Edible beads for cakes!

Silicone bead moulds are a very effective way to make edible beads for adding detail and enhancing the finish on your cakes.

See how easy it is with this video tutorial and give it a go!

They make a lovely border around cake bases as an alternative to ribbon or royal icing. Draping them down the sides can help achieve that very popular vintage look with different sizes and patterns available to choose from.

Using shimmering dusts can give a pearl effect or to add drama gold and silver edible paints are great.

How To Use Side Design Embossers To Decorate Your Cake

This tutorial shows you how to effortlessly use embossers to add detail and dramatic effects to the sides of your cakes.

Brickwork is great for a boys "Knight's Castle" cake or you may have a resident builder in your midst, you might want to copy a house or a building, this is an accurate, fast and effective way to achieve life like bricks that look amazing.

Quilting looks fab on vintage cakes and makes great looking covers on bed cakes, or bedding on a crib for a Christening cake.

Diamond side design is most effective with added details such as piped dots, sugar balls, blossoms, or stars added to the centre of each cross. Alternate tiers of a Wedding cake picked out with such detail is really eye catching as are Anniversary cakes with silver or gold hearts added!

Why not give it a go, you'll be amazed how simple and effective it is! Embossing is even better on "Roll n Cover" sugar paste!

How To Make Edible Sugar Blossoms

In this tutorial you can see how easy it is to make edible sugar blossoms using a set of cutters, a non stick rolling pin, a foam flower pad and some odd bits of sugar paste.
They look great in different colours, sizes and with contrasting centres.
It's a really easy way to add some colour and some extra detailing to enhance a pretty and feminine cake.

A foam pad is a must for a cake decorator, it's handy for drying cut out pieces as the air can circulate and speed up the process.
My blossom cutters are always in use, they are great for filler flowers in sprays and space fillers on cakes to help bring a theme together and add a splash of colour.
Delicate centres can be added with a piping bag filled with royal icing using a small plain nozzle.

How To Create A Wood Effect With Sugar Paste

This tutorial shows you how to use a wood grain impression mat to give maximum effect on sugar paste/fondant icing.
Adding some colour helps bring out the grain and any added detailing for that WOW factor.
Why not give it a go, it's surprisingly simple?

Teddy brown "Roll n Cover" sugar paste is a great base for a natural wood effect and is very easy to use. It takes on detailing well and remains pliable for longer so you have more time to create your masterpiece.
Dark brown paste food colour mixed with rejuvenating spirit, painted on with a brush is how the detailing is enhanced. Changing a wood effect in to a WOW effect.

How To Use A Silicone Lace Boarder Mould

This tutorial shows you how to use a silicone lace boarder mould using a mixture of modelling and sugar paste/fondant icing.
It's very easy to use and can be added to the sides, base or top of your cakes to give a vintage effect result.
The lace can be made in any colour or have colour or lustre added to it to achieve many different looks all with the same mould.  

White "Roll n Cover" sugar paste has been used mixed with left over flower or modelling paste to a ratio of 50:50, this ensures detail definition and enables you to bend and move the lace around your cake without it cracking or breaking.
Non stick knives are very useful with any silicone moulds as they will not sharp enough to cut or cause any damage, they are also great for trimming off excess sugar paste from the base of your cake without damaging your cake board or drum.

Edible Sugar Plaques For Cakes

This video shows you how to make and decorate edible sugar plaques for the top of celebration cakes using sugar paste/fondant icing and edible pens.
It's very simple, can save lots of time and if piping is not your thing, it enables you to personalise your cake by adding an inscription, age and name, without all the fuss of mixing icing or cutting out lettering.
Children have great fun drawing and writing on these for that special someone.

I've used white "Roll n Cover" sugar paste mixed with Gum Tragacanth for the hardening agent and a variety of edible food pens in the making of this tutorial.

How To Make Shapes On Wires

This tutorial shows you how to use flower and modelling paste to make Snowflakes, Stars and Hearts on wires for adding height and the WOW factor to your cakes!
It's surprisingly easy, all you need is some shaped cutters, metallic wires, edible glue and glitter and some flower or modelling paste.

I've used metallic Gold and Silver modelling paste to make the hearts and stars in this video as well as White flower paste for the snowflakes.
The Glitters used are Hologram White, Hologram Gold and Hologram Silver these are non edible, non toxic, which is fine to use on these decorations as they are on wires and it is always advisable not to eat them because of the health and safety issue.
They look fabulous all glittery and sparkly adding a touch of glamour to any celebration cake!
The Snowflakes are great for Frozen cakes to give that frosty, Icy effect.

Edible Teddy Bear Step by Step Tutorial

Watch and follow this tutorial to make your own edible sugar paste/fondant teddy.
Perfect as a celebration cake topper, ideal for a birthday, Naming Day or baby's Christening.
Dress it up by adding a party or top hat or some flowers to the head or a tie or bow tie to the neck.

Our own, very popular "Roll n Cover" Teddy Brown sugar paste is used in this video as it is easy to use, pliable, great for covering cakes and model making too!
Try a different colour, baby pink or baby blue teddies are great on Christening and Naming Cakes.

Click here to see our range of "Roll n Cover" sugar paste, available in many colours, white and ivory.

Easy Edible Rose Tutorial, No Tools Needed

All you need is some left over sugar paste for these easy to make beautiful edible roses, no tools or equipment necessary, just hands and this easy to follow guide.
Perfect for the top of cup cakes, celebration cakes, deserts or cascading down your very own home made wedding cake.
Give it a go, it couldn't be simpler!

Our very own Hot Pink "Roll n Cover" sugar paste is used in the making of this video, it's pliable, easy to use, doesn't crack and is perfect for cake covering and modelling!

Click here to see the full range our superb, and very popular "Roll n Cover" sugar paste.

How to make a Minion cake

Watch our easy step by step guide to make your very own Minion cake, just in time for the new Minions film. The perfect show stopper for your birthday celebration.

Our own "Roll n Cover " sugar paste/roll out fondant is used in the making of this video as it is very pliable and easy to use, just knead and roll out on to icing sugar and place over your cake.
Available in the perfect colours; Sunshine yellow for the Minion, Ocean blue for the Dungarees and Midnight black for boots, gloves, buttons, head band, smile and spiky hair.

Click here to see the rest of our Roll n Cover range of sugar paste.

Making A Model Monkey

All sizes referenced in this tutorial are from this modelling size guide

What you'll need:

• Brown Sugarpaste
• Pink Sugarpaste
• Modelling Size Guide
• Small Brush
• Veining Tool
• Craft Knife
• Ball Tool
• Bulbulous Cone Tool

For the Monkey's body you will need a ball of brown sugarpaste (size 15) on the size guide and a smaller ball of pink sugarpaste (size 12) for the tummy. Form both into teardrop shapes, push your thumb into the body to make a dent big enough to take the tummy. Now with a moist brush dampen the dent and place the pink teardrop inside, both teardrop points should be going in the same direction. Press the tummy into the body maintaining the teardrop shape, you should finish with one large two toned body approximately 2"/5cm high as shown in the image below.

For the legs and arms you need two balls of brown sugarpaste (size 12), these are rolled into a sausage shape about 5"/12.5cm long. The legs are then curled around the body and fixed with water. Then flatten them at the front and mark toes on with a veining tool. The arms should wrap around the top of the body but do not secure them in place just yet, cut fingers into the flattened ends with a craft knife.

The tail is made from a ball of brown sugarpaste (size 9) and roll it into a sausage shape about 5"/12.5cm long, then secure into place under and at the back of the legs. Curl it forward and cut a fringe at the end. The head is made from a ball of brown sugarpaste (size 11) and the face a ball in pink (size 7). These are both shaped like a pear and the face is stuck onto the head in much the same way as the body was achieved.

Next we need to make two ears from two balls of brown sugarpaste (size 6), stick these into place and shape with a ball tool. The nose is another ball of brown sugarpaste ball (size 4), place this in the centre of the face and make two nostrils with a bulbulous cone tool. The mouth is another but smaller ball of brown sugarpaste (size 3), stick this into place under the nose and make a single larger impression to create an opened mouth with the bulbulous cone. Mark on a tummy button with the same tool.

Attach the head to the top of the body, wrap and stick the arms around the base of the head to hold it in place. The eyes are placed in two sockets made using the bulbulous cone tool and are 2 small balls of white sugarpaste followed by two smaller balls of black for the pupils. Always put the black pupils off centre, it gives your creation more character and stops it from staring at you!

Tips & Ideas:

• Change the colour pink to light brown for a less feminine monkey.
• When modelling always start with a smooth round ball, free of cracks and marks.
• Try using chocolate sugarpaste instead of brown sugarpaste for a tastier monkey.

Easy Rolled Rose

Making roses can be a daunting task for someone not accustom to the art of flower making. So in time for valentines we've made a step by step guide to making quick and simple rolled roses.

Step 1:

Take a ball of red sugarpaste about the size of a malteaser, then roll it into a sausage about 5-8cm (2-3") long.

Step 2:
Flatten the sugarpaste using a rolling pin or your fingers. We found using your fingers resulted in a bumper piece of paste that when turned into a rose gave a better, more natural look.

OPTIONAL: Pinch or roll one of the sides of the paste much thinner than the other, this will give the petals a thinner more realistic look.

Step 3:

Roll the paste up as shown below. We found rolling the paste at about a 20 degree angle produced the best results.

Step 4:

Very carefully cut the excess paste off the rose making sure you don't crush it in the process.

Step 5:

Using a small ball of green paste, about the size of a pea, flatten into a circle approximately 2-3mm thick. Using scissors or a sharp knife cut the disc as shown below. Then fold in the widest points to create a simple rose leaf.

Step 6:
Leave to dry and then attach to your cake, cupcake, cookie or any other treat with either edible glue or some royal icing.

Try different amounts of paste, different thicknesses, different lengths and different rolling techniques to achieve an array of rose styles.