Laptop Bride Newsletter. Cheese Wedding Cakes, Cupcake Wedding Cake, Wedding cake supplies, toppers and more

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First, the rule of thumb . . . "if you can stack it .... you can make it." The basic premise of all of the cakes below is to stack your medium (i.e., cupcakes, twinkies, donuts or even cheese) and then embellish. You can embellish with cake tops, icing flowers, ribbons, sprinkles or any other item you may want to place on your cake. The sky is the limit in regards to creativity with these cakes.

One of the latest trends with wedding cakes is using Croquembouche's. Croquembouche is a tower of profiteroles (choux pastry puffs filled with vanilla pastry cream) which are coated in a thin crust of crispy caramel. The “glue” which holds the puffs together in their pyramid shape is melted toffee or chocolate Ganache. The delicious pyramid usually rests on a base or stand made of edible Nougatine.

the Croquembouche tower of delicacies is stunning and can have be decorated for a more elaborate look. Some of the creative ways of decorating the Croquembouche include:

♥ webs of spun sugar cascading down the sides

♥ sugared almonds sticking out between the puffs and scattered around the base

♥ strings of light-catching crystals threaded around the base

♥ drizzles of melted white, dark or milk chocolate cascading down the tower

♥ fresh strawberries or other fruit placed around the base of the tower

A Devon woman is hoping her alternative take on the traditional wedding cake will prove popular with brides-to-be looking for something a bit different.

Briony Copsey, (Ridgewell Dairy)who used to be a chemical engineer in London, is using her home-produced organic fresh soft cheese to produce wedding cakes.The cheese wedding cake idea came up when a friend said she wanted something different for her nuptials. "I had just started cheese making at that time, and decided we could come up with a cheese wedding cake. It gave her a cheese and biscuit course as well as a cake to cut."

The traditionally-styled three-tier cake was flavoured with the selection of herbs she uses in her cheeses: dill, paprika, chives, garlic, parsley, pepper.

Mrs Copsey has made half a dozen of the alternative wedding cakes so far and produces around 100 small cheeses a week.

Cupcake Wedding cakes can be as plain or elegant as you choose. It's just a matter of stacking and embellishing. As you can see above, icing and candy flowers and leaves make this cake fabulous! Furthermore you can make your cupcakes multiple flavors. Why just have white or pound cake, when there’s the choice of fudge cake, sponge cake or cheesecake in a myriad of flavors, different fillings, toppings, icings, and frostings. The sky is the limit... use your imagination!

From Illuminations, Vintage Ball Ornaments in a bowl. Simple and elegant. Plus, your guests can divvy up the ornaments as a favor to take home! More ideas: Group into a dessert dish, scatter them around candles, lay them on angels hair or even hang them from a miniature tree centerpiece!

50900519

Set of 24 Red Ball Ornaments
1"Dia.

50900518 Set of 24 Multi-Color Ornaments
1"Dia.

50900520 Set of 24 Iced Ball Ornaments
1"Dia.

The Night Before Christmas
Christmas Tree Topper

Here's an easy Christmas tree topper for your Holiday tree. Just click on the link below, print out the artwork, cut around the design, bend the artwork in a circle, and tape the two green flaps together. You'll have a lovely new tree topper for Christmas. Better yet, you can use this on top of a cake, your centerpiece trees or simply on top of the table perhaps with a bit of greenery or holly. (found here: JanBrett.com

Tree Topper
Click here for PDF version

Candy Cane Cookies Make Great Favors
Serves/Yields: 48
Prep. Time:
Cook Time:
Category: Cookies
Difficulty: Moderate
Simply wrap in christmas cellophane and tie with a bow!

Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1 each egg
1 1/2 teaspoons almond or peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
1/2 cup peppermint candy -- crushed
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix powdered sugar, margarine, shortening, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt.

Divide dough into halves. Tint one half with food color.

For each candy cane, shape 1 teaspoon dough from each color into a 4-inch rope. For smooth, even strips, roll back and forth on lightly floured board. Place 1 red and 1 white strip side-by-side; press together lightly, and twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve cookie top down to form a candy cane shape.

Bake until set and very light brown, about 9 minutes. Mix crushed candy and granulated sugar; immediately sprinkle over hot cookies. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.

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