Decorated Valentine's biscuits

Edibles

• 20g sugarpaste: pastel green (Renshaw)
• 150g sugarpaste: red (Renshaw)
• 150g sugarpaste: baby pink (Renshaw)
• 20g sugarpaste: cerise (Renshaw)
• 100g sugarpaste: white (Renshaw)
• Buttercream or jam
• Paste colouring: red (Sugarflair)
• Dragee balls: pearlised and silver
• Royal icing
• Edible glue

Equipment

• Heart shaped cookie cutter
• Small paint brush
• Dresden tool
• Sharp craft knife
• 2 x no. 1 piping nozzle
• 2 x piping bags
• Flush cut plastic wallet
• Small leaf cutter
• Small heart cutter
• 1cm circle cutter
• Small rolling pin
• Smoother

To decorate the rose bouquet biscuit

1

Roll out 50g of the pale pink sugarpaste thinly and cut out a heart shape. Stick this to the top of your biscuit with either buttercream or jam. Take around 20g of cerise sugarpaste and roll out a small sausage shape. Cut this into six equal balls and press each one between the pages of the plastic wallet.

2

Flatten one ball with your fingers, ensuring that one end is much flatter than the other.

3

Shape the flattened balls into a rose, by taking the first petal and rolling it over tightly with the thin end at the top forming a cone shape.

4

Attach the second petal directly opposite.

5

Attach the third petal directly opposite the second petal, moulding it around the base, and folding the thin end out slightly.

6

Attach the last three petals one at a time so that they overlap slightly, and squeeze together at the base.

7

Fold out the thin ends of the petals slightly to create movement, and cut off any excess from the base.

8

To make the small white rose buds, repeat stages 2 to 6 above.

9

Roll out a little bit of pale green sugarpaste thinly and cut out three small leaves with the leaf cutter. Stick these onto the top right of the biscuit. Position the roses around the leaves all with edible glue. Indent the pink sugarpaste with the end of your paintbrush, and stick pearlised dragee balls into the indentations with edible glue.

10

Mix up some royal icing according to pack instructions, and using a no. 1 writing nozzle, pipe around the outside of the pink sugarpaste heart.

To decorate the bow biscuit

1

Roll out 50g of red sugarpaste thinly and cut out a heart shape. Stick this to the top of your biscuit with either buttercream or jam. Roll out 50g of white sugarpaste thinly and cut three strips approximately 3cm x 1cm. Position in a cross shape on left hand side of the heart, sticking them down with edible glue. Trim to fit.

2

Roll out two more strips of white sugarpaste approximately 3cm x 1cm. Cut inverted ‘V’s into one end of each and stick down on either side of the centre of the cross.

3

Roll out a little more white sugarpaste into a strip measuring approximately 12.5cm x 2cm. Put edible glue in the centre, then fold over one end so that it sticks. Use a small piece of rolled up kitchen roll to hold in place.

4

Adding more edible glue to centre, fold over other end of strip and stick that to centre also, once more inserting a rolled up segment of kitchen roll as a former for it to dry around.

5

Cut one more strip of white sugarpaste approximately 4cm x 1cm and fold this over the centre of the bow, giving it a squeeze on either side to narrow it slightly. Glue on a silver dragee ball to centre of the bow, and mark either side with a Dresden tool to create creases.

6

Mix up some royal icing according to instructions, and using a no. 1 writing nozzle, pipe small dots around the outside of the red heart.

To decorate the dotty biscuit

1

Roll out 100g of both pale pink sugarpaste and also the white sugarpaste thinly. Cut out lots of 1cm circles from the white and glue down on top of the pink sugarpaste.

2

Flatten dots with a cake smoother so that they are level with the pink sugarpaste. Cut out a heart shape and stick this to the top of your biscuit, with either buttercream or jam.

3

Roll a little pale green sugarpaste and cut out three leaves with the small leaf cutter. Position these on the left hand side of the heart.

4

Roll out 50g of cerise sugarpaste thinly and cut out three strips measuring 2.5cm x 0.5cm. Roll each one up with your fingers to create a basic rose.

5

Stick the roses on the biscuit around the centre of the leaves with edible glue.

6

Mix up some royal icing according to pack instructions, and using a no. 1 writing nozzle, pipe small dots around the outside of the pink sugarpaste.

To decorate the the 'two halves' biscuit

1

Roll out 100g of red and the white thinly and cut out a heart shape from each. Using template, cut down the centre of each, and position the two halves together on top, so the left side is red and the right side is white. Stick with either buttercream or jam.

2

Use end of your paintbrush to make indentations down centre strip of the white sugarpaste to the right of the curved line. Stick silver dragee balls in the indentations with edible glue.

3

Roll out a small amount of pale pink sugarpaste thinly and cut out a small heart shape. Stick this to the left hand side of the biscuit.

4

Mix up some royal icing according to pack instructions, and using a no. 1 writing nozzle, pipe small dots down the centre strip of the red sugarpaste to left of the curved line. Pipe small horizontal lines along the white sugarpaste, which angle out slightly following the shape of the biscuit.

5

Pipe a small dot in between each line and a dot at the end of each horizontal line. Pipe a trail of dots around the heart, with two more positioned just beneath it. Finally, pipe small dots around the outside of the red and white sugarpaste heart.

To decorate the brush embroidery biscuit

1

Roll out 100g of red sugarpaste thinly and cut out a heart shape. Stick this to the top of your biscuit with either buttercream or jam. Mix some royal icing according to pack instructions, and using a no. 1 writing nozzle, pipe petal shapes directly onto the royal icing in freehand.

2

Before each petal has a chance to dry, dip your paintbrush into cooled, boiled water. Drag the line of royal icing inwards (towards the centre of the petal) creating an embroidery effect.

3

Repeat this until you are happy that your flower has the correct amount of petals. It is easier to start from the outside working in so that you don't smudge the inner petals.

4

Pipe collections of three small dots around the rest of the red sugarpaste, amongst the flowers. Pipe small dots around the outside of the red sugarpaste heart.

To decorate the plaid biscuit

1

Roll out 100g of pale pink sugarpaste thinly and cut out a heart shape. Stick this to the top of your biscuit with either buttercream or jam.

2

Mix some royal icing according to pack instructions. Colour half of it red using the red paste colour and put to one side.

3

Using a no. 1 writing nozzle, start by piping white lines vertically down the cookie, approximately 0.5cm apart. It helps to start at the centre and work your way out.

4

Repeat the process horizontally.

5

Pipe red lines in between each of the white lines, again using a no. 1 writing nozzle.

6

Finish off by piping dots around the outside of the pink sugarpaste heart.