We have been ridiculously excited about this super pink reindeer cake tutorial for a while now! We partnered with Benefit Cosmetics UK to help get everyone in the holiday spirit with this gorgeous video how-to. If you LOVED our stylish Mrs Claus cupcake tutorial with Benefit last year then you’ll adore this! Whether you’re a novice or an expert this sweet treat is going to make THE cutest centrepiece!
You can view our full tutorial over on IGTV via our Instagram page (Yay! We’ve launched own own channel so expect lots more tutorials and filmed sneak peeks) or the Benefit Cosmetics UK account! If you’re more of a YouTube user then don’t worry we’ve edited the video so that it is lovely and landscape! Click the play button below to watch or head to our YouTube channel and subscribe!
And yes. We would put a gif together of the cake being stacked! It feels so magical. If only cakes actually did appear in front of us like this!
We decorated our end design in the reindeer cake tutorial with sprinkles, snowflakes and macarons. You can re-create our little arrangement or add chocolate truffles, candy or even fresh roses? Glittering star shaped cookies, chocolate jewels and even lollipops sound amazing too! If you’re feeling super adventurous (or brave) then a cute drip down one side and homemade candy canes would be so impressive.
Once your own reindeer cake is all dressed up and ready for party season it’s time to fill your phone with 1,000 photos of it! Hope you enjoyed creating one gorgeously pink cake! From us and Benefit Cosmetics have an amazing holiday season!
This fun giveaway has ended now, but we loved making these pretty cookies so much that we thought we’d share it via our blog! For the holiday season we collaborated with Benefit Cosmetics to create a cute Mrs Claus cupcake tutorial for everyone to re-create at home. Alongside this we also held a giveaway. One lucky #Benebabe won a set of our exclusive Benefit cookies along with Benefit Cosmetics’ complete BeneBrow collection via Instagram! Amazing right?
Exclusive festive cookies for Benefit Cosmetics!
Our brief for these cookies was… Benefit, pink and festive! No problem! We sketched out ideas for gingerbread house inspired Benefit shops with different doors, windows and Christmas decorations. In the end we decided to keep it simple with a snow laden roof (glittery… of course) studded with snowflake sprinkles, hot pink doors, silver windows, a little holly and vintage inspired shop awning hand-piped with the Benefit logo! When it came to colour we stuck to the classic Benefit colours of pink and silver!
Of course we didn’t stop there! This pretty Benefit parlour needed some added sweetness! Sticking with our festive theme we created a large white snowflake adorned with sequin sprinkles and glistening mini snowflakes. For a little added glam we painted edible lustre on top. We then baked and decorated some fun gingerbread snowball cookies! These were simple small circles iced with white fondant and decorated with more mini snowflakes and sequin confetti sprinkles. Finally, we created some glittery star shaped cookies painted with edible silver (totally inspired by their vintage-esque packaging) and indented with tiny star shapes! Nice and sparkly… perfect for the holiday season.
Flavour wise, we used our classic go-to gingerbread cookie recipe which we LOVE. It just isn’t Christmas until these are made. Plus, they’re the perfect festive cookie to have with a huge mug of hot chocolate or seasonal flavoured coffee!
When it comes to companies that we LOVE Benefit Cosmetics are definitely way up on the list. They’re fun, quirky and we love the amount of pink they use! When they contacted us about collaborating together to create some fun (and chic) festive content we were thrilled! Plus we got to create a super exclusive collection of Benefit cookies for one lucky winner (giveaway now ended)! Head on over to Benefit’s Instagram to find our Mrs Claus cupcake tutorial via their story highlights.
Mrs Claus cupcake tutorial for Benefit Cosmetics!
Materials and tools needed…
Cupcake (if the top is domed and risen… even better)
Core and fill your cupcake(s) with frosting. We used a classic Madagascan vanilla buttercream for our cupcake! It’s absolutely fine to fill your cupcakes with other fillings such as salted caramel, cookie butter or fruity jams.
Tip! You don’t need to core your cupcake all the way to the bottom. Halfway down is a great amount of space for enough buttercream. Also, you’ll risk piercing the cupcake case so take it easy.
Step 02:
Use a palette knife ot spatula to spread any excess buttercream around the top of your cupcake which will help your sugar paste / fondant to stick to the cupcake’s surface.
Step 03:
You don’t need to do this step BUT it is our top tip for making smooth and flawless iced cupcakes! Roll out some white sugar paste / fondant and cut out a circle just a little smaller than your the top of your cupcake. Lay this central on top of your cupcake and smooth down.
As we said you don’t need to double ice your cupcakes and a lot of people aren’t too keen on sugar paste / fondant. However, for a super smooth look this part is pretty important. Cupcakes can bake uneven or bumpy too so this really helps!
Step 04:
Repeat step 03 but with whatever skin tone coloured fondant you like. Also, make sure to use a circle cutter a little larger than your cupcake this time so that it can accommodate for the curve of your cupcake! Apply and smooth over the top of your cupcake to the edges of the case.
Step 05:
With your circle cutters cut two smaller circles of white sugar paste / fondant. Then cut away a portion from one circle so that the other can fit inside. These sections are going to be Mrs Claus’ hair which is going to be so cute and on-trend too!
Step 06:
Attach on top of your cupcake with a little amount of edible glue to create Mrs Claus’ hair! Once this is in place dust with some white lustre dust to add a little glitz for the party season.
You can also use edible white lustre paint if that’s what you have to hand. There’s lots on the market like sparkling dusts, shimmer sprays and glittery paint too so you’re spoiled for choice!
Step 07:
Now to add a chic top knot! Roll a ball of white fondant and attach on top of your cupcake with some edible glue. Hold in place lightly until stable. Then add a little texture to Mrs Claus’ hair using a thin veining tool. Also, remember to dust her top knot with lustre dust.
Step 08:
Using a small ball tool indent where you’d like Mrs Claus’ eyes to be which you can nestle black sugar pearls into later.
Step 09:
With a thin veining tool indent eyelashes to the sides of her eyes. Three is always a good amount composition-wise, but it’s a lot for a small eye so stick to two ‘lashes’.
Step 10:
Now add black sugar pearls for the eyes with a tiny amount of edible glue. Try not to add too much glue as it can look messy if it seeps out or ends up making your pieces slide around! Edible glue is pretty slippy so just remember that a little goes a l-o-n-g way!
Step 11:
For her cute button nose roll a tiny amount of fondant in the same colour skin tone you iced your cupcake with. Attach with a small amount of edible glue.
Tip! Working this small can be a little tricky as your hands will warm up the fondant making it squishy. Once you create her nose just set it aside for a few minutes to firm up or cool down. It should be much easier to work with and attach.
Step 12:
Let’s finish Mrs Claus’ stylish hair! Use edible glue to attach pretty snowflake sprinkles in place. Then with a small amount of melted white chocolate (don’t use milk or dark… it’ll get messy and it’s so much more noticeable) attach a real bow in place!
Tip! White chocolate makes for a pretty sturdy edible glue for harder to attach elements… which is so handy for stubborn pieces. The reason we advise not using milk or dark is that if that drips all over your work it will stain. Not a good look right?
Step 13:
Add a smile with the bottom of a piping tip. We used the end of a 2.5 by PME Supatube then pressed it into the cupcake at an angle to indent a curve. You can also use the scallop tool in any icing modeling tool kit… which basically looks like a curved line.
Step 14:
Mrs Claus still isn’t ready as, just like anyone would need a touch of Benetint (or Posietint… our fave), she still needs her blush! Use a small fluffy brush to apply a little pink edible dust to her cheeks. Just like Benetint build your colour up so add a little at a time! It’s oh so much easier to just a little more colour each time instead of going overboard and having to start all over again from step 03!
Now Mrs Claus is ready to take on the festive season armed with her Benefit-inspired look! She’s the perfect guest at any Christmas dinner party too. A super cute idea would be to create lots of other cupcakes decorated with fondant bows to look like gifts. Arrange these on top of a cupcake tower stand and surround with pretty snowflake confetti for a scene stealing centrepiece!
Planning a fun dinner party with the girls? Why not tweak this Mrs Claus cupcake tutorial and make each match your bestie too! You can change hair colour and style, add edible accessories (try white sugar pearl sprinkles or stars for fabulous earrings), change their skin tone or play with make up styles too (add a little edible glitter eyeshadow or some black eyeliner with a black edible pen)! How much fun does that sound?
We had SO much fun working alongside Benefit to create this fun and festive Mrs Claus cupcake tutorial. We hope you have an amazing time creating your own at home. Remember… she’s not ready until she’s a #Benebabe!
How cute and festive are these pink Christmas tree cookies? We absolutely LOVE them! We created lots of these beauties for high street lingerie, nightwear and accessories brand Boux Avenue recently. These sweet little gingerbread cookies were an extra treat in their Boux Ambassador boxes for December!
Our cookie brief was something pink and something festive. We drafted a few sketches that included trees covered in snowflakes, baubles in blush pink and large gingerbread bows after discussing ideas. Working alongside Boux Avenue we combined two designs to create soft pink Christmas trees featuring hand-piped Boux Avenue branding on each one! Of course, we had to add a few shimmery snowflake sprinkles!
We also added piped pink bows on top of each tree as a nod to the tiny satin bows often found finishing bras and knickers (or panties for our non-UK readers). Plus adding a bow on top of a festive Christmas tree is such a cute alternative right?
Flavour-wise they had to be our popular gingerbread cookie (psst… you can find our recipe here). Loaded with ginger, cinnamon, golden syrup and treacle this fragrant little treat is a must for the colder winter nights. After cutting, chilling and baking trays of gingerbread we then decorated each cookie individually. We added the pink bows first, then piped royal icing branding across each in black and pink. Each cookie featured lustred (for a little added sparkle) snowflakes! We nestled every cookie into clear bags and tagged them ready to find their new homes (tummies)!
We had so much fun working on these festive Boux Avenue cookies. Boux Avenue is such a fun brand. We’ve already got their fluffy unicorn slippers, pink taffeta room spray (anything with peony in it is a must-have) and pink quilted make-up bag (this is a thing of beauty) on our wish list / letter to Santa!
Party season means cocktails-a-plenty (for grown-ups at least). This year we thought we’d put together a recipe for our famous Eyeball Socket Bellini teamed with our favourite prosecco by Bottega Gold. We’re so excited to be collaborating with them for the holiday season. We’re not big drinkers, but Bottega Gold is fruity, fresh and fabulous! Perfect for a fun Halloween cocktail recipe!
Anyway this drink ended up being a little fail/win situation when we first ever created it. The raspberries were supposed to float on top with the juice dripping down inside the prosecco to look like blood. Instead they were too pulp-like (not enough juice), BUT looked utterly gruesome! We improvised with a few eyeball candies and they looked like mushy eye sockets. Perfect! Every Halloween we re-create this terror-ific drink and it never fails to impress… or scare.
Halloween cocktail recipe with Bottega Gold prosecco!
Mashed raspberries (do this via a fork not a food processor or blender) - 300g
Clementine juice - 1/2 litre
Crushed ice - approx 4 to 8 handfuls
Step 01:
Add a large handful of crushed ice per glass. It’s hard to really provide a recipe for a drink as it does depend on what glassware is being used. Our champagne coupes are fairly large so we added nearly 2 handfuls of crush ice per glass. Just keep in mind sizing and if it looks like it needs more or less just adjust it!
Step 02:
Now add in your Bottega Gold prosecco to each glass. Make sure they’re around 2/3 full!
Note: If you’re not a drinker or you want to make this kid-friendly then add ice cold lemonade or limeade instead!
Step 03:
Now pour in a little clementine juice. The amount depends on how much fruity flavour you’d like. As a guide we’d say around 80ml per glass, which is what we added.
Step 04:
Now add around 3-4 tablespoons of your mashed up raspberries to the centre of each glass.
Note: The reason these need to be mashed via hand using a fork or even potato masher is because blending or using a food processor will make them more watery. Then they’ll mix in with the drink and have less of a pulverised flesh look.
Step 05:
Now add your jelly eyeball into the centre of your drink!
Note: Jelly candy is the best type to use as it will resist disintegrating into the drink. Keep this in mind when candy shopping! You can add some extra gore with jelly worms too.
Now you’re ready to enjoy a terror-ific Halloween! The spooky cocktails are perfect for any gruesome party. Remember you can swap the prosecco for lemonade or limeade for a non-alcoholic version. Cherryade would even be a cool and bloody idea too. Another great idea would be to add strawberry laces tangled up on top before adding the eyeballs. They’d look like veins!
Happy Halloween everyone! Remember kids… drink sensibly and have fun!
