When I was little, I loved playing tea parties. I loved playing hostess and feeding people sweet (albeit imaginary) morsels. For me, it was never a matter of wanting to play mother. In fact I never wanted to have a baby doll and pram. There is one photograph of me pushing a pram with a confused expression on my face that reads “Is this how I’m supposed to do it?”. I was more fixated on the idea of feeding people via a tea party-call me food obsessed from a young age. The only time I enjoyed playing in the dirt was when I was crafting myself a chocolate mud pie out of water and dirt (until I found a fat caterpillar and dropped my “pie” and ran screaming back into the house – that was my last chocolate mud pie).
I was inspired to play with fondant more after my Planet Cake cupcake decorating class and there was one cupcake that a few readers commented on liking and that was the teapot topped cupcake. I had always thought that it was difficult to make a teapot but after Anna Maria showed us the easy steps I had almost instantly, and let’s be honest unwittingly, crafted myself a teapot that actually looked like a teapot!
I didn’t go out and buy a whole lot of new equipment though and my sole new purchase extended to buy a fat 1kg sausage of pre coloured red fondant icing. I love the combination of red and white and I also used some new cooking chocolate that Lindt sent me. Since I didn’t have any new equipment I decided to let my inner MacGyver come out and improvised fashioning a tea party set using every day cooking items. Of course the tea party would not be complete without chocolate cake and a macaron and I decided that the cupcake would of course have to be a chocolate mud cake in memory of my chocolate mud “cakes” which also lent itself to my MacGyver theme as it didn’t require any heavy equipment, just a whisk and a saucepan.
I know we could make grass using a special piping tip but persisting with the MacGyver theme, I decided to make it by using dessicated coconut with green food colouring. It saved having to make buttercream and tinting it as that was just too much bother completely. So with a trusty ziplock bag, voila we had instant grass! My decorations on top met with varied success. I was happy with the way the plate with the cake slice and macaron turned out but less happy with the cup and saucer. However, these were wolfed down without a second thought and everyone that tried them knew what they were so I feel like that was half the battle won. And it satisfied my inner MacGyver.
So tell me Dear Reader, what was you favourite game to play as a child?
Garden Tea Party Cupcakes
Chocolate Mud Cupcakes
For the cupcake
Makes 12-16 cupcakes
- 165g butter (doesn’t matter if it’s at room temp or not in this recipe)
- 120g dark eating chocolate broken up into pieces
- 1 1/3 cups light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee powder
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/4 cup cornflour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 egg
Decorations
- Coloured fondant
- 1 cup dessicated coconut
- green food colouring
- chocolate ganache* (see recipe here)
You will also need a chopstick, a small rolling pin, a small round cutter, small paring knife, toothpicks, a plain 1cm icing tip and picket fence cupcake liners.
Buyer’s tip: You can buy these picket fence cupcake liners at PinkFrosting.com.au.
1. Preheat oven to 150c fan forced or 170c non fan forced.
Melting the butter, chocolate, water and coffee
2. Place butter, chocolate, sugar, the water and coffee in small saucepan over low heat until melted and combined. Cool for 15 minutes.
3. Using a whisk, add flour, cocoa and then egg (at this stage it will look like liquidey dark chocolate ganache). Spoon into patty tins.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted inside comes out clean. Cool in tin.
To decorate: In a ziplock bag, place coconut and a few drops of green food colouring and shake until coconut is coloured green. With a small palette knife, smooth some ganache over the top of a cupcake and then sprinkle some coconut over the top. Then snap a few toothpicks in half and secure the teapot into the top of the cupcake with the cupcake. The plate should be fine and it shouldn’t need securing with toothpicks but the teapot and cups will. Carefully slide into the picket fence cupcake sleeves. And don’t forget to warm guests about the toothpicks!
Completed teapot on the left. Ball on the right for the teapot body and a small sausage for the handle.
Affixing the teapot arm.
Stamping the indent on top.
Affixing the spout
Creating the teapot
The teapot really is based on a ball. Warm the fondant well in your hands so that it has a glossy texture. This will help the teapot arm and spout to affix well too. Roll yourself a perfectly round ball of fondant. Roll a small, thin sausage of fondant and curve it around a little and fix it to the side of the ball to make the arm. Then fashion yourself a spout-you can see by my spouts I had some trouble – I thought of an elephant’s trunk. Affix this too, if you fondant is warm it should stick without a problem, otherwise you can use a small amount of water. Using the top of a plain nozzle, place an indent in the top of the teapot and then roll a tiny ball and affix this to the top.
Creating the plate
Making the plate ridges
Roll the fondant out in a thin layer using a small rolling pin. Then using the end of a rounded point chopstick (not a takeaway one, they are square) press gently around the whole circle to make a ripple effect.
Creating the macaron
Stamping out the macaron layers
Roll two colours of fondant out, not too thinly (I used pink and white) and using the top of a plain nozzle, cut out small circles. Sandwich these together with two of the same colour on the outside and a contrasting colour on the inside. Affix these with water.
Sandwiching the macaron layers together
Creating the cake slice
Layers of chocolate cake
Slicing off pieces of “cake”
Roll out two small amounts of chocolate fondant and small amount of white fondant. Place the white between the two layers of the chocolate fondant. Then using a sharp, small paring knife, cut out triangles to resemble pieces of cake. Roll a small red ball of fondant adn shape into a strawberry type of shape (it doesn’t have to be exactly like one) and then using a toothpick prick the “strawberry” all over. Or you could do a red ball and call it a cherry. Your choice.
Creating the cup and saucer
This was probably the part I had the most trouble with. I rolled out a small circle and then made a small ball and placed it on the large end of a chopstick and moved it around to give it a cavity. I then stuck it to the saucer and affixed a small handle. But you could do better I’m sure!
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106 Comments | Add your own
Ah MacGyver, did you use your trusty Swiss army pocketknife?
Seriously cute cupcakes, Lorraine! Love the little butterfly decoration on the teapots, they must have been tiny! How on earth did you make them?
Wow these look amazing Lorraine! Such detailed work, I love them!!
So, so cuuuute! I love the little cake slice!
By the way, I was totally a tea set gal too (though I also loved baby dolls). I collected all sorts of little tea sets.
These are gorgeous, love how you MacGyver’d all the equipment, much more sensible that having to fill a couple of cabinets with specialty equipment.
So gorgeous! I love it all – the tiny macaron and chocolate cake, the teapot – and most of all that you’ve put the lot within a white picket fence. So cute!
These are absolute genius. I love the picket fence wrappers too. Totally inspiring!
My favourite game was playing “offices” with my manual typewriter and also “libraries” making paper tickets to put inside my books for my dolls to take home to read. I had a full set of Abba dolls, well I say had, I still have them but Agnetha and Annifrid’s hair styles look a bit of a mess now!!
These are so cute! I love the liners. My favorite cupcake is still Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
OMG, how sweet are these? THey are like little works of art. They must have taken you ages!
My favourite childhood game was definitely Barbie (is that a game?).
OMG, those cupcakes are so pretty and daintily decorated! You are very talented and so patient!
Cheers,
Rosa
If I fly down there, will you have a tea party with me? None of the ladies up here share the same sort of whimsy we do. And I’ve been longing to have a tea party…
As always, your attention to detail is amazing, Lorraine! I don’t know what my favorite part is — the little teapot or the slice of cake with the strawberry on top! And the red and white is very classy. I love it!
Ahhh that grass is coconut. So cool
These are adorable – well done they look fantastic!!
I looooved playing shops when I was a child – I used to stay with my Aunt in the holidays and she had a little trolley and little plastic grocery items……so I was a shopping food enthusiast from a young age too haha!!
This is absolutely stunning Lorraine!! Wow I’m seriously impressed. It’s so beautiful. I really love the teapot and the cake and macaron is such a nice touch. Also totally loving the cupcake liners. Makes me feel inspired to try my hand at fondant icing.
This was a really beautiful post. Everything looks most appealing. The “teapots” are out of this world. I hope you had a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
You know how much I love these pretty cake posts! These are adorable – too pretty to eat.
Oh my gosh those are the cutest cupcakes ever!!
I love how you shaped the fondant using everyday objects. I have always been too scared to try it but I am definitely trying this. They will be absolutely perfect for the tea party I am holding next month
Oh and as a child…I used to sit in the tree house in my backyard and eat the leaves from the top of the gum tree…
They look so sweet and you can definitely tell what they are.
My favourite game was playing with my dolls- playing house.
wow these are BRILLIANT! My mum LOVES teapots so I am going to have to attempt these – difficult as they look though
They are gorgeous, NQN. You are giving me the cupcakes bug.
They’re fantastic Lorraine – love the detail on the teapot!
Were these for a special occasion? Or is everyday special?
I LOVE IT! these cupcakes are amaaaaaaazing. You are so talented. I’m holding a tea party for a hens soon so these are definitely inspiring. =)
Oh how cute! Haha just what I expected too after seeing you make the wonderland cupcakes
Oh I don’t think I have the patience for such little things.
OMG!! CUTEness…. I wish I was as creative and skillful with my hands.
Oh my! These are totally adorable! Wish I had me the patience to do something like this. My daughter’s first birthday party was a garden party. Perfect!
mmm my favourite game as a child was making up stories with my barbies and barbie bus and of course elastics!
OH! These are awesome!
Although I was one who used to love playing in the dirt and would squeal with excitement if i was lucky enough to come across a caterpillar, we do share the same love of cupcakes and food in general hehe.
I would love to play with fondant as I never have before and these are definitely something I would love to make! What kind of places would I find the pre-made stuff? And how long does it last?
Fantastic job, these are great!
They’d be so perfect for a kitchen tea!
omg, ADORABLE! I adore these cupcakes so so so much. Not to mention I’m a huge sucker for teapots, teacups, and teaparties.. but really, CUTE!
They are, and were SO CUTE! They look so fun to make too!
these are just sooo adorable lorainnnnnee
These are so adorable! I actually prefer the green coconut to the buttercream versions, it looks better and more realistic.
Favourite childhood past time game was creating ‘perfumes’ from bits around the garden and shaking them in bottles with a bit of water. My sister and I would make concoctions for hours. Don’t understand why everyone wasn’t that interested in dabbing mud, mulched up leaves and a couple of sticks on their necks, hehe.
Very cute Lorraine. It looks like fun.
Oh my goodness, these cupcakes are ADORABLE!!! LOVE the teapot and dessert plate!
As a child my favorite playtime activity was playing with my baby dolls, and pushing them around in the doll stroller:)
aw, you know what I love! the macaron (I love them in real life too). It’s the perfect touch.
Absolutely DARLING, Lorraine!!!
You’re a wonder. 
Awwwww these are SO cute!!!!! I love them! It would be a shame to eat them.
Just beautiful Lorraine!! And I’m sure very tasty!! I will keep this for when my daughter (now only 1) is older and we can try and do this together. Hopefully she’s a bit more creative than I
My favorite game to play as a child? sadly school!! hahaha!! I remember being off school for a while because of the mumps and the only game I remember playing was school…
Tooooo cute!!
They are beautiful, Lorraine!!
SSG xxx
Absolutely adorable!
ooooh aaaah wowieeeeeeeeeeeeee
these are delightful and the picket fences top them off
wow
I loved playing under the sprinkler in the hot Australian evenings !! cannot do it these days with water restrictions
these look amazing!!!
love the little teapots and macarons
oh how precious!!
These are adorable! I hope you are keeping a sample for your artsy cupcakes collection, to be displayed proudly in your kitchen.
I am eager to see what else you can come up with now that you’ve mastered this skill!
Beautiful! – clearly I’m not the only one in a cupcake frenzy – must be something in the rainy Sydney air this week. It was all about the Barbie dolls at our place! Tea parties and glamorous events to dress them up for
OMG! Thx for the step-step photo! I’m all inspired
These are the cutest things to wake up to, putting everyone in a happy,baking and creating mood. I share your joy of creating small things from scratch. Something I haven’t made lately but could make for hours are Marzipan fruits. It’s exciting seeing each one coming together and adding little details like the blush on an apple or the seeds on a slice of watermelon they look so realistic.
As a child I loved tea parties serving tea and coffee in my porcelain tea set but also adored my little stove. I would ask my mum for ingredients such as flour , sugar, milk etc and happily spend hours entertaining my guests (ie:dolls) or my friends when they came to visit.
Very, very pretty, Lorraine. You clearly have more patience than I do!!
They are adorable.
I love them!
I am ready to put on my hat and gloves and join you in the garden.
Once again, I am so impressed with your talent and imagination. Well done! xoxo Mum
What can I say other than these are absolutely divine!
I had to comment again. I came back to read this post again (coz it inspired me so much) and I noticed the amazing cupcake wrappers. Do you mind if I ask where did you get those from? They are AMAZING! I’d love to be able to get some for myself!
Too pretty to eat! Good job Lorraine x
Lorraine … LOVE IT!!!!
Nothing else – just LOVE IT so much. With the picket fences lining it’s just so adorable
They are the cutest cupcakes ever! Love them
How adorable are your little cupcakes. I wouldnt have thought to use coconut for the grass. Cuteness overload.
You did a great job with these! The decorations are so tiny and cute. I like your cupcake wrappers too. As a child, I never played with babydolls either. I was usually outside playing hide and seek or something like that.
Hahaha! Wonderful! So happy to see you’ve caught the cake decorating bug! You’re such a natural! Such gorgeous creations!
These are utterly adorable, Lorraine! Love how realistic the ‘grass’ looks!
My favourite game as a kid? Running my own little McDonald stand (I had one of those life sized ones) and playing the role of everyone from the customer to the fryer to the cashier. Ah, good times!
These look amazing, I can’t wait to start using fondant icing.
WOW!! I’m impressed. So beautiful.
Gorgeous little teapots, Lorraine. Amazingly done!
A little bit ashamed to admit this, but I did enjoy playing with Barbies…
Seriously adorable cupcakes. The attention to detail is truly commendable (I particularly love the grass!) Awesome stuff!
OMG Lorraine I am so very impressed by these cupcakes! When I’m a little more confident with fondant, I might just try this.
B
I can imagine the fun you had making the decorations – they are so adorable (and the ‘grass’ is so lifelike!). How many did you end up making?
When I was little, I had an amazing metal kitchen set, with fridge, oven (with rubber rotisserie chook), mixer, dishwasher, etc. I’ve tried looking on ebay for a similar one to no avail. The brand was Turtledove if anyone knows it…
super cute NQN!
The tiny slice of cake and macaron are so cute!
OMG.. these are the cutest and daintiest cupcakes I’ve ever seen!! WELL DONE!!!
That’s sooooooooo cute!!!! awesome =)
sequel to the Alice in the wonderland workshop?
What can I say? They look awesome! I would just keep them for viewing pleasure and not eat them.
OHHHH now you have me wanting to play too… with fondant…im going out tomorrow and getting myself premade fondant ..thanx to you. those teapots are irresistable and everything else on the cupcakes…so fun. I climbed trees and crawled in drains.
Impressive looking cakes. I have never had the patients for decorating like this. Great to see the you put the Planet Cake skills at work.
I love the Alice in Wonderland vibe of these cupcakes!
This is so Alice in Wonderland….. sooooo creatively cute and adorable!
lovely – I have never seen such cute cupcakes papers before but I love them. I also love making green coconut for green grass – but I always get green fingers – I have never thought of a zip lock bag – though I don’t worry about a bit of colouring on my hands.
What an amazing job! Those are adorable.
these are absolutely adorable. i’m squealing with delight right now. too cute, lorraine–round of applause for you.
incidentally, i love macgyver.
Oh gosh! Although way tempting, I don’t think I could bring myself to eat them! They’re too damn pretty!! LOL aaaaah!
Seriously cute macaroons right here. And check out the ‘turf’ hehe. Wow.
ohmeegosh these are the cutest cupcakes I’ve seen. Love the creativity and those amazing cupcake wrappers are the perfect touch.
Love the cupcakes NQN!! They’re so cute! Do’nt beat yourself up over the tea cups. They look great!
So lovely – haven’t seen anything like this, and the wrappers are just gorgeous to finish them off. Love the little macaron, too!
Your cupcakes are so CUTE!!! SUPER CUTE!!!
And as for being a child LOL well. I used to drag my whole mattress (and yes I was a little child) and place it on top of my brother while he was sleeping on his mattress, jump on it and yell SANDWICH SANDWICH!!! LOL so yes, I was also quite food obssessed I suppose 
so adorable. I just love the little macaroons. You are so clever!
these are so cute! i really want to do one of the planet cake courses but they are just a tad exxy -need to save up!
Splendid job, Lorraine. I felt the mad hatter could jump through the door at any moment! The tiny sugar tea set was too perfect!
Ok, that is official now – I want these for my birthday (in November, for the record).
So pretty, Lorraine!
Lorraine, those must be the cutest cupcakes ever; such attention to detail, absolutely delightful!
These are amazing!!!!
Oooh what sweet cupcakes!
Very cute and feminine – nice job!
Oh wow these are so amazing… very clever Lorraine…
Can I come to your tea party!!!
hmm I used to love barbie. I was obsessed to be exact. Your cupcakes are so cute! Love the colour!
I love them! I didn’t realize it was so easy to make the tea cups! I’m suddenly inspired to find a bunch of friends and host an afternoon tea party.
Supercute!! I love the wrappers, wish I could get my hands on some of those!
Well done. I don’t know that I would ever have time to try something like this. Oh but you are so hired for my next party!
Those are just so sweet Lorraine, almost too cute to eat.
As a kid I think my favorite game was anything pretend, so playing super hero’s with my little friends or Barbie dolls.
Those are so cute! very impressed!
These cupcakes are astonishing. At first I thought you must have bought them from some fancy-schmanzy bakery. But of course, being Not Quite Nigella, you MADE them! Amazing.
My favorite game as a kid was probably a toss-up between dressing up Barbie dolls (my Mom even made clothes for them), playing with Snoopy, and high-jump. I know that’s a rather varied lot, but that was me.
VERY cute. As a kid I was really into drawing and writing stories, sometimes writing 20-page epic (for a little kid) plays or illustrated books. I also especially enjoyed drawing food and animals, something I still do today.
JUST BRILL!! No other words for it =)
Too cute for words! Definitely waaay too cute to eat!
These are GORGEOUS! Teapots are just about my favourite-ist thing ever (I collected them for a looooong time) and this rendition is wonderful!
You are amazing. MacGyver can stick to making radios work by plugging them into cacti, and leave the cupcakery up to you.
I loved playing shops, as long as you didn’t get stuck being the customer for too long. Oh and playing with my matchies in the piles of sand around our house
These are adorable! Makes me want to take cake decorating classes.
Oh my gosh, I only just saw these but they are DARLING! Did they take you an eternity to decorate though? Love the little plates of dessert and the coconut grass.
Miss B xx
How do you secure the different parts of the fondant teapots together? just by pressing against eca other or do we have to stick ‘em with cornstarch? Wha do you prefer? I’ve also heard a slight brushing with the water would stick them together. I have never tried this, but I doubt it. I live in a hot and humid area.
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