Adventures in Cake goes POP

I have never made CakePops before, and this year, as my news years resolution was to do something new each month, and was on my way to visit friends with Darling boy and little brother, a flash of genius sparked in the little grey cells.  Ah ha, I thought, CakePops!

For those of you who aren't familiar with this fun cakey things, they are basically a crumbed cupcake, bound together with butter icing, then moulded into a ball, dipped in chocolate and decorated.  They are sugar on a stick and totally yummy.  They are also definitely for children and they went down a storm.  I would probably make them again, as they are a fun way to use up cake that is surplus to requirements (if there is ever such a thing?)

My top tip for making them is to either have some handy playdoh to hand (mouldable clay stuff that kids play with) or, even better, some oasis (the stuff that florists use to make displays)

So, i took some photos thinking the CakePops looked a big like funny little trees. Then i got silly and added one of the boy's toy dinosaurs, just for a giggle.

Vintage finds at the village fete

On my list of favourite things, featuring highly is the village fete.  All those traditional stalls  from your childhood are still going strong, the tombola (where you win back the tins you donated 2 years ago) splat-the-rat, the raffle, the farmyard derby (my personal favourite), skittles, guess the weight of the cake / baby / chicken.  And of course the cake stall.  Turn up late and the cake stall is always totally empty, as it gets raided first, like a tuck shop at midnight.

Well, here in our corner of the world we pride ourselves on a good village fete and ours most usually has entertainment.  Last year it was Morris Dancing men, fearsome fellows with handkerchiefs who bashed the hell out of some sticks and then waved bells at each other.  They were brilliant.  This year we had a chap playing a squeeze box, with his dear lady wife accompanying him on the spoons (I kid you not) and the guitar and a lovely warbly voice.  They were charm itself.

On the jumble stall, I managed to find these totally lovely plates, which I think I got for a quid.  Amazing.  I love them.  And of course we bought millionaire shortbread from the cake stall, and geraniums from the plant stall.  Darling boy and little brother had a marvellous time, winning mini mars bars on the hoopla and larking about with their chums. 

Mini cupcakes for the big church bells

Our church bells need re-hanging.  This is super duper mega expensive and funds need to be raised.  Before you can qualify for funding from the big boys, you need to prove you have raised a certain percentage locally.  This is where I come in, in a very small way of course.

Now I’m not a religious person, but I recognise the brilliant space that a church has, both physically as an ancient building, and also emotionally within a community.  All that history, the atmosphere, the acoustics, the dazzling stained glass, the stylish pews (do you think I could sneak one home for my new kitchen in the barn??), but mostly the sense of cohesion and pulling together.

A concert was arranged in the local church to raise money, and we merry bell ringers were to be providing the half time snacks (as the poster promised wine and nibbles)  I had been asked if I could possibly bake some cupcakes, and of course I agreed.

I decided mini ones would be best, more like a cocktail pudding snack, than a full on slice o’ cake which is what mine more usually are.

I kept it classic and went with chocolate and vanilla decorated in shades of cream, blue and purple and only had empty cake stands to take home.  Happy concert goers and happy me.

Sparkly cupcakes for the bride and groom

Here are the wedding cupcakes as promised.  The bride and groom had 85 vanilla cupcakes with plum and scarlet butterflies.  One giant cupcake in vanilla with a chocolate buttercream icing on the base, also decorated with butterflies. The last photo is of the cakes in the evening, all dressed up and ready to party.

Sparkly wedding cupcakes- a sneaky glimpse

Here is a cheeky glimpse of the cupcakes from this weekends wedding.  More to come soon.

A girl's gotta have tuppaware

I'm very excited.  I've just ordered four cupcake couriers from the very lovely Sugar Shack , a brilliant on-line store that sells all things cake.  I've already chosen what I want, but I'm still mooching around their site looking for more!

A cupcake courier is a specially made plastic tuppaware thingy that has 3 stacking trays with deep insets to hold each cupcake safe and secure.  It can hold 36 cupcakes, or one massive cake if you take the trays out. I already have a stock of white corrugated cardboard cake boxes that have cupcake insets that I use for deliveries, but wanted something more sustainable and sturdy.

The magic cupcake couriers are due to arrive by Thursday, which is perfect as I have a cupcake wedding this weekend.  Should a girl get this excited about tuppaware?  Lets face it, and lets not be shy...I think the answer is probably yes.

Wedding cupcakes

 As promised, here are my most recent wedding cupcakes.  The bride and groom had 6 different flavours, each with a different handmade decoration.  The bride was totally delighted, which is always a real pleasure to see.

Chocolate birthday cupcakes

I know I have my most recent wedding cupcakes to show you, but I'm still sorting through the squillions of photos.  In the meantime, take a look at one of my recent birthday orders.  Girly chocolate cupcakes.  Something pinky was requested, and I happily baked and designed something fitting.

I've got such a lovely collection of edible glitters now that I can't help going to town and using a blend of different colours.  These cupcakes had about 5 different variations of pink through to violet purple and a gorgeous iridescent white one, so pretty.  If only everything we ate could be covered in glitter.