Yes. It’s that time again! Every time we hit three #reels in a season or collection we feature them on our blog. Not everyone is on Instagram (crazy, but true). So we try to keep things updated on here too. It’s November and we are in the festive spirit! Here’s our recent Christmascake decorating tutorials via Reels! You can pipe pretty snowflakes or add cute edible trees to your holiday treats in no time.
We used a rich deep green buttercream to pipe our tree onto a cupcake. You can pipe larger versions onto cakes or add lots of them to make a forest! This tutorial works really well with a stiffer consistency royal icing too. This way you can pre-make rows of them to use on your next homemade sweet. OR why not use this tutorial with your own go-to meringue recipe?
We went doughnut crazy for this fun Christmas cake decorating tutorial! You can, however, use this quick tutorial to pipe onto cookies, cupcakes and more! It’s actually pretty easy too. Also, make this match your own decorations or table settings by swapping the colours. Try adding sprinkle mixes or candy to decorate.
For this we used a closed star piping tip and a petal tip to create the cute bow. The sizes depend on the treat you’re working with. So if you want to pipe small royal icing transfers then you’ll need much smaller sized piping nozzles.
Speaking of royal icing transfers (we briefly mentioned them above… how fun are these? These royal icing snowflakes make the sweetest festive touch to seasonal bakes. You can add to cupcakes, cookies, marshmallows, brownies etc. Also, they’re easy to customise with different sprinkles or colours. We have a handy blog post that can take you step by step too.
Some of the tools needed include… a 03 piping tip by Wilton. Go for a 04 if you want your snowflakes a little thicker. Washi tape to stick your sheet down is also a good idea.
We pretty much live on coffee every single day so these dark chocolate mousse cups laced with Patron XO café are an instant hit with us. Also, if you watched out Instagram stories over Christmas then may have spotted the tequila coffee liqueur a few times. For Valentine’s Day why not surprise the coffee fanatic in your life with this caffeine infused dessert? However, feel free to whip them up for yourself too if you like… you deserve it!
Dark chocolate mousse with Patron XO Café
Ingredients needed… (makes approx. 2 large coffee mugs full or 8 espresso cups)
Firstly, melt the dark chocolate slowly in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure not to heat the chocolate too much or too fast. Also, try not to get water into the chocolate as this will seize it up and you’ll need to begin again.
Step 02:
Now stir in the butter, Patron and egg yolks gently. Once incorporated set aside off the heat. At this stage it will look a little grainy and feel stiffer.
Step 03:
Add your egg whites to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whip to a slightly stiff consistency. Basically your egg whites should resemble a large fluffy cloud at this stage.
Step 04:
Next fold your whipped egg whites into your molten chocolate mixture along with your double cream (the 150ml amount).
Step 05:
Carefully add to some stylish coffee cups. If you spoon these in and want a nice level flat top then just tap the cup on a counter a couple times to help the mousse inside settle. We divded our’s across two large coffee mugs. If you’re, instead, making these for a larger party then why not add to espresso cups? Leave to set for a couple hours in your fridge.
Step 06:
Finally, when ready add a dollop of whipped cream (from the 100ml amount) on top of each with a sprinkling of chocolate coffee beans!
Tip! If you over whip your cream then don’t worry! This can be fixed pretty easily. Simply add in a tablespoon or two of full fat milk or left over double cream and whip for a few seconds.
Your perfectly creamy and thick decadent chocolate mousse should now be ready for dessert time! The great thing about this recipe is that it is pretty adaptable. Swap the Patron XO Café for cognac or even Bailey’s (make sure to taste test) or trade in the dark chocolate for milk. You can, however, leave out the alcohol hit all together. There’s even the option of playing with layers. Alternate white chocolate mousse with dark and add crushed chocolate chip cookies on top.
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and we can’t wait too! Full of sweet little treats, lots of pink and more heart shaped sprinkles than anyone could count it’s such a cute holiday! This year we are kicking off the love-filled season with these Cherry and Rose Bellini Eclairs. Pretty choux pastry desserts filled with rose extract infused cherry preserve and whipped prosecco swiss meringue buttercream… then topped with cherry flavoured fondant, fresh cherries, sprinkles and elegant roses!
Ingredients and tools needed… (makes approx. 10 eclairs)
Firstly. pre-heat your oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas mark 6. After that add your butter to a saucepan with the water on medium to high heat on your stove top. When the two ingredients melt together bring them to the boil! Don’t worry… this shouldn’t take too long. For us it takes around 5-7 minutes.
Step 02:
Next remove the pan from the heat and also add in your flour. Quickly start to stir. The mix will thicken at this stage (try not to stir too much as this will over mix the dough).
Step 03:
Once your flour has been incorporated it’s time to add in your beaten eggs a little at a time (make sure to add the egg on top of the dough and not right onto the pan’s surface… the heat will instead start cooking up scrambled eggs). We’d recommend pouring in whatever you estimate to be an egg’s worth then stir vigorously (this part takes some arm muscle). Repeat this until all your eggs have been added.
Tip: This part is, however, a lot easier with someone to kindly help you. Whilst you mix everything together have your helper add in the egg.
Step 04:
When your choux dough is ready it should be thick and look a little glossy! Next you’ll need to scoop it into a disposable piping bag. You can use a large round piping tip or go rogue and just snip the bag when you’re ready to pipe!
Step 05:
Spritz your silpat lined cookie tray with water. You don’t need a lot so make sure you don’t drench it!
Step 06:
Now you can pipe out your eclairs. Snip your disposable piping and pipe thick lines of your dough along your tray. You’ll need the scissors to cut the dough off. It’s got a lot of elasticity in it’s texture so it won’t snap or break off easy. Place in your oven and bake for 30 mins. When the 30 mins are up turn the tray around and bake for a further 10 minutes. When baked leave to cool before filling and decorating.
To fill
Step 08:
Take your cherry preserve and then add a few drop of rose water to it. Most importantly, make sure you taste test so can get the exact flavour you like. You may need a few drops more depending how strong you’d like the rose flavour to be. Make sure the mix doesn’t end up runny though. Add your rose water infused cherry jam to a piping bag fitted with a bismarck tip. At two points along the flat base of your eclair pipe a little of the preserve in. Don’t pipe too much!
Step 07:
If you’ve already whipped up our prosecco swiss meringue buttercream (or SMBC) then bag it up in a disposable piping bag with your bismarck tip at the end. Now pipe the SMBC into your eclair at 3 alternating spaces between where you piped in your preserve. You can, however, use whipped cream to fill.
To decorate
Step 08:
To decorate we added some cherry extract to pink fondant and mixed it in, however, you can leave this plain if you like. We love the added cherry flavour though! When ready roll out your fondant and cut oblong shapes using for fondant eclair cutter.
Step 09:
Add a little light corn syrup onto your filled eclairs and gently lay your pink cherry fondant on top!
Step 10:
Finally, you can add your roses, cherries and sprinkles! Why not use melted chocolate to attach (use a cocktail stick to apply the chocolate) each piece on top of your fondant covered eclair. We opted for light pink roses in the middle surrounded with fresh morello cherries and sweet white heart sprinkles!
Now enjoy! Aren’t these fun and boozy inspired eclairs perfect for a Valentine’s Day dinner? Whip these up for your crush, your best friends or just for yourself (seriously, we won’t judge). They’ll be such a treat paired with some rose gold prosecco (our favourite is by Bottega)!
