Last week we had a lot of fun creating this two-tiered Sofia the First cake! Both tiers are chocolate sponge filled with a vanilla pod infused buttercream and covered with a chocolate ganache. We get excited watching every cake take shape as we work on it and this one was no different. Creating the swags, chocolate gems, quilted board and the six inch fully edible Sofia figurine was a pleasure!
We made the ‘Happy Birthday’ banner using flower/modelling paste as it sets stiffly allowing things, like banners, to stand up and remain in shape. The board itself was quilted before the cake was placed on top of it and we adding a few sugar pearls to match the pearl borders.
The Sofia model is made entirely out of flower/modelling paste as it holds its shape much better than sugarpaste. Since this is a heavy material a rice krispy square moulded into a ball was used to help form the lower part of her body. To make sure she stands sturdily on top of the cake we used a wooden doweling stick pushed through the rice krispy ball and secured with white chocolate.
We love creating two-tiered cakes as they make great centre pieces at parties and they’re fun to decorate!
One of our favourite times of the year are when cherry blossoms are in full bloom. These gorgeous flowers float through the air in late spring/early summer, but unfortunately never last as long as we’d like. With this in mind we thought we’d base our fifth cake in partnership with The Happy Egg Co. on the soft colours of cherry blossoms; a fun cherry laced flavour and a whimsical late spring inspired design!
In terms of taste we decided to look at a summery cherry flavour… with a twist or two! We thought of cherry and pistachio, cola or chocolate flavours with hints of lime, vanilla, almond or a cherry liqueur (like the below chocolate ganache and cherry brandy cupcake) as possible flavours.
We finally settled on cherry cola and pistachio as our flavour of the month. We loved the idea of a sweet cherry flavour teamed with a peppery cola and a warm pistachio buttercream. This flavour also made us of think of summery cherry cola floats; ice cold cola with added cherry syrup topped with vanilla or pistachio ice cream then loaded with cherries and chopped nuts. Yum!
We thought that pistachios would make for a great twist on a cherry cola flavour; not just because of their warm and nutty flavour, but for their gorgeous natural green tones of colour. The green of the pistachios adds a fresh, bright feel to the colour palette.
Below is a design board of everything that inspired us for this months cake; vibrant yet soft colours of coral tinted pinks and fresh green, soft textures, fun flavours and spring inspired details!
With all the beautiful colours, textures, details, flavours and ideas for this month’s Happy Egg cake be sure to keep posted to see what we create!
As the days get longer and the months get warmer ice cold drinks and fruity snacks become all the more appealing. With this in mind our third cake in partnership with The Happy Egg Co. will incorporate some key somertime flavours, colours and styles.
The first thing we gathered ideas and inspiration for was the all-important flavour. We discussed the typical summer tastes of sweet marshmallows, fresh fruit, sour jellies, floral hints, herbal undertones and bitter treats. Our attention then turned towards colours that were associated with picnics, confectionery, traditional treats, ice creams and fizzy drinks. From the above ideas we decided upon a rainbow layer cake filled with sticky, homemade raspberry fluff.
With summer being such a convenience fueled season we were happy to have settled on a sweet marshmallow fluff with hints of raspberry as our flavour. Being inspired by fun seasonal colours and traditional sweets we looked to other spring and summer time traditions. We envisioned fun days spent in the garden, visits to the park and holidays at the beach in which the idea of our cake fit perfectly. Though full blown summer is not quite here the warmer weather spurred us in to thinking about textures and materials and how we could use them when we decorated the actual cake.
From our rather fun (and tasty) research we put together our design board utilising childrens’ cupcakes, sprinkles, party bows, and bright confections. From this we developed and decided upon a simple rainbow-like palette of yellow, apple green green, sky blue, raspberry pink and a slightly dusky violet. We also incorporating several shape and texture ideas such as pleats, swirls, loops, ruffles and curls.
While taking the photographs for our design boards we looked at the vibrant tones used in sweets, the swirls and appeal of sugar fuelled snacks and the textures of jellies, marshmallows and boiled candies. The lure of the energetic hue of the jelly beans evolved into looking at how we might translate these fun aspects of summer onto the finished cake!
Above and below are a couple of quick watercolour sketches pulling together a few design details we felt would create a fun and lively candy inspired cake! Aside from the vibrant, playful colours we loved the idea of graphic stripe and dot patterns taken from the pleats of cupcake wrappers and scattered sprinkles and Rainbow Drops; swirled lollipops, candy dots, tiny wrapped sweets and the possible inclusion of a cupcake topper.
Keep posted to see this month’s cake, recipe and cake decorating tutorial in partnership with The Happy Egg Co.!
Not only is Easter just around the corner, but also March 31st sees the seasons change from winter to spring. With this in mind our third cake in partnership with The Happy Egg Co. will incorporate some key springtime flavours, colours and styles.
The first thing we gathered ideas and inspiration for was the all-important flavour. We sat and discussed the typical spring tastes of chocolate combined with floral hints (lavender, violet and rose). Whilst these elegant and delicious flavours would work beautifully in a cake we decided that the Easter and spring festivities would no doubt see an inundation of these scents and tastes. Our attention then turned towards flavours that were associated with home cooking and baking; apple and rhubarb crumbles, custard smothered trifles, traditional Victoria sponge, and moist sticky toffee puddings. From the above ideas we settled upon a rhubarb, honey and custard filled Victoria sponge-style cake.
With Easter being such a chocolate fuelled holiday we were happy to have settled on rhubarb, honey and custard as our flavour. Being inspired by fresh seasonal vegetables and traditional deserts we looked to other spring and summer time holidays and traditions. We envisioned balmy summer evenings, extravagant picnics and country fetes in which the idea of our cake fit perfectly. Though May is not quite here the image of the May Pole, and other transitional celebrations, spurred us to think about textures and materials and how we could use them when we decorated the actual cake.
While taking the photographs for our design boards we looked at spring and summer colour schemes and fresh rhubarb stalks. The vibrant, natural hue of the rhubarb and the idea of May Pole ribbons and energetic colour evolved into looking at buntings and stitching techniques and how we might translate these onto the finished cake!
Welcome to our second design and development blog post in partnership with The Happy Egg Co.! As we mentioned in last month’s design entry our development posts will help take our readers through the cake design, recipe testing and trend forecasting process. We’ll show you what is involved in designing a cake and it’s recipe, how to gather inspiration, creating colour palettes and what fads in the cake world to look out for!
Cookies and Crème de menthe?
For our second cake using only Happy Eggs we wanted to create a fun yet sophisticated dessert that could be adapted to suit any crowd. We looked at combining different ingredients and flavours together and played with various puns (we do love puns here at Juniper Cakery) before we settled upon a more grown up version of the classic ‘cookies and cream’ (our most popular cupcake flavour).
The creamy yet tingly combination of rich vanilla, cookie crumble and crème de menthe is traditionally an American dessert called ‘Grasshopper Pie'; a delicious and light minty pie with hints of vanilla perched upon a chocolate sandwich cookie crust. The name of the pie comes from the ‘Grasshopper’ cocktail which consists of crème de menthe and crème de cacao.
The wonderful thing about creating a crème de menthe based cake is it’s freshness! The soft yet vibrant green combined with the tingling taste is perfect for the approaching spring season. Also, because wedding season is fast approaching it is important (for us as bakers and cake decorators especially) to consider what trends are circulating the world of wedding cakes. 2013 is seeing a succession of soft mint and ivory tiered cakes flavoured with traditional vanilla and peppermint. Subtle lace detailing paired with shimmer, birds, focal point floral motifs and ‘rustic’ homemade look cakes are also finding their way into cake shops.
Design Boards and Sketches
For all of our cakes in partnership with The Happy Egg Co. we consider a variety of things that will inspire our end design and create a design board in order to fully develop our ideas. From the fresh green and ‘Grasshopper’ history we looked at plants, simple white florals and leaves. From the mint flavour and traditional creamy vanilla we considered ice creams and sugar beads. Both aspects evolved into looking at simple lace features and pearl embellishment ideas and how could we translate these.
We made the ‘Happy Birthday’ banner using flower/modelling paste as it sets stiffly allowing things, like banners, to stand up and remain in shape. The board itself was quilted before the cake was placed on top of it and we adding a few sugar pearls to match the pearl borders.
