My Favourite Family...Birthday Spoils

Meg and the goodness that she baked for my birthday

It was my birthday yesterday, and (not for the first time), I was spoiled rotten by my family and friends....I'm so lucky like that! :)  In particular, my sister Meg went all out this year!  She and her (newly aquired) husband James invited me over for birthday dinner, where she baked the most delicious chicken and mushroom pie and some scrumptious chocolate cupcakes in cute little crown holders...for my crown birthday....sweet hey! 

The pie was honestly one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted - you can see it in the pic above, complete with pastry roses on top and everything - I was madly jealous that it was not something that I myself had baked!

Card and cupcake gifts from Barker and Hales

As if the spoils from my sister were not enough, my friend Hales and her boyfriend Barker (who also happens to be my No 1 cousin), gave me a whole lot of cupcake inspired gifts....Hales even hand painted my logo onto a pj top to match the cupcake pj pants that they gave me....now that is serious effort!  But, it must said, that even though I loved the gifts, my favourite part was the card....there is a pic of it on the left...you okes are such beauts!

Thank you all for the spoils...love you dudes lots
xx

A-muis-ing Birthday Cake Biscuits

 

It was my friend Alice's birthday in the middle of July, but she went off to Cape Town to spend a million years there - so when she got back on this week, she came over for dinner to collect the goodness that had been baked for her :)

Muis child....hope you liked the biscuits, sorry they were late, but that is what you get when you choose to be such a jet setter! :)
xx

Pretty in Pink Chocolate Birthday Cake

 

It's not often that I bake a cake that I really struggle to have to give away.....but this delicious chocolate number definitely tugged at my taste buds as I handed her over!

My friend Haylea ordered this cake for her sister-in-law Mags...my instructions were to "make something that she would want to eat her way out of"....it's not your average descriptor for a cake, but if you know Hales, then you will completely understand!

Hales - you are a great apprentice chef...I just can't leave you alone with the icing...if I did, there wouldn't be any to put on the actual cake! :)

Happy birthday Mags, this cake may not be as cute as your new puppy, but at least it was good enough to eat!

Singing with Cake...baking a difference for the Durban Childrens Home

As you know, My Favourite Cupcake got together with Haylea Hounsom this past weekend to do an event at the Durban Children's Home called Singing with Cake.  I'm happy to report that it was a raging success! :)

The kids absolutely loved Hales....she sang like the star that she is....it was awesome!  We had the event in the home's main hall, so it was like a little concert - by the end of the day the kids had cake all over their faces and were singing along to the likes of Beyonce which Haylea couldn't sing enough of!

Thanks must go to everyone that came out on the day to support the event, as well as those who gave donations for the cushions and the goodie bags - the kids loved them!  Each child had a cupcake and some hot chocolate during the show, and they all took a goodie bag away with them when they left....so special!

This is an event that most definitely needs to be repeated! :)

The preparation of the goodie bags

We stuck to and orange and blue theme for the day

Hales singing to the kids

Lemon and Lace Cake

In the spirit of Nelson Mandela Day, I got an email at the end of last week asking me to bake a cake for the grannies and grandpa's of Riverside (a home for the elderly in Pietermaritzburg).  The email came to me from a girl named Sarah, who lives in JHB.  Her Granny used to live at Riverside, but sadly passed away six months ago, and she thought it would be really cool to surprise some of the other elderly people with a cake for Madiba day.

My grandpa actually used to live at Riverside before he passed away (lots of love to Grandparents who have passed on), so I was only to happy to do this special thing for Sarah...hopefully the beautiful lemo and lace cake made the grannies and grandpas of Riverside feel some love today.

Thanks Sarah for the awesome gesture
xx

Peppermint Crisp Cake

Seeing as thought I was already baking cakes for the grannies and grandpas of Riverside, I thought I should show some love to my own Gran, so I made her this chocolate and peppermint crisp cake.  I had some of it yesterday with tea....and it was amazing....even if I sat so myself!  It was rich and creamy and delicious....if you have a sweet tooth, this one is most definitely for you! 

Red and Black Hens Party Cupcakes

It seems to be wedding season at the moment because I have been making tons of Hens Party goodies of late!  These particular cupcakes were ordered from Cape Town by a bridesmaid named Amy who flew down to Durban specially for the actual Hens party.....another story about a great friend....at My Favourite Cupcake we love that! :)

Hopefully these decedent chocolate cupcakes perfectly suited the black and red theme that the BM's have planned for their bride tonight....hope you girls have a fantastic evening! :)

Singing with Cake for Mandela Day

 

So it's Mandela Day on the 18th of July....that is this coming Monday....and in an effort to do our bit, me and Haylea Hounsom (who you may know from the most recent season of Idols) are planning to do our bit by hosting a little event for the kids at the Durban Children's Home.  We are going to be there with cupcakes, goodie bags and music from 3:00 until 4:00 next Saturday (coz that is when they could fit us in).

For the moment, our plan is very simple...
Go to the home, hand out some cupcakes and goodie bags to the kids, let Hales sing and spend some time hanging out with the kids.  If you have ideas on how we could make this day even more special for the kids (there are about 100 of them, all different ages), please give me a shout so that we can arrange it.

We are looking forward to showing the kids some love, and we really hope that you will join us! :)

All the details you need are in the invite above the article.

xx

Winter Wedding Cupcakes for Meg and James

 

I made these cupcakes for my sister Meg and new brother-in-law James' wedding.  It was held at The Old Halliwell Country Inn in the Natal Midlands.  They actually got married on the 2nd of July, but I have been really slow about getting together the pics from the wedding in order to post them on my blog.  It was the most beautiful wedding (and I'm not biased at all being the older sister here).....lots of handmade detail by the bride and groom, you could feel their presence in every little bit of the decor....absolutely stunning! 

The cupcakes I made are Meg's favourite - chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow topping covered in three types of chocolate drizzle....they were divine!  (You might have previously seen them here) Thanks to all the other bridesmaids for helping me out with these - made my job a lot easier to have so many helpful hands!

Janie and Jameson I wish you many happy years together.  

Love you both lots!

xx

Ok, now that I have said my bit, let's be honest....as is always the case with wedding's.....you don't want to see the cake, you want to see the bride....so here she is in all her splendor.....can you tell what a proud big sister I am :) .....

 

The photos in this last collage were taken by James Gibbs -  

you can find more of his work on his website  - click here

Birthday Biscuits for Tash

Tash works in my office, and it is her birthday this morning  - I didn't have time to make her cupcakes coz I was in Joburg last night, so she got the next best thing....chocolate chip cookies! :)

Happy Birthday Tash!
Hope you have a fantastic day today :)
xx

Helicopter Cake

I often think that I am pretty lucky to have such great friends...and I do....but it turns out that I am not the only one!  I made this cake for a guy named Sean, he lives in La Lucia and he just qualified as a helicopter pilot, but this story isn't really about Sean, it's about Kelly - the girl who bought Sean the cake.

Kelly lives in Canada and she called me last week to order this cake for Sean....something for his birthday (which was today) and to celebrate his recent qualification....how awesome is that!  She had it all down, the idea, the type of cake, everything - all I had to do was bake it, so it's almost as though it was half made by herself! 

It's always such a pleasure to bake for those who are far away - I take such delight in being able to bring them a little bit closer to their people on their special day.  Sean, you are a lucky dude to have a friend like Kelly!  And Kelly - I hope you approve of the helipad!

Chocolate Star Cupcakes for Gwyn

The time has come to say goodbye to our friend Gwyn (who is going to join our friend Gav in Hong Kong...he's her boyfriend).  Sad as I am to see her go, I am excited to their new adventure! :)

Gin my friend, enjoy the new adventure....I'm jealous of all the things you're going to see and do....not so much of young minds that you are going to have to educate along the way! ;) Keep a mattress ready for April...I'm coming to visit!  Love you friend xx