I have written many times about the struggle I have with productivity. Working from home is so intensive that I struggle to find the time to take on additional tasks. Sadly one such task is organising birthdays. Don’t get me wrong, I want my girls to have the best birthdays possible. But they are SO demanding! When it’s my husband’s birthday, he’s happy with a chocolate cake. And I love making chocolate cake. We put some sweets on it so the girls are happy, everyone’s a winner. But when it is one of the girls’ birthdays, they want some incredible creation and I just haven’t got the time.
Introducing Craft and Crumb
Call me old fashioned, but I’m not a huge fan of buying a supermarket cake for birthdays. I want people to know that I’ve made an effort. Put in the time and thought to make them a cake. I’m not great at presents, I’m not really a materialistic person so I struggle to know what people will want. But everyone loves cake.
The problem is, this year all Lia wanted for her birthday was a dinoroserous. No, not a dinosaur – not a rhinoceros either, for the record. Just a dinoroserous. Well, she hasn’t got one of those. If anybody sees a dinoroserous wandering the streets, please catch it and deliver it to Lia. But in the meantime, we had many a discussion about cake. And she decided she would rather like a dinosaur cake – purely on the basis that I couldn’t get her a dinoroserous one of course.
But sadly, we’re back to my lack of time. I probably could have put together a rather rubbish dinosaur cake but luckily, I didn’t have to. Craft and Crumb is the brainchild of two mums who were in the same boat as me. Wanting to make homemade birthday cakes, but struggling for time. So, they developed a range of cakes that are easy and quick to make, but they look and taste beautiful.
The Dinosaur Land Cake
Craft and crumb make both complete cake kits and cake decorating kits. I went for the Dinosaur Land complete cake kit. This arrives in a nice big box, with virtually everything you need to make it. You receive all the ingredients except for eggs, milk and butter. You also receive disposable cake cases to bake it in, an icing mix, biscuits to decorate it and even some little plastic dinosaurs and trees to make dinosaur land complete.
Making the cake was simple. I had to tip the ingredients into a bowl and add the eggs and butter. Then a good mix with an electric mixer and it was done. I was told to make it in two batches to ensure I got the right amounts for each cake layer and cupcake. This made perfect sense. Then I just had to bake it, cool it and get on with decorating.
If I’m perfectly honest, I didn’t find the cake making process that much simpler than usual. This is purely because I usually use a very simple chocolate cake recipe that is easy and tastes great. But where this kit comes into its own is if you’re not really a baker. My husband isn’t a baker, although he did give it a go once. I don’t really want to talk about it but it’s safe to say it wasn’t pretty. But if I gave him this cake kit, I am convinced he’d be able to bake a masterpiece. Come to think of it, so would Libby.
The decorations
For me, the decorating part of the kit was where Cake and Crumb came into their own. The icing was just as easy to make as the cake itself. The chocolate icing mixture was provided and I all I had to do was mix it with butter and milk.
I followed the instructions to arrange the cake and cupcakes as suggested and ice the cake. Then, I just had to put the chocolate fingers around the edge, crush up the biscuits and arrange the dinosaurs and trees on top. And I think you’ll agree, it looks pretty impressive. The only slight issue I had was that there weren’t quite enough finger biscuits to go around the outside of the cake, I’d probably buy a few more if you are going to use this kit.
Win a brand new Craft and Crumb biscuit kit
Craft and Crumb have recently launched a new range of biscuit kits. They come with everything you need to bake beautiful rocket or magic wand biscuits. They have kindly given me one biscuit kit to give away. The winner can choose between rockets or magic wands. You can enter using the Rafflecopter below. Please read my competition terms and conditions before entering. Don’t forget to check out my other competitions too, there are some brilliant prizes up for grabs.
Mmmmm! That looks amazing. Great review Nat!x
They are all so lovely! I think I would choose the Superhero one.
I would love to buy the THE PRINCESS CASTLE cake kit and make it up with the help of my two girls!!!!
Superhero or rocket biscuits!
Would love the Dinosaur Land
the princess castle is soooo cute! i love it
these are lovely, love the superhero one
superhero
Like the princess castle and the superhero !
Ahh! Everything looks so good. I think I would choose the Rainbow Unicorn cake 🙂 x
You may have just saved me! It’s Alice’s birthday soon and whilst I can bake a cake. The icing and making into whatever she decides she wants makes me want to cry. My mum who is wonderful is on holiday and I’m going to have to make it myself. I’m off to see what they do and see if they have something Alice would love x
Fairy wand biscuit kit, looks fab for the little princess in my house who wants a princess bday party!
Love the rainbow unicorn
Rocket biscuits love these!!
the sweetshop
I like the fairy wand biscuit kit
the horse carousel is our favourite
I would choose the Lion Kit
The Princess Castle for me
Oh I love the Horse Carousel
dinosaur land looks delicious x
I love the princess castle.
I’d get the Dinosaur Land kit
It looks amazing Nat! I love that Lia wanted a dinoroceros (?), I will keep my eye out for one of those!! Happy birthday Lia! X
I would choose the Superhero ! what a great site I’ve never heard of them before.
The Lion with the cupcake paws is very clever.
Wow – I love the Princess castle.
The sweet shop looks great and is the one I would pick
The princess castle for my little girl!
would have to choose the unicorn one!
I love the Lion – I have several family birthdays coming up and that would fit anyone of the crazy lot.
Hi Nat, this is perfect for busy Mums. I totally agree that supermarket cakes are somewhat lacking, nothing can compare to homemade, even if it is from a kit. I hope it tasted as good as it looks and that Lia had a fab birthday!
xx
I would choose the rainbow unicorn
What a fabulous idea. My girls would love the Enchanted Fairy Garden. Will have to remember this when it comes to birthday time! 🙂
I like the superhero cake
I’d choose the superhero – I love bright colours!
The rainbow unicorn looks amazing and would be a huge hit with my daughter!
The Princess Castle xx
Love the fairy wand biscuit kit – I’d definitely want to make some for myself 😉
Dinosaur Land 🙂
I would choice the The Princess castle cake as it is my birthday soon and I always wanted to be a Princess x
I would choose Dinosaur Land – I love it! Would make the perfect birthday cake!
The Enchanted Fairy Garden cake is beautiful both for children and adults.
rocket biscuits
i love the superhero cake x
I am hopeless at baking I lack total confidence much to my 6 year old daughters dismay. If I were to win I would let her choose something we can make together!
I would go for the Rocket Biscuits!
The Rainbow Unicorn Kit for my little girl’s birthday
The gluten-free Superhero cake mix 🙂
Love the unicorn one
My nieces eould love it
The Sweet shop cake
Would love the Dinosaur Land
the rainbw unicorn would be amazing
I’d choose the superhero 🙂
The figurine toppers look amazing!
I’d pick the dinosaur set, like you, as my son is dinosaur mad!
What a fantastic idea! I love the rainbow unicorn cake, and so would my granddaughter Amelia 🙂 x
I would choose the Rainbow Unicorn
The Rainbow unicorn x
My daughter would love the princess castle one
Dinosaur Land looks amazing
Love the sweetshop cake
The princess castle- it’s my nieces birthday coming up so we could build it together.
My son would love the Superhero
I think my little boy would love the soldier cake
the sweetshop looks yum x
I would choose the princess castle cake
The Sweet shop cake x