Thursday 31 May 2012

Renshaw’s Limited Edition Great British Icing Pack review


Look at what we rustled up in The Madhouse Kitchen yesterday ! I wasn't sure how it would turn out - especially after having a bit of a disaster with the original cake base, as I told you here - but I was really pleased with the finished result. If you're having a Jubilee street party, this would be absolutely ideal and it's actually really simple, thanks to the Limited Edition Great British Icing Pack that Renshaw's kindly sent us through to have a play with.


The kit contains two packs of blue and one pack each of red and white ready-to-roll icing, so it's absolutely ideal for creating Union Jacks. (I should point out, I used a tube of liquid ready-to-squeeze white icing that I had in the cupboard rather than trying to cut out very thin pieces of white icing from the Rensaw's pack, purely as a time-saver because the kids were desperate to go to the park !)


This Union Jack design is what the box shows in the main picture, but you could also use it for topping cupcakes or biscuits in any other designs your imagination can come up with. It certainly shouldn't be reserved for Jubilee cakes !



As I was short on time after the earlier failed attempt, I cheated and used a bag of instant sponge cake mix. I always keep a couple of bags of this in the cupboard because it only costs about 20p and is perfect for when the kids want to knock up a quick batch of cupcakes.



Ten minutes later, I had the soft, fluffy sponge cake I needed - hurrah !


Now, I should have known that today was turning out to be a bad day for getting adventurous in the kitchen and just gone for simplicity but no, I decided to slice it in two and fill it with jam, which was almost another disaster because it started breaking up as I spread the jam. Breathe deeply ! Luckily, the great thing about ready to roll icing is that it hides a multitude of sins so you'd never know by looking at the top photo !!




The icing is soft and easy to roll out but I do have a few tips, learned through experience. I always sprinkle icing sugar on my rolling surface and rolling pin to stop the icing from sticking as I roll it out. The problem when using dark blue and red icing is that you can see the white icing sugar all over it - eeeek ! I saved the day by dabbing the icing sugar with a piece of slightly damp kitchen roll - not too wet though or the icing will start to melt ! I was worried the icing would be too sickly sweet so I rolled it out very thinly - don't overdo it though or it will crack and split when you transfer it to your cake. And don't throw the odds and ends of leftover icing away - they taste lovely as sweets apparently !

star rating : 4.5/5

 Renshaw’s Great British Icing Pack is available now from Asda, Morrisons, Lakeland and Hobbycraft priced at £2.99 (includes 4 x 200g packs – one red, one white and two blue).

For further baking inspiration and a full range of Great British themed recipes visit www.mybakes.co.uk.
 
Other reviews you may be interested in :
  
 

12 comments:

  1. Isabel O'Brien31 May 2012 at 22:33

    I would be interested in how the whole thing cost in total to make. I was impressed that you found a Tesco Value cake mix! I'm going to keep my eye out for it. I'm not particularly into the patriotic celebrations thing but I do like union jack/flag designs so I'm tempted by the icing! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I said above, the cake mix is about 20p, the icing kit is £2.99 and that's it. You just have to add 1 egg and a spoonful of water to the mix.

      Delete
  2. You have been busy. Looks great and fun too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You would never know you had a disaster, it looks fabulous in the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See the post before this one - that was an even bigger cake disaster !! lol

      Delete
  4. Wow that looks fab, I have always wanted to make a great looking cake but fairy cakes are as adventurous as I get, but this is nice and simple to make and I bet it tastes yummy too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. that looks yummy! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think the finished product looks fab :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fantastic colours. We didn't get very creative over the jubilee weekend, too many fair/fete cupcakes to make beforehand!
    @mumoffunkids

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fantastic colours. We didn't get very creative over the jubilee weekend, too many fair/fete cupcakes to make beforehand!
    @mumoffunkids

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, handy to know about the sponge cake kit from Tesco, I never bought it. Great overall result!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...