Bride and Groom Wedding Cookies Tutorial

 

Bride and Groom Ices Cookies

Simply the best wedding favours ever. These cute heart shaped Bride and Groom cookies are quite simple to make but can be quite time consuming so please leave yourself some extra time so that you don’t end up with a rushed job!

The recipe below is for 24 heart shaped vanilla iced cookies each 8 centimetres high. The cookies are iced using the ‘Outlining and Flooding’ technique which is simple to learn. The outline works as a dam or wall to hold the runny icing which you use to fill (flood) in the main parts of the cookie.

24 Heart shaped vanilla cookies

Vanilla Cookie recipe

200g unsalted soft butter

200g caster sugar

seeds from 2 vanilla pods

1 egg, lightly beaten

400g plain flour

1. In the mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla till well mixed and just creamy in texture. Do not overwork or cookies will spread during baking.
2. Beat in the egg till well combined.
3. Add the flour and mix on low speed until a dough forms. Cover with cling and place in fridge for at least 1 hour.
4. Place dough on floured surface and knead briefly.
5. Roll out to 5mm thick.
6. Cut out your heart shapes, then, using a palette knife, lay them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Chill again for about 30 mins.
7. Preheat oven to 190C/170C fan  and bake for 10-13 mins, until golden brown at the edges.
8. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool before decorating.

 

Royal Icing recipe

270g pure icing sugar, sifted

4 drops acetic acid

1 egg white

1. Beat icing sugar, acetic acid and egg white with electric beaters on slow to begin then medium for 4 minutes for soft peaks.
2.  Divide the icing between two bowls with airtight lids. Place lids on until required as icing dries out very quickly.
3. Add white colour and black colour to respective bowls and mix to required depth of colour. I used Americolor gel colour.
4. Add water (a 1/4 tsp at a time) and stir until you reach the thick or ‘outline’ consistancy. To test the consistency just drag the tip of s knife through the surface of your icing, letting the knife go about one inch deep and count to 10. If the surface of the icing smooths over in approximately 10 seconds then your icing is ready to use. If it takes longer, the icing is too thick. add more water. if your icing surface smooths over in less than 7 seconds, it is too runny. Add more icing sugar.
5. When your icing is the right consistency ( i.e. smoothing over in 10 seconds) place a quarter of the icing in a piping bag with a small tip number 0 or 1.
6. Add more water to the remaining icing till it smooths over in 2 – 5 seconds then pour the remaining icing into a squeezy bottle.

Thick black and white Royal Icing for ‘outlining’ in bags, thin black and white Royal Icing for ‘flooding’ in squeezy bottles. Cocktail stick for speading the icing and a cup of tea to enjoy. ( N.B. I have 92 chocolate and vanilla cookies here… hopefully you will only have 12 vanilla cookies to pipe).

 

Outlining

Outline your cookies first and leave at least 15 minutes before you flood the inside of the ‘dam’ (outline). When putting light and dark shades together as we are here (black and white), it is best to wait a few hours in-between so that the colours don’t bleed into each other.

To outline the cookie hold the bag at 45 degrees and position the tip on your cookie. Put enough pressure on the bag so that the icing comes out and you can start moving in the direction that you want your icing to go. Start lifting the piping bag till it is a few centimetres above your cookie and the icing just falls in a continuous line onto the cookie below. Come back closer to the cookie at corners and when finishing also reduce or stop pressure on the bag to go more slowly or to stop.

 

Cut out a small heart shape template in thin card or paper to help get the correct outline of the dress. The template will also help all the cookies to look identical.

 

 

Flooding

Use a squeezy bottle with a large round hole number 3, 4 or 5 tip. Filling one area at a time quickly zig zagging back and forth. Don’t worry if you haven’t filled in every spot: speed is more important at this point. To fill in these little missed bits just use a cocktail stick to push the icing into your missed bits.

Use the thick icing in your piping bag to outline the top of the wedding dress and add a fancy little design. While still wet sprinkle over with white sanding sugar then pipe some dots for a pearl necklace.

Use the same principles for outlining and flooding the ‘Groom’ cookies.

Storing

Let the cookies dry for 24 hours, if you possibly can, before you package them. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place out of the sun (sunlight can fade your coloured icing, especially black icing). The cookies can be kept for up to 2 weeks and longer if heat sealed in food grade cello bags.

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Wedding Cake Pops Tutorial

Bride and Groom Wedding Cake Pops

Cake pops have without a doubt become one of the most popular sweet treat trends in years.  

While cake pops are certainly a fun treat to share and eat, they can be a challenge to create. I will start this tutorial with the recipes and method I used to make these Bride and Groom Cake Pops then I will expand the tutorial with a troubleshooting section that applies to all kinds of cake pops.

Cake Pops
Makes 20 pops

What you will need:

600g dark chocolate mudcake made from scratch or 600g of mudcake made from a box cake mix

115g cream cheese

160g sifted icing sugar

40g butter

0.5 tbsp milk

620g white candy melts

350g black candy melts

Lollipop sticks ( 7″ if possible )

Matching ribbon

1.   Make the frosting by mixing together the cream cheese, icing sugar, butter and milk.

2.   Crumble the cake into a large bowl or process in the food processor to fine crumbs then place in a large bowl and stir in half of the frosting. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined and thick like a truffle center. Mix in additional frosting if necessary.  You just want enough to get the crumbs to stick together when you roll them into balls.  Do not add so much that the mixture becomes soft and mushy!

3.   Roll mixture into balls weighing 30g and place on a cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 15 minutes then allow them to almost return to room temperature.

4.   Meanwhile melt chocolate in the microwave at 70% for 1 minute then stir well. Return to microwave for 30 seconds and stir well. If the chocolate has still not melted then repeat in 30 second bursts until fully melted and smooth ( always stir well before returning the chocolate to the microwave to avoid overheating). Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the the top of the cake ball.  Insert a little more than halfway.

5.   Place in freezer again for 15 minutes then allow them to almost return to room temperature before dipping them. Pops will crack if the temperature difference between the cake and the coating is too great. Carefully dip the cake pop into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and submerging in the chocolate till fully covered. Once covered, remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off too.

You want the chocolate to come over the platform you created when inserting the chocolate-dipped stick, but you don’t have to cover it all the way to the stick.

Tap off the excess chocolate. 

Once half the cake pops are on sticks that have been dipped in chocolate, I then put them in my freezer for 15 minutes and by the time they are ready to come out the freezer the remaining cake pops will be ready to go in. Chilling them helps set the chocolate and make the stick, chocolate and cake all come together firmly.

6.   Melt the black chocolate as before and dip half of the cake pops to make the ‘Grooms’. Dip at an angle and rotate a little to create the jacket. Fit a no. 2 tip to a piping bag and fill with a little of the black chocolate. Pipe on the bow tie and buttons. If the chocolate hardens in the bag or tip just ‘neuk’ the piping bag in the microwave at 70% for 5 – 10 seconds.

7. Fill a similar bag with a little white chocolate and pipe the ‘Brides’ as per the picture.

Troubleshooting Cake Pops

Bride and Groom Wedding Cake Pops

Cake Pops Cracking

The challenge I find with chilling the cake pops is that there seems to be a fine line as to how long to chill them – as having them too cold often results in the chocolate cracking after dipping.   I try and make sure my chocolate isn’t too hot, and that my cake pop isn’t too cold – letting it warm up a bit after taking it out of the freezer, even just a few minutes.

Another way I deal with this issue is that I do a “first dip” into chocolate. I then redip them in a second layer of chocolate, and decorate.  Kind of like a crumb coat in frosting a cake.   This sort of seals the crack into the first layer, leaving the second and outer layer looking nice and pretty, and yay – more chocolate!   This is also an option if you make your cake pop and the chocolate hardens before you get the sprinkles on it.  Just dip it again!

Here are some other sites that you can check out for more tips and advice on the chocolate on the cake pop cracking issue…

 Prevent Cracks In Cake Pop Shells from Honeycomb Events & Design

Why Do Cake Pops Crack from Beki Cook’s Cake Blog

Cake Pops, Balls & Truffles: Troubleshooting & FAQ from Veronica’s Cornucopia

Tricks Of The Trade from The Cake Pop Connection

Chocolate Coating Cracking from Chocolate Candy Mall

Cake Pops Falling Off The Stick

Dipping my cake pop sticks into the chocolate, then putting them into the cake pops and letting the chocolate set should avoid these problems.   I do have a few other things that help with this issue.

1.  Don’t make the cake pop too big. Keep cake pops on the smaller side between 27g – 32g as too much weight on that tiny stick has the potential to create problems.

2.   When dipping the cake pop into the chocolate, dip it in and get it out – don’t twirl it around. Twirling it in the chocolate increases the chances of the cake pop falling off the stick or chunks of the cake pop falling off.

3.  Never tap the stick on the side of the bowl too hard when trying to get the excess chocolate off.   Too hard of a tap and bam, cake pop in bowl. Do a very gentle tap or two on the side of my bowl, and then twirl cake pop, slowly and constantly, over the bowl to let the excess chocolate drip off.

4.  Holding on to the cake pop until the chocolate is close to set.   Once the chocolate sets, usually the cake pop and stick are pretty good friends then you can confidently set it down.

Here are some other sites you can check out with information about preventing your cake pops from falling off of the sticks…

Common Cake Pop Issues & Tutorials from Miss Candiquik

Cake Pop Tutorials and Q & A from Not Rachel Ray

How To Get The Sticks To Stay In The Cake Pops from Babycakes

FAQ from My Little Cupcake

 Cake Pops Tutorial from Mandy Walls Photography

Getting the Chocolate Smooth and the Sprinkles To Stick

Keep the cake pops moving, slowly twirling the cake pop until the chocolate sets.   It’s a bit of a balancing act to find when to add the sprinkles and when to put the cake pop down.   If you put the sprinkles on too soon, they can slide off and take the chocolate with them.   Wait too long and they won’t stick.   There is definitely  a sweet spot time wise to adding the crystals, and I think a lot of it just takes some practice and patience to find what works.

Stick to lighter sprinkles, the ones that weigh the least, such as sanding sugar, sugar crystals, jimmies and the like.   The sanding sugar and sugar crystals are the easiest.

Do not submerge my cake pops in sprinkles. Hold the cake pop over a bowl, and sprinkle over it, catching the excess sprinkles.

Bride and Groom Wedding Cake Pops

Valentine Heart Cookies Tutorial

This year I made my Valentine Heart Cookies from gingerbread. I did this as I will be selling them at Pottsville Beach Markets on Sunday 5th February 2012 and the biscuits will have to keep for a couple of weeks. Gingerbread easily keeps for a month in cello bags and is my best choice but if you would rather make a Buttery Sugar Cookie recipe then click here.

 

 

Gingerbread Cookies

90g butter

150g soft brown sugar

90g golden/corn syrup

425g Plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

2tsp ground ginger

1tsp mixed spice

1 medium egg (beaten)

Gently heat butter, sugar and syrup until dissolved.. Cool slightly for five mins.

Pre-heat oven 180C and lightly grease baking trays.

Sift flour, baking powder and spices tog into mixing bowl and make a well in centre.

Add melted mixture and egg into the centre. Bind tog with knife then use hands to form soft dough.

Sprinkle work surface with flour and roll out the gingerbread to 3mm (1/8in).

Bake in centre of oven for 13 mins.

Transfer cooked gingerbread to a cooling rack.

Outline and fill the cookies at the same time using RI (Royal Icing) with a number 2 piping nozzle and remember that RI takes 24 hours to set.

Royal icing
Traditional royal icing is made with real egg white, however, because of the slight chance of salmonella poisoning, I now prefer to use dried egg white instead.
20g (3/4 oz) dried egg white
90ml (2.5fl oz) cold water
500g (1lb 2 0z) icing sugar

method
Mix egg white and water in a bowl until smooth.
Sieve the icing sugar into a grease free bowl.
Tip in the egg mixture and beat on the slowest speed for 5 mins until the icing stands up in peaks.

Planet Cake Royal Icing using real egg whites.
250-300g pure icing sugar, sifted
2-4 drops acetic acid (white vinegar)
1 egg whitemethod
Beat icing sugar, acetic acid and egg white with electric beater on medium-high speed for 4 minutes for ‘soft peak’. Add extra sugar if the icing is too soft.
Achieving the right consistency for Royal Icing can be difficult but practise makes perfect, so if icing is too thick or too thin just empty your piping bag and add more water/vinegar or icing sugar. You will soon work it out.

Place icing in airtight plastic bowl with a lid. Lay a piece of cling film directly on top of the icing and replace the lid.

DONT put the cookies in an airtight container until they are set (24 hours to set) need the air to help dry out.

Pipe on your designs once the cookies are set using a number 1 piping nozzle. If you would like to use my designs then click on the image above to enlarge and then copy the same or similar on your cookies. For the straight lines, in particular, touch the cookie with the nozzle at the beginning and end of line only, pulling your line of icing in the air. This way you get the straightest line possible. For the heart-shaped outlines you sort of hold the nozzle above your cookie and let the icing gently fall/glide into place. Do not drag the nozzle along the cookie surface at any time. Very few of my cookies are identical as I adapt my designs as I go. Feel free to experiment. If you would like to make these cookies using a Buttery Sugar Cookie recipe then click here.

Happy Valentine’s Day Cookies Tutorial

Here is another treat for you to make for your loved one this Valentine’s day!

These cookies are not difficult to make and are decorated with Royal Icing and can be as simple or elaborate as you like.

 

I now use this gorgeous recipe for all my cookies. The cream cheese gives them a lovely flavour and texture and the consistency of the dough makes it easy to cut out shapes with cutters.

 

Buttery Sugar Cookies

250g softened butter

85g of softened cream cheese

150g (3/4 cup) caster sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

510g (3 cups) plain flour

Cream butter and cream cheese using K beater until light and fluffy. Add sugar egg & vanilla. Beat at a medium speed scraping down the side of the bowl often until creamy.

Reduce speed to low and add flour, beat very lightly until combined again scraping down the bowl.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions and wrap in plastic warp and refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours). Or place in freezer for when you need them.The dough can last up to a week in a airtight container…they do go a little soft, but suppose to be like that…(not a crunchy biscuit)

Heat oven to 160 (fan). Sometimes I even lower the temp to 150, they don’t take long to cook, just enough so when you lightly touch them they do not make an indent in the cookie.


 Roll out dough on baking paper. 

Cut out cookies and bake for 7 to 10 mins until edges are very lightly browned. 

Click here to find out how to make and use my cookie dough leveller!

 

Remove from cooking sheets and cool completely on wire rack.

 

Outline and fill the cookies at the same time using RI (Royal Icing) with a number 2 piping nozzle and remember that RI takes 24 hours to set.

Royal Icing
Traditional royal icing is made with real egg white, however, because of the slight chance of salmonella poisoning, I now prefer to use dried egg white instead.
20g (3/4 oz) dried egg white
90ml (2.5fl oz) cold water
500g (1lb 2 0z) icing sugar


method
Mix egg white and water in a bowl until smooth.
Sieve the icing sugar into a grease free bowl.
Tip in the egg mixture and beat on the slowest speed for 5 mins until the icing stands up in peaks.

Planet Cake Royal Icing using real egg whites.
250-300g pure icing sugar, sifted
2-4 drops acetic acid (white vinegar)
1 egg white

method
Beat icing sugar, acetic acid and egg white with electric beater on medium-high speed for 4 minutes for ‘soft peak’. Add extra sugar if the icing is too soft.
Achieving the right consistency for Royal Icing can be difficult but practise makes perfect, so if icing is too thick or too thin just empty your piping bag and add more water/vinegar or icing sugar. You will soon work it out.

Place icing in airtight plastic bowl with a lid. Lay a piece of cling film directly on top of the icing and replace the lid.

DONT put the cookies in an airtight container until they are set (24 hours to set) need the air to help dry out..

Pipe on your designs once the cookies are set using a number 2 piping nozzle. If you would like to use my designs then click on the image above to enlarge and then copy the same or similar on your cookies. 
For the straight lines, in particular, touch the cookie with the nozzle at the beginning and end of line only, pulling your line of icing in the air. This way you get the straightest line possible. For the heart-shaped outlines you sort of hold the nozzle above your cookie and let the icing gently fall/glide into place. Do not drag the nozzle along the cookie surface at any time. Very few of my cookies are identical as I adapt my designs as I go. Feel free to experiment.

Suggested timeline for making the Valentine’s Day Cookies: Day One – Baking Day Two – Outlining, filling, and letting cookies dry overnight. Day Three – Detail piping These lovely little cookies last for ages, just keep on eating the odd one to make sure the rest are fresh, LOL! Remember to keep them out of strong sunlight so that the colours don’t fade.

Another little artwork to brighten up your day!