Cupcake decorating at the Copthorne hotel

I love baking and making cakes but one thing I have never mastered the art of is decorating them. My attempts at piping often end with icing everywhere except the cake. When I was invited to attend a cupcake decorating class at the Copthorne Hotel in Newcastle  I was really looking forward to it.  It was a good chance to learn some new skills as well as meeting other bloggers.

The Copthorne Hotel is situated on the Newcastle Quayside. Guests staying here can walk straight out onto the quayside and have a stunning view of Newcastle’s bridges. There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance. The Baltic is also within striking distance as is Bessie Surtees house. As it was a lovely day I took a short walk along the quayside before entering the hotel. I then entered the lobby and sat and chatted to some other bloggers before we got started. Before the cupcake decorating class began we were treated to a glass of prosecco and some nibbles, a great way to get everyone chatting.

Cupcake Decorating Class

After chatting for a while we were shown into the room where we were going to learn how to decorate cupcakes. The tables were set up with everything we needed to start cupcake decorating. It was a bit like school with rows of chairs facing the front. We found a seat and waited to get started.

The cupcake decorating classes were taken by Julie, from Julie’s Cake House, a talented lady who produces beautiful cakes for all occasions as well as running cupcake decorating classes. We were shown the four cakes we were going to make. Would I be able to make my cupcakes look anything like these?

We set to work, the first cake involved snipping marshmallows, dipping them in sugar and adding them to the top of the cake in a floral arrangement. There was something relaxing about making the cake but  it took ages for the cake to be finished. It must take incredible patience to make a big batch of these cakes. The final result was very effective.

Next we were shown how to make this really cute bear cupcake. This one involved rolling out icing and shaping it into different shapes to make a cupcake that was almost too cute to eat. Julie was a good teacher with  plenty of patience. She was happy enough to walk round and show us individually what to do when we weren’t sure. We had great fun trying to copy the cakes and make the right shapes out of the icing sugar.

I never expected to have to use a craft knife when decorating cupcakes but it was a very handy tool, although I did make a point of leaving the cover on when not using it as it was very sharp. The other two cakes we tackled were a cake with make-up on and a flower. My flower wilted a little bit as the room was quite warm by now.

At the end of the session I had produced four cupcakes which I put into the box provided. I was very pleased with my efforts, although they are not quite as pretty as the originals. It had taken two hours to decorate these four cupcakes, admittedly with much chat and a lot of laughter. I was very proud to carry them home with me on the bus, hoping people would be impressed. Sadly when I got them home they did not last long, my son helped me eat them within minutes. I have to say they tasted gorgeous. What do you think of my efforts?

The Copthorne Hotel

After our hard work we were taken on a tour of The Copthorne Hotel, a great chance to stretch our legs and see inside the rooms.  There are various different sizes of rooms from the standard room to the bigger club room and the executive suite. All of these are a good size with the facilities you would expect from a four star hotel. The rooms are tastefully decorated and I felt I could relax in them.

What is nice is that each of the rooms have stunning views across the riverside and the space to sit by the window and watch the world go by.  It must be lovely having a cup of tea looking at this view.

I also liked the way the Copthorne hotel has a central atrium which each floor surrounds. It gives a really light and airy feel to the hotel. It also makes an interesting photo when you look up.

After our tour of the hotel we were treated to a lovely afternoon tea with sandwiches, scones and plenty of cake. Just what we needed to refresh ourselves after all that hard work decorating cupcakes.

Thanks to the Copthorne hotel and Julie’s Cupcakes for a lovely day. I will be trying to decorate my own cupcakes to this standard in the future.