Marshmallow Cupcakes

The worst thing in the world is when you get a call from a friend...and they are feeling so down, that all they want do to is cry! In my experience, the best solution to this scenario is some cupcakes...and some wine!

As it turns out, one of my friends wasn't having the best time this past weekend, so she came over and we made some cupcakes and iced them with pink marshmallow icing....we couldn't fix her sore heart, but at least she left with a happy tummy :-)

Love you my friend
x

Peppermint Chocolate Creams

Most of the cupcake requests of late have been to bake more chocolate types of cupcakes. With these requests in mind, I decided that seeing as it was my turn to host book club...this would be a perfect excuse to try out a new chocolate cupcake recipe...que chocolate cupcakes with creamy chocolate and peppermint icing :-)

These cupcakes went down a treat with all the girls....chocolate cupcake bottoms and creamy peppermint choocolate mouse topping....mmmmm!

Cocktail Cupcakes

Happy Birthday Schuyler! (I know this post is a couple of days late...but better late than never - and I couldn't get your gift to you until today.)

Now that you are approaching 30, and you're really getting on in years, I figured cupcakes were probably a bit silly for someone your age. However, given your interest in a friendly beverage that we all know as tequila...or most alcoholic beverages for that matter...I figured you wouldn't mind a cupcake knock off of a cocktail! It comes complete with a small umbrella, some freshly picked mint, and a hint of white chocolate goodness in the icing...pretty damn good if you ask me! :-)

Hope you enjoy them my friend

Condensed milk and nougat

These cupcakes were not made for any particular occasion, but seeing as though I keep getting requests to make white chocolate and strawberry cupcakes, I thought I better get cracking with some new flavour choices!

My idea was to combine condensed milk and nougat...bold choice I know, coz they are both so sweet. Either way, the experiment proceeded, and I added condensed milk to the cake part of the cupcake, and nougat to the icing. I then added marshmallow flowers to the top of each of the cupcakes - just to make them look pretty.

The results looked really good, but as for the taste - there were mixed feelings...some people loved it, and other people thought that it was a bit sweet and still preferred the plainer vanilla recipe.

My opinion - this is a great cupcake to have if you are only planning to have one. That said, I think those of you with sweet teeth out there will dig them.

Strawberries and Cream

To date, the clear favourite cupcake at work is a vanilla cake, with a vanilla and white chocolate icing - topped with a fresh strawberry and pearly sugar balls. This being said, nobody was complaining when I arrived at work with this tray of cupcakes for Sarah's birthday.

It seems all the other flavours have a long way to go before they can claim poll position and be better that is trusted fav.

80's party cakes

Franny's birthday party at Kink has been my favourite birthday party this year...and I felt like my Pac man and cassette tape cupcakes were perfect for the 80s theme, but lets be honest - I'm totally biased coz I baked them!

I hate a bit of a dress-up party, so I took to the 80s with enthusiasm and absolute dedication to finding the right outfit! In the end, I was a vision in purple, with the essential matching headband, armband and purple shoelaces. Love it!

The birthday girl was wearing a saucy blue and black leopard print mini-dress…with pink accessories. (Just so you can identify her in the pics)

With everyone dressed to the nines, and plenty of tequila floating about, it would have been really difficult not to have an awesome party! It was a great night out...I love birthday parties, and am totally looking forward to the next excuse to go out dressed up as somebody else and party the night away...the cupcakes were a side show to the party, but I'm definitely not complaining!

Hens night hearts

Recently, I was asked to make cupcakes for a Mamma Mia themed Hens night, and I was super excited at the prospect of this...I was imagining bright Abba outfits, with sequins and stars...but when it came down to actually icing them...I had a bit of mare!

As it turns out sequins and brightness is actually quite hard to accomplish when you are working with edible substances (who would have thought)! Anyway, as it turns out, Pick n Pay have a mad range of coloured sugar crystals, and metallic silver balls, and these turned out to be the perfect ingredients for the hearts on top of these cupcakes.

White Chocolate Strawberries and Champagne

It was a sad day when my friend Kate decided to up and leave us at my office and head for greener pastures elsewhere.....not so sad though that some strawberry and white chocolate cupcakes (and some bubbles) couldn't liven up the Friday afternoon farewell...even if it was only a quick fix!

Sunset and chocolate balls

My family and I shared these cupcakes in Hermanus over December. I had already baked the festive green and red ones (starring my cousin Matt at the braai), and I was starting to get bored of the average photo with the cupcakes on the bread board blah blah blah...so this is me (after a couple of G&T's) thinking that I am really clever getting the sunset in the background. Much to my dismay nobody else thought that my photo was that rad...so now becuase nobody else gave a damn then, I'm putting it on my blog - so that it can be admired by all of you! Ha ha.

I'll be honest - the particular batch up cupcakes (made on our last night of oliday)was not my best ever. I'm blaming the oven - coz it wasn't my own...screw that whole idea of a good chef never blaming her machinery :-)

Even though the cupcakes weren't the best, view of the sunset that day was great! So cheers to a G&T and vanilla cupcakes with a chocolate ball on it - it's the perfect end to a great holiday.

Festive little trees on some festive little cakes

A friend of mine gave me these sprinkles as a thank you gift...so I used them on the only day of the year that it is appropriate for green and red fur tree sprinkles to appear as decoration...Christmas day

Ginger Ninja

Ok, so I know they are not really ninja's, but they were really yummy...and Ginger Ninjas just sounds cooler!

I made these ginger bread men as Christmas gifts, and they're actually really easy to make...you forget how easy when you get past 6 years old and no longer bake with your granny!

Either way, Granny or no Granny, they're super quick and easy, and I highly recommend them as a sneaky homemade gift...people always seem to love something more when you've made it yourself (provided it's not burnt), and it was weird to see how people love Gingerbread men - it's like it reminds them of their childhood or something....so, even if it was just in my circle of friends and family - ginger flavoured men were a real hit during the festive season....who knew?

Blue is for boys

I baked these vanilla cupcakes for my friend Jill who took them to her sister's baby shower to celebrate the not born yet baby Matthew...sweet!

The shower had a blue and white theme, so I made vanilla cupcakes, and iced them with blue and white icing alternately. The blue ones had blue pearls on them, and the white ones had white chocolate shavings on them. All the cupcakes were topped with a chocolate ball.

Chocolate Roses

My friend Emma's birthday was the perfect excuse to make these pink rose cupcakes.

I had very good intentions when I initially promised the girls at work that I would make them...but those good intentions were very difficult to follow through on when I discovered that her birthday would be the day after our office Christmas party! After a very festive day drinking wine and being merry, the very last thing on my mind was Em's birthday cupcakes...

In the end, the recipe was great - but baking and icing cupcakes the morning after a big night is definitely not something that I will do again in a hurry...especially when it has to be done before work at 8:30 in the morning!

Note to self - a 5am wake up call is far to much to ask when you are hungover!

Pearly Whites...the cupcakes that crashed

White chocolate and pearly ball goodness made up my very first batch up cupcakes. Sadly though, even though they looked so pretty, they were never destined to make it to their destination, instead they ended up all over my car when another crashed into the back of mine on my way to work! We managed to salvage some of these beauties from the floor of my car....and results were positive, so despite the mild concussion, I wasn't off to the worst start!

I learned my lesson though...

When transporting cupcakes, never put them on the seat next to you, put them in a tray on the floor - nothing can fall further than the floor! :-)