How to make a fondant bee {Tutorial}

When I was making the farm cake for my friend's daughter, I also made some bees and ladybugs to put on cupcakes and on the main cake as well.  So I decided to multi-task and take some photos along the way on how I made my ladybugs and bees.

They are both very simple to do and here is my way of making a simple fondant bee.

1.  Roll a ball of yellow fondant into a tear drop.

2.  Cut thin strips of black fondant and lay them over the yellow.  Tuck the strips under and cut off any excess strips.

3.  Roll 2 balls of white fondant into a tear drop.  Press flat to form wings.

4.  Use two tiny pieces of black fondant for the eyes.  You can also use a toothpick and simply poke two tiny holes for the eyes.  I used a modelling tool for creating the smile but you can use a small round tip and press half the tip into the front of the face to get the curve.

5.  Leave to dry and then place on cake or cupcakes.  I used some buttercream icing to secure it to my cake.

And there you have a very simple and easy fondant bee!  I hope you have fun making them. :)

Farm cake

 
This week, I had the pleasure of doing another cake for my friend's daughter who was turning 5.  Last year I did the Mermaid cake and cupcakes for her.  The little girl wanted a cake with farm animals on it, so after getting some inspiration from a lot of ideas on the web, I settled for something like this.  It was a lot of fun making all the fondant animals.  The cake was an eggless butter cake filled with jam and cream, 4 layers in each tier and it weighed a ton! lol  I used thick pearl tea (or bubble tea as some of you might know it) straws as dowels to support the top tier.

Here at the top of the cake is a little duck pond.

The grass, vines and leaves around the cake were piped in green buttercream icing.  Everything else was made of fondant.

The cupcakes were covered in a rose buttercream swirl and I added a fondant butterfly to each.

I did the fence and wooden sign in chocolate fondant and used an impression mat with a wood texture to give it a more realistic look.

Mum and daughter loved the cake and I was very happy with the results too.  I will have a little tutorial up soon about how to make the little ladybugs and bees.  Stay tuned!  :)

Happy Decorating!

Date, ginger and apple cake {Recipe}

Ever since moving to New Zealand, I have enjoyed the different flavours this country has had to offer.  This date and ginger cake is one such flavour.  I do not know if it is a Kiwi flavour but I do know it was the first time I tried this combination here.  Although I am not so keen on dates, this flavour combination is actually quite lovely and this is one of my favourite cakes to bake now.  The original recipe was taken from Taste.com.au and I have adjusted the measurements a little for sugar as I wanted it less sweet (the dates add sweetness to the cake).  I also added some apple for a more moist cake.  You may also add walnuts to it if you like them and chop the dates and ginger more roughly if you prefer them that way.

Here is the recipe for my date, ginger and apple cake.

125g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup (150g) pitted dates, finely chopped
3/4 cup (125g) crystallised ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 apple, peeled and chopped finely

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease and line a square tin (18cm).
2. Place butter, dates, sugar, ginger, apple, water and salt in a saucepan.  Heat over medium-high heat and bring to boil.   Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add the baking soda.  Mixture will foam.  Then transfer to a bowl to cool slightly (5-10 minutes).
4. Add egg to slightly cooled mixture and mix well.  Sift in flour and fold to combine.
5. Spoon into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until done.  Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.  Serve.

[Recipe adapted from Taste.com.au]

Happy baking! :)