Coming up roses.

 Hello there stranger! Big apologies!  This post is a bit out of the blue - it must be coming up to a year since I last posted. Admittedly, I have had quite a busy time and my second year at university has got a bit in the way of this blog malarkey...but it doesn't mean I haven't been baking! I have shared a lovely little house with five other girls and I think they must know by now that I like to bake...just about. Just a little bit. Anyway..I'm sure you have all been on the edge of your seats for this next post *ahem*..so now that the excuses are out the way, I shall proceed!

So roses! I have been wanting to try this for quite a while and I have finally managed to get round to it. One of my favourite wesbites for buying baking equipment and getting tips, www.sewwhite.com,  had a little tutorial on how to pipe a rose and so - quite naturally - I thought I must give this a go.

With a little Hobbycraft session, I found the right icing nozzle - big at the top and small at the bottom - a bit like a tear drop. This makes the petal shape. I also bought some green fondant icing for the leaves - because I'm a little bit lazy.

I made a batch of fairy cakes (Mary Berry style!), let them cool and set about making the buttercream. I tend to improvise with the measurements for this - 3 to 4 tablespoons of soft butter, adding icing sugar (LOTS!) until quite stiff, and a couple of splashes of milk. And then a few drops of food colouring! I also rolled out the fondant icing and cut out the leaves. Next time, I'll make them a bit less chubby looking.

So I prepared the piping bag and followed the tutorial. Sew White made it look so simple...but I think mine turned out ok for a first go!