after yesterdays girly, frilly and above all PINK ruffle cake-  i decided to make a blue cake today. just to counter balance all the sweetness.

i think i might have a new love affair with butter cream. again- just 15 minutes with this one. i know. and all you need is a palet knife. a round piping tip and off you go. pretty cake in no time. i might try a different pattern tomorrow. see?  obsessed.

Hello! I am up to my knees in polka dots & candy stripes today as I am working on my first cake for the new book which celebrates the delicious trend of “dessert & sweet tables”.

 Todays cake will be the first of many until xmas when the manuscript is due.. a very tight deadline and suspect I will be not getting much sleep following months.

But! After tasting, baking & having all those yummies in my tummy I plan to curl up like a squirrel and hibernate into a winter sleep from january thru april when the book comes out.

Until then- I will share some tips I find myself with you as I go along.. so you too can create those beautiful dessert tables! Here’s the first; 

I want everything in this shop Mon Tresor. Literally everything! It’s a great resource for my Sweet Table Contest participants too! {Suzanna from Mon Tresor is also one of the judges!}

Happy shopping all- and enjoy your weekend xx

There’s something about Cake Stands that make me swoon..and it’s not just the sweets displayed on top of it, it’s the colors, the shape, the different heights and how they complement the cake- It’s a *throne* for our queen cake we spent hours {and hours} decorating! Wouldn’t it be great if you could have matching and unique cake stand with every cake you designed&decorated without breaking the bank? Yes! YES! So I found you these 2 links, with tutorials how to make your own stands: one with ceramic, and one with wood. I can already hear you casually say on your next party “oh those? the pastelcolored cake stands? oh..that’s just something I made myself” {say “designed” for more impact!} Both methods are super easy. I will give them a go myself. thinking it will also be cute to glue those pom pom trimmings you find in fabric/home furnishing stores around the edge of a cute individual wooden cup cake stand.

Wooden Cake Stand: http://beeinourbonnet.blogspot.com/2010/09/project-wedding-cake-stands.htmlCeramic:http://eatdrinkpretty.blogspot.com/2010/09/diy-cakestand-tutorial.html

This week I wanted to work with fresh colors. Usually I work a lot with pastels, as they look so fragile, romantic & wedgwood chic.. but after a few weeks of grey london skies I was ready to bring some sunshine & spring into my kitchen!

I didn’t want to spend a lot of time working on the flowers so I came up with a flower that is really {no really!} easy to make, and more importantly… quick! It’s a cross between a ranunculus, peony and a buttercup. My favorites! You don’t need a lot of equipment or technique, not even a floralwire. Use only a few petals and fan them out/ let them bloom after the first round if you are pressed for time. For some I used 20+ petals but others just 12 and made them slightly larger and more in bloom with the same effect and less time. Here’s a tutorial: {click on the image to enlarge it} And Oh..! Dont’t fuss too much, these flowers look their best when they’re not picture purrrrfect!