Rose, Cherry Blossom & Hydrangea Topsy Turvy Cake!

Topsy turvy cakes are always fun cakes and we love the ‘Alice in Wonderland’-esque structure and shape of them especially for birthday and wedding designs. Here’s a lovely floral adorned topsy turvy cake that we finished recently! We love the mix of ombré roses, blush pink cherry blossoms and porcelain white hydrangeas with the quirky shape and varied stripe detail.

Pretty pink topsy turvy cake by Juniper Cakery

For this design we were asked to re-create the infamous pink cake that Cheryl Cole received for her 31st birthday. The only image  found of this particular cake is a small camera phone image from Cheryl Cole’s twitter account so a few details were essentially open for interpretation.

We quilted a pink fondant cake drum to add a lovely chic look and trimmed the board with cream grosgrain ribbon before stacking the cake together to decorate. All of the flowers are edible and hand-made by us before they were dusted with colour and a lovely hint of sparkle! We especially love the white on white of the hydrangea blossoms on the top tier.

Topsy turvy cake by Juniper CakeryLovely topsy turvy birthday cake by Juniper Cakery

It’s a lovely bright red velvet cake inside sandwiched with a vanilla bean and white chocolate buttercream; we always love baking red velvet! It’s such a fabulous and vibrant cake and always a thrill to whip up due to the glamorous deep red colour. We used white chocolate in our buttercream to help keep such an angled cake stable when being stacked and carved.

Pink rose and cherry blossom with hydrangeas on a topsy turvy cake by Juniper Cakery

To make the ombré roses we made modelling paste/gum paste buds and left them to set overnight before adding petals in blush pink and white. We added the brighter pink colour with blossom dust and then added a glimmering sheen with edible lustre dust; our favourite is Sugarflair’s Snowflake which has lots of fabulous sparkle to it!

Floral topsy turvy cake by Juniper Cakery

For a fun birthday not only is a bold and lively cake the perfect centrepiece to the party, but a ‘wonky’ topsy turvy cake helps add a nice touch of whimsy. We loved creating this cake from the clean white hydrangeas to the angled cake tiers!

 

Naked Cake with Rosemary & Candied Lemon Slices!

Every year we’re asked to create a birthday cake that utilises less fondant and sugar for the same diabetic client. This year, eager to try out the latest of cake trends, we whipped up this gloriously colourful naked birthday cake with them in mind! It’s a vanilla, lemon and white chocolate naked cake adorned with a flurry of roses, fruits and herbs!

Naked birthday cake by Juniper Cakery

Pretty naked cake by Juniper Cakery

Decorating a freshly baked cake with bright roses, berries and sprigs of rosemary instantly added a touch of rustic glamour to the vanilla layers sandwiched with our whipped lemon oil and white chocolate buttercream! For a late summer birthday we opted for the most vibrant roses we could source so that this cake would feature some lovely pops of colour throughout.

Buttercream naked cake by Juniper Cakery

We used sprigs of freshly cut rosemary, blueberries, cherries, candied lemon slices, and bright roses to adorn this vanilla pod infused cake. The rosemary makes a rather fabulous (and edible) way of adding a feather-like aspect to the design. For future naked cakes we simply love the idea of covering the odd blueberry with decadent gold leaf, adding aromatic cinnamon sticks, using exotic star fruit slices and large sage leaves to add a quirky slant on the usual decoration of fruits and flowers!

The cake was placed on a quilted and sugar pearl studded board that was then trimmed with a luxurious liquid gold ribbon finished with a bow! We loved the idea of pairing the bright coloured roses with a little bit of gold and some Chanel influenced quilting for glamorous touch.

Gorgeous rose decorated naked cake by Juniper Cakery

Some other fabulous ideas for more unusual naked cakes include red velvet layers, vanilla cakes filled with sprinkle infused buttercream, or a dark chocolate cake paired with a salted caramel and Nutella buttercream; perfect for the discerning and adventurous epicurean!

Rosemary and lemon naked cake by Juniper Cakery

 

Tea, Macarons & Recipe Book Birthday Cake!

It was our head baker Carol’s birthday last Sunday and of course we created her a rather lovely cake to celebrate the occasion. After a few initial ideas we set our sights on a recipe book themed cake adorned with roses, sweet treats and a rather fancy teacup! We also had to add Carol’s favourite colour purple to the cake’s colour palette to help tie it in with Carol’s birthday decorations and gifts. We didn’t even make her bake the actual cake herself!

Tea, macarons and recipe book cake by Juniper Cakery

Pretty recipe book and tea cake  by Juniper Cakery

Lovely recipe book cake by Juniper Cakery

We created a lovely little edible teacup with gum paste / modelling paste hand-painted with gold lustre dust edging and detail. Alongside this we also created a matching edible side plate for all of the delicious chocolate truffles to be piled upon!

We have an old tutorial up here to help you create a sweet edible teacup and saucer of your very own!

To add the gold detail with used some gold lustre dust mixed with a little vodka and carefully painted the edges with a fine paintbrush used only for food items. This takes quite a steady hand so practice makes perfect indeed!

Sugar gum paste roses and macarons by Juniper Cakery

Above are our Cherry Macarons, Passion Fruit Macarons and handmade sugar gum paste roses and leaves. We toppled the macarons onto each other and then adorned them with florals to add a nice little touch of whimsy!

For the macarons we created them in sorbet influenced flavours such as Raspberry, Passion Fruit and Cherry to help establish a lovely bright, Summer colour palette; perfect for a June birthday!

Cute recipe book cake by Juniper Cakery

We added one of our head baker’s favourite recipes for Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes to her recipe book cake by hand-painting in the illustration and ingredients list. The left side of the book cake displays baking instructions for our fruity Strawberry Cupcakes filled with home made strawberry preserve.

We created a sweet yet cluttered scene with the placement of hand-made sugar roses, hydrangeas, chocolate truffles and edible chinaware!

Gum paste edible teacup by Juniper Cakery

Making the edible teacup took  two hours to cut, shape and paint; it then took some patience and a few days to harden and be ready to assemble and place onto of the cake. A top tip is to use melted white chocolate in a disposable piping bag to seal the joint of the teacup and affix the shaped handle to the side. White chocolate sets fast and keeps a good hold.

Recipe book cake with macarons and roses by Juniper Cakery

Here are some of our Raspberry Macarons filled with a raspberry preserve alongside a fruity Passion Fruit Macaron filled with a lemon curd whipped buttercream.

Sweet recipe book birthday cake by Juniper Cakery

Some of the extra features on this birthday cake are sugar hydrangeas, a gold painted braid bookmark, hand-painted wood stained board and a lightly ruffled napkin placed underneath the perched edible teacup.

We’re happy to say that we not only had the chance to actually devour a little bit of this cake, but that Carol seemed to be rather enthralled with her birthday cake!

 

Antique Red Rose Wedding Cake!

Here’s an eye-catching wedding cake we created for a ceremony this weekend. We were asked to make a three tiered creation incorporating red roses. We kept a lovely traditional look to this cake by only adding small details such as the quilted and pearl studded board, royal icing pearl borders and fondant Neo-classical inspired frames alternating on each tier. The dramatic deep red roses were to remain the key focal aspect of this cake so we made them a little more playful by adding curled fondant rose petals drifting down the sides.

Vintage red rose wedding cake by Juniper Cakery

Beautiful red rose wedding cake by Juniper Cakery

A total of 40 hand made gumpaste roses adorn the top and sides with bright pops of green rose leaves. The small fondant rose petals were added as a finishing touch to create a romantic yet slightly whimsical feel to an otherwise dramatic wedding cake.

Red rose wedding cake with ornate frame detail by Juniper Cakery

Red rose wedding cake made by Juniper Cakery

We love the detailed frames which are somewhat reminiscent of Neo-classical medallion backed chairs. Adding these to each tier of the cake helped to incorporate texture and dimension as well as a wonderfully theatrical antique look to the end result.

Sugar roses on wedding cake by Juniper Cakery

Lovely rose wedding cake by Juniper Cakery

We thoroughly enjoyed working on this design as we got to play with some elegant yet dramatic ideas from crafting dozens of red roses to the idea of incorporating an antique aspect in the design. 

 

Honey, Vanilla & Lavender Beehive Macaron Cake!

One of the perks of our job is that when either one of our birthdays makes its way around we end up creating a hell of a cake for ourselves! This Honey, Vanilla and Lavender Beehive Macaron Cake is by no means an exception. To celebrate Krystle’s (the Welsh half of Juniper Cakery) 28th birthday we set to work designing, baking and decorating this impressive beehive inspired macaron tower. 

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

The cake itself is vanilla filled and iced with a wildflower honey buttercream whilst the macarons that adorn it are honey, vanilla and lavender flavoured. The bottom tier is covered with gold painted fondant ‘sequins’.

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

Being Welsh, an outdoors-y woman and harbouring a life-long fascination with bees this was an obvious cake for Krystle. We took inspiration from beehives, botanical illustrations, anything and everything golden and glamorous and full bouquets of seasonal blossoms to design this cake.

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

After affixing the honey, vanilla and lavender macarons to the cake tower we embellished them with handmade ivory sugar gum paste roses and leaves, gold painted fondant bees and soft lavender hydrangea blossoms.

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

The ‘sequin’ tier took an excruciating amount of work and time to create! For a while we kept spotting fondant sequin cakes doing the rounds on various blogs and online magazines from across the pond and we had been itching to re-create this! It took the both of us over 10 hours to make!

The cake board was fun to decorate too! The large hexagon shaped board was covered with a cream fondant then embossed with a honeycomb pattern, brushed with gold lustre dust and dotted with gold painted fondant bees!

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

The top of the macaron cake tower was finished with a gum paste finial that was then hand painted gold. The design was influenced by pollen, floral petals, the abdomen of a honey bee and by the finials that perch atop historical buildings.

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

We added a little bit of fun by attaching some gold painted fondant bees onto a few blossoms as well as clustered onto the macarons.

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper CakeryBeehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

This cake took so much time and effort to create, but it was worth it! This cake is the perfect combination of both of our personal styles. It incorporates our love of nature, food (of course!) and even architecture.

Beehive Macaron Cake by Juniper Cakery

 

Roses, Cosmetics and Jewels Birthday Cake!

Here’s a lovely and bright cosmetics bag cake with a vintage twist that we created for a friend’s daughter! We were asked to design and make a polka dot make-up bag cake fit for an 18th birthday with a slight vintage feel, a tassel and a fresh colour palette. We were, otherwise, given creative license so with the previous requests we settled upon a cream, turquoise, gold and coral pink colour scheme paired with hand made roses, pearl jewellery, a quilted and sugar pearl studded board and vintage inspired cosmetic pieces. 

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

Above is a close-up of some of the details of the cake including the gold fondant tassel, pearl necklace (complete with an ornate clasp), nail polish bottle, pearl ring, brooch, small parfum bottle and a lipstick inspired by the Estée Lauder Signature lip-colour in ‘Portofino Coral’.

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

The cake itself is a lovely soft and moist chocolate fudge cake with silky smooth chocolate fudge buttercream frosting. It’s then smothered with a milk chocolate ganache before being iced with fondant and decorated.

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

We loved creating the vintage inspired jewels, make-up items and sugar roses as well as hand-painting aspects of the cake in gold! They all help to lend a more grown-up and elegant feel to the cake whilst combined with a bright and fun colour palette.

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

Above is a photograph of the side of the cake capturing the gold fondant tassel and pearl necklace. We added stitching detail, a lovely pearlescent sheen to the fondant pearls, and a  glowing hand-painted gold shimmer, 

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

Cosmetics and Jewels Cake by Juniper Cakery

This cake was such fun to create! We loved adding the sweet yet fun little touches of jewellery, old fashioned style cosmetics, a personalised name plaque, etc. 

 

Floral Birdcage Wedding Cake!

We created this floral / English garden party themed bird cage cake with a Ladurée inspired colour palette. With the spring season fast approaching we thought added roses and cherry blossoms to the design would be perfect. Of course, it may be too early in the year to say, but we think this is one of our favourites of 2014!

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

The cake itself is a lovely soft lemon madeira cake filled with silky smooth lemon buttercream and covered with a white chocolate ganache. The cake is then iced in hand coloured pale pistachio green fondant before edible details are added.

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

Cherry Blossoms are one of our favourite florals to re-create in sugar form. They feature such wonderful petal shapes (from pinched, notched and ruffles), soft tones of pink (which add a lovely pop of colour to paler cakes) and look elegant gathered together on a Spring cake!

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

We hand created ivory sugar roses, rose leaves and delicate pink cherry blossoms as well as the birdcage’s scallop trims, bars and conical-esque handle. Even though this was a relatively small wedding creating it from start to finish took a total of 12 hours including baking time… phew!

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

Above is a close-up photograph showing the detail on the left hand side of the birdcage cake. We quilted the cake drum, studded it with shimmering ivory sugar pearls and trimmed the board with cream grosgrain ribbon.

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

Floral Birdcage Cake by Juniper Cakery

From start to finish we loved every single element of this cake. This cake was such a wonderful way to get us in the mood for the new season.

 

Ruffled Champagne Cake with The Happy Egg Co. Eggs!

What better way to treat a loved one for Valentine’s Day than with a beautiful and indulgent home-made cake! Using three key Valentine ingredients, and some egg whites from The Happy Egg Co. eggs, we created this truly lovely and decadent cake. One of the best things about this recipe is that it incorporates some incredibly sumptuous flavours and ingredients without being too sweet or rich. Perhaps the only bad thing about this cake is that you’ll find you’ve eaten quite a few slices without realising! Imagine a gorgeously soft and fluffy champagne infused cake smothered with fruity yet creamy strawberry and white chocolate buttercream just waiting to be devoured… can’t wait to start baking? We thought so.

Ruffle Champagne Cake by Juniper Cakery

Ruffle Champagne Cake by Juniper Cakery

White Champagne Cake (makes three 9 inch diameter layers one inch deep)

453g Self-raising flour
453g Butter
453g Caster sugar
453g Egg whites from The Happy Egg Co. eggs
400ml Champagne or 12-18 drops of champagne essence

Pre-heat an oven to Gas Mark 3/325F/170C.

In a saucepan add the 400ml of champagne, set to boil then simmer until reduced to half the amount. Set aside to cool.

Cream your butter in a mixer then add the sugar. Add in the flour along with half of the happy eggs for around one minute. Once half of the happy eggs are combined add the remaining eggs along with the champagne or champagne essence. Mix for about 5 minutes.

Pour batter in the pan around 2cm in height and place on the top shelf. Bake for around 40-50 minutes. Repeat this step to create your second and third layer. When all layers are baked leave them to cool fully as you prepare your buttercream!

Ruffle Champagne Cake by Juniper Cakery

Ruffle Champagne Cake by Juniper Cakery

Strawberry and White Chocolate Buttercream

500g Diced/chopped butter at room temperature
300-400g Icing sugar (keep testing when adding to make sure it is the consistency and sweetness you like)
6-12 Drops of strawberry extract
150g Melted white chocolate
Pink gel paste food colour

Add half of the of butter into your mixer and cream. Then gradually add icing sugar and the remaining butter (cut into cubes) until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add in the melted chocolate and then add the strawberry essence to taste with some pink gel paste food colour.

To assemble you need to stack your layers with your buttercream sandwiching them together; now you need to crumb coat your cake. A crumbcoat is a thin layer of buttercream or ganache that seals in the crumbs before being fully iced or covered. With a good angled spatula smoother some of the buttercream atop and around the sides of the stacked cake until covered. Chill in a refrigerator for 20-40 minutes. Once chilled remove and cover with the rest of your strawberries and white chocolate buttercream using a spatula. We covered ours with soft buttercream ruffles for a romantic look.

Ruffle Champagne Cake by Juniper Cakery

We hope you’ve enjoyed our year of various cake recipes utilising eggs from The Happy Egg Co. as we have and that we’ve inspired more people to try their hand a new skill… or several.

 

The Happy Egg Co. Cake - Valentine Sweetheart

2014 is officially here which means our partnership with The Happy Egg Co. is coming to an end. We’ve made a selection of delicious cakes for them over the past year and experimented with lots of flavours, palettes and designs; our last cake certainly won’t be any different! Though the new year brings with it the beginning of winter, Valentine’s Day offers the opportunity to use otherwise ‘summery’ ingredients; strawberries and champagne! With this in mind we’re very excited to announce that our very last cake with The Happy Egg Co. incorporates some of life’s little luxuries; strawberries, white chocolates, and roses all tied together with a generous helping of champagne!

Champagne, Chocolate and Strawberries Cake Development

Champagne, Chocolate and Strawberries Cake Development

Champagne, Chocolate and Strawberries Cake Development

For this cake our colour palette is inspired by gorgeous bouquets of roses that traditionally find themselves delivered to loved ones on Valentine’s Day. The vibrant and soft pinks of roses combined with fresh greens and delicate creams lend themselves wonderfully to cakes and other sweet treats of the season!

Champagne, Chocolate and Strawberries Cake Development

 

30th Birthday Wedgwood Macaron Tower Cake!

One half of Juniper Cakery celebrated her 30th birthday on the 22nd of December. As a cake and confection creator a resplendent, show stopping cake was in order so we created this elegant Wedgwood Jasperware inspired macaron tower for the occasion. It’s adorned with fondant cameos, handmade ivory sugar roses and silver leaves, shimmering pearls and glistening silver vanilla macarons! Inside it’s delicious vanilla cake filled with home made raspberry confiture and vanilla pod infused buttercream.

Wedgwood Inspired Macaron Tower Cake by Juniper Cakery

Wedgwood Inspired Macaron Tower Cake by Juniper Cakery

Due to the sheer volume of bespoke cakes, cupcakes and macarons we’ve had to create in the run up to Christmas the macarons on this cake are purely ornamental yet still edible (we’ve festooned the tower section with macaron shells as opposed to fully sandwiched macarons). Sometimes a little sacrifice needs to made when it comes to our own personal cakes.

Wedgwood Inspired Macaron Tower Cake by Juniper Cakery

Wedgwood Inspired Macaron Tower Cake by Juniper Cakery

All of the delicate and soft roses on this cake are completely hand made! This process takes a good few hours, a pair of steady hands and a great deal of patience. We placed three on the board and dotted them around the tower with glistening silver leaves nestled amongst them all.

Wedgwood Inspired Macaron Tower Cake by Juniper Cakery

Wedgwood Inspired Macaron Tower Cake by Juniper Cakery

 

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