Pink Shabby Chic Princess Party for Lilli's 8th Birthday

Lilli just had her 8th birthday party and she decided on a sweet princess party with a color scheme of pink, gold and white.

Sweet, Bubble and Charlie.....Photo by Alyce Holzberger

EDIT UPDATE: Here is a link to the princess dress Bubble is wearing and a couple of others they have:

I am pretty sure our recent trip to Disneyland and the number of people telling her she looked like Cinderella had no part whatsoever to play in her decision :)

Candy jars from 2 Garnish

Regardless of the reasoning I was more than happy to oblige. I've mentioned before that my tastes run towards pastel and pretty and Princess is totally a theme within my comfort zone.

The party had a bit of a shabby chic feel and a touch of glittery glitz to reflect Lilli's sweet, fun and vibrant personalty.

photograph by Alyce Holzberger

I was lucky enough to be able to borrow the ruffled tablecloth from my SIL. It is linen with a white ruffle layer in the middle and was a great background for the pink white and gold food.

photograph by Alyce Holzberger

I modified it with some pink muslin fabric and a scattering of handmade shabby chic fabric flowers.

We used the same flowers in pink frames behind the table to add a bit of texture and interest on the plain white walls. The same effect could be achieved with paper poms.

I hung a handful of paper pom poms in light pink, tan and white from Ah-Tissue to continue the ruffle theme.

photograph by Alyce Holzberger

Of course we did have to have a princess themed cake and I decided to make a ruffle cake (which we still love at the moment in this household). The tiara is totally edible made from fondant, edible jelly jewels and painted with gold lustre dust. More photo's of the cake and what I used to make the tiara can be found in my previous blog post CLICK HERE.

Royal sugar cookies with edible jelly jewels, gold luster dust and ruffles

Royal cookies were an assortment of cookies in gold, pink and white that were a little bit more mature than the cookies we generally make for the kids parties. My little girl is growing up and the treats while still fun are more reflective of her tastes. They are fondant covered sugar cookies (recipe from Sweets on a Stick) decorated with rolled fondant, royal icing (recipe from Sweets on a Stick) and edible jelly jewels. The white cookies with the jewel and gold royal icing piping were her favorite. Mine were the ruffled cookies.

To keep in with the pink and gold royal theme I made the macarons in pink and gold with hand piped and painted decorations on the pink batch.

Princess delights were round choux pastry puffs with raspberry pastry cream, fondant and raspberries.

To dress up a packet of simple marshmallows I popped them on a stick, dipped them in pink chocolate/ candy coating, added a jelly jewel, piped a 'royal' decoration which was painted with gold edible paint.

Candy consisted of 4 different flavors of bon bons and twisted rope marshmallow cut into shorter pieces.

I picked up the princess printables from Polkadot Prints (who are one of my favorite designers with a fun blog as well) and did a bit of glittering.

photograph by Alyce Holzberger

Cardboard cake boxes are from Robert Gorden, I picked them up at 2 garnish, they come flat pack with double sided tape already in place. Seriously I was so behind in my preparations the Friday before the party I took them along to the kids swimming classes and put them together in the viewing areas. I was folding and sticking those boxes in between waving at the kids and giving them thumbs up signs through the glass barrier.

We like to have the parties at our house and this year the timing was not great as we are having some minor renovations. The painters packed up at about 2pm on the Friday ready to return bright and early Monday morning which did not leave a lot of time for me to bake and decorate for the event.

photograph by Alyce Holzberger

Knowing this in advance, I arranged for an entertainer to come and manage the kids which took some of the pressure off as I had no need to think up party games, or buy prizes and I could focus on what I love which is the food.

Tiara by Terri Vandermeer photograph by Alyce Holzberger

I booked in Super Steph - and she truly was super.

The kids adored her magic show, they were totally enthralled, and as a result the mums and dads adored not having to worry about looking after the kids at all.

We also had a princess pit stop with dress ups, tiaras, and jewels, which was actually just the kids Ikea  storage unit repurposed with a bit of 'satin' from the craft store.

Fabric tiara by Terri Vandermeer

I made up the ruffled party bags myself CLICK HERE for a tutorial on how to DIY.

photo by Alyce Holzeberger

It was all worth it.....after the party Lilli gave me a big hug and said 'Thank you for my Party I loved it".

photo by Alyce Holzeberger

Cakes, macarons, cookies, marshmallows, choux puffs by  Bubble and Sweet
Photography Alyce Holzberg Photography
Entertainer (magic, balloons, party games) Super Steph
Printables PolkaDot Prints
Paper Pom Poms Ah Tissue
Pink Ceramic Cake Stand Clara French
Cake boxes and candy jars from 2 Garnish
Edible Jelly Jewels from Culpitt purchased at Party Animal
Fabric Shabby Chic Flowers  Karen McCubbin

photo by Alyce Holzeberger

Special thanks to Terri Vandermeer for her styling assistance and help Xx

 

Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying themselves at the party. Thanks everyone for sharing Lilli's special day.

Headwear by Karen McCubbin

EDIT UPDATE I found some similar kids dress up racks here over at Amazon as quite a few people have asked about them:

Above photo's by Alyce Holzeberger

Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores:

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

How to eat a Tiara - Pink Ruffle Princess Cake with Edible Gold Tiara

Photograph by Alyce Holzberger
Recipe for Strawberry Layer Cake CLICK HERE

This is the cake from Lilli's 8th birthday party. Y'all will have to wait till Sunday for the rest of the party photo's but I couldn't help but share this with you today.

OK can y'all guess the party theme.

Photo by Terri Vandermeer

Lilli helped to design the cake which was great fun. The top cake is 4 layers of white graduating to dark pink/ burgundy and is raspberry flavored.

Yes please I will have some cake - Photo Alyce Holzberger

The rasberry flavored cake is modified from the strawberry cake recipe in my book Sweets on a Stick.

The tiara is edible fondant with edible jelly jewels held in place with a little royal icing.

Photo by Terri Vandermeer

Yup that's right the jewels are not those hard diamonds that cloud over as soon as you touch and break your teeth.them but flexible edible jelly that you can pop on cookies and for cake decoration......y'know for example tiaras.

Photo by Alyce Holzberger

I used patchwork cutters for the tiara template hand cut it out then applied 2 layers of gold americolor airbrush and 2 layers of gold home made paint which was a mixture of the americolor sheen, gold luster dust and rose spirits.

you can find them on Amazon here (US):


Available to Australia via Fishpond


Crowns Patchwork Cutters


For a tutorial on  how to make a ruffle cake see my Rainbow ruffle cake HERE for a tutorial on applying ruffles.

Oh and how cute are the cake boxes I picked up at and decorated with party dots from Polkadot Prints.

Cake boxes Robort Gordon Party Dot Polkadot Prints

Photography by Alyce Holzberger

Cake Photo and prop credits

Cake made and designed by Bubble and Sweet

Edible Jelly Jewels by Culpitt purchased from Ebay seller Party Animal
Tutorial on how to make a ruffled cake here
Photography by Alyce Holzberger Photography and Collette - Alyce did this
Party Dot Printables Polkadot Prints
Cake Boxes Robert Gordon from 
Cake Stand Clara French
Cake Recipe Sweets on a Stick

Available online here at Amazon

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

Special Thanks to Caketopia for lending me your airbrush machine and Terri Vandermeer for styling assistance and photographs not tagged otherwise.

Photo by Alyce Holzberger

Ruffled party bags made with crepe streamers DIY

Lilli has just had her 8th birthday party a bit over a week ago and I can't wait to share all the pictures and sweet treats. In the meantime while I am waiting to get the photo's back I though I would share with you the ruffled party bags we made for the party favors.

I guess it's not a secret I love all types of ruffles whether they are on cakes, cookies or paper pom poms, so when I saw an idea on pintrest for paper crepe streamers on a box I thought the idea would translate perfectly to a party favor bag. The original idea was super nifty and they sewed the crepe paper, but I am totally craftless so I made mine up with double sided tape.

They were pretty simple to make and everything was picked up from a local craft store and pretty inexpensive.

Oh and obviously you don't need to stop at one strip. I was thinking you could leave off the lace, use lots of different colors and make fun and inexpensive ruffled rainbow bags quite easily with this technique.

We filled our party bags with a book containing a special hand written message from the birthday girl, a candy bracelet, push pop candy, fairy floss and a pink balloon (the birthday girl insisted the balloon was a deal breaker MUST).

Printable thank you tags from Polkadot Prints

Easy to make Ruffled Party Bags

Paper bags
Crepe Streamers in 2 different colors
Lace
scissors 
double sided tape
hot glue gun

Step  1 Adhere the Lace

Lay the bag down flat and adhere a length of double sided tape horizontally across the paper bag, approximately halfway between the top and bottom of the bag.

Remove the protective backing from the tape and press a length of lace along the tape pressing down to secure it. Cut excess lace away.

Step 2 Adhere the first ruffle layer

Adhere another length of double sided tape horizontally across the top edge of the lace.

Remove the protective backing from the tape and attach the crepe streamer on one end securing it to the tape in the center. In the picture I have attached the streamer to the left edge working my way toward the right side. Cut excess streamer away.

Around 1.5 cm's (1/2 ") from the edge fold the streamer back to make a pleated ruffle and then press it back down and continue towards the right edge folding the streamer back at regular intervals as shown in the pictures to give a ruffled appearance.

Step 3 Adhere the final ruffle layer

Adhere another length of double sided tape horizontally across the middle of the ruffled streamer.

Take the second color streamer and using scissors cut down the middle of the streamer to make a thinner half sized streamer.

Remove the protective backing from the double sided tape and attach the half sized streamer and folding back to make a ruffled appearance using the same technique described in step 2.

Step 4 optional - secure further

You may like to use the hot glue gun to secure the lace in spots to the bag to minimise the risk of the lace falling off.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes with Chocolate French Butter Cream and it's Gluten Free

Many years ago back when I worked in an office I used to pop into a little boutique store that made a delicious hazelnut chocolate cake on the premises. I used to walk half way across the city some lunchtimes in the hope that it would be on the menu.

Oh how exciting it would be if I opened the door and the delicious smell of just baked chocolate cake greeted me.

Funnily enough my work moved offices to just around the corner of the store at about the same time the store changed owners and sadly the hazelnut chocolate cake was removed from the menu.

That was a long time ago now and I have tried a few chocolate hazelnut cake recipes over the years and found them sadly lacking, mostly over moist and bordering on gluggy.

So I decided to come up with my own recipe. It's definitely not the same cake but it is delicious with a chewy just moist enough texture and lovely robust hazelnut flavor. Also it is gluten free which I know is a big plus for many of you.

and y'all know I just love to make my cakes mini at any opportunity. I received this fabulous Baker's Secret Loose Base Dessert Pan from Kitchenware Direct which I have been coveting for a while and with the ingenious pop out bottoms it was perfect for making these mini cakes. Plus dishwasher safe. I can't ever love that enough.

I paired the cakes with a french chocolate butter cream because, well, it is pretty delicious plus I always despair of the amount of egg yolks I waste and this was a perfect opportunity to use up a couple.

Then I played around with a few decorative toppings......... macarons,

raspberries......

then macarons plus raspberries.

They were all equally delicious :)

I had the gold mini macaron shells left over from a party we had on the weekend and I filled them with a little of the excess butter cream. If you don't  happen to have a batch of mini macarons just lying about you can use something else - I thought a lindt ball or ferrero rocher might look good. Otherwise if your looking for a recipe for macarons CLICK HERE.

If your don't feel like whipping up a batch of butter cream the cakes are actually quite nice on their own, served with a little cream or with a warm chocolate ganache.

The ones in the pictures are about 4cm high and they look lovely, but I recommend for sensible eating you should probably make them about half the size. If the smaller sized cakes are not quite enough you can always have another serve.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cakes (Gluten Free)
makes 12 cakes 2cm (0.8") high or 6 cakes 4cm (1.6") high (the ones in the pictures are 4cm high). I used large eggs.

4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
1 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened) sifted

Preheat oven to 140 C (280 F).

Lightly spray loose base dessert pan with cooking spray or oil.

In a large clean bowl whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Scrape down the sides as required and continue adding sugar approximately 1/4 cup at a time until the sugar is all added and dissolved. The mixture will appear stiff, white and smooth.

Add the hazelnut meal and the cocoa and fold in until just combined.

Divide the mixture between the 12 cups in the tray filling them just under 1/2 full and smooth the tops as much as possible with the back of a spoon.

Ooops that's a bit messy - this is what the mixture will look like before baking. 

Fill the individual cups a bit less than shown to make 12 cakes from the mixture.

Bake for 35 minutes, the tops of the cakes should be hard when gently tapped.

*If you choose to make 6 high cakes instead divide the mixture between 6 of the cups and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and using a thin blade knife gently run the knife around each cake to release from the side of the loose base dessert pan. The cake is a bit sticky so do not worry if they do not release cleanly. Be very careful with the knife so you do not scratch the baking pan.

Carefully pop each of the cakes out of the tray by putting your fingers underneath the tray and pushing the loose bottom up.

Loose Base Dessert Pan from Kitchenware Direct

The tray will still be hot at this stage so be very careful and use a tea towel or other protection to hold it.

Pop the cake onto a plate and using the thin blade knife slide the cake off the loose base, it should release easily.

Allow to cool to room temperature and decorate with swirls or dots of chocolate french butter cream (recipe below) and decoration of choice.

Undecorated cakes can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days in an airtight container. Cakes decorated with butter cream can be stored in the fridge for 3 days in an airtight container, remove from fridge at least 10 minutes before serving. Cakes decorated with fruit are best served immediately.

Chocolate French Butter Cream makes enough to generously top 12 cakes. Recipe can be halved.


Heating the sugar syrup to 118C (245 F) apparently heats the eggs sufficiently to kill any potential salmonella bacteria. The butter cream recipe will still work if you just warm the water and sugar to make a syrup but you can not be assured that the eggs will have been sufficiently heated to reduce the possible health risk.

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
250 grams (8 7/8 oz) unsalted butter cut into small cubes
150 grams (5 1/4 oz)dark chocolate melted and cooled slightly

Place water and sugar in a saucepan and heat until the syrup reaches 118C (245 F), brush down the sides of the pan as necessary with a brush to stop crystallization.

Just before the syrup reaches the required temperature Place the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer and using whisk attachment beat until slightly bubbly and frothy.

 
If you have a shield for your mixer ensure it is in place. Continue to whip the egg yolks at high speed while you carefully pour in the hot sugar syrup in a slow stream.

Keep whipping the egg yolk and sugar syrup until the mixture becomes very light and fluffy has increased in volume and cooled down. The outside of the bowl should feel comfortable to touch, around room temperature. (If the mixture is too hot you will melt the butter at the next step).

With the mixer still on high speed add the butter a few cubes at a time until it has all been incorporated. 

Add the cooled chocolate and mix until well combined.

Items decorated with french butter cream should be kept refrigerated and removed from fridge 10 - 15 minutes prior to serving. consume within 3 days.

disclosure I received the Baker's Secret pan from Kitchenware direct. No financial compensation was provided and the words and ideas used in this post are my own.

A vintage dress inspired wedding cake filled with flowing pockets of salted caramel peanut

My sister in law got married and we have finally officially welcomed her partner of many years into our family.

We always think of my brother in law as the new kid on the block, but he has been a more than welcome part of our family for almost 10 years.

Photo by Ashley Oostdyck

Not one to do things the traditional way, they eloped and got married over in Canada in a pretty low key wedding with the bride wearing a vintage dress that was previously worn by the grooms mother on her own wedding day.

It was so special and reflective of the bride and grooms personalities.

So when Mr Sweet offered up my services to make a cake for their Australian reception I felt that a traditional white wedding cake with bows and lace wouldn't capture the vision of their unique wedding day.

The groom's mother kindly sent me a picture of her own wedding day and I did my best to come up with a cake design to tie in with the color theme of the dress.

I decided to go with a streamlined layered bottom and a handpainted top tier to look like the pattern on the dress. In the end the cake matched the picture I was sent perfectly.....but over the years the photo must have faded and the color was a little lighter than the dress in real life.....and the pattern was a little different than the actual dress as it was difficult to see in the picture.

But I think we were all happy with it.

and because it was family and if it didn't work out I knew nobody would really mind, I created a recipe for a mud cake filled with chocolate ganache and pockets of flowing salted caramel with peanuts.

Yup that's right little surprise pockets with gooey sticky salty caramel and peanuts.

Dan and Michelle's Reception Party Cake

Bottom Tier - 24cm X 15cm (H) Chocolate Mud Cake with Chocolate Ganache and pockets of salted caramel with peanuts. Decorated with streamlined light aqua fondant ruffles.

Top Tier 15cm X 15cm (H) Gluten Free Almond Orange Cake with Chocolate Ganache. Covered with light aqua fondant (not gluten free) and hand painted design to match the wedding dress. I used food color mixed with rose spirits and icing sugar for texture, highlighted with edible gold luster dust.

Cake Stand - Clara Fench
Wedding Dress Photograph by Ashley Oostdyck