Bake Me I'm Yours...Cupcake Celebration (8 page)

A stunning winter alternative to the traditional yule logs and mince pies. Simple yet stylish, these are sure to go down a treat at any Christmas party.

you will need

cupcakes baked in white paper cases

white royal icing or white frosting of your choice

snowflake cutters

pastillage

superwhite dust

1.5mm (
¹
⁄
₁₆
in) spacers

selection of small cutters and tubes no. 4,16 and 32R (PME)

foam pads

piping bag, coupler and large star piping tube

1
Whiten the pastillage by kneading in some superwhite dust. Roll out some of the paste between the narrow spacers, then place it over a snowflake cutter.

2
Roll over the paste with a rolling pin. Run your finger over the edges of the cutter to achieve a clean cut. Turn the cutter over and carefully press out the paste using a soft paintbrush. This gives you your outline shape.

3
Take either small cutters or piping tubes and remove a selection of small shapes radiating out from the centre.

4
Leave on your workboard until the paste has hardened, to prevent the snowflake distorting.

5
Place on a foam pad and dry thoroughly (ideally overnight). An airing cupboard is an ideal place to dry pastillage, as the gentle heat removes all the moisture from the paste.

6
Place the large star tube into a large piping bag and half fill with icing.

7
Pressure pipe the icing onto your cupcakes in the style of your choice and immediately insert a dried snowflake vertically into the soft icing on each cake.

No Christmas party should be without these elegant cupcakes. Try different seasonal colour combinations, or present your cakes in a stylish box as the perfect gift.

you will need

cupcakes baked in metallic red paper cases

complementary flavour of syrup, alcohol, buttercream or ganache