Little heart.

I must welcome my new blog followers, hello!  I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing in it.

This is a decoration that I have mentioned in my previous post about Valentines cupcakes and they are the little red marzipan hearts.  These are a simple and easy to make decoration which will make you look like a cupcake pro.  

Goes with:
Cupcakes, gingerbread sleighs/houses, cakes and chocolate mousse in a glass!
Handy for:
Valentines, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, Alice in Wonderland party and poker parties.


Ingredients:
Marzipan
Red colouring/cochineal
Heart shaped cookie cutter (any small ish size will do)
Greaseproof/cooking paper
NB: Because of the colouring I would try to avoid wearing nice clothes (just in case)


Method:
1.  Lay marzipan on a wooden chopping board and slightly pull it apart in the middle.
2.  Drop a cap full of the colouring into the middle of the marzipan and kneed until the marzipan is red all over. 
3.  Roll out the marzipan and use the cutter to create little heart shapes.
4.  Place the little heart shapes on to a greaseproof papered tray and store - uncovered - in a cool dry place over night (if you don't have as much time) or for a full 24 hours.
5.  Place on top of your cupcake! Voilà! 

If you are allergic to nuts, or marzipan, or you just cannot get hold of marzipan in your local store, you can use fondant icing, or the pre-made regal roll-out icing instead!  If you do use icing instead just remember to only leave it out over night, any longer will dry it out too much.  
This recipe can be used for marzipan fruits at Christmas, also; you are not just restricted to hearts, you can get creative and make other shaped decorations like flowers, leaves, faces, butterflies, Winnie the Pooh characters etc etc. 

Since cupcakes have become so popular in the western world, the decorations and toppings that come with the cupcakes are becoming more important too; in some places more so than the cake itself.  It seems that most people have managed to master the art of soft fluffy cakes, so now the challenge lays with decorating.  This idea has taken storm in America, where people are very serious about cake decorating and it is slowly becoming an art form; literally.

yes, these are cupcakes!!!

This is not as popular in England, generally, from what I have seen in cupcake blogs and from cupcake companies, classic hand-made sugar decorations - like flowers and hearts - are still very popular with customers.  However, with the release of the 'Hello Cupcake!' book, a genius book brought over from the other side of the pond, I think there will be a growing demand for more creative and colourful cupcakes.

To learn more about cupcake decorating please do buy the 'Hello Cupcake!' book, it has some fantastic designs in it and it is not just about decorating, there are some great recipes in there too.  Also, check out this lady's video tutorial CakeCoquette.

Happy decorating everyone!