Our Work in the New Step by Step Kids’ Birthday Cakes Book from DK Books!

In late 2013 DK Books/Publishers approached us with a list of popular kids’ birthday cake ideas for their new book, Step-by-Step Kids’ Birthday Cakes, and we were more than happy to design and create a small collection of vibrant and playful cakes; perfect for children’s parties! Eight months on and now we can finally reveal our hard work… so without further ado here are the four designs we created featured in Step-by-Step Kids’ Birthday Cakes edited by Karen Sullivan which you can order via Amazon here.

Step by Step Kids' Birthday Cake by Juniper Cakery

Cute Dinosaur Cake by Juniper Cakery

Here’s a super fun and cute dinosaur egg cake we created. It’s covered with fondant and features some very novice hand-painted work along with some playful edible accents such as the tale, head and spots. To add an extra sweet touch we added a small piece of ‘broken shell’ out of fondant to perch atop of the baby dinosaur’s head!

Candy Train Party Cake by Juniper Cakery

Above is a snap of our candy train cake. We think this design would be perfect for anyone who is a beginner/intermediate level cake decorator. Toppling bright jelly beans, chocolate beans, and cookies onto each cargo carriage is a fantastic way to decorate a kids’ birthday cake!

Playful Soccer Ball Cake by Juniper Cakery

This simple yet detailed soccer themed cake is great for a sports themed party. Adding a fondant scarf around the base is a great way to incorporate the lucky recipient’s favourite sports team!

Circus Tent Cake by Juniper Cakery

Here’s our playful and vibrant circus tent cake; perfect for little kids’ parties. We loved the idea of having some very iconic circus characters popping out of the big top so we designed the tent to ‘open’ and feature a lion, bear, clown and elephant all smiling out of the front. We also wanted to add an extra playful feature so we created fondant balloons with floral wire string to be attached to the side as though floating up into the air!

Step by Step Kids Cakes

Get hold of a copy of this book now to begin whipping up some fantastically bright and fun kids’ cakes for your next party! This book also includes lots of helpful tips, explanations and handy advice perfect for novice to intermediate decorators.

 

Review: Step by Step Cake Decorating by Karen Sullivan

When we were asked to review Step by Step Cake Decorating by Karen Sullivan we jumped at the chance. As professional bakers and cake decorators we have amassed an impressive collection of cooking and baking books.

In order to review Step-by-Step Cake Decorating we decided to be hands on and re-create a playful and seasonal cake from within the book… the fun jack o’ lantern! We put our own spin on this cake and added candy corn (a bit of an addiction in the Juniper Cakery office) which we made using strips of coloured sugarpaste / fondant. We also decorated our cake board with wood effect painted fondant. The pumpkin cake itself was created by following the book’s instructions step by step.

Pumpkin Cake by Juniper Cakery

Step by Step Cake Decorating by Karen Sullivan is a great beginners guide where novices will find an array of cakes to re-create. The instructions for this fun, ‘fangtastic’ cake were clear and concise and prove to be a prime example of how accessible other tutorials are in the book. Whilst the tutorial is simple and straightforward you’ll still be eased into learning some handy terminology throughout. There are a good few pages dedicated to introducing the decorator to a selection of tools and equipment with explanations of use where needed. These tools range from basics such as scrapers and turntables to specialist items such as airbrushing machines and florist tape. The difference between a cake drum and cake board is also discussed as are other basics such as how to fill and cover a layer cake.Step by Step Cake Decorating BookStep-by-Step Cake Decorating by Karen Sullivan, published by DK, £16.99 at dk.com

For advanced cake decorators this will still become a reference book where quick ideas, tips and tricks of the trade are at the ready as we all have our ‘designer’s block’ days. Though the jack o’ lantern cake is one of our personal favourites, and a fitting choice for this time of year, there are still plenty of projects to take you though winter, spring and summer too! There are also great ideas for children’s birthdays including, but certainly not limited to, a pirate ship, dinosaur and a train.

Pumpkin Cake by Juniper Cakery

Step-by-Step Cake Decorating by Karen Sullivan is a book filled with fun and vibrant projects. This book a great introduction to those eager to begin learning the craft and the book even includes and a collection of basic cake, icing and buttercream recipes ready for you to get creating!

Pumpkin Cake by Juniper Cakery

If you’d love to get your hands on a copy of Step-by-Step Cake Decorating by Karen Sullivan why not try your luck at entering our giveaway! We have two copies ready to send out to two lucky winners. All you need to do is comment on this post! Entrants must reside in the UK and have their comment submitted by November 1st. The two lucky winners will be chosen at random and will be announced via our blog and social channels (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram) on November 4th. Good luck!

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