Christmas Rush Raspberry Tuiles

Two ingredients (rasberries and sugar) Rasberry Tuile Topped mini cupcake

Good griefl, I swear I had black and silver cases in "medium", but all I find was mini's. This left me with toppers that were far too large and since I'd already applied silver leaf to black choc candy coated balls I had to come up with a different topper. 

Two ingredient 'Raspberry Tuiles' have a long oven drying time, but other than that were simple and quick to make fitting in perfectly with "Christmas rush" mode that I'm well and truly in!! 

Now I did burn the first batch, second batch I reduced the cooking time by 20 minutes and they worked perfectly. I used a metal ruler and a sharp knife to cut strips; I then bent the strips and pinched ends whilst still warm.

The strips dry quickly to produce a crispy tuile that is intense in flavour, colour and is also vegan and gluten free. They are best made close to serving and perfect to top a range of desserts.

You just need raspberries and sugar for these... do give it a try and watch chef *David Carmichael the Executive Pastry Chef at The New York Palace demonstrate how the make the tuiles (recipe included).

*Note: chef Carmichael uses 4 pints (8 cups) of raspberries, I halved the recipe.

 if you use a silpat you will end up with a waffle pattern on the shiny side.

Happy Baking :) and Christmas preparations!!  

A Spun Sugar Purple Christmas

spun sugar purple christmas tree mini cupcake

Goodness me, I must admit I haven't enthusiastically embraced my husbands choice of "purple" as a Christmas theme but I thought I should make an attempt and produced a batch of fondanted cupcakes... I stood back and they looked far too "menopause mauve". 

Instead I'll go with purple spun sugar Christmas tree toppers for my mini cupcakes. Watch out for tea light holders in your chosen theme, they make for fab mini cupcake stands like the one I've used today. 

cream horn form

To make the spun sugar tree you will need cream horn forms and follow the instructions for one of my earlier posts; blue sugar springs. Instead of using a spoon to create a spring use a kitchen fork to produce threads to wrap around the form. Start of third of the way up and scroll to the top. 

I used an empty egg carton to hold the cream horns whilst sugar is drying. Sprinkled on edible lilac disco glitter and star sprinkles. 

Storage: like all sugar pieces trees are best made on day of serving. Sugar work breaks down quickly in a humid enviroment. 

 Have fun, happy baking :) and Merry Christmas!!

Not enough purple for you? Try purple butterflies.

Oops!... I did it again.

Pink Lemonade Cupcake with my first lollipop from a more successful attempt at candy making.

Today I did what I manage to do on a semi regular basis, burn my toffee/caramel, it's called "the walking away from the saucepan technique". I wouldn't recommend it!

Melted sugar can be a leave you with a sticky mess, but even with my blackened sugar there is a quick and easy saucepan cleaning method.

Fill your toffee/caramel pot with water, bring the boil, boil for a few minutes then tip the water out.

Your pot is now ready for the dishwasher/sink. 

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Sprung!