Royal Icing recipe

Ingredients

- 1 pound Confectioners Sugar
- 5 Tablespoons Meringue Powder
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of salt

Basic cookie & chocolate cookie recipes

Cookies are America’s #1 baked treat. Super easy to make, over a thousand recipes you can use and many different ways to decorate them. 

First step is of course baking them.. Here are two really easy but yummie recipes for cookies!

How to: a sand castle cake

Inspiration: Sand castle cake

Love to build sand castles on the beach? Why not build a sand castle cake?! 

Get some idea's for your cake over here. 

Dutch apple pie

Here in the Netherlands we have a recipe for authentic apple pie that is typically Dutch. I'm always in the mood for a mouth-watering slice of apple pie and wanted to share this recipe with you lot. It's pretty easy to make but its combination of apple, sugar and cinnamon makes it taste delicious! Your life isn't complete until you have tried it! :) 

Recipe Italian merinque buttercream

Italian merinque buttercream is not only great for decorating cupcakes with swirls and covering cakes, it also tastes delicious! 

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of cold water (120ml)
- 2 1/4 cups of caster sugar (530ml / 430gr)
- 1 cup of eggwhites (10) pasturized eggwhites only!
- 1 1/2 pound of soft unsalted butter (680gr)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Kitchen stand mixer

Makes 8 cups. 

Instruction

Basic cake

Use this recipe to create a basic cake. It is a nice cake for decorating and can be filled with your favorite filling. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Cake serves 12


Instructions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans and line with waxed paper or parchment paper.

Step 2: Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Step 3: Cream sugar and butter together until light. Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Step 4: Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Continue beating one minute.

Step 5: Spread batter evenly in prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Step 6: Cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.

Step 7: Fill and frost as desired.

How to: cover cakes with rolled fondant

How do you cover a cake with fondant that's perfectly smooth,
without wrinkles or air bubbles? The flexibility of fondant is your
secret weapon. Just follow our instructions for the right ways to knead,
roll out and lift the fondant, and you'll find that covering a cake is easy.

Round cake

step 1

Prepare cake by lightly covering with buttercream icing.

step 2

Before rolling out fondant, knead it until it is a workable consistency.
If fondant is sticky, knead in a little confectioners' sugar. Lightly dust
your work surface and your rolling pin with confectioners' sugar to prevent
sticking. Roll out fondant sized to your cake. To keep fondant from sticking,
 lift and move as you roll. Add more confectioners' sugar if needed.

step 3

Gently lift fondant over rolling pin or slip cake circle under fondant to
move; position on cake.

step 4

Shape fondant to sides of cake with a Smoother. We recommend using
 the Smoother because the pressure of your hands may leave impressions
 on the fondant. Beginning in the middle of the cake top, move the Smoother
 outward and down the sides to smooth and shape fondant to the cake and
 remove air bubbles. If an air bubble appears, insert a pin on an angle,
release air and smooth the area again. Use the straight edge of the
Smoother to mark fondant at the base of cake. Trim off excess fondant
using a sharp knife.

step 5

Your cake is now ready to decorate.

Covering large rounds with rolled fondant

In most cases, the smaller your cake, the easier it will be to cover with rolled fondant. However,
there is an easy way to position and smooth fondant on cakes that are 12 in. diameter or larger.
Follow the steps below to lift fondant onto the cake without tearing.

step 1

Cover cake lightly with buttercream icing. Roll out fondant sized to your
cake.

step 2

Slide a large cake circle that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar
under the rolled fondant. Lift the circle and the fondant and position over
cake. Gently shake the circle to slide the fondant off the board and into
position on the cake. Smooth and trim as described above.

Square cake

step 1

Position fondant on cake, smoothing the top with a Smoother. Pull the
corner flaps gently out and away from the cake; smooth the corners
with hand to eliminate the creases. Smooth sides with Smoother.

step 2

Trim off excess fondant at bottom with a spatula or sharp knife.

step 3

To give a finished look, smooth top, all sides and bottom edge of
cake again with the Smoother.

Tip: Don't use to much confectioners sugar, it makes the fondant dry.
Tip: Don't know how much fondant to buy to cover te cake?
Click on this link to see the post with the fondant coverage chart. 

Butter Cream (icing) recipe

This buttercream icing recipe is perfect for spreading cakes of decorating. Follow this instruction to make the ideal consistency you need. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
  (I useally don't use this because most of the time, the cakes are already sweet enough with the fillings etc.) 
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

Makes about 3 cupes of icing

Instructions:

step 1

Put the cream shortening and butter in a large bowl and mix this with the electric mixer. cream. Add some vanilla if you want.
Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.
When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add a bit milk and beat at medium speed until the cream is light and fluffy.
Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

step 2

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

step 3

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

Lovely cupcakes