Mojito cupcakes

When we left behind all our friends in Madrid, it seemed the perfect opportunity to make mojito cupcakes as a dessert at our leaving BBQ - well considering we are all rum drinkers! They went down a storm...I even managed to get a friend who doesn't like desserts to eat two of them! Well if there's rum involved...

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Just a quick one again - I have recently been visiting family and friends in the UK for my 30th birthday so not had much time to bake. However I did receive 5 recipe books; cupcakes, desserts, muffins, breads and macarons so I have lots of new recipes to try and share!

But even though I was in the UK I still got a chance to bake - my mother is involved with the Women's Institute and they often have cake-bake sales, so my mum (of course knowing my love for cupcakes) asked me to make some and I was only too happy to before I started suffering baking withdrawal symptoms!

Classic Vanilla-Vanilla (Cutesy) Cupcakes

Just a quick one this time. It is my 30th birthday this week so had to take (and wanted to anyway!) the obligatory cakes to the office to share with colleagues - and so far they have been enjoying being my guinea-pigs!

So this time it was time to try out my new 1M wilton open star tip as well as get use of my flower cutters, so decided on some classic vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream decorated with flowers. And to give it that nice spring feel I went for a yellow and pink theme.

Cookie Monster! Cupcakes

Following on from my Easter weekend baking exploits; making cakes for my nephews 2nd birthday. I couldn't resist making some Cookie Monster cupcakes (he loves his cookie monster t-shirt after all). And I am glad I did when they were met with an 'ooooh' and even a 'no, mine!' as we tried to share them out!

And the great thing is, they were not difficult to make. Honest!

Little Balls of Fun - Cake Pops!

A special cake pop gift for my niece

Since seeing cake pops online I thought they were mega cute. And when my sister-in-law asked me to make Oreo cupcakes for my nephews 2nd birthday party, I thought it was also a perfect opportunity to make cake pops for all the kids - fun, bite-size cakes (well not so much bite-size for the kids!)

Now even though it is a bit of work, I have to say these looked pretty spectacular so were well worth the effort. They were a big hit with the kids...and adults!

Too Gooey Brownies?!

After heading to a 50's style American Diner at the weekend for a burger, and seeing the inevitable brownie on the dessert list, I decided to make some. I've never made brownies before but I love them (who doesn't?!); simple no-fuss chewy chocolate brownies.

I found my recipe on AllRecipes.co.uk, there were several and most had good reviews so opted for one that had no nuts (did I mention I don't like nuts of any kind, legume or human! Ha ha!) and used melted chocolate rather than cocoa.

Oreo Cupcakes

Looks good enough to eat!

Since seeing these delights on many a blog and tweet, I've had these stored as a 'to-do' for a few months and just couldn't wait any longer to make them! I got my recipe from the blog 'A Cup Full of Cake' - which I halved and adapted slightly.

Unfortunately I don't have a stand mixer so have shyed away from the Swiss Meringue buttercream, opting for simple buttercream instead (this was a new recipe I tried which personally I didn't like very much so you might want to stick to your favourite). I'd be interested to try it with Swiss Meringue frosting in the future.

It got a rise out of me

Sometimes there is nothing nicer than tucking into a fresh piece of bread, whether just slathered in butter or a chunky homemade sarnie. So a couple of weekends ago I thought I'd give making bread a try for the first time.

My bread after the second
prove, ready to go in the oven

I got the recipe from Jamie Oliver’s cook book ‘Happy Days with the Naked Chef’. Now the first thing to note about this recipe is that it would make a good 2 loaves of bread - I reduced it by 1/4 but in future I would halve it, unless I was having guests (although I suppose you could always freeze a loaf).

With the recipe I made a large loaf. And as an experiment, I added some sultanas to a small piece of dough (kneading it in) to make an oversized roll, which came out very well. Also this recipe didn't achieve a crusty exterior, so this may not be the best recipe if you like crusty bread.

Cakey Cookies

I'm new to the blogging concept but having just launched this site I thought I would dive-in and add a quick post...and what better way to start than an old favourite. Chocolate chip cookies. 

So on Sunday afternoon relaxing at home with my partner, he suddenly voiced his hankering for some of my cookies, and to be honest I was only glad to - I mean, who am I to resist such a reasonable request! So forthwith I went to the kitchen and made some of my faithful Cakey Cookies and in less than 1 hour we were enjoying some deliciously warm homemade delights.