As I have mentioned in my previous post I am starting to think about my sister’s 21st birthday cake which I will be making in August. I have already decided on a raspberry and white chocolate cake and have now decided I would like to decorate it with at least one peony (as this is her favourite flower).

I don’t usually work with sugar paste, just because it isn’t one of my favourite things to do. I have previously made minion cupcakes and a Dr. Who cake out of sugar paste. I went to buy some sugar paste but it seems to be quite expensive here in Germany, so I decided to make my own! You can find the tutorial I used here. It was really easy and quite quick, I would definitely do it again. I only made half the amount and it was more than enough!

You can buy peony flower cutters, but as I have a small kitchen I don’t like buying things which I am very rarely going to use! I made paper templates and cut around them on the sugar paste with a small sharp knife!

I am fairly happy with my first attempt but I think I need to make the sugar paste slightly wetter next time so that I can roll it a little bit thinner without it cracking!

On a slightly different note…

A Patisserie I follow on Facebook has just posted their latest order on their page. This is something I have never heard of before but think it is quite a sweet idea… especially if you are a cake lover!

A Mother-to-be has asked for a cake to be made. The Doctor of the Mother-to-be has given the Patisserie a sealed envelope with the sex of the unborn baby and they will make a cake with the inside being either pink or blue. The Doctor and the Patisserie are the only ones who know the sex of the baby! The parents will find out when they cut in to the cake and see either blue or pink!

This is something I haven’t heard of before. So I did a bit of googling to find out some more. Apparently it is an idea with comes from America and is called a “Gender Reveal Party”. Essentially you have a party and invite friends and family. The whole party is centered around a cake (or in some cases cupcakes). The Mother and Father to be cut in to the cake in front of everyone so that they all find out the gender of the baby at the same time. I also read in some articles that guests are encouraged to guess the sex of the baby and attend dressed in the appropriate colour (pink=girl, blue=boy).

Type in to Pintrest “gender reveal cake ideas” and there are hundreds of pictures for these type of cakes!

I am not sure if have a big party and finding out the sex of my baby at the same time as everyone else really appeals to me. But I do like the cake idea. Prehaps you could have a small one made and then just cut in to it at home with you and your partner?

My day was made today by the lovely Cheryl from Third Takes The Cake. She recently made my Chocolate Marshmallow Bars and posted a picture on Instagram.

We are off to Stuttgart tomorrow to visit a friend for a few days. I haven’t been to Stuttgart before so I am quite excited, I will let you know what I think!

I would love to hear your opinion on the gender reveal parties, also I would love to know if you have been to one and what you thought!

You can find Lucya Bakes on Facebook and Instagram.

Lucya