A taste of... Bake Me I'm Yours... Sweet Bitesize Bakes. Sarah Trivuncic

      

       A TASTE OF:

       Bake Me I’m Yours… Sweet Bitesize Bakes

       Sarah Trivuncic

       Contents

       Bitten by the Baking Bug…

       Tools and Equipment

       Recipes

       Fillings and Toppings

       Techniques

       Orange Blossoms

       All Wrapped Up

       Wedded Bliss

       Teatime Classic

       Perfumed Perfection

       Suppliers

       About the Author

       Acknowledgments

       Loved this book?

       Copyright

       Bitten by the baking bug…

      Since I became known as someone who bakes a lot, I’ve noticed how people’s faces instantly light up when you talk about cakes. A shared love of making, admiring or enjoying cakes and cookies is a wonderful talking point. Most people have baked something before and many wish they were better, thinking that ‘fancy stuff’ is beyond their reach. I often encourage my friends that baking and cake decorating are accessible skills with great results for anyone prepared to practise a little.

      Writing this book, I realized that while most people have baked sponges or biscuits, the majority will not have ventured far into cake decoration. The past three years – since I started writing my blog Maison Cupcake – has seen a huge surge in baking and cake decorating ranges available in high-street stores. I firmly believe that the only barrier to succeeding in your first sugarcraft projects is gathering the right equipment and taking a little time to experiment.

      Once bitten by the baking and cake decorating bug, unless you have a big family or a community group to donate to, sharing treats out quicker than you can make them can be tricky. The beauty of small-scale bakes is that everyone can try a few things at once!

      Sarah

       maisoncupcake.com

       Tools and Equipment

      Shown in this section is a selection of the baking and cake decorating equipment used in this book. Some items are needed for every project and others for a few specific ones; check the ‘you will need’ list for each project.

       GENERAL BAKING EQUIPMENT

      • Baking parchment

      • Sieve

      • Scales – preferably digital

      • Rolling pin

      • Electric mixer – large stand-alone model or handheld with a large bowl

      • Baking beans – for baking pastry cases ‘blind’

      • Small palette knife – to lift cookies and spread buttercream

      • Wooden spoon and silicone spatula

      • Cocktail sticks (toothpicks)

      • Wire cooling rack

      • Baking sheets

      • 20cm (8in) square cake tin (pan)

      • 12-hole baking tins (pans) – sized accordingly

      • Madeleine or mini-madeleine tin (pan)

      • Cannelle mould

      • Metal cutters – circular and heart shaped in a variety of sizes

      • Paper cupcake cases

      • Mini – for bitesize cakes – foil 20 × 32mm (³⁄₄ × 1¹⁄₄in); paper 24 × 30mm (1 × 1¹⁄₈in)

      • Standard – used for traditional fairy cakes – 25 × 45mm (1 × 1³⁄₄in)

      • Muffin – used for larger American-style cupcakes – 45 × 49mm (1³⁄₄ × 2in)

      • Lollipop sticks – for cake pops

      • Polystrene or oasis block with holes – to stand cake pops in

      (Not pictured: double boiler for making chocolate ganache and marshmallow fluff and/or plastic microwave saucepan for Candy Melts)

       CAKE DECORATING EQUIPMENT

      • Piping (pastry) bags – disposable, handmade paper or re-usable, with coupler

      • Piping tubes (tips) – selection of round, plus large star for piping buttercream swirls and roses or mini meringues, small star for piping mini pavlova nests

      • Miniature non-stick rolling pin – for rolling out sugarpaste

      • Square acrylic mat – to roll out small quantities of sugarpaste, also to cover cut-out pieces while working

      • A4 plastic sleeve cut at base so you can open like a book – for modelling sugarpaste petals

      • Pins – to pierce tubes (tips) if icing dries out

      • Plunger cutters – to cut out daisy and blossom shapes

      • Piping gun with syringe nozzle – for filling choux buns and fingers

      • Cocktail sticks (toothpicks) – to add food colouring to icing and sugarpaste

      • Zip-lock plastic bags and cling film (plastic wrap) – to wrap and store sugarpaste and stop it drying out

      • Sealable plastic tubs – for storing royal icing

      • Sticky labels – for identifying icing at a glance

      • Gel or paste food colourings

      • Lustre liquid, powder and sprays

      • Edible glitter

      • Cling film (plastic wrap)

      • Miscellaneous sugar baubles and sprinkles

      • Candy dipping tool

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