Eye Candy

'Eye' got candy

I have been wanting to do a step by step tutorial for long now but kept pushing it off for lack of time. Today, I decided to stop procrastinating and get down to it. Today, I am going to show you'll something that is very simple to make and so versatile in its uses. I came across this idea a long time ago, but it wasn't until I got an order for them that I got down to doing it. This is a great exercise that you can indulge in, come summer, with your kids as they will have a good time making them and an even greater time playing with them, of course, most of them will end up in their tummies before going on dessert projects :)
So without further ado, here they are. I have used them on smiley cookies, but their applications are endless. After all, a couple of baby blue eyes can up the aww factor of almost anything. 
First, lets get started with the basic recipe for the icing. I use royal icing as it sets hard and lasts for a long time, some, almost a year if stored properly. I used the basic recipe found on Joy of Baking and tweaked it a little to suit me. You can experiment with the host of recipes available online once you get comfortable with it. I prefer to use meringue powder rather than raw egg whites as many debate the factor of raw egg whites containing food-borne pathogens such as salmonella. Better safe than sorry right. Here's the recipe for the Royal Icing:

Ingredients:

1. One cup icing sugar
2. 3/4 tablespoon Meringue powder
3. One teaspoon vanilla extract
4. 1/4 cup warm water 
5. Food colouring in baby blue and black

Blue-eyed treats

Method:

• Whisk the sugar and meringue powder.
• Add the vanilla extract and the water, bit by bit, whisking as you do so.  (Even though the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of water, you might need much lesser depending on the consistency, so add a little at a time)
• Beat the mixture on medium speed for about 5 to 6 minutes. You will notice that the consistency is runny at first, but stiffer as you beat.
• You can test if the icing is ready by using the ten second rule. You do so by lifting the whisker and letting the icing drop back into the bowl in ribbons. If the surface of the mixture becomes smooth in 10 seconds, you are good to go. If it is quicker than ten seconds, the icing is too runny and you need to add more icing sugar and if it is much longer, add a bit more water. 
• Divide the icing in batches and colour them accordingly.  You will need more white, a little less blue and much lesser black.
• Fill them into your individual piping bags. I use butter paper, roll them into cones and pipe away, but you can use various icing tips available. Make sure it has a small round opening for this recipe. Here's an example of a good tip from Wilton.
• Line your counter with butter/parchment paper and start piping like so:

Leave the candy eyes on the counter-top to dry. They might take anywhere from 4 hours to a day or so depending on the humidity of the area you are in. Once they are completely dry, peel them off carefully and store them in an airtight container. To attach them to cookies, dab a tiny dot of royal icing on the backside of the cookies and stick them where you want. 

For instance, for the smiley face cookies, flood the cookies with your choice of coloured royal icing, once they dry, attach the eyes, pipe out smiles, a nose and eyelashes if you please and there you have it, a smiley face cookie.Experiment with consistencies according to your design.

The elusive macaron

Pretty in pink

I made these treats for V day but never got around to posting them, so here it is: better late than never right? 
Yes, these are indeed Macarons. I've had three failed attempts at these beauties, but going by the number of posts online with people 'desperately seeking Macarons', I don't think I have fared so bad in my pursuit of these french delicacies.
 Adrian Zumbo, you are to blame for my fixation for these gorgeous treats. Ever since I saw his Macaron tower on Masterchef Australia, I've been dying to try to make a decent batch. I am yet to perfect these lil mounds of joy. Truth be told, half out of this batch were not privileged to grace my blog, but did fare pretty well in my tummy :) So, once I perfect the recipe, a detailed tutorial will be coming up. Till then, feast your eyes on my Raspberry Macarons filled with chocolate ganache. 
Sinful, yes, resistible, no!

Cookie Mania

Melon mania, inspired from this link from pinterest

My latest obsession is designing cookies. Chanced upon a blog on the most amazing cookies ever. These are nothing short of works of art and this is where I found my new-found love for cookies decorated with royal icing. Marian is a cookie goddess and if you do manage to come back after ogling at her goodies on her site, do check out my humble beginnings in the cookie decorating field :)

Swirls galore

These cookies are made using a basic sugar cookie recipe and have been decorated using tinted royal icing. 

I heart cookies

Do give me your feedback on them as this is the first time I have attempted them. Be sure to see more of them in the near future on my blog.  

Three's company too

Peppermint Chocolate Thins

Chocolate anyone?

I love After Eights, so much so that when it came to naming a column on party events in the city that took place at night at the news paper I worked for, I cheekily named it After Eight. So naturally, it comes as no surprise that when I saw a recipe for chocolate thins on Vanilla Clouds, I immediately tweaked it to make it pepperminty. Do check her blog out, it's got some pretty good ideas. 


If you are a chocolate lover (I know you are :p), this one is something that you will love making and eating. Before you think, no way hose, I'd rather eat them than slave in the kitchen making them, let me tell you that it's a no fuss, no bake recipe and you can make these chocolate discs in minutes. After that, you just need to let them set before you dig into them. They make great gifts too, especially if you are visiting someone for dinner and don't want to carry a dessert per se but do want to show your appreciation for the invitation. In fact, this recipe is so simple, I am gonna do away with my usual recipe format and just ease you into it :)

Chocoholics treat

For the chocolate thins, you simple have to:

• Melt some dark chocolate and a teaspoon of butter over a double boiler or in a bowl sitting on another bowl of simmering water.
• Add in your flavouring, I used peppermint essence.
• Spoon out the melted chocolate on a piece of baking/butter paper, flattening it into a disc with the back of your soon.
• Add your choice of sprinkles/edible glitter.
• Leave on the counter top for about 20 minutes or until set and gobble away.

Edible Ladybirds

Smile for the ladybird please

An old pal was shifting to Bangalore and 2012 was upon us with the blink of an eye, so I didn't need any more reasons to make something special. I had bookmarked this for a long time and finally decided to make them and it was well worth the wait. These cuties will make any heart melt and many wouldn't wanna eat them, just keep them around and stare at them (fly did this, I kid you not :p)
So, without further ado, here are my fondant ladybird cupcakes. You can use any ol' cupcake for this decoration and I must thank Diary of a Ladybird for a detailed description of how to make them. Do check it out if you plan on making them. I added my own two bits to them, so can you, but her pic by pic descriptions leave no room for errors. I hope you enjoy making them and eating them as much as I did. On that note, a Biig welcome to Candy, my 'lumper' :D and a Haappy New Year to all my readers (I'm 12 days late, but better late than never right :p) 

The one in the centre was my whimsical geometric art cuz I had some fondant remaining