Put a Smile on your Dial

Halsie and her favourite smiley cupcake

Sometimes cupcakes just because are good enough...

I haven't really been around much over last month or so....been traveling a lot for work....so I came home the other day and made these Smiley Face Cupcakes for Halsie and her Mum...just for fun.  Then, the next day I went for dinner with my friends Lee Lee and Scotted Dogg, and so I made another batch and took a box full of smiles through to them....happy faces all round! :)

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

I believe that good ideas should always be given credit....and I have to give the credit for this good idea to my friend Bob...

Bob lives in Cape Town, and he visited Durbs this weekend to go to a wedding (a varsity mate of his got hitched in Port Edward), so those of us living in Durban got to see him for a quick visit.

Although Bob and I have been friends for some years now, in conversation last week, it transpired that he has never had the pleasure of tasting one of my cupcakes - I couldn't believe it!  So this weekend was a perfect opportunity to right that wrong....so I invited him to choose his favourite cupcake so that I could make it.

What did he choose you ask....(well I guess that is a bit obvious because the pic is at the top)...Cookie Monster cupcakes!  Initially I was horrified at the idea of icing heavy vanilla cupcakes...in bright blue, but I think they turned out ok actually.  In fact, I got a lot of satisfaction out of making these little guys - I think it may be because they have eyes, and so they feel a little bit like they have personalities - they feel like more like little creatures and less like baked goods.

Bob - thank you for the idea, it was a pleasure having you to visit - next time you come to Durbs please make sure you bring another great idea....coz these Cookie Monsters are definitely going to take Durban by storm...watch this space! :)

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

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

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

Hello Kitty Cupcakes

I got a last minute order this week for these Hello Kitty Cupcakes this week - they are for a little girl named Kendall, it is her birthday this weekend.  

I had such fun making them, mostly because I had some assistant chef's in the kitchen with me last night....thanks for all your help with the whisker making and bow shaping - Lu, Hales, Barker and Mike you are the best hello kitty face makers I have ever met! :)

(Apologies about the poor quality of the photos - I didn't have my camera with me...thank goodness for Blackberry!)

Hanna Montana Guitar Cake

Hanna Montana is all the rage with young girls at the moment....if you didn't know this by now...."like where have you been mom!  Obviously that is the theme I want for my birthday party!"

And so with that comment in mind, a very "hip" lady contacted me to make a birthday cake for a little girl's birthday party this weekend.  Pink, purple and shinny guitar was the brief - I think it was met - there was more glitter and sparkles on this cake than you would find a jewelry store!

I got this email from "hip lady" today, just to say thanks for the cake.  (Thanks for the email Katey - I love hearing back from happy Clients!)

Hi Niki 

After having a piece or two my hubby confidently handed out some of your cards. 

Thank you for the lovely cake, not only was the cake decorated beautifully, the cake was moist and soft. 

Will be sure to call again.   

Thank you.  

Katey 

So it sounds like it went down a treat....all you other mom's out there - you have been warned Hana Montana "is like so in right now" and Miss Cupcake can give you exactly what you need, so pencil me in for your kids parties!

Bottled Biscuit Love

One of the worst things about moving towns is that when you have a friend who is having a bad day, there is nothing that you can do about it...because they aren't in your town anymore!  Fortunately for me, I'm heading to Cape Town this weekend and I'm taking these biscuits with me...a little bit of home baked goodness for a friend with a sore heart...little bits of my heart to fill the bits of hers that are hurting.  

Chin up my girl - things will get better eventually, and if you aren't feeling better by Friday, at least I will be there for a hug.

Lots of love

xx

Last Day of School Cupcakes

Your teacher is some kind of awesome if she rocks up with cupcakes for the last day of school!  Some lucky grade fives got these yummy cupcakes from Miss O on their last day in grade five at RGJS...spoiled girls!

Animal Cupcakes....it's a zoo out there!

These cupcakes belong to my friend Gwyn - it is her birthday today, and being an animal lover I thought she would appreciate the little animal characters on top of the cupcakes.  Admittedly, the Lion needs a little bit of work, but I think the Elephant and the Rabbit are pretty rad!

Happy Birthday Gin....I hope you have a fantastic day my friend.  Cheers to you for 25 great years - will  have a drink for you from Durbs tonight - sorry I'm missing you dinner!  

Lots of love to you moley girl :)

xx

Shaperon...every lady should have one!

It's a little bit cringey that I am putting this pic up of myself...but I can't resist!  I wore the above outfit to a dress-up party at Shu Lounge a little while ago, the theme was "What I want to be when I grow up"...obviously I am a chef....cheesy, but true.  

Anyway, that's not what was exciting about the pic....what is exciting is the awesome apron that I am wearing.  How cute!  It looks like a cute little dress, but actually it is an apron...it even folds up into a cute handbag.  They are officially known as Shaperon... because of the great shape they give you...cute hey!

if you wanna see the other options you can check them out here....for R170 it's a great gift for ladies who spend alot of time in the kitchen!  With Christmas on the cards is an idea worth banking!.

Rustenburg Read-a-thon Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Nothing inspires kids to get reading like the promise of a chocolate cupcake!  I made these cupcakes as the prize for the top two classes in the Rustenburg Read-a-thon....I was pleasantly surprised when my sister's class won the prize...go Miss O and your grade 5's! :)

The best friend's birthday lunch

Last weekend, it was my friend Row's birthday, and so a couple of us went to Jonkershuis in Constantia for birthday lunch.  It was such a beautiful day, and we sat outside in the courtyard enjoying the sunshine with some good food, good wine and great company!  After Jonkershuis we wandered on to Paddlers and then ended up an Oblivion....what a fantastic way to spend a Saturday.

Happy birthday Wenz - hope you had a fantastic weekend!
xxx

Chocolate and Cream Roses

Chocolate cupcakes with cream roses were the perfect combination for a feminine birthday cupcake request that I got the other day.  I particularly like the silver ribbon around the bottom of the cupcakes...I think it's really girly and pretty

Happy birthday CJ

x

Roses for Rose...or pretty close to roses anyway!

I made these cupcakes for a lady named Rose - more fondly known as Rose-bud by some - but that is a secret name.  To be honest, it was very difficult to resist the urge to put roses all over them - but somehow I pulled through, and even though they did have flowers, they weren't roses. 

Rose liked what she got, so all was good.

Orange Hearts

Happy Birthday Jill
x

30 cupcakes for a 30th birthday

These cupcakes are my most favourite ones that I have made yet, partly because they are pretty and girly, but mostly because of the story behind them....so let me share....

I got a message on my Facebook page from a mum, who was looking for cupcakes for her daughters birthday.  I emailed this mum and discovered that she lived all the way over in Oxford and she wanted to order 30 cupcakes, which were to be delivered to her daughters work today for her 30th birthday.

The soon to be birthday girl (her birthday is actually only on Sunday) seemed so happy, and so touched by her mum's surprise - which was awesome!  But the best part of the story was the thank you message that I got from the mum after I sent her a pic of the cupcakes.....made me feel warm and fuzzy...

" Yay!!!!! Thank you Cupcake ANGEL for helping a mom in Oxford spoil her daughter in Cape Town so so beautifully. What a wonderful experience...it's like I was "there".xxxxxx "

 The world is full of some fantastically thoughtful people - I love it!!! :)

Happy new home my friends

This weekend my friends Lexi and Caitlin moved into their new lat in Sea Point, so I baked them some cupcakes to celebrate the occasion.  Vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing and chocolate marshmallow to top it off....mmmm nothing like some home baked goodies when you have been moving furniture all day!

Beautiful house girls....hope we have many more excused to drink wine and eat cupcakes in it!
xx

Ice Cream Delights

It seems that this past weekend was a good weekend for little girls to have their birthday parties - these cupcakes were also baked for a little girls party...which also happened this past weekend.  The birthday girl loves everything ice cream, so the ice cream cones on top of the cupcakes were really cute and girly for the Princess Jasmine theme party at Kirstenosch on Saturday!

Barbie Girl

Barbie is a really important person in the life of 5 year old girls, so these pink Barbie cupcakes were an absolute hit at a birthday party that I baked for on the weekend!  The biggest concern that the little girls at the party had, was that they "didn't want to eat Barbie", so they all ate the cupcake and then quietly stored their newly acquired Barbie treasure so that it could go home with them later