A TASTE OF:
Bake Me I’m Yours… Sweet Bitesize Bakes
Sarah Trivuncic
Contents
Orange Blossoms
All Wrapped Up
Wedded Bliss
Teatime Classic
Perfumed Perfection
Bitten by the baking bug…
Since I became known as someone who bakes a lot, I’ve noticed how people’s faces instantly light up when you talk about cakes. A shared love of making, admiring or enjoying cakes and cookies is a wonderful talking point. Most people have baked something before and many wish they were better, thinking that ‘fancy stuff’ is beyond their reach. I often encourage my friends that baking and cake decorating are accessible skills with great results for anyone prepared to practise a little.
Writing this book, I realized that while most people have baked sponges or biscuits, the majority will not have ventured far into cake decoration. The past three years – since I started writing my blog Maison Cupcake – has seen a huge surge in baking and cake decorating ranges available in high-street stores. I firmly believe that the only barrier to succeeding in your first sugarcraft projects is gathering the right equipment and taking a little time to experiment.
Once bitten by the baking and cake decorating bug, unless you have a big family or a community group to donate to, sharing treats out quicker than you can make them can be tricky. The beauty of small-scale bakes is that everyone can try a few things at once!
Sarah
Tools and Equipment
Shown in this section is a selection of the baking and cake decorating equipment used in this book. Some items are needed for every project and others for a few specific ones; check the ‘you will need’ list for each project.
GENERAL BAKING EQUIPMENT
• Baking parchment
• Sieve
• Scales – preferably digital
• Rolling pin
• Electric mixer – large stand-alone model or handheld with a large bowl
• Baking beans – for baking pastry cases ‘blind’
• Small palette knife – to lift cookies and spread buttercream
• Wooden spoon and silicone spatula
• Cocktail sticks (toothpicks)
• Wire cooling rack
• Baking sheets
• 20cm (8in) square cake tin (pan)
• 12-hole baking tins (pans) – sized accordingly
• Madeleine or mini-madeleine tin (pan)
• Cannelle mould
• Metal cutters – circular and heart shaped in a variety of sizes
• Paper cupcake cases
• Mini – for bitesize cakes – foil 20 × 32mm (3⁄4 × 11⁄4in); paper 24 × 30mm (1 × 11⁄8in)
• Standard – used for traditional fairy cakes – 25 × 45mm (1 × 13⁄4in)
• Muffin – used for larger American-style cupcakes – 45 × 49mm (13⁄4 × 2in)
• Lollipop sticks – for cake pops
• Polystrene or oasis block with holes – to stand cake pops in
(Not pictured: double boiler for making chocolate ganache and marshmallow fluff and/or plastic microwave saucepan for Candy Melts)
CAKE DECORATING EQUIPMENT
• Piping (pastry) bags – disposable, handmade paper or re-usable, with coupler
• Piping tubes (tips) – selection of round, plus large star for piping buttercream swirls and roses or mini meringues, small star for piping mini pavlova nests
• Miniature non-stick rolling pin – for rolling out sugarpaste
• Square acrylic mat – to roll out small quantities of sugarpaste, also to cover cut-out pieces while working
• A4 plastic sleeve cut at base so you can
