MAY you have a Swanderful Month!
Princess Odette and her friends are hoping for some warmer weather after the April showers they experienced last month as we enter the last full month of Spring! Has the weather been rainy where you are?
Many places celebrate Mother's Day this month, although some celebrate it earlier in the year. Mothers come in all sorts of forms; biological, adopted, mother-like...the list is endless.
We want to wish ALL of these incredible people a "Happy Mother's Day"!
Alise has been planning a special surprise for Odette. Prince Derek "may" have almost forgotten about Mother's Day (don't let Queen Uberta know!) but Princess Odette reminded him just in time so that he could plan a springtime tea of cucumber sandwiches and delicious cakes in the palace grounds!
We also have a special surprise for Swan Princess fans!
Here is Sony's press release for The Swan Princess A FairyTale is Born (the eleventh film in the series) which is coming May 23, 2023
Huge Announcement!
They say when it rains it pours and that is certainly true for the amount of good news this month! We are proud to announce that Swan Princess 11 is part one of the Swan Princess Animated Series conclusion. We can't wait to see what is in store for these incredible character's final chapters.
What do you hope to see in the final film?
Let us know on social media @SwanPrincessOfficial or email us at Odette@SwanPrincessSeries.com
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cake
If you like peanut butter and chocolate, this recipe is for you!
Princess Odette decorated her three layer cake with chocolate, toffee popcorn and salted pretzels, but you can use any of your favorite sweet treats or candy!
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
• 225ml rapeseed oil, plus extra for tins
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 250g self-raising flour
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 225ml milk
For the Bark:
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• Pretzel pieces
• 2 tbsp chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp honeycomb pieces
For the Icing:
• 250g salted butter
• 65g dark chocolate
• 500g icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 45g smooth peanut butter
For the Ganache Drip
• 100g dark chocolate, chopped finely
• 200ml double cream
Decoration Ideas:
• Toffee Popcorn
• Pretzel pieces
• Chocolate chunks
• Candy
• Honeycomb Pieces
Method:
• STEP 1
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
2. Oil and line the base of three sandwich tins (19cm).
3. Add the cocoa powder, flour, bicarb and sugar to a bowl.
4. Mix the dry ingredients well.
5. Make a well in the centre of the dry mix and beat in the eggs, oil, syrup, eggs and milk with an electric whisk until smooth.
6. Carefully divide the mix between the three tins.
7. Bake for 25-30 mins until risen and firm.
8. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before allowing them to cool completely outside of the tins on a cooling rack.
9. Whilst the cake cools, you can starr on the bark. Carefully melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water.
10. Once melted, spoon the chocolate onto a parchment-lined baking tray.
11. Smooth over with a spatula to make a thin layer of chocolate (approx. 35cm x 20cm).
12. Before it hardens, sprinkle the chocolate chips, pretzel and honeycomb onto the chocolate sheet.
13. Chill the chocolate until solid.
14. Once solid, take the bark from the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature for a couple of minutes.
15. Carefully use a knife to cut the bark into shards. Keep the shards in the fridge until you decorate the cake.
16. Now move to the icing and melt the chocolate completely before taking it off the heat to cool for a few minutes.
17. Whilst the melted chocolate cools, beat the butter, icing sugar and 1 tbsp boiling water with a whisk. Keep whisking until the icing becomes pale and fluffy.
18. Spoon out a third of the mix into a separate bowl and stir in the peanut butter.
19. Whisk the melted chocolate into the remainder of the icing, then beat in the cocoa for a more chocolatey-coloured icing.
20. Next, sandwich the three cakes together with the peanut butter icing.
21. Using half the chocolate icing, coat the sides and top of the cake and fill in the edges between the layers. Scrape off any excess icing and keep it to one side.
22. Chill the cake for 20 mins.
23. Take the remaining chocolate icing and spread it over the lightly chilled cake. Make sure to smooth the sides and top for a neat finish.
24. Chill the cake for a further 20 mins.
25. For the ganache, heat the cream in a small pan until it starts to steam.
26. Tip the dark chocolate into a bowl and carefully pour over the cream.
27. Mix well until shiny and smooth.
28. Put the icing into a piping bag and allow to cool naturally for a few mins.
29. Carefully, pipe the ganache on top of the cake around the edge, allowing some to drip down neatly. Do this all the way round the cake before filling in the centre of the top of the cake with more ganache.
30. Smooth the top with a knife.
31. Chill the cake for 1 hr to allow the ganache to set.
32. Next, press the bark shards into the cake.
33. Add as much of candy, popcorn and chocolate onto the cake around the shards.
Queen Uberta Pins
We have a limited number of our Queen Uberta pins still available in our online store!
Keep an eye on our social media for a surprise announcement regarding our limited edition pins!
Only newsletter subscribers know about this swantastic surprise in advance so turn on those notifications to be the first to hear the news!
Only newsletter subscribers know about this swantastic surprise in advance so turn on those notifications to be the first to hear the news!
Click here to view the pins currently available in our online store as well as many more official Swan Princess goodies including plush toys and apparel!
Wooden Spoon Family
This activity can be great for rainy days or you can make your creation outside if it is nice and sunny!
Not only are these spoon characters adorable, they also can make a lovely, personal gift for your Mom on Mother's Day!
You Will Need:
Wooden Spoons
Marker Pens
Any other arts and crafts materials
Instructions:
1. Get your wooden spoons together and on the handle of each spoon, write the name of one of your family members.
2. On the spoon part, use pens, sequins and any other materials to make your own family out of wooden spoons!
Art with Alise!
Alise has some fun ideas for your spoon family! Check out some suggestions or twists below!
• Use yarn or string for hair.
• Decorate the handles with each person's favorite color or in the same style as their favorite outfit - maybe someone you know is always dressed in something sparkly and you can cover the handle in glitter!
• Take photos (ask an adult first) and glue the faces onto the spoons if you don't want to draw them.
• If you are making more than one spoon, tie them together with a pretty ribbon to make a spoon person bouquet!
• Try and make the Swan Princess characters out of spoons!
This month we are celebrating the birthday of the regal King William. This makes his zodiac sign Taurus and his birthstone the emerald.
Taurus people are reliable and down-to-earth. They are very stubborn and love set patterns in life. They make loyal friends as they are wonderful at staying the course of life's ups and downs to be forever supportive of those they love.
Taurus love all things romantic and will throw themselves into finding true love for themselves and others (even if that means making your daughter spend summers with the prince you think is 'the one').
Taurus are loving and soothing to be around, this makes them great parents especially for young children.
They have very strong opinions and tend to stick to them. While this makes them passionate it can also make them seem unadventurous or close-minded.
The emerald symbolizes balance, growth, peace, and foresight. King William certainly showed great foresight in his choice of match for Odette!
We think this sounds just like King William! Is your birthday in May or do you just love the color green?
2 comments
It makes me sad that the film series is about to end. I still hope Prince Li and Alise can still be together in a future film and I hope the Swan Princess staff knows that this fan is hoping for Prince Li and Alise to be a couple.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve watched the trailer and it still amazing and so are the Mother’s Day recipes unfortunately I don’t have a mother to celebrate Mother’s Day with