~ HERMIT CRAB COOK I ES •

.. ....... . . .... ... . ..... . . .. ..... . .................................. .

·e ,., possibly the_cutest crabs you'll ever hove the pleasure
to meet. Make sure you
ff;11_ 0
t,em some edible sand {AKA brown sugor/ to stond on when serving to create
11W I the ultimate beach scene.

Makes: 15 • Time: 2 hours • Difficulty rating: *

INGREDIEN TS EXT RA EQ U IPMEN T
You will need a 6cm circle cutter, a piping bag and a round-tip
For the ginger biscuits: p IpIng nozzle
• 200g plain flour
½ esp salt ME THOD
• 1 esp baking pow der For the ginger biscuits:
• 1½ tsp bicarbonate Pr eheat the oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with
of soda baking paper
• 2 tsp ground ginger Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda
100g unsalted b utter and ground ginger in a large bowl, then add the butter and rub
100g caster sugar the mixture together with your fingers to form what resembles
breadcrumbs. Stir In the sugar.
4 tbsp golden syrup
In a separate bowl, mix the golden syrup and milk until the golden
• 1 tbsp m ilk
syrup d issolves. Stir this lrquid into the breadcrumb mixture, then
For the decorations: b ring it all together with your hands to form a dough.

..
~ I i"' •"
100g cream cheese
• Red gel food colouring
Break off small bits of dough and roll them into small balls roughly
20g in weight. Space 6-8 balls out on to each baking tray, ensuring
~~ ; you leave enough room for them to spread during baking.
.. ., •.-. . . •
• 15 strawberries

.,, ..• • · 1· ,
,.
~
).'.
• • 30 edible eyes
Soft brown sug ar
Bake for 1O minutes until golden brown, but keep your eyes on
them towards the end of baking as they can darken very quickly.
Once out o f the oven, leave them on the trays for a few minutes
t
•• to firm up. then tra nsfer to a wire rack to fully cool

55
 • ST'OANY SEA BROWt~I ES •
..... .. . ....
It II -,,.,.## Ill« ,wr,,,olds • ~ tllH'l,v storms to colm th, s,os and save
,,._ • ill/lf//flr. 611n up II non,, with tllff, brown/a ond watch allyour
,,,._,.,,...,.lfltW l'OlltW to 6""" youfrom Htlfll th, whole batch.

M.J~n 16 • TlmC": , hour • Olffi c ulry r a t ing: ~ *

INGlfO fENTS EXTRA EQU I PMEN T
Yow will nt'e'd a 20cm )>(luar e b,1l..1ng trn

• I • ll ~ C,,OCC)ljff
rmwwnum 70 ~
NETHOO
CMll t"()n);i) f or dut brownie b lltter·
• I I" tnm: cnocol,tll' PrehNr tt\f' own to 170"(. and grease and line a 20cm square . . o rn1xtures together to give a
b.Jk1f'IS l ,n . U . the t ip o f a knife, swirl the M
.. · ~ ~ t>uttH in a random formation on top. sing
• l~ Mi!'lt ttie Cl'IOCOlate and butter rn a heatproof bowl set over a pan marbled effect. e in the tin and set aside to cool
Of sr"""""'m,g \l\.3t er Once the ingredients have melted, remove . R move from the oven, 1eav '
• } ~Cfllff 5Upl' Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. e d cuttina into equal squares.
~ bowl ttom the pan and ser aside to cool slightly.
completely before peeling off the baking paper an o
• ' ~ ,__ ftour \\'h11e tne ffl(),ture cools, wh1Sk the eggs and caster sugar in a
~ 001.,1 um.ti well combined . Add the eggs and sugar !O the
melll'O chocolate a nd ouaer , and whisk together for 1 minute.

• ls,Qg~~ Ada me /lour and carefully fold It into the mixture using a metal
• 'ioS Q$U'f Sl.fPt' spoon unuf :-t.-fly ,nc:Ofporated.

~ '• ~
• li esp ~ r n•11
for the ch~sec.ake mixture:
Sea1 me cream cheese. caster sugar. egg yolk and peppermint
b'J1iln ~ -racr rogemer unul smooth.
g,pJ f-ood · 't in
• T~ Add a t.ny d rop o f me rurquo,se gel food colouring and mix 1
~ ,o create a m.m colour.
PolJI'- the bro...nie batter into the brownie tin, smoothing it
· rure 65
Ot/1 .nto alJ com {'(S then spoon the mint cheesecake mix

liiiilil
•
 • OCTOPUS CUPCAKES •
........... ....... ...... ............. .......................
Octopuses spread so much love to their underwaterfriends that they nee
...
· • · · · · · •. ,,
contain It. rhese squishy, cute octopus cupcakes are guaranteed tom .t d three he to
0111
a e Your heart "'tit.
Makes: 12 • Time: 2 hours • Difficulty rating: **

I NGREDIENTS
EXTRA EQUIPMENT
For the CUf)C41ktt
You will need a 12-h o le cupcake tray
• 150g butter, softened 12
tray, baking paper, a closed-star p ip i~g no~ujcake ca_ses, abaking
• I SOg fight brown sugar nozzle and two pip ing bags. z e, a Wnt1ng-t1ppiping
• 3 eggs
METHOD
• 1SOg self-rafsfng flour
• SOg desiccated coconut For the cupcakes:

For the buttercre.m: Preheat cases.

cupcake
the oven to 180oC and line a cupcake tray with 12
• 200g butter. softened For the octopuses:
Add the butt er suga d fl
• 400g icing sugar b • r, eggs an our to a large mixing bowl and Prepare a baking tray w ith baking paper and set aside.
eat together until pale and fluffy. Add the desiccated co~onut
nd
• I rsp vanilla extract th
a m,x rough u ntil well comb ined.
Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Leave r_ h e chocolate
• Turquoise gel food
Frll each cupcake case w ith a tab lesp oon of batter and bakein the to melt completely, stirring occasionally, then add ¼ t easpoon orange gel food col ouring and st ir it
co/ounng
oven for 20-25 minutes until just browned and springy ro touch. through . Take the bowl off the heat and leave the ch ocolate to cool slightly.
For the Octopuses: When the chocolate is cool enough to hold your finger in without burning it, you can begin_dipping
Remove from th e oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• 200g White chocolate your marshmallows. Pierce the end of a marshmallow with a fork or a cocktail Str ek and dip it into
For the buttercream: t~e orange-coloured chocolate, coating it fully. Remove the marshmallow from th e fork and let it
• Orange gel food nd t h th
co/ounng Ble e b utter and icing sugar together until smooth, add the s,t on e baking tray to set a little. Continue the previous steps with the rema ining marshmallows .
~m~e~ra a a d d · (oo~
to make th e b tt n a rop of turquoise gel food colouringb. ee 0 Stick the candy eyes to the chocolate-coated marshmallows while the chocolate is still sticky, then
• 12 white marshmalfoVvs
u ercream a pale-green tone), and com ,n · carefully Place them on top of the buttercream once the chocolate has completely set.
• 24 edible candy Fit a · · , the
eyes b p rp,ng bag With a closed -star nozzle, trans,er Tip the remain ing orange chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a writing-tip nozzl e and pipe the
Uttercrearn m · . . ·rIs on rop
o f each cupcake. rxture into th e p iping bag and pipe swr Octopus arms either side of the marshmallow and down the sides of th e buttercream.
Leave to
set completely then serve.
20

21
 tJ
• SANDCASTLE SHOWSTOPPER•
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . ....
· · · · · .• ~~ the seaside is not complete without building a sand . . ~ · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ,
nd
A trr of a little mermaid magic, you can create your own ed~t e a now, with the
he 'Phar many /ayers and stages, but masterpieces are wonh' the ve~sion. This recipe
~ d. · I • e time and eH. 110rt
an , more ,mportantry, ,t tastes incredible.

serves:25-30 • Time: 3 hours • Difficu lty rating: 'ff 'ff*

INGREDIEN TS
For the decorations:
For the cake:
• 600g self-ra ising flou r "' Two ice-cream cones

• 600g butter, softened * 1 0Og p ink fondant

• 600g caster suga r * 1 00g o range fondant

• 12 eggs * 1 OOg white chocolate (optional)
* 2 tsp baking powder
• 400g fresh raspberries,
EXTRA EQUIPMENT
crushed You w ill need two 20cm cake tins, two 15cm cake tins, a 15cm
diameter cake boa rd, a 24cm diameter cake board, a palette
• 2 tsp vanilla extract knife, an icing smoother, a piping bag, a cake-decorating piping
For the buttercream: nozzle, a decorating turntable, four dowel rods, a serrated knife,
a cake lifter, a food processor, two thick paper straws, a smal
• 1kg butter, softened
round-tip piping nozzle and seashell moulds.
• 2kg icing suga r
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
For t he filling:
• 200g raspberry jam
For the ed'1bl e sand:
• 200 d. .
g igest1ve biscuits

) • 100
g soft brown suga r
 h cakes insert t he four d owel rods close to the centre of the 20cm k .
METHOD . To stack t e ' ca e. so the 15cm
. d . decorations should ideally be made ahead oftime as they need to dry overs them .
~~~w11 ) ~~ ~e k C . .
before chey are secured on to the cake. lht dowel rods t o size, use a pencil to mark the height of the cake on one of th d
To cut your d cut it at the p encil m ark w it h a serrated knife. (Note: ifs important that te
hmtan ,~ th
en
For the cilke: .
•ft ·t out an ,, h k h e op 01 e
III el rod sits flush with the top 01 t e ca e so t at the cake you layer on top has something to sit on )

p, elledt lI1e oven lo

,so•c and line two 20cm
.
cake tins and two 15cm ca ke t ins with b k.
. a Ing Paper. doW d O r put the rest of th e dow el ro d to one sid e, so you know which one you should use
01scar ·
Pl.ice the nour bua er, sugar eggs and baking powder into a large b ow l and wh isk togeth the r est of the dowels from the cake and, using the first dowel as a guide. cur them to equal
,ninutP:, unt,1 ~mooth. pale and Ouffy er for 2-3 R_ernove d the tips down to smooth them out and avoid splintering, then insert all four dowels back
size. Shancake. Using a cake lifter, carefu lly stack the 15cm tier on top. Don't worry if you get a few finger
111 a ;rparate t:,c,'11. ,,usn the raspberries with a fork. leaving some part ially w hole, then tip the into t e h h. b k h
t/11! c,11-,,
bdtter ,, th tt1e vanilla extract and gently fold them in . rn into marks .In t he buttercream as you can smoot t 1s ac out w en the cake Is stacked and in position·
!Jiv"''' !h t.' c.i ...e tJJuer between all four lined cake t ins and bake the 20cm cakes for _ rn· For the edible sand:
30 35
¥'<I u," J)( rn c.i"<°>S for 20 minutes. inures
Put the b iscuits and sugar into a food processor and blitz until the biscuits are very fine crumbs.
Rt~ ,,._, f· om the o.Pn Jnd leave 1n the tins for 15 minutes before lifting t he cakes .
out and placino While the buttercream is still w et, take handfuls of the ed_ible sand (making sure you leave some of
1h,>1T1 er ,J 1, ,,,
r.irk to cool completely Once cool, cut the four sponge cakes in half, horizon ° the biscuit mixture for t he decoratrons) and gently press It on to the two tiers of the cake until they
:~,u 1 ,., L , br,t 1,we1:, ready for assembling. tally, so
are fully covered .
for th• buttercream:
For the decorations:
f' .1 •1,. t ,.'.'t>r ,, ,J l><.'wl and beat until smooth, then gradually add the icing sugar and van·II
.1!\Q rti , t ,;t :h~r u•,t,! :;,rriooth and pale I a extract coat two ice-cream cones w ith bu tt e rcream. position them on the back of the top tier of the cake
and cover with the r emain ing edible sand m ixture.
At~tmbling the cake: For the polka-d o t w indmill, roll out the orange fondant to 0.5cm thickness and cut out a 10cm x
"--l<l J rt" t..,;;,.. cr ~an, to the 1Sc ' b d d 10cm square.
, •. .,. •• , t1 m ca ... e oar an p lace one 1 5cm sponge layer on to it (keep
., .....,. · it' .,,,.. " t : '·~ rf
~moothest d
, "I 1;.._, . su ace an use last). Add a ta b lesp oon o f rasp berry jam and Roll out the pink fondant to 0.5cm t h ickness and, using the round-tip piping nozzle, cut out around
·' • 1
" · ' · •;;'•,er ,.:,m.M ng 5cm sponge layers w ith jam. ten small circles. Press the p ink circles into the orange-fondant square in a random formation.
l t ., ' • s ll,,& \\ th 'hie ?.' C d
:· . l" , t> ~"'! · ' c ·" ,.,.corat,ng p,ping nozzle and fill rhe bag wit h rhe buttercream. Cover Repeat the process with the remaining fondant but reverse the colours (oran_ge dots on pink
, ._,.,_, ·• t , 1
'"' e-, .••• tn " ,r •n , er of a, b u tte rcream and smooth it out w it h a palette knife, then fondant) or you could create a str ipy windmill by using a rolling pin to press stn~s of ?ne of th e
<< '- .J ' lO...irro harden.
fondants into the other 1 Ocm x 10cm fondant. (Note: always make sure that the 'finished fo ndant 15
~
· .. · , :'~ \ ,r
th
e : Qcrn ca:...e, our use t he 24cm cake board and double the quantity of a perfect square - otherwise creating the windmill shape won't work. )
Using
· .
your knife, .
make fou r d iagonal slits, starting at each corner 0 f the fondant and finishing
<-... ,.. " t°' .. • r,:! ,,,_.,. .;: GT rr1e OU ....
approximately 1 .5cm fro m the centre of the fondant.
,.J -·~ ~ • ...;, • .
,.,r ?. , rt ercream to both ca kes rhen u se a palette knife to smooth
,ace one
-- 1 ~ w
0 f ·h W h h · f one of the straws on top
•·· r • .,;: ,' , . • • L e cakes o n t he decoraring turntable take your iC1ng et t e. centre of the fondant sliohtly w it h a lit tle water and place t e tip 0
- · " ' •t~n- rne c0 ~e "• 1th th e b on om rouchrng the turntab le and' rotate the ca ke ~ - . b
it. This will be your windmill handle.
· - · .l ,,_ - 0 ,.
< ~:J -- ., ' t .o,.e aga,n, c'ean your icing smoorher and rep~at Then repeat this p· k • hes the centre. Press It
ic up one corner of t he fon dant and bend it inwards so that th e tip reac
down so it sticks to the fondant centre and covers a section of th e st raw.

43
sa azl

R~~ar with the three other corners until you have the windmill shape, then roll a small ba,1 c'
1ond~nt and sc,cl-.. ,r co the centre to cover where all the corners meet.
Rt.>pedr 1hese steps with the other fondant square and straw.
Le! rhe iondam dry our overnight then, when ready, insert one windm ill to the bottom tier and
anorher m rhe cop tier
~ a finar rouch. decorate with white chocolate shells made by melting down 100g of white chocolare
1" a oow, ser over a pan of simmering water. Fill the seashell moulds with the white chocolateanho
·-eave in r he "'--1dge ro set hard for 20 minutes. When ready, carefully remove t he chocolates from r e
"'nOulds ano decorare ar the base of each tier for a realistic sandcastle effect.