Birthday Cake Extravaganza!!!

I always refer to October as being the best month of the year, normally because it's my Birthday month and so it's generally a happy time. But this October has been super special!!! Why, you ask?! Because the cake choices were beyond what I had anticipated...I enjoyed so much cake / desserts (see picture above), I can't wait for my birthday to roll around again, so I have another excuse to consume so much, and pass it off as being my birthday month! 

(Okay imagine me whispering to you now!) I even had evenings out where I ate 2 desserts at one meal seating - naughty me!!! But it was so worth it...first I went to the Manor House in Wanstead where I literally couldn't decide which dessert to have, and since my friends were having coffee with their desserts, and I'm not a coffee drinker I thought why not have what I really want - more cake! So treacle tart and chocolate brownies it was :-)

There was also a night of bowling...where although the food wasn't amazing at the Volti Noti restaurant, having 2 desserts (a mistake on their part!) And birthday cake more than made it alright. I can't even mention all the other "extra" cakes I have eaten this month, although I must say that my Hubby did satisfy my new "Red Velvet" obsession with a cupcake from the Buttercup Cake Shop too. I had a great month of catching up with my "lady friends" and eating my age (sorry I'm not relieving!) in cake/dessert/chocolate/pastries.....

Happy National Cupcake Week!

I was profoundly glad to hear that this week is "National Cupcake Week". Who wouldn't want to pay homage to the dainty pleasure of a cupcake...! Sometimes they can make the world seem like a better place - yes I said it, I have that reassurance in the frosted delight!

On a more sensible note, cupcakes have become a huge trend and business in many countries, with everyone trying to out-do each other in flavours, colours and sizes. As my previous post demonstrated there's not many ingredients or prices that won't be spent when coming up with the ultimate cupcake. 

I think of the cupcake as being a staple requirement to any worthy dessert buffet, as was the case when I got married a few years ago. I even went to the lengths of having our monogram put onto cupcake toppers for the occasion (see below).

I know that there's many people who do not care for or eat cakes or cupcakes (what is wrong with you?!) But cupcakes cannot go unnoticed when laid out...

In salutation of the humble cupcake, I will strive to consume a cupcake delight this week, because how can you not love a cupcake - see 33 reasons why you should here - haha! I will leave you with this wow of a cupcake....have a burger (cupcake) on me! :-)

Hummingbird Of A Birthday!

As it was Hubby's birthday recently, it was only right that he had a special cake for the occasion. Yes I should have probably dusted off my (retired) baking skills for my lovely Hubby, but instead we decided a treat was in order, in the form of the Hummingbird Bakery! And what a treat it was...I would have quite enjoyed a sleepover with the cakes!!!

With so much choice, it was difficult to decide on just a couple of cakes, but I must say the choices were very right. I opted to try the Red Velvet Cupcake for starters, I have literally fallen in love with a cupcake!!! I have eaten other red velvet cupcakes before, but none of them have tasted as delectable as this...I wanted more! Hubby had the Frosted Brownie to begin with, but it was the Chocolate Malt Cake that he ooohhh and ahhhhh over.

We also sampled the Brownie Cheesecake and Rainbow Cake (yes we went all out for his birthday!!!) But our minds kept drifting back to the Red Velvet and Chocolate Malt....Even though it wasn't my birthday, it definitely felt like I was indulging like it was my birthday! ;-)

I think another visit is definitely a must....!

For The Love Of Cake!

I had the pleasure of enjoying the ultimate in cakes this weekend... A slice of strawberry gateau (see above), from the highly favoured Patisserie Valerie. A quick stop at a service station whilst on a road trip, brought me into contact with this beautiful delight of a cake (what a lovely surprise!) In all honesty I don't think the photo does it justice, but I wanted to tuck into it so much, I couldn't be bothered to improve the lighting etc..!

I find it very rare these days to find a place that make / provide cakes that honestly take my breath away, but I was definitely all smiles when I laid my eyes on their selection! :-)

Cupcake Flowers - Look Good Enough To Eat!!

Whilst I haven't been blogging, cake has never been far from my thoughts or mouth!!!

I just celebrated my first Mother's Day which turned out to be a perfect day! And what made it even more special, was I got to celebrate it with my own Mum, so after years of buying her the complimentary flowers etc..I came across this little beauty!

Cupcake flowers!!! :-) Being a fan of all things cake, I couldn't resist this little beauty!

Easiest Cake Recipe Ever (Promise): Bakewell Cake!

Bakewell Cake

It feels like I haven't been on here in forever! But as I have been struggling through the joys of 1st trimester pregnancy sickness, cake has pretty much been off the menu until this weekend! Yes my sweet tooth made a welcome return and said cake is needed urgently! As I still have a energy level of zero, I thought baking could be a problem, then I remembered I could make a Bakewell cake, which would take minimal effort, but taste absolutely divine! It really is a matter of mixing all of the ingredients together and letting the oven do the rest.. Here's the recipe for anyone that needs a quick impressive cake for any occasion!

You will need a 22-24cm spring-form cake tin for this recipe

• 150 g butter, softened
• 150 g caster sugar
• 150 g self-raising flour
• 150 g ground almonds
• 2 large free range eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tsp raspberry jam
• 1x 150 g punnet raspberries
• 50 g flaked almonds

Similar to Bakewell Slice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 2. Line the cake tin with baking parchment.

Using a food processor or an electric whisk, blitz or whizz the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, eggs and vanilla extract. Plop half of the mix into the lined cake tin and smooth out.

Now, dot the jam, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, all over and scatter with the raspberries. With the remainder of the cake mix, drop dollops over the fruit to cover but don't worry about the holes, just use your fingers to spread it about a bit.

Scatter the flaked almonds over and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

It can last for a few days if you store it in the fridge!

.

Ace of Cakes at Macmillian Coffee





Macmillian Coffee Morning

 

 

The last week has been a haze of cakes! My Mum arranged a coffee morning for Macmillian Cancer Nurses, so I baked a range of cakes for the occassion. As the coffee morning was open to the general public, and lots of family, friends and neighbours had been invited, I thought it would be really nice to provide them with as much choice as possible. So I got my thinking cap on and thought about all the cake possibilities...

After much testing and tasting, I decided to challenge myself to make 8 different sweet treats for the event, they were:
 

- Brownies

- Malteaser Cake

- Bakewell Cake

- Banana Up-side Cake

- Carrot Cake 

- Blueberry Muffins

- Shortbread

- Jam Tarts



This meant my house became a constant bakery in the lead-up to the coffee morning, but it was sooo worth it as the cakes were temptingly yummy, and people donated generously for them! As a bonus I now have some new receipes to add to my collection. :-) Despite all the hard work and baking, the morning was only successful because everyone came along and supported us, so thanks a million!


Malteaser Cake