I recently went on another cupcake decorating class. My last class was at a bakery called The Scarlet Bakery in Dundee. This time I headed over to Edinburgh for the day to have some fun with Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen and my cousin Claire who blogs at A Kiss of Cookies. Our class was in 3D Cakes in the West End of Edinburgh.
Sue our tutor for the day started off by teaching us how to use sugarpaste. First we made butterflies and then gerberas. We then learned how to roll the sugar paste really thinly to make the finest of roses. It actually takes quite a bit of work to get it thin enough.
Sugarpaste Tips:
- Warm the sugarpaste in your hands until pliable.
- Dust your work surface with the smallest amount of icing sugar, you don't want to use much as it can dry out your sugarpaste.
- Rotate the paste as you roll.
- Work quickly.
- For fine flowers, you want to roll your paste so thin that you can see newsprint through it.
- One we had used our flower cutter, we then made the petals even thinner, by stretching them with our thumb and fore finger. You have to make sure to use the pad of your finger and not the tip. If you use the tip the petal will tear easily.
- Use an apple tray (made of cardboard, you can ask for one at a supermarket) or a egg carton to shape your butterflies, flowers etc, while they dry.
- The smallest amount of water will stick together different shapes. You are going more for damp than wet.
- Sugarpaste hardens and fondant stays soft, so sugarpaste is better for really fine work.

We left our sugarpaste shapes to dry and harden and moved on to fondant. Sue gave us a masterclass in making chubby hearts, ribbon roses, ladybirds and parcels.
I have to say my favourite was the ladybirds. they were so cute with their little smiles. I was amazed to find out there was even a tool to make smiles.
The hearts were the simplest to accomplish, the parcels needed a bit of careful handling, but it was the roses I needed a bit of help with. Sue was at hand to give a one-to-one demonstration and I was soon back on track. I hadn't been making my petals long enough.
Tweet
Here are a few photos from the day:
![]() | |
Masterclass from Sue |
![]() | ||
Parcel making |
![]() |
Claire (A Kiss of Cookies) |
![]() |
Janice (Farmersgirl Kitchen) |
![]() |
Janice adding finishing touches. |
Fondant Tips:
- Sugarpaste dries and hardens, so it is good for delicate work. Fondant is more like playdoh. You can shape and mould it into an endless variety of shapes.
- Use a brush dipped in a little water to stick fondant shapes together. Brush onto the back of your hand to take off excess water before applying to the fondant.
- Use the right tools. It might seem obvious, but the results speak for themselves. Buy a basic set of tools and work from there.
- Buys some moulds. You can get a huge variety of moulds online. They are a quick and easy way to get professional results. Sue recommended an online shop called Squires.
- Check out this step-by-step guide to making fondant animals.
- Have fun!


Sue provided us with a box of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, then left us to pipe on buttercream and finished them off with our decorations. Then it was time for clear up and some last goodbyes.
I stopped to buy a few supplies on the way out, then a few more, ahem!
A great day and a fabulous tutor.
Have a read of Janice and Claire's account of the day.
|
|
||||||||||||
How fabulous Jac. My only question is, as works of art, how can you allow them to be eaten? I love the way you meet up with other bloggers for cookery classes, sounds like a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun, although we hardly got a chance to have a chat and both Janice and Claire had to rush off after the class.
DeleteI think I might have wept, if I had to choose between eating and carrying around that ladybug. You might think I mean when I was a kid, but no, I am just as weird now. Having those on a cupcake at a birthday party might just have been CUTE OVERLOAD.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, you do beautiful work - those little bow-wrapped gifts are especially classy and can be useful for holiday petit fours, too. Lovely.
(I know you only bought many supplies for Cooper - so he can try this at home. Right???)
You are right the supplies are for Cooper *wink*.
DeleteThe ladybirds are super cute. I loved them, I think it was their little smiley faces.
These are so cute!!
ReplyDeleteGreat job.
Have a nice afternoon
Thanks Manu :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWow, what cute cupcakes! It looks like a really fun day! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura, it was indeed great fun :)
DeleteHow fun! Your cupcakes are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenn :)
DeleteMore beautiful cakes...I love the gerberas.
ReplyDeleteThose are my favourite too, well apart from the cheeky ladybirds that is :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant. You are always so good at putting in all the useful information. Hilarious photo of me too and, I'm pleased to say that I'm getting my hair coloured at the weekend, too much grey showing :o
ReplyDeleteI never noticed the grey Janice. You looked lovely as always :)
DeleteI remember reading about this on Janice's blog. Looks like a really fun day! Love your cupcake decorations - very professional looking :) Thanks for the sugarpaste tips too - I'm still a novice so it's very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you found the post helpful Ros. It was a great day :)
Deletethese look fantastic - I don't want to eat all that sugar but I love playing with it and I know it would impress sylvia no end (am sure cooper loved them)
ReplyDeleteYou are too good Johanna :)
DeleteThese look wonderful, I always find it's half the battle with cake decorating to have all the right tools and equipment ready and then the actual decorating bit is a lot easier than you imagine. Looks like you had a fabulous day!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Sarah, although I don't know what half the tools do yet.
DeleteLooks like you had a fantastic day - it's so much easier when someone else has already assembled all the tools you'll need! I love all the 3D effects and those ladybirds are really cute!
ReplyDeleteSo much easier Caroline and especially when they show you how. You then think ahhhh!
DeleteWow - what beautiful cupcakes. Even just standing the heart up rather than lying it flat makes such a difference
ReplyDeleteThanks CC :)
DeleteThey look amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhat have you used for the ladybird antennae?
You get little stamen for that. I think they may be from flower decorating. Will check with Janice and get back to you.
DeleteWhat a great day you all had and the cupcakes look amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
Delete