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Baby Shower Sweets and Treats
Candy Buffets are the ‘in thing’ at lots of venues and are a great idea for Baby Shower parties. Fashionably sweet and easy to tailor to your Baby Shower party theme, Candy Buffets can make a gorgeous edible display to treat your friends and family to.
You can have lots of fun being inventive when planning your Candy Buffet and there all sorts of ways to display your array of sweets and treats from favour boxes to vintage-style apothecary jars, glass bowls and jugs. If you are on a budget empty jam jars and baby bottles can be transformed with pretty coloured ribbons and bows. What’s more if you fancy creating your own sweets I have some easy recipes that will create a great impression with your guests.
Peppermint Creams
225g icing sugar (sieved)
115g sweetened condensed milk
A couple of drops of Peppermint essence or peppermint oil
A couple of drops of food colouring
Mix the icing sugar, peppermint essence and condensed milk together. Knead until smooth. Shake a little icing sugar on the work surface and roll out the mixture to quarter of an inch (0.5cm) thick. Cut out individual peppermint creams with a cutter – a round one or any other shape you have handy. Cover a plate with greaseproof paper and place the peppermint shapes on the paper. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave overnight in a cool place (but not the fridge). Store in an airtight tin.
If you don’t like Peppermint you can vary this recipe using Vanilla, Lemon or Orange essence.
Coconut Ice Squares
395g tin of sweetened condensed milk
350g icing sugar
350g desiccated coconut
A couple of drops of food colouring
Sieve the icing sugar to get rid of any lumps. Add the desiccated coconut and condensed milk to the icing sugar and mix together. Divide the mixture into two and add a couple of drops of food colouring to one half. Press the white mixture into the base of a flat dish and then spread the coloured mixture over the top. Press down hard to flatten it. Place in the fridge to harden for a day. Once it has set, cut into small squares.
You can be as inventive as you like, adding different layers of colours – to create a darker colour, simply add more food colouring!
Chocolate Creams
To make Chocolate Creams that have a blue centre use Violet Essence and a couple of drops of blue food colouring. To make a pink centre use Rose Water and a couple of drops of red food colouring. You can buy all sorts of different essences online from Amazon, Cup Cake World or Planet Bake).
3 tbsp double cream
A couple of drops of food colouring
A couple of drops of violet essence or (rose water)
275g icing sugar
200g milk or dark chocolate, broken into small bits
1tsp groundnut oil
Crystallised flowers to decorate (violets or roses)
Put the cream, a couple of drops of food colouring and the violet essence (or rose water) in a bowl and mix. Sift the icing sugar over the cream mixture and stir to combine. Tip the mixture out onto a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar and knead the fondant with your hands until it all comes together in a firm ball. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Using your hands, roll 20 teaspoon-sized lumps of mixture into balls, then flatten them slightly and place on a plate. Heat 5cm of water in a pan. Place a heatproof bowl on top, making sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Place the dark chocolate and the groundnut oil in the bowl and warm until melted. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Line a flat baking sheet with baking paper. Take a fondant ball, one at a time, and, using two forks, dip it in the melted chocolate until coated all over. Be careful not to melt the fondant. Place the coated fondant ball onto the baking paper. Pop a crystallised flower on top of each cream to decorate and leave to cool and set in a cool place.
Pink (or Blue!) Champagne Truffles
Champagne Truffles are traditionally made with Marc de Champagne but you can substitute this with food flavouring . . . try Strawberry or Blueberry – there is even a Champagne essence available now if you would like to stick with the traditional taste!
400g white chocolate , chopped
150ml pot double cream
A couple of drops of food flavouring
Pink or Blue edible glitter or coloured sugar for rolling and dusting
Melt the chocolate and cream together in glass bowl set over a small pan of simmering water. Add the food flavouring and then pour the mixture into a small bowl. Once cool, put in the fridge to chill for 2 -3 hours. When firm, use a melon baller or 2 teaspoons to scoop out and form balls, then roll each truffle in either Pink or Blue edible glitter or coloured sugar. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Finally, I hope you have fun with these recipes and if you have any of your own you would like to share I’d love to hear from you!
