Dessert Table for the London 2012 Olympics

 This summer is certainly an exciting one for London! We are in the midst of the 2012 Olympics and our family has decided to embrace the event and get into the spirit of it. To mark the Opening Ceremony last week we decided to host a party with a few of our friends. And of course, a party isn't complete without lots of cake!

Amy Atlas Sweet Designs

BUT let me just back track a bit...a few months ago I ordered a copy of Amy Atlas' Sweet Designs book. I have been so excited about this book. I am a big fan of Amy's work and let me take this chance to say if you don't know of Amy's work then check it out HERE. She combines craft and baking to create breathtaking dessert tables.

Anyway, my point is I wanted to have a go at creating a dessert table. I knew I didn't have enough time to go all out and make lots of crafts, so instead I just decided to make loads of cakes and sweet treats and make them look pretty enough to sit on my dining room table.

Of course my first thought was cupcakes. And the most obvious decorating idea was to have the 5 rings sitting proudly on top of each cupcake. This seemed like a fairly simple idea. I had enough sugarpaste in all the right colours, all I needed to do was cut out circles. So I sat down to make my cupcake toppers and then thought to myself...how am I going to cut out these circle shapes? Unfortunately I am not one of these cake makers that has every tool you could ever need to make and decorate cakes. So I searched the house for a good 20 minutes trying to find something that was small enough to cut out these rings! I did have a small circle cutter already but needed an even smaller one to cut out the centre of the circle to create a ring. Eventually my creative Dad suggested using a pen lid (don't worry, I did clean it!) This worked perfectly and I was able to create my toppers...

The trusty pen lid at work!

I made up a batch of vanilla cupcakes and filled them with strawberry jam (traditionally British). I topped the cupcakes with a swirl of vanilla buttercream and placed my Olympic rings on top. Here is the finished result...

I think the patriotic cupcake cases (from Waitrose) finish them off nicely :)

I also had enough left over cake to make some London 2012 cake pops. 

You may have noticed the chocolate coating isn't as smooth as it could be. I used Wilton Candy Melts and followed the directions on the packet but for some reason the coating stayed so thick it was impossible to dip the cake pops in and get a smooth finish! I have had this happen to me before and read it could be that I was overheating the chocolate. But I was extra careful this time and it still happened :-( As you can imagine I wasn't happy. Adding vegetable oil to the chocolate helps to thin it out but I don't really fancy eating this and I'm sure nobody else does either. From now on I think I'll stick to regular chocolate! If anyone has any advice on this please let me know :)

My next treat was inspired by my recent trip to Disney World in Orlando. I just love the Disney Confectionary shops and one of my favourite treats is the famous Rice Krispie treats shaped like Mickey Mouse. These are often dipped in chocolate and finished with a variety of yummy toppings, including sprinkles or nuts. I was craving some of these sweet goodies so decided to make my own. They are so easy to make (if a little sticky) and I was able to add red, white and blue sprinkles to match the rest of the dessert table.

The next dessert may seem a little out of place, but cheesecake is my absolutely most favourite pudding

ever and I had to make it :) I made a no-bake strawberry cheesecake (as strawberries and cream are a traditional British dessert!) And I demolished 2 big slices of it ;-) This was accompanied by a big ol' plate of chocolate covered strawberries.

Me :-)

The desserts went down a treat and I can't wait to make my next dessert table. I will aim to be more adventurous next time and have a go at making some table decorations!

Happy Baking!

Love Becca x