In my last post I promised something special for the bakers out there, and here it is! This week I’ve teamed up with Grace Stevens for a fun giveaway and to share a scrumptious cake recipe.

I first met Grace a few years ago on the set of the Expresso Show, and have always admired her beautiful bakes and cake decorating skills. Grace is a mom of four, a cookbook author and runs culinary classes where she shares her in-depth knowledge and passion for baking and decorating. Grace also offers online courses, and recently invited me to give them a try.

 

I’ve never attempted buttercream decorations before (my piping skills go as far as cupcake icing and dotting decorative blobs on my cakes) and so I was excited to tackle a buttercream piping technique course. I signed up to learn how to make cosmos roses and peonies.

 

 

For the courses you’ll need to prepare a batch of icing (the recipe will be provided) and have the correct piping nozzles and bags to prepare the flowers. I would recommend setting aside a good hour or two to watch the tutorial video and practice the techniques. Whilst the thought of making a buttercream flower seemed daunting to me at first Grace simplifies the process and explains each step clearly. I started with the cosmos roses. When I started piping I soon realised that I had made my icing a little too thick, but once I’d fixed that and practised the piping technique a couple of times it wasn’t too difficult at all! In fact, once I’d got the hang of it I found it quite relaxing and meditative to make them.

In the peonies course Grace teaches you how make three different peonies. I have only attempted one of the three so far as I ran out of time on the day, but I’m looking forward to going back and learning the rest.

 

 

Of course, with all of these lovely buttercream decorations lying around I just had to make a cake to put them on! I decided to go for a simple but very delicious vanilla and orange cake, and Grace has kindly shared her go-to buttercream icing recipe to go with that. I’m so excited that I now have some more tricks up my sleeve when it comes to decorating our celebration cakes at home.

The great news is that you have a chance to win a Grace Stevens course of your choice (baking or decorating)! Head over to my Instagram page to get the details and enter. You can also find more details about the courses HERE. (They make great foodie gifts!)