Sweet Magazine Issue Nine

ISSUE NINE PARTY STYLING CAKE DECORATING SWEET BAKES EASY MAKES

Party! nostalgic birthday party treats

Cake Decorating and DIY Tutorials

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S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 3

editor lisa brown lisa@peachteadesign.com.au publisher peach tea design hello@peachteadesign.com.au sweet team natalie bros lisa brown steven evans lucy johnston

issue nine contributors rebecca sullivan laura vanags studio cake dunne with style little big company estee austin the eleventh flower memories of mine photography welcome to jo studio frosted by nicci chocolate no 5 memories are sweet the caravan shoppe mrtimothyjames

general enquiries hello@peachteadesign.com.au subscriptions hello@sweetm.ag sweetmagazine.com.au/ subscribe advertise lisa brown lisa@peachteadesign.com.au stock sweet mag hello@peachteadesign.com.au

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sweet magazine. sugar spice & all things nice is a pending trademark of peach tea design. views and opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the publisher or it’s affiliates. sweet magazine is copyright peach tea design, all rights reserved. reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. while every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material contained, the publisher and authors do not assume any liability for any inaccuracy or omission, or for the use of information contained herein, the publisher makes no warranty express or implied, with respect to any of the material contained herein.

ISSN: 2203-2924

welcome!

Welcome to our first issue for 2016! We're a little more than fashionably late to the party this year, for some brilliant reasons though. In 2015 we trialled a quarterly edition of the magazine, it had more pages, more tutorials, and more fun things for you to read.

Most of you weren't happy with the quarterly issue, you wanted Sweet more often. We listened and I'm excited to welcome you the first issue of our new monthly edition of Sweet Magazine. It's a little smaller than usual, but with 12 issues per year you're getting three times the gorgeous recipes, simple and effective cake decorating tutorials, fun party ideas and easy DIYs! With seven more issues to come in 2016 I hope you'll continue to let me know what you love (or don't) about Sweet Magazine so I can continue to bring you a beautiful magazine that you can't wait to read each month.

lisa

my faves

Watermelon Cake

Chocolate Crackle Cuppies

page 33

page 24 and

From chocolate crackles to fairy

through. This fun on-trend cake's

bread, get nostalgic with our

decoration starts from the cake

collection of old school birthday

batter and continues to the

treats. Re-imagined as delicious

fondant decorated top!

cupcake toppings, they're super

Watermelon

through

In High Spirits

cute and perfect for a party!

page 61 Our

gorgeous

cover

girl,

Clementine, had an amazing, golden giraffe filled birthday party.

I think you'll kind of love it!

CONTENTS

the sweet stuff

16

14

33 61

MAKES

BAKES

33 50 56 62

18 19 20 21 22 25 27 29 31 39

creative how-tos WATERMELON CAKE CACTUS CAKE WATERCOLOUR SHARK COOKIES GEOMETRIC GARLAND

PARTY

sweet inspiration

41 47 55

IN HIGH SPIRITS PRICKLY PARTY FINTASTIC SHARK PARTY

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sweet indulgence FENNEL FRITTERS LAVENDER AND ROSE LEMONADE STRAWBERRY AND ROSE SWISS ROLL LOLLY BAG ROSE PETALS ELDERFLOWER JELLY CHOCOLATE CRACKLE CUPCAKES HONEY JOY CUPCAKES CHOCOLATE SPIDER CUPCAKES FAIRY BREAD CUPCAKES WATERMELON CAKE

sprinkle kindness like

sprinkles on Fairy Bread

S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 7

SOCIAL PAGES facebook finds

Instagram and Facebook are fabulous for procrastination - trust us, we know! But why not make that procrastination a little more useful (or at least pretty) by following some pages that will inspire your next event.

@ F LO U R B OX B A K E RY

Anne Yorks is the sweet artist behind the adorable cookies coming out of the Flour Box Bakery. With 1.5 million followers and growing there's a chance you already like this page, and if you don't, you should! Apart from the cutest designs around, Anne shares regular short videos showing you how to decorate your own cookies at home!

@ C H O C O L AT E A RT I S A N

Bro. Do you even chocolate? Jessica Pedemont does and it's delicious, we know - we've tasted it! Visit her cooking school Celebration Cooking in Sydney to learn everything from tempering chocolate to mac-ing macarons!

insta inspo

We’re loving and following Rymondtn for whimsical sweets and an i-wishit-was-eatstagram feed, Petit Cakes for kooky cookies and cupcakes, and Petite Ingredient for edible floral treats!

@ RY M O N DT N

@ P E T I T C A K ES _

We’ve been following Raymond on Instagram for a little while, it was his self description of Home Baker and Fatty that made us realise he was one of us. But it was when this photo of his watermelon cactus pops that broke our insta feed with more than 4000 likes and 152 comments that made us realise we needed to share his feed with everyone! Follow for incredible pops, cakes dripping with ganache, chocolate, and meringue. A feast for the eyes to be sure!

This super fun feed is filled with cookies and cupcakes that will make you want to jump on Pinterest to plan a party just so you can buy a dozen.

P E RT H

If you're not in Perth, Petitcakes puts the insp(o) in inspiration with everything from chic marbled fondant to pop art cookie pops.

Look for the hand piped day of the dead skeletons, watercolour pineapples and watermelon, and adorable confetti balloons!

@ PET IT E INGRED IENT

A showcase of culinary art from some of Australia's best chefs, cooks, and home bakers. Petite Ingredient uses the work of their customers to show off thier extensive range of edible blooms and greenery.

Delivering across Australia, get inspired then get baking, drinking, making, and preparing - because if their feed has taught us anything it's that edible flowers are for any dish any time of the night or day!

#SWEETMAGAZINE

Your bakes, cakes and makes!

net.letr

lottieandbelle

sullivanbleeker

my_petite_sweets_perth

sweesan

cordyscakes

thunderberry_melbs

bicilbakes

liztisch

ourkitchenstories

mjcakeskl

margueritecakes

petalandpeach.bakery

thehungrybabushka

melbourne_flowercake

sweetsticksau

1bigbite

dessertstomach

kekandco

donttellcharles

S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 9

SWEET FINDS

products we love T H E CO N F E T T I BA R Nothing says party like a sprinkle of confetti! The Unicorn Dandruff confetti from The Confetti Bar is so whimsical and fun that just looking at it makes you feel like you're 8 years old again!

There's a huge range of quirky designs and you can even pay it forward with a random act of confetti. Sprinkle liberally and watch the party magic happen! theconfettibar.com

RUBY RABBIT PART YWARE You don’t have to tell us twice! Party like you never quit sugar and grab yourself some of these helpfully instructional Eat Cake balloons from Ruby Rabbit Party! rubyrabbit.com.au

D R .O E T K E R CA K E E X P O Hey Brisbane! We'll see you on the 14th and 15th of May at the Brisbane Cake Expo in Mansfield. This small and friendly expo is a fun, kid friendly day or cake decorating, baking, shopping and eating. We can't wait to see you there! cakeexpo.com.au

C O N F ECT I O N AT E LY YO U R S We are completely enamoured with the new range of Sugar Stamps available at Confectionately Yours! Designed specifically for meringues, use the fun patterned paper in place of baking paper and see the designs transfer to the base of your meringues when you lift them from the sheet. Try with marshmallow too! confectionatelyyours.com.au 1 0 - sweet magazin e.co m.au

See the bite taken out of that cupcake below, cupcake wrapper and all? Have your (cup) cake and eat it (the wrapper) too with the incredible Edible Wafer Cupcake Case from Dr.Oetker! Even better than saving the extra clean up, these wrappers don't need a cupcake tin, you can bake in them on a tray. oetker.com.au

I L LU M E PA RT Y WA R E Like the cookie says, we love the new Rose Gold collection from Ilume Partyware! Add a little luxe to your next celebration with the range of paper cups, dessert plates and napkins in spots and stripes.

E D I B L E A RT PA I N T Creating your own edible paints usually requires alcohol (not for drinking, sad), gel food colour, mixing, and a tonne of patience.

Miranda from Sweet Sticks has created Edible Art Decorative Paint taking the time and guess work out of creating edible works of art so you can create something like this stunner from Sweet Bakes!

illumepartyware.com.au

edibleartpaint.com

T O P S FO R C A K ES Send the sweetest message with your next special occassion cake and a custom made acrylic topper from the team at Tops For Cakes. Choose from popular designs, or design your own with help from the team like the girls at Yum Mummas have with this fun engagement cake! topsforcakes.com.au

SM IRNOFF

M A RT H A ST E WA RT C R A F T S The good folk at TVSN have a collection of Martha Stewart Crafts decorations, punches and more on sale now. We're lovin' these giant pink pom poms that instantly transform a room with a pop of colour, but you'll find all kinds of crafting fun in their online store! itvsn.com.au

Stop press, cake flavoured vodka is an actual thing, and you can even serve it with a little whipped cream vodka. What!

The smart cookies at Smirnoff have bottled cake in the best possible way.

Friday night drinks will never, ever be the same.

Enjoy responsibly! smirnoff.com.au

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A SWEE T MINUTE WITH sheryl thai

“I was crazy about cupcakes and people could see and feel that.”

In 2009 Sheryl Thai turned a redundancy into opportunity and a year later opened Cupcake Central.

Now, in 2016, Cupcake Central is going strong and together three cofounders Sheryl runs The League of Extraordinary Women.

There was a time that we saw cupcake bakeries on every corner, they've all but disappeared but Cupcake Central is still going strong. With sugar on the hit list too, what has been important in keeping Cupcake Central baking?

From the moment I ate that cupcake at The Magnolia Bakery in New York, I was hooked and it became an insane obsession of mine.

So for years working in the corporate world, every morning with my coffee in hand I’d be reading up my favourite cupcake blog Cupcakes Take The Cake, imagining how it would be like to own my very own cupcake store. So when the time came to open my store, I had already visualised it in detail. I knew it just had to have the fresh baked feel to it, that magic that happens in the kitchen had to be on show.

So my vision for Cupcake Central was to be different to what was out there. We needed to stick to our core values Quality, Experience and Aspiration. Every decision we made was based around that – so all decisions from picking our locations, store design, growth strategy, on-site baking, ingredients and so forth had to all be in alignment. Oh and it also helps that you are truly freaking passionate about what you do because you can’t fake authenticity. I was crazy about cupcakes and people could see and feel that. When they bite into a cupcake, they can really taste that it’s more 1 2 - sweet magazin e.co m.au

than just sugar & butter.

Where do you sit on the how to eat a cupcake argument? Icing first, icing last, or sandwich the icing with the bottom of the cupcake?

I’ve had lots of experience eating cupcakes and I would have to say that I eat more cake than frosting. So cake first with a dab of frosting.

Introduce our readers to the League of Extraordinary Women in one sentence.

A group of real women that are running their own businesses that want to connect and support each other.

A lot of our readers are micro business owners, how important is connecting through groups like the League of Extraordinary Women for the fabulous one woman show?

I remember the days running my business from home with no one to talk to, I would head out to cafes to do work just so I would feel as though I was surrounded by people during the day. It’s very isolating and it’s difficult to bounce ideas around on your own, more importantly I realised how having a group of friends that believe in you makes such a huge difference. To find that real connection with women just like you, is something very special.

Find out more about The League of Extraordinary Women and Cupcake Central on Facebook and Instagram.

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ON THE BOOKSHELF

playful party cakes sharon wee “...little figurines can add so much fun and personality to an otherwise simple design.�

If you've seen Sharon's first book Adorable Cakes for All Occasions you'll know why we've all been hanging out for her second! Playful Party Cakes is equal parts fun and informative, filling the pages with Sharon's unique simple but super cute style.

Sharon got her start in cake decorating by chance. Moving to Australia from Singapore to study she needed a hobby when her first corporate job wasn't fulfilling her creative side. Like most cake decorators, her first class at a local adult education centre left her "obsessed with it".

Working full time, Sharon decided to build her hobby into a business.

Daunting, as new ventures of any kind can be, this meant lots of late nights, mistakes, and sometimes uncertainty. But her passion and determination saw her leave her corporate job to focus on her business full time. Now with years of experience Sharon teaches nationally and internationally, hosting visiting teachers at her Sydney studio, chairing small business workshops, and in her spare time self publishing successful books.

Playful Party Cakes builds on the same theme and style of Adorable Cakes for all Occasions, with slightly more complex designs and more figure work - something that Sharon loves, she says: I love how little figurines can add so much fun and personality to an otherwise simple cake design.

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If you haven't seen Sharon's first book, or you're just getting started in cake decorating, don't worry.

Sharon's confidence building teaching style translates from her studio to the pages of Playful Party Cakes where she takes your through the basics. If you're more of an interactive learner, you'll be able to visit the accompanying website which has videos and templates for the tutorials in the book.

If you are just getting started, or looking for a fun cake to make for a birthday party, Sharon says: Like with anything, if you focus and practice the basics first, you will find everything will come easier to you.

Take the time to read the tips and hints section of my book so you can learn to troubleshoot any problems that come your way. Trust me, most of the confidence you get in cake decorating comes from knowing how to fix mistakes!

I hope you enjoy and learn lots from Playful Party Cakes. My aim is to inspire, and help you create many more wonderful cakes!

Images and excerpt courtesy: Sharon Wee Creations, head to sharonwee.com.au to buy a copy or find your nearest specialty stockist.

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RECIPES & FOOD STYLING REBECCA SULLIVAN STYLING ESTEE AUSTIN | PHOTOGRAPHY LAURA VANAGS In this issue, Rebecca takes us to the bottom of the garden where the fairies are dancing, for a whimsical flower filled afternoon tea. Rebecca Sullivan is the driving force behind The Granny Skills Movement. Her mission; to safeguard ‘granny skills,’ by protecting food heritage, culture, skills, knowledge and tradition, passing down what grannies know best. Rebecca works to bring together communities of women from multi-cultural Australia and share granny skills. You know, all the ones that involve getting ‘dirty’. From growing food to making soap, brewing stock to weaving a basket she’s preserving the skills most precious to us.

This year, Rebecca and her partner Damien launched Warndu, a wellbeing brand with a mission to regenerate culture, community, tradition, health and soil by championing native Australian foods. instagram.com/grannyskills warndu.com S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 1 7

Fennel Fritters fennel

10-15 wild fennel heads with 5cm stems ½ cup Icing sugar Pink gel food colouring Vegetable oil for deep-frying

This recipe will work with any edible flower. Add all of the batter ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. It's important not to over mix, don't worry if it is not super smooth. Set aside. Make the pink dusting sugar by mixing the icing sugar and pink gel food colouring with your fingers until evenly coloured.

batter

Fill a deep saucepan with oil until it's a third full. Heat over medium-high until a small amount of batter sizzles when dropped in. Dip the heads of the flowers into the batter and shake off any excess. Holding the stem, place into the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. They're really delicate so don’t need too long at all.

½ cup rice flour ½ cup plain flour ½ tsp baking powder 1 egg 300 ml soda water, chilled Pinch salt

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Once cooked place onto a paper towel and using a sifter, dust with the pink icing sugar.

Lavender and Rose Lemonade makes one litre

1 1/2 tablespoons culinary lavender 1 tablespoon unsprayed rose petals 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water 110 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar 4 lemons Ice cubes Water or lemonade to serve Lemon slices and edible flowers to serve

Put the lavender and rose petals in a heatproof jug, pour over the boiling water, then let the mixture steep for about 10 minutes, or until fragrant. Strain the liquid into a large bowl and mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. The water should still be hot enough to dissolve the sugar very quickly.

Squeeze the lemons and add the juice to the sugar mixture. When you add the lemons, the acid will react with the petals and suddenly turn the liquid a pretty pink colour.

Pour the lemonade into a jug or bottle. Top up with cold tap water or sparkling water to make about 1 litre. Taste and add more lemon juice if needed.

The lemonade will last for 2 days in a jug, or a week in a sterilised glass bottle.

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Strawberry and Rose Swiss Roll jam

1 kg of strawberries 900 grams of white sugar 60 ml lemon juice 60 ml rosewater

roll

100g self-raising flour, sifted 4 free range eggs 100g caster sugar 500ml thickened cream ¼ cup icing sugar 1 cup jam Pink gel food colouring

For the jam, put a small plate into the fridge to chill, you'll use it to test the jam later. Wash, hull and halve or quarter the strawberries. Pat the strawberries dry to make sure there isn't any excess water in your jam. Pour in the sugar and leave for a few hours to macerate, this process draws out the pectin which sets the jam.

Put the strawberries and sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan over really low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Heating too quickly will make your jam too dense and thick.

Once dissolved, bring to a rolling boil and add lemon and rosewater. Boil gently for about 20 minutes or until set. Test whether the jam has set by placing a teaspoon onto the plate you put in the fridge earlier. Leave for a minute then run your finger through the jam, if it wrinkles it's set. If you have a probe thermometer leave it in the jam while it cooks, once the temperature reaches 104.5°C it's set.

Let it cool completely before using in the cake. Store the remaining jam in a container in the fridge and eat within a month or two... if it lasts that long!

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C. Grease a swiss roll tin (33 x 23 cm) and line with baking paper.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and light. Fold the sifted flour into the mixture. Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake for 10 minutes, until it’s lightly browned and coming away from the tin at the edges.

Line your work surface with some baking paper and sprinkle with caster sugar. Carefully turn the sponge out onto the fresh baking paper and sugar, peel off the old baking paper and trim any loose edges. Leave until fully cool.

Whip the cream and icing sugar together until thick and spreadable. Reserve half of the cream for the outside of the cake, colour with a little pink food colouring and set aside.

Spread the cake with a thick layer of jam and a layer of the plain cream, then score the sponge lightly 2.5cm from one end. Roll the cake carefully from the scored end and neaten up the ends with a knife.

Decorate the outside of your cake with a thick layer of the pink cream and a few edible flowers or candied petals.

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Lolly Bag Rose Petals makes ten bags

10 large handfuls of unsprayed rose petals (about 20 roses) 3 egg whites 1-2 cups caster sugar

Line two baking trays with baking paper. Remove any little critters and shake out roses. You can rinse them but will need to wait until they are thoroughly dried before using. Be sure that the roses you use have not been sprayed with pesticides or other harmful chemicals.

Cut the head of the rose from the stem of the flower. Carefully hold the bud and begin to pull off the petals from the middle and place aside. Pour the sugar into a small bowl. Whisk the egg whites in another small bowl. Now get a production line going.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush each petal front and back in egg white. Dip into sugar evenly coating each side of the petal and place onto the lined baking tray. Once all of your petals are coated, leave somewhere warm but not humid overnight to dry. They're ready when they are hard enough to eat like candy.

S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 2 1

Elderflower Jelly

makes eight

2 packets of jelly crystals 500ml elderflower cordial 100g edible flowers or petals

You could make this jelly the long way, but lets face it you have enough to do so lets take one short cut and use the greatest invention ever, the any flavour jelly crystals. You'll find them with the flavoured jelly at your supermarket.

Make the jelly using the instructions on the packet using the elderflower cordial. Pour into clear glasses, jars or little bowls and decorate with a sprinkle of edible flowers.

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NEW 140g tube

Authentic Vanilla. Simple.

No more scraping, no waste and no more mess. Queen’s Vanilla Bean Paste in a new 140g tube makes it easy to use real vanilla. Just squeeze.

queen.com.au S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 2 3

chocolate cracklek CUPCAKES

4 cups rice bubbles or cooca pops 1 cup icing sugar 1 cup shredded coconut 3 tbsp cocoa 250g coconut oil Sprinkles to sprinkle

The traditional chocolate crackle recipe calls for rice bubbles, desiccated coconut and copha, we've made a few small changes to the ingredients used but you can swap them out for the traditional recipe if you prefer.

Mix together rice bubbles, icing sugar, coconut and cocoa in a large bowl.

Gently melt the coconut oil over low heat. Pour over the rice bubble mixture and stir until everything is well coated in the melted coconut oil.

Place tablespoon amounts of the mixture on a baking paper lined tray, sprinkle with sprinkles and pop in the fridge to set.

This recipe makes 24 cupcake sized chocolate crackles, so line a cupcake tray with paper cupcake liners and fill with the remaining mixture.

Once set, top your cupcakes with the chocolate crackle dollops, and serve with the remaining chocolate crackles.

Eat the cupcakes the day you bake them, and store any leftover chocolate crackles in an air tight container for up to one week.

sew clever!

i nv i t at i o ns

Don’t wait for your party day to get your guests in the mood for your theme! On their own these invitations are adorable, but the interactivity of unwrapping the wool is a simple detail that gets the guests excited about the party and is just sew clever!

S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 2 5

honey joy

CUPCAKES

3 cups cornflakes 50g butter 1 tbsp honey Âź cup caster sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C, and line a slice or biscuit tray with baking paper.

Place cornflakes in a large bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan melt together the butter, honey and sugar. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to froth.

Pour over the cornflakes and stir well to ensure all the cornflakes are coated in the honey, butter and sugar mixture.

Pour onto a baking paper lined tray and spread into a thin layer.

Bake for ten minutes until golden on top, and leave to cool. While the honey joy is still warm, break it apart into small pieces, then leave to cool completely.

Poke the pieces of honey joy into the top of your cupcakes and enjoy!

If you'd prefer to enjoy honey joys on their own, double this recipe, line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cupcake liners, fill them evenly with the mixture, then bake as directed above.

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chocolate spidersK CUPCAKES

100g Chang's Original Fried Noodles 3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 200g milk chocolate

Traditionally this recipe is made with dark chocolate and less peanut butter, which helps them to set hard. For topping cupcakes we've upped the peanut butter to chocolate ratio and used our favourite milk chocolate to keep them soft and easy to eat. Don't use baking chocolate to make your chocolate spiders, use your favourite chocolate from the confectionery aisle.

Break the chocolate into pieces and add to a large heatproof bowl with the peanut butter.

Sit the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir constantly until the chocolate is completely melted and the peanut butter is combined.

Remove from the heat. Be very careful as the bowl will be hot and the bottom of the bowl will be dripping with hot water.

Add the fried noodles to the melted chocolate mixture and stir until the noodles are well covered. Spoon small amounts onto trays lined with baking paper, and leave in the fridge to set.

Top your cupcakes with the chocolate spiders and enjoy!

sew clever!

i nv i t at i o ns

Don’t wait for your party day to get your guests in the mood for your theme! On their own these invitations are adorable, but the interactivity of unwrapping the wool is a simple detail that gets the guests excited about the party and is just sew clever!

S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 2 9

fairy breaďż˝

CUPCAKES

1 packet of mini toast Buttercream Hundreds and thousands

You'll find mini toasts in the savoury cracker section of the biscuit aisle.

Before icing your cupcakes with your favourite topping, set some aside for your mini fairy breads.

Use a knife to spread a good helping of butter cream on to each of your mini toasts, we used one toast per mini cupcake, and sprinkle generously with hundreds and thousands. Stick a mini fairy bread into a freshly iced cupcake and enjoy!

If you're planning a party, try using sprinkles that match your theme or colour palette.

sew clever!

i nv i t at i o ns

Don’t wait for your party day to get your guests in the mood for your theme! On their own these invitations are adorable, but the interactivity of unwrapping the wool is a simple detail that gets the guests excited about the party and is just sew clever!

S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 3 1

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watermelon cake

Watermelon through and through, this super fun cake is easy to make, delicious, and trendy too! Re-size the design to suit your cake (ours is about 6 inches or 16cm) or cookies. To stick fondant to cookies, use a zester to gently smooth the top, brush with a little boiled jam and smooth over your fondant.

hints & tips

If you use cream cheese icing for your cake, keep it refrigerated and be sure to enjoy it the same day. Refrigerating can cause coloured fondant to run, and dry out the cake. If you don’t want to eat your watermelon cake on the same day, use white chocolate ganache made with three parts chocolate and one part cream.

Marbled fondant is a great way to dress up your cake and cookie designs! Knead the colours a little more for a more subtle marble effect.

S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 3 3

Use a bread knife to cut the domed top off of your cake.

Use your bread knife to split the cake in half. Fill with icing or white chocolate ganache.

Cover the outside of the cake in your icing or white chocolate ganache. Use an offset palette knife or butter knife to smooth the icing.

Chill in the fridge until the icing or ganache is firm, brush lightly with a little water.

Knead fondant until smooth and elastic, roll out to about 1cm thick and wide enough to cover the width and height of your cake.

To move the fondant without it stretching, roll it around your rolling pin, move to your cake and unroll.

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Smooth the fondant over the top of your cake, then using the palms of your hands, smooth the fondant around the cake a few centimeters at a time. If the fondant starts to pleat, lift and gently stretch, then continue to smooth a little at a time until your cake is completely covered.

Make sure that the fondant is well adhered to the side of the cake. Don’t be too worried about lumps and bumps, any big blemishes can be “polished� very gently with the palm of your hand. Use a sharp knife to cut away the excess fondant.

Gently knead the excess and pop into a plastic bag to use again later.

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We’ve used pre-coloured red fondant mixed with some white fondant to make three different shades of deep pink. You can also colour your white fondant with pink or red gel food colouring.

Roll your coloured fondant into ropes. Add a rope of white fondant in-between each of your coloured ropes.

Twist all of the small ropes together and roll into one big smooth rope.

Gently knead the rope together into a smooth ball.

Roll the fondant out to about half a centimetre thick.

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Twist the rope of fondant, fold in half and roll into one smooth rope again.

Use a bowl slightly smaller that the diametre of your cake to cut a circle of the pink marbled fondant.

Repeat the marbling process using different shades of green and white fondant.

Use a ruler to cut two strips of the green marbled fondant.

Roll small amounts of white fondant into balls.

Pinch into a tear drop shape, and flatten.

Wet the white fondant with a little water and smooth the pink marbled fondant over the top of the cake.

Leaving the fondant to dry a little before adding to your cake will help it keep it’s shape.

Dampen with a little water and press on to the top of your cake.

Wrap your strips of green marbled fondant around the edge of your pink fondant. You’ll need to work a little faster with the strips, if they dry too much they’ll crack and tear.

Invite your friends over, it’s time to party!

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watermelon cakeK BUTTERMILK

cake

1 cup self raising flour ½ cup caster sugar 150g butter ½ cup buttermilk 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla bean paste 1 tbsp pink liquid food colour ½ cup chocolate chips

icing

300g icing mixture 20g butter, room temperature 125g cream cheese

Pre-heat your oven to 160°C, and grease and line a 6 inch or 16cm cake tin.

Combine the self raising flour, caster sugar, and butter in a bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon (if you use a stand mixer, fit the paddle attachment) until the butter is incorporated and large crumbs form.

Mix together the buttermilk, egg, and half the vanilla bean paste. Add to the crumbs and mix well until a thick and luscious batter forms.

Add all of the pink food colouring and mix until completely combined and there are no streaks of colour through the batter. Stir through the chocolate chips.

Pour into your cake tin and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until the top of the cake bounces back when pressed gently, or a skewer inserted into the top of the cake comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely before icing.

Beat the icing sugar and 20g of butter together until it forms buttery crumbs. Add the cream cheese a little at a time and beat until light, fluffy, and delicious! Double the icing mixture if you want to split your cake in two and add icing to the middle.

Best enjoyed the day of baking with a hot cuppa!

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IN HIGH SPIRITS LITTLE BIG COMPANy C

- her Mum Louisa runs Little Big Company, an online party, events and candy store that is dangerous for the Sweet Magazine team who all suffer from cake stand addition! This party is beautiful with fun DIY touches that you can easily recreate at home, we love the golden animal topped sweet jars and bow tie wearing giraffes! lementine is one lucky girl

Clementine absolutely loves Giraffes so we styled a party with that in mind. The kids played pin the tail on the giraffe and searched for treasure in the giraffe's home in the jungle.

We had the party at home and served up little treat boxes with sandwiches and juices followed by treats from the dessert table. We also had a berry lemonade stand with a beautiful backdrop, and party hats that you can download free from The Caravan shoppe. I made jars topped with animals that I painted gold, and placed gold washi tape on the bamboo cutlery and stuck little bows on it I also spray painted toy giraffes gold for the table.

recreate this party with...

STYLING LITTLE BIG COMPANY | FLORAL STYLING THE ELEVENTH FLOWER | PHOTOGRAPHY MEMORIES OF MINE PHOTOGRAPHY PRINTABLES AND BACKDROP WELCOME TO JO STUDIO | CAKE AND COOKIES FROSTED BY NICCI | CHOCOLATES AND STRAWBERRIES CHOCOLATE NO 5 CUPCAKE TOPPERS AND GIRAFFE CUTOUTS MEMORIES ARE SWEET | LEMONADE STAND AND PARTY HATS THE CARAVAN SHOPPE PARTYWARES LITTLE BIG COMPANY | GIRAFFE STOOL ALDI | GIANT GIRAFFE POTTERY BARN AUSTRALIA ONLINE S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 4 1

floral flourish

Flowers add life to a room and they look gorgeous too! Part of what makes Clementine’s birthday party so beautiful is the collection of vases filled with flowers and dotted around the room.

Recreate this look by using blooms and foliage in colours that match your party theme.

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print + paint

Covering your cookies with fondant is not only quicker than working with royal icing, it’s a great base for modern decorating techniques.

Use Edible Paint, or make your own from clear alcohol and gel food colour to paint designs and patterns on to fondant.

Have your local cake decorating store print designs that match your party theme with edible ink and paper. Dampen the fondant and apply your edible printing.

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big backdrop

A big backdrop makes a big impact! Paper backdrops are a really cost effective way to change the feel of your room and add to your party theme.

Download backdrops from Etsy, and have them printed at your local printer for about $30.

don’t forget the table

Carry your party theme from the dessert table to the dining table using paper cups and plates that match your theme. There are so many beautiful designs available online! Mix and match to dress up your table and add to the room’s decoration.

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PRICKLY PARTY!

MRTIMOTHYJAMES

T

he thing we love most about this prickly cactus party from

mrtimothyjames is the use of simple but effective DIYs that anyone can recreate at home. From the crepe paper streamers used to create a backdrop for the party, to the stack of clear containers making the cake a true centrepiece this party is the perfect example

of how simple can be stunning. Even better, with a little creativity in the kitchen you could recreate this theme at home on a tight budget.

Timothy's kindly shared all the templates and illustrations for you to use for your own prickly party on his website, access it using this special link: mrtimothyjames.com/sm-cactus-party S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 4 7

a splash of whimsy

A silly name for an every day drink or dessert is one small detail that fuel's the imagination of small guests, and even entertains the bigger kids too.

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cactus cake

contribution by mrtimothyjames Bring the trendy at your next birthday bash with this funky concrete and cactus cake. It's the perfect centrepiece for a sweet table, and makes a big impact on it's own! You can use a concrete-look swiss meringue butter cream as shown here, or add your cactus to the side of your favourite cake.

See the rest of mrtimothyjames' party inspo to throw your own prickly party!

you'll need White fondant and tylose powder, or Pre-made gumpaste, Pre-coloured black fondant, Cornflour, Gel food colouring in shades of green, Cake decorator's alcohol, or

Clear alcohol (like gin or vodka), Paint brushes, Rolling pin, Sharp knife or craft blade, Cactus cake ‘topper’ template

hints & tips Download the cactus template here: mrtimothyjames.com/sm-cactus-party Turn your cactus into a cake topper by rolling the fondant a little thicker, gently securing bamboo skewers inside your cactus before painting.

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in order for the cactus to stand alone, you will need to add tylose powder to your fondant, or use pre-made gumpaste. If you don't have pre-made gumpaste, add 1tsp of tylose powder per 150g of fondant, and knead well. Keep covered until you're ready to use - it will dry out very quickly.

Dust your clean work surface lightly with cornflour, and roll out your gumpaste or fondant and tylose, with a rolling pin to about 5mm thick.

Place the template on top then, using a sharp knife, carefully cut around the template, making sure not to stretch the fondant/gumpaste or the cactus will be distorted.

With your mixture of gel colour and clear alcohol, use brush strokes to create different textures and patterns. Layer shades of green to create depth and a bit of variety. The colour won’t take long to dry, keep adding colour until you're happy with your design then leave aside to dry.

Leave the fondant/gumpaste cut out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper to dry for at least 48hrs. Once the cactus cut out has dried, paint green using a mixture of gel food colouring and clear alcohol.

Make sure you use clean paintbrushes that have only been used for food if you plan on eating the cactus.

Once the colour has dried, roll a long rope of black fondant and use water to secure it to the outline of the cactus. Add other fondant accents, and then brush the black fondant with clear alcohol to add a shine.

Use a little melted chocolate to carefully secure your cactus to your cake – be gentle as it can be fragile. Enjoy!

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stick to a colour palette

We love the way mrtimothyjames has stuck with green for this inspo filled Prickly Party! This is where Pinterest comes in handy! You'll find that once you start pinning a collection of ideas for your party, a colour palette that you love will naturally emerge. Once you've got a colour palette, creating a party on any budget becomes a whole lot easier.

For children's parties, colour water or lemonade with food colours (use natural if you prefer) that match your colours, scatter tables with sweets, or platters of fruit and veg in colours that match, and before you even think about adding decorations you've coloured your party with delicious edible treats!

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perfect piping

These cactus meringues are probably our favourite part of this clever party. Paint the inside of your piping bag with gel colour and then pipe into cactus shapes for incredibly clever themed cactus treats!

something

sav o u r y

Sweet refers to many things. Sure, sugar is one of them, and birthdays are a time for celebrations and treats, but you need to keep things balanced - remember to include savoury items too. There's a rainbow of colour in the fruit and veg world, so it's easy to add a healthier option that suits your party theme to the table, like these mini subs!

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FINTASTIC SHARK PARTY! ivy & Oak

CONCEPT IVY AND OAK | CAKES AND SWEETS STUDIO CAKE | STYLING DUNNE WITH STYLE S WE E T M A G A Z I NE - 5 5

watercolour shark cookies contribution by studio cake

These arty watercolour shark cookies are the kind of shark you'd be happy to come face to face with! Debbi from Studio Cake shares the watercolour technique she used for these shark cookies, but you can use the same technique for any number of cookie shapes, sizes and colours! Try experimenting with fondant covered cakes too, and be sure to share your results with us on instagram using #sweetmagazine!

you'll need Cookies, Cutter in the same shape as your cookies, White fondant, Rolling pin, Corn flour, Sugar syrup,

Gel food colours, Plastic paint palette, Paint brushes, Cake decorator's spirit, or Clear alcohol (like gin or vodka).

hints & tips Freeze your cookies before baking to prevent the dough from spreading and distorting the shape while cooking.

Make sugar syrup at home by simmering caster sugar and water over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup begins to reduce, but not colour. Use one part water to one part sugar.

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Dust a small amount of cornflour onto the top of your non stick mat or food safe worktop, and roll out a small amount of white fondant to about 2mm in thickness.

Using the cookie cutter you used to cut your cookies, cut out a piece of fondant.

Brush a small amount of sugar syrup onto the surface of your baked and cooled cookie.

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Gently place the fondant cut out over the cookie. Press lightly to adhere the fondant to the top of the cookie and use the palm of your hand to carefully smooth. Be sure not to be too heavy handed or your fondant will stretch out of shape.

Allow the cookies to dry overnight in an airtight container.

Pour a small amount of spirit into each section to dilute the colours.

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Add a small amount of your desired gel food colours into separate sections of your paint palette.

Use different shaped paint brushes to bush the colours onto the dried fondant. The fondant will absorb the colours and create a watercolour effect. Leave to dry before using at your party!

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fintastic fun!

You won't want to try and pin the tail on these guys! The lucky guests at Ethan's shark party got to get up close and personal with all kinds of water loving critters - even sharks!

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geometric garland contribution by dunne with style

Theres no denying that garlands are a cute and colourful way to dress up even the dullest of party venues. String them across the room from lights, hang them behind your table, or drape them in trees in the back yard for a little extra something on the big day!

you'll need Cardboard in your desired colours, Scissors, Sewing machine, Matching cotton thread, Stitch and tear.

hints & tips Garlands love to tangle, so carefully fold your garlands and store individually in zip-lock bags so they're easy to use again at your next party.

Don't use anything thicker than a craft card, or thick paper, anything very rigid could snap the needle of your sewing machine.

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Cut triangles or your desired shapes from coloured card.

Lay a second strip of stitch and tear on top of your coloured card shapes. You should now have three layers. Sew all three layers together along the centre.

Cut strips of stitch and tear to approximately the same width as your shapes, and lay your shapes along the strip.

Tear the top layer of stitch and tear away, tear each side individually towards the stitching, then flip over and repeat on the other side.

Hang around the room and start the party!

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i like candy!

Specialty party stores stock bags of sweets from marshmallows to jelly beans and even M&Ms in individual colours. You may not want the kids chowing down on hand fulls of the good stuff, but it's a really cost effective and super fun way to add colour and decoration to your party.

Fill large mason jars and biscuit jars with individual colours or layers of colours to add a little something extra to your sweet table and decorate the room. Divide the sweets into party bags at the end of the day for your guests to enjoy in moderation when they get home!

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platters up!

Being creative with the way you present your sweet and savoury food is a really easy way to jazz up your party and add to the decoration.

Not everything needs a plate!

simple shapes

We sound like a bunch of broken records, but it really is the simplest touches that are most effective. These plain fondant iced cupcakes and cookies are covered in a simple design that mimics the DIY paper garland hanging near the sweet table. Adding blocks of colour, or patterns made from fondant is a simple and effective way to carry a theme to your table without needing a masters degree in cake decorating!

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