Sweet Summer treats with Creative tops

Established in 1996, Creative Tops Ltd started life making just one product, glass work top savers with surface design.
Then in 1998 we began to manufacture lap trays and in no time at all the range grew to encompass a whole collection of co-ordinated products including; tablemats, coasters, trays, mugs, dinner sets, gift sets, textiles, kitchen accessories and much more.
The product range from Creative Tops can also be found at The English Table website.

I have been sent some lovely kitchen products from Creative tops. These products are designed for making lots of sweet Summer treats, cakes and biscuits.
I was sent products from both the Alice Kate and the Retro treats collections.

Kate Alice Collection
Kate Alice is a Northanptonshire designer who has created a stunning range of vintage inspired table wares and textiles.Her collection includes the following pieces from her Cottage flower range. The pieces all have a real vintage look, many with floral patterns which remind me of my parents kitchen and table wares when younger.

Embossed stoneware mixing bowl £20

This beautiful bowl reminds me of one my dad would use when I was younger. My dad was actually worked as a baker at one point and would often make cakes and cookies for us all. I remember his bowl being white, big and heavy, just like this one. I was really pleased to receive it as I have been relying on rubbish plastic ones until now. The bowl is decorated with an embossed vintage cottage flower design which goes all around the bowl. It is made from stoneware and has a dimension of 240x140mm. I can tell it’s excellent quality just by it’s weight as it is fairly heavy. It fits a lot inside it too.

Cookie Cutters

These are a fun little set of cookie cutters with a heart, star, circle and flower. We are going to have lots of fun making cookie shapes with these and they cost just £6.00.

Set of 2 tins
Also from the Kate Alice collection are these 2 cake/biscuit tins in Shabby Chic vintage style.

The two tins come together as a collection with the smaller biscuits tin fitting snuggly inside the cake tin when not in use.
These tins are perfect for cakes and cookies. I cannot count the amount of times I have made cakes for kids then realised I have nothing to put them in.
They look really classic and retro too and stand out in any kitchen.
Of course they are also useful for shop bought cakes and biscuits too or general food storage.
Dimensions: Large – 26.1 x 18.5 x 9.4 cms
Small – 20.6 x 15.4 x 8.3 cms

The tin set costs £13.00

Retro Treats
Retro treat range is another great selection of products from Creative Tops. These products give everything you need to create those favourite desserts and treats. Everything from mugs, jugs, ice cream cups, straws and sundaes.

Here are the products I am testing out.

Stoneware Sundaes

These remind me a little of something I enjoyed as a child. A tall cup like this filled with strawberries, cream and other delights. Tho I can’t remember the name of it. They also have the American diner look to them don’t they?
They come in both pink and yellow and will be loved by family members big and small.
They cost £6.99 each and measure 3.25″ (8.4cm) wide, 7.25″ (18.7cm) high.

Vintage straws

These straws are reminiscent of the 50s era. They are paper, not plastic and again have that vintage American diner feel. They make me think of old retro juke boxes.

Our Sweet Creations

I was sent Sundaes so that’s exactly what I made to begin with. I scoured internet sites looking for recipes and inspiration. There are many different types of Sundaes that can be made including chocolate, fruit and many more. When it comes to Sundaes you can really throw anything in that you like.
I had been given a big bag full of fresh strawberries. I then bought some nice biscuits, meringues, strawberry jam, and a tub of strawberry cheesecake ice cream.
I crushed up the biscuits, meringue and mixed in jam into my Kate & Alice Stoneware bowl

In the bottom of the Sundae cups I put a mini marshmallow tea cake. Then added a big scoop of the ice cream followed by a big scoop of the meringue/biscuit mixture, then some fresh strawberries.

I kept repeating the fillings over and over until the cup was full and then added the squirty cream and topping of Dr Oetker sprinkles and wafers.

I have to say I am quite proud how the end result turned out. My kids loved them. I was sent two Sundaes so they had one each and little Izebella had a bit in her bowl too. Unfortunately I was left with the tiny amount of left overs.

Choc chip cookies
Cookies are really easy to make. They require just a few simple ingredients which are usually found in most kitchen cupboards. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour and chocolate chips which all gets mixed together into a huge gooey mess and rolled out. Using the Kate Alice cookie cutters we were able to make lots of different shapes.

The cookies only take 20 minutes or so to bake. They are a very easy and cheap treat.

Once cooled they can be eaten or stored in a tin such as the lovely tins I now have as above.
I will now be making and baking lots more sweet treats and creations thanks to my lovely products from Creative tops
These products can be purchased via The English Table