself contains ground almonds as well as almond extract. The buttercream also has a hint of almond which goes prefectly with the cherry conserve topping.

I toasted the flaked almonds for the topping which really adds to the almond flavour making sure it doesn’t get lost to the rich cherry.

You can make this recipe exactly the same for a 2 x 8 inch cake tins if you don’t have the cake pizza mould.

You will need

10 hole silicon cake wedge pan or 2 x 8inch round cake tins

Cupcake cases

Cake release spray (ideally)

Piping bag

11inch or larger cake board

Ingredients

350g Self raising flour

100g Ground almonds

350g Butter or stork block

350g Caster sugar

7 Medium free range eggs

2tsp Almond extract

2tbsp Milk

For the filling and topping

250g unsalted butter

500g icing sugar

1tsp almond extract

Cherry conserve

Handful of Flaked almonds

Method

Heat the oven to 140°C (electric fan oven)

1. Combine the butter and sugar until smooth

2. Mix in the eggs, milk and almond extract.

3. Mix in the flour and ground almonds until smooth.

4. Put the batter into a large piping bag and pipe into the cake pizza mould or prepared tins.

5. Add any remaining mix to cupcake cases

6. Bake the cupcakes for approx 30mins and the cake pizza for approx 50-60mins.

For the filling / topping

1. Pour a thin layer of flaked almonds on a tray lined with baking paper. Toast in the oven for approx 4 mins. Allow to cool.

2. Mix room temperature unsalted butter with the icing sugar until smooth. Add 1tsp of almond extract and mix again.

Once cooled trim any excess cake off the tops of the cake wedges. Then remove from the mould and cut in half to be filled.

Pipe the buttercream and add some cherry conserve for the filling. Repeat until all the cake wedges are filled.

Arrange on a cake board or plate with a cupcake in the middle. Pipe the buttercream on top using a circle tip or just cut the end off the piping bag. Drizzle over the cherry conserve and sprinkle on the toasted flaked almonds.

Enjoy!

Giant cookie recipe

This recipe is an easy way to create a perfect giant cookie. Decorate it any way you like!

It’s a great base to add your favourite chocolates too and the perfect alternative to birthday cake.

I’ve made this giant cookie recipe for birthdays, thank you gifts, fathers day and as a tasty treat.

You can use this recipe as a base for lots of flavours or styles. White choc chips and salted caramel was delicious!

You’ll need

A round cake tin – 8, 9 or 10 inch

Bowl and spoon

Baking paper

Recipe

200g – 300g of Chocolate chips (white, milk or dark)

225g self raising flour

125g stork or butter at room temp

225g caster sugar (or 125g caster and 100g granulated sugar)

1 medium free range egg

1/4tsp vanilla extract

**For a chocolate cookie replace 25g of the flour with 25g cocoa powder.**

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C.

2. Grease the cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

3. Mix the stork or butter with the sugar until smooth.

4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix again.

5. Mix in the flour (and cocoa powder if using it). The mix will start getting firmer but mix until all combined in the dough.

6. Add most of the choc chips, keeping a small handful for the top.

7. If you are using a 10 inch tin push all the mix into it and evenly across the tin. I use a spatula or back of a spoon to do this. If you are using a 9 or 8 inch tin remove a couple of spoons of mix and pop them on a tray to bake (you’ll have these couple of normal sized cookies as spares). Sprinkle the saved choc chips over the top of the cookie.

8. Pop in the oven for approx 17mins. Check on the cookie after 15mins, if it looks shiny on top leave to cook for a little longer.

9. When you remove from the oven let the cookie cool completely in the tin before removing it.

10. To write on the cookie you can use royal icing or buttercream icing. Pop in a piping bag and snip off the end to write. Or pipe swirls around the edge and top with sprinkles or chunks of choc etc.

11. A new plain white pizza box makes a great way of boxing it for a gift.

Lion cake with flower mane

I had a request for a lion cake, ordinarily I would be thinking of simba in my head or a great golden lion with a large mane. However, following the style of cakes that I love to make the most I also could picture a white lion with a mane of flowers.

The customer also liked the white lion idea so I was able to set about creating this adorable lion cake.

He was baked as a single deep 5 inch cake and layered with buttercream. I covered the cake with a thin layer of buttercream and then with fondant icing.

The legs and features are hand modelled from fondant icing and placed onto the cake before the buttercream flowers are piped. All except the ears that is, the ears are added last of all.

The colours of the buttercream were chosen to be colourful but also in keeping with a lion, so I started with the golden yellow and went from there.

Not forgetting to add a tail!

Rat cake with buttercream flowers

Why a rat?! I made this cake for my husband and I’s wedding anniversary. 10 years before this cake was created we lived in a little rented house in Slough, our housemates were our pet rats and later our chinchillas.

On top of our wedding cake sat a pair of crystal rats and so for our anniversary I thought a rat cake would be a reminder of those times.

The piped flowers shapes and colours are based on the real flowers in my bouquet.

So there you have the thinking behind this little Ratty cake.

I hope this guide helps you to create your own cute rat cake for whatever special occasion he/she is need for!

You will need:

5 inch round cake

10 inch cake board

Buttercream (approx 250g butter and 500g icing sugar)

White fondant

Pink fondant

Black fondant or edible black balls for eyes

Florist wire or fine dry noodles for whiskers

Some basic sugarcraft tools including a small circle cutter, cutting tool or knife and smoother.

To decorate the cake board:

1. This is usually my first step, I cover the cake drum in a layer of white fondant.

2. I use Sweet Stamps to emboss a name or message.

3. I handpaint the imprint with edible paint.

To decorate the cake:

1. Cut the cake into 3 or 4 layers and fill with buttercream or filling of your choice.

2. Cover in a thin crumb coat of buttercream.

3. Roll out some white icing to approx 3mm thick and cut a tummy shape. Gently push this onto the front of the cake.

4. Cut 2 small circle ears from the pink fontant. Make 2 little sausages for the arms and thin it a little on the wrists. Make little finger marks with a cutting tool or knife.

5. To make the mouth take a grape shape with white fondant and push a dent across the middle. Pop a smaller ball of pink fondant onto this as a nose. Cute 6 equal ish lengths of florist wire and push 3 slightly into each side of the mouth (NB the nose will not be edible if using wire, noodles are a possible food safe alternative).

6. To make the arms and feet, roll your fondant into sausages first. Use the cake to judge the size you need. Use a knife to mark the fingers and toes.

7. For the tail roll pink fondant into a long thin sausage with one end thinning into a tip.

8. Use your black fondant to make two equal pea sized balls for eyes or use large black sprinkles.

9. Set aside all your fondant details to allow to hardern.

Time to use your buttercream!

1. Select the colours you’d like the flowers to be. Colour up the buttercream into seperate bowls.

2. Select the piping tips and fill your bags with buttercream.

3. Start piping the largest flower first. I used a closed star to create the ‘rose’ swirls.

4. Add the medium flowers next, I piped squiggles!

5. Fill the gaps with your smaller drop flowers making sure not to go right over the fondant tummy area.

6. Whilst the buttercream is still soft add the nose, eyes, arms, feet and tail. They should stick to the buttercream, you may need a bit of edible glue to attach the arms over the fondant tummy.

If you’d like to add a heart plaque I just used a small heart cutter and imbossed with a mini message embosser.

And there you have it! Possibly the most adorable rat cake ever (well at least I think so).

I hope this tutorial has been helpful for you. Don’t forget you can follow my latest creations over on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Happy cake decorating x

Russian piping nozzles – top tips

Get to grips with your Russian piping tips and create beautiful cakes and cupcakes in no time at all.

Once I got the hang of using my Russian piping tips there was no going back. They allowed me to create some of my most famous cake designs back when I had only been making cakes for 6 months. However, my buttercream flowers are by no means perfect but I don’t think that really matters, after all real flowers aren’t all perfect but still look beautiful!

Here I share what I have learnt to be able to make the most of the tips.

1. Use strong piping bags

2. Use a buttercream that is 1:2 ratio of unsalted butter and icing sugar. I. E. 250g butter and 500g icing sugar

3. Have your butter at room temperature.

4. To pipe. Get your tip very close to the cake. It will be easiest to pipe onto freshly coated buttercream but not essential. Squeeze the flower out whilst slowing moving the tip away, then stop squeezing and pull away.

5. To give a two tone effect start by filling the inside sides of the piping bag with a thin layer of buttercream. Then spoon in a darker or lighter colour buttercream into the middle of the same piping bag.

7. Add simple small drop flower tip to fill in the gaps. My first choice in colour for these small flowers is usually white.

6. Add leaves. Choose a fine leaf tip for the most delicate flowers. These are perfect for filling those gaps between the flowers and add a realistic touch.

Troubleshooting

Too mushy flowers /undefined –

The buttercream is too warm. Put the bag in the fridge for 5 mins and try again. If your hands are warm you might have to repeat this often.

Too hard to pipe

Most likely the buttercream is too cold. In the winter I often end up adding a teaspoon or two of cooled boiled water. Alternatively 4 seconds in the microwave (in a suitable container!) and a good stir, may soften it enough.

Flowers won’t stick on the cake

Try a thin layer of buttercream on the cake just before you start piping to help the buttercream stick.

Piping bag leaked

Either the buttercream is too firm/cold or the piping bags just aren’t going to be strong enough. Try softening the buttercream or you may need to get some stronger bags.

Long drooping petals

Try making the flowers shorter by releasing the pressure sooner.

I hope this guide helps you have fun creating beautiful cakes. Please see my other guides for cake decorating including the original Flower Hedgehog cake and cupcakes.

To see me using the nozzles please have a look at my YouTube video https://youtu.be/tWU6h4UMtA0

Follow me on:
http://www.instagram.com/littlepeachcakery
http://www.facebook.com/littlepeachcakery
And twitter @peachcakery

Pig cupcakes

These little piggy cupcakes were made for my kids during the covid 19 lockdown. I had a bag of lovely strawberry milkshake flavour icing sugar to use and a fair bit of fondant icing… However you won’t need a lot to decorate these cute cakes.

You will need:

Cupcakes

Buttercream

Pink food colouring

Brown food colouring

Sugarpaste (fondant)

Black ball sprinkles or black fondant for eyes

Piping bag and star tip

A few sugarcraft tools such as circle or rose cutters, rolling pin, small ball tool.

How to decorate the pig cupcakes

1. Make the ears first to allow them a bit of time to dry. Roll out your pink fondant 3mm thick. Use a circle or petal cutter to cut 2 for each cupcake. Pinch the rounded side together and if needed, shape the top with a little pinch too.

2. Make the snout. Roll equal sized balls for all the snouts required. Gently press to flatten and make 2 small intents.

3. Make tails by rolling a thin sausage and wrapping around a tool handle. Cut to the desired tail length.

4. Using the star tip pipe buttercream over the cupcake.

5. Whilst buttercream still soft push the ears into place. Add the small eyes and snout. The tail can be placed at the top of the cupcake or on the cake board.

6. You could you chocolate buttercream and brown ears/snouts too like I’ve done.

Decorating the cake board (skip if you don’t require this)

1. Start by covering the cake drum in a layer of green fondant.

2. Roll out some brown fondant and cut out some mud patches to put on the board.

3. Work out where you will place the cupcakes and use a little tool or end of brush to make hoof prints in the mud around them. For the muddy prints on the green I painted these with edible brown dust mixed with vodka.

4. Put ribbon around the edge of the board.

5. Use a dab of buttercream to secure the cupcakes in place on the cake board.

Finished! You could add a message to the cake board for birthdays or other occasions.

Horse / Pony Cupcakes

To decorate these gorgeous horse cupcakes you will need:

6 chocolate cupcakes
Chocolate Buttercream
Small amount of vanilla buttercream
Sugarpaste
Brown food colouring
Tylose powder (to firm the sugarpaste – not essential)
Two round cutters or rose cutters
Edible glue
Piping bags
Star piping tip

1. Start by making the horses ears as the longer you let these dry the firmer they will be. If you can leave them overnight that would be ideal.

Using the larger cutter cut 12 dark brown circles. Use the smaller cutter to cut 12 light brown circles. Stick the smaller circle onto the larger and carefully fold length ways. Pinch the top slightly and squeeze together the base of the ear.

Here is a video of how I use 2 rose cutters to easily create the ears. For the horse ears I used brown and light brown sugarpaste with tylo to help firm them.

https://youtu.be/TjYRM0rDvR8

2. Make the horse’s eyes by rolling small equal sized balls of dark sugarpaste.

3. To make the mussle, use a small grape sized ball and slightly flatten to oval. Use a tool or end of a brush to make the nostril dents.

4. Pipe the chocolate buttercream stars all over the cupcake.

5. Pipe the vanilla buttercream where you’d like the horses markings to be.

6. Gently push the ears into the buttercream.

7. Place the mussle on and the eyes.

8. Pipe a fringe in between the ears using the same star tip.

9. You can use a dap of edible white paint or edible glaze to give the eyes a light reflection.

And that’s the cupcakes finished. I hope you found this tutorial helpful and happy baking to you.

You can follow my creations on Facebook and Instagram, just search @littlepeachcakery.

Cake pizza mould – recipe and tutorial (individual cake slices)

Learn how to bake your own cake pizza by following this easy guide. The flavour and decoration is up to you! Here I have decorated with a buttercream flowers including using nifty nozzles (russian piping tips). The cake pizza idea is by @cakes.n.sprinkles on Instagram.

Equipment:

10 hole silicon cake pizza mould
1 cupcake case
Cake release spray (ideally)
Piping tips and bags
11 inch or larger cake board

Cake Recipe:

350g butter or stork baking block
350g sugar
350g self raising flour
7 medium eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla
2 tbs milk

(for chocolate cake add 35g cocoa powder)

Buttercream:
*you may need more depending on your design

250g unsalted butter
500g icing sugar
1 – 2 tsp of milk or cooled boiled water

(for chocolate buttercream add 20g cocoa powder)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 140°C (fan oven).
2. Mix the butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
4. Add flour and mix well.
5. Add the milk and mix until all combined and smooth.

6. Grease the cake mould, I use cake release spray but you could use butter to grease.

7. Fill a piping bag with the cake batter and cut the end off the bag. This will allow you to fill the sections of the mould much easier then with a spoon. Try to fill evenly.

8. Don’t forget to half fill the cupcake case.

9. Bake the cupcake for approx 30 minutes and the cake pizza slices for approx 50 – 60 minutes. All ovens vary so keep an eye on the cakes. You want them to bounce back when pressed on top and a skewer to come out clean when poked into the cake.

10. Allow the cakes to completely cool in the mould.

11. Using a knife carefully trim any excess from the tops of the cakes so that they are level with the cake mould.

12. Gently separate the cakes from the mould and push them out from the bottom.

13. Cut the individual cakes in half and pipe in the buttercream filling. Use a dab of buttercream to secure the cake to the board if needed. With the cupcake in the centre.

14. Add the buttercream or decorations as desired to the top of the cake. I used piped flowers and leaves.

This cake will be best eaten within 1-2 days of baking. Store at cool room temperature.

I hope you found this guide helpful. I will be making a chocolate overload version of the cake pizza soon. I’ll pop a pic on here once it’s finished.

Simple 3D sitting unicorn cake with buttercream flower mane

How to make this cute sitting unicorn cake with a standard round cake tin and very little carving – if any!

This is a 4 layer 6 inch round cake. I cooked 2 6 inch cakes using a vanilla maderia sponge recipe. This cake was dairy free. You need a domed top but this could be a natural dome from the cake rising or you can trim a little off the top edges.

Equipment:

2 x 6 inch cakes

White fondant

Small amount of coloured fondants including pink and black

Rolling pin, cake smoothers, knife, ball tool

Cocktail sticks

Edible gold paint

Edible Pink dust

Edible glue

Piping tips (nifty nozzles for this design) and bags

Buttercream (250g butter, 500g icing sugar)

Method:

Fill the buttercream layers and coat the cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Then cover with white fondant.

The legs are fondant, roll 4 equal sausages of fondant and taper one end. Mark the hoof area’s with a modeling tool or knife. Attach with edible glue.

Make a thick circle for the muzzle and use a ball tool to intent the nostrils. Also mark on a smile and use the ball tool to mark where the eyes will go.

Roll 2 equal small black fondant balls for eyes. For eyelashes use a thin sausage of black fondant.

Use a petal cutter or freehand cut the ear shapes in white and then slightly smaller in pink, attach together. Pinch the bottom of the ear together slightly to give them shape.

The horn is two thin sausages of fondant twisted around a cocktail stick or wooden skewer. Paint the horn and hooves with edible gold.

Pipe the mane. For this unicorn cake I piped buttercream flowers using nifty nozzles but equally you could pipe swirls, drop flowers or stars, any combination. Using several different colours of buttercream together.

The tail is made from coloured fondant using an extruder. This could be achieved by hand rolling the fondant into long sections too.

Add a little pink colour dust to the nose and mouth.

And so there you have a cute sitting unicorn cake that does not require lots of carving or difficult piping but looks adorable.

Cute Hamster Cake Tutorial

This hamster cake possibly one of cutest cakes I’ve ever made!

The first week of January was time off from baking for me however I couldn’t keep myself completely away. So when my little boy suggested I made a hamster cake (including a wheel – no way I was attempting a hamster wheel!) I couldn’t say no.

I like to use both buttercream and fondant icing on my animal cakes so here’s how to make a cute Little Peach Cakery Hamster Cake.

You will need:

Sugarcraft tools – rolling pin, knife, cake smoother, small rose petal or circle cutters.

A 5 inch round cake, approx 5 inch tall and domed top.

10 inch cake board and ribbon

Piping tips – Wilton 6B, star and drop flower

Piping bags

Buttercream (250g butter and 500g icing sugar)

Sugarpaste – white, pink and black

Food colour – rose

Edible glaze (optional)

Method:

1. Bake your cake, let it cool. Cut into 3 or 4 even layers.

2. Fill layers with buttercream and cover cake in thin layer of buttercream.

3. Roll out enough fondant to cover the front of the cake.

4. For the cheeks, make a sausage long enough to reach horizontally across the front of the face area. Make a long dip across the middle of one side only.

5. Roll 2 little sausages of fondant, narrower at one end for the arms. Make 2 small pink balls for hands and mark lines on for fingers. Attach together with edible glue.

6. For the feet, use 2 equal sized balls of white fondant. Make 2 little pink feet and mark toes. Attach together with edible glue.

7. The nose is a small ball of pink fondant. Add a touch of edible glaze if desired.

8. Make the ears with small rose or circle cutters. Cut 2 white circles and 2 pink circles. Attach the pink ontop of the white to make 2 ears. Leave to hardern at room temp.

9. Make 2 equal pea sized balls from black fondant for eyes. Add edible glaze or a touch of white for a more realistic look. Do not attach to cake yet!

10. Colour the buttercream into 3 shades. Divide into 3 piping bags.

11. Start piping the largest tip first. Then go back and fill in the gaps with the smaller tips. Pip up to the cheeks on the face.

12. Add the ears into the buttercream.

13. Add the eyes onto the buttercream on the face.

14. I like to use Sweet Stamps letter’s to finish off the cake board. Painted with edible gold.

You’re finished, admire the cute little cake you have made!