Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream and Strawberry Champagne Sauce

Yesterday was my Mum's birthday and we celebrated in style by indulging in some banana bread for breakfast, going to see The Great Gatsby (in 3D) and enjoying lunch on the waterfront at one of Mum's favourite restaurants.

It was the first time Mum and Dad had been to a 3D movie and unfortunately Dad was given a dodgy pair of glasses with one lense blacked out....and even more unfortunately, he didn't know that they were not supposed to be like that so sat through the whole movie thinking that this whole 3D caper is not all it's cracked up to be.....

Those of us that could see the entire movie thought it was brilliant. Those of us that missed out on all of the 3D effects, also thought it was pretty good.....

We stopped at a restaurant called Blue Skies for lunch. When I was younger, Mum, Dad and I used to go there all the time and share a bowl of chips on a Sunday afternoon so it was really nice to go back and share a few different plates of food while we soaked up the sun.

The day got even better later in the afternoon when Mr B started talking about his 'PMS'......he had meant to say 'ESP' and needless to say the rest of us were laughing so hard we were in tears

And last but not least, it was home for presents and cake. This year when Dad suggested maybe we do cupcakes instead of a cake, I knew just the thing. Well Ok I didn't know exactly, but I was thinking champagne, champagne and more champagne. After loads of research I decided on a Champagne Cupcake with Champagne Buttercream and, after initially leaning towards a Champagne Pastry Creme filling, at the last minute decided to go with a Strawberry Champagne Sauce instead.

I was only after a couple of cupcakes seeing as they were just for the 4 of us to share so I halved the original recipe and still got 8 out of this! That's totally fine though because they were amazing and a lovely decadent birthday treat for my Mum. 

Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream and Strawberry Champagne Sauce

For the Champagne Cupcakes
55g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tspn vanilla
.85 cup of plain flour
1/4 tspn baking soda
1/8 tspn baking powder
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup champagne

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease and line a cupcake pan.

Cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat until just combined and smooth.

Spoon mixture into prepared cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 mins or until they bounce back when touched.

For the Champagne Buttercream
1/2 cup champagne + 1 tbspn extra
220g butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla essence

Heat 1/2 cup of champagne in a saucepan over medium high heat until it has reduced to roughly 1 tbspn. Set aside to cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until pale and creamy.

Add the icing sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add the reduced champagne and 1 tbspn extra champagne and beat until light and fluffy. Pipe onto your cupcakes....or eat straight out of the bowl.

For the Strawberry Champagne Sauce
200ml champagne
500g strawberries (hulled and halved)
2 heaped tbspns caster sugar
1 tbspn corn flour

In a medium pot over high heat combine champagne, sugar and strawberries.

Bring to the boil.

Allow the strawberries to simmer, stirring occasionally for about 7-10 mins. You want them to be really broken down.

Place two tbspns of the sauce into a jug and add the cornflour. Mix well to remove any lumps and so that it is all combined.

Pour the cornflour mixture back into the pot and continue to simmer and stir for a further 3-5 mins or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before placing in the fridge.

Spoon over cupcakes to serve.

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx

Limoncello Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Raspberry Buttercream

Well here we are at the end of another weekend and you know, as far as weekends go, it's been a pretty good one.

Mr B and I had 3 days off so we made the most of the beautiful sunny weather on Friday, got out of bed early (an achievement on it's own!), packed ourselves lunch and went fishing. Being a Friday it meant the jettys were not packed full of people and we could just sit down and relax in the sun for most of the day which was exactly what the Dr ordered. And as an added bonus we even caught a few fish, most of them were under-size and had to be thrown back, but we did manage to come home with a lovely little Salmon which we had for dinner and it was delicious!

Saturdays are fast becoming my baking / housework day and Mr B's day to potter around outside doing odd jobs. This works out really well because it means we have all day Sunday to spend together and today was no exception. When we finally managed to drag ourselves out of bed this morning we trundled on up to the Derwent Valley Autumn Festival which is held on the beautiful banks of the Derwent River at the beginning of Autumn each year and is just jam packed full of stuff to see and do. Every year it gets bigger and bigger and for a free event, the quality of the stalls is fantastic and you could pretty much spend all day there doing a few laps, listening to the different bands, watching the black smith at work and eating your way around the different food on offer.

So anyway, back to Saturday and the baking.....

A few days ago when I asked Mr B what sort of cupcakes he would like in his lunches this week he came up with this flavour combination and I think he nailed it - although I think he is getting a bit technical in what he asks for, he used to just say vanilla!

Limoncello Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Raspberry Buttercream

For the Limoncello Cupcakes you will need:

1.5 cups plain flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
60g butter, at room temperature
60g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tbspns limoncello
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 - 1 cup lemon curd

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar. Beat until fluffy and creamy.

Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition.

Add the limoncello and beat until combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Beat on low until everything is just combined.

Divide the batter between 15 lined muffin tins. Bake for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes are cool, use a teaspoon or melon baller to remove a small section from the centre. Fill with a teaspoon of lemon curd.

To make the Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting you will need

200g cream cheese
150g butter
2.5 cups icing sugar
Handful of fresh raspberries

Heat the raspberries in a microwave safe jug for 60 seconds and set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until pale and creamy.

Add the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the raspberries and beat well. You may need to add a little more icing sugar to get a nice stiff consistency, but as my raspberries were still hot when I added them to the mixture, I just placed mine in the fridge for about 30 mins and it was soon ready to pipe onto the cupcakes.

Only thing left to do now is sit down, relax, forget about the bowls and beaters and pans piling up in the sink, eat a cupcake (or two) and enjoy it!

 

Mrs B xx

Pineapple Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Filling and Lime Frosting

After the success of our Hot Chocolate Cupcakes a few weeks ago, I immediately began thinking of my next cupcake creation of Mr B's lunches. I started throwing around some ideas involving pineapple and lime and the obvious addition to that was coconut. I am really happy with the way these turned out - the pineapple cupcakes with their chunks of juicy pineapple, the creamy coconut filling and the subtle hint of lime in the frosting, plus Mr B demolished the one I gave him to try so I'm thinking I might have done something right!

Pineapple Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Filling and Lime Cream Cheese Frosting - Makes 16

For the pineapple cupcakes you will need: 

1.5 cups plain flour

1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
115g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tspn vanilla
2 eggs
225g tin of crushed pineapple

Pre-heat oven to 180C and line a muffin tin with liners.

In the bowl and an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs and beat well.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined.

Add in the crushed pineapple, including the juice. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.

Fill the liners 2/3 full with batter.

Bake for 15-20 mins or until they bounce back when touched. Allow them to cool in the pan for 5 mins, before removing to wire racks to finish cooling.

For the coconut cream filling you will need:

100 ml of coconut cream (not coconut milk)

Using a teaspoon or a melon baller, remove a small section from the centre of the cupcake and set aside.

Fill with a teaspoon of the coconut cream.

Replace the section of cupcake that you cut out and press down.

For the lime frosting you will need:

Zest and juice of 1 lime
120g cream cheese, softened
125g butter softened
2.5 - 3 cups of icing sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until pale.

Add the lime zest, cream cheese and icing sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.

Pipe or spread onto your cupcakes.

And the most important part, sit down and enjoy!!!

Mrs B xx

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

On Saturday just gone, Mr B and I had a gigantic pile of wood chips to spread around the front garden.

Obviously our first mistake was getting the wood chips and assuming they would spread themselves around (I really think gardening companies could boost their profit ten fold if they included a complimentary gardener to spread your wood chips or plant your 60 trees or what not....) and the second mistake was when I said 'no darling, I didn't have anything planned today, what did you need me to do?'

Silly silly girl.

Although in saying that it was lovely to spend the day outside doing something productive and the difference it has made to our front yard is amazing.

However I won't deny that around 3pm we came inside for a cup of tea and a snack and when we got back outside, my motivation was definitely hiding in the kitchen screaming 'please don't make me go back out there!!' It was just one of those situations where we should never have stopped because even though we only had maybe an hours worth of work left, it seemed like an eternity! But we stuck it out and I resisted the urge to say 'Ok so you can finish up out here, I'm going inside to do some baking / wash my hair / pass out from exhaustion.'

In all honesty, I've totally done that before.

When we finally did drag our weary, dusty bodies inside, I decided we could both use a treat, so I whipped up these Hot Chocolate Cupcakes for Mr B's lunches this week!

Now when I told Mr B I was going to make Hot Chocolate Cupcakes for his lunches, he was less than thrilled....when I say less than thrilled, I don't mean he was obviously disappointed, but he didn't do the little squeal, happy dance, spin around thing I did when I first read the recipe for them, which in hindsight I'm probably glad he didn't do.

Despite Mr B having a massive sweet tooth and the world's most awesome metabolism, he has occasionally been overheard saying that my baking is going to either
a) make all his teeth fall out
b) send him into a sugar coma from which he may never recover,
c) give him premature diabetes or
d) all of the above.

When it came to these cupcakes though, all of that was really neither here nor there because I knew I had him won over when I said they would be filled with toasted marshmallow fluff. I mean really, who is going to argue with that? And as it turns out, the recipe I used for the chocolate cupcakes was much more of a fudge cake so it didn't have a really rich chocolate flavour, which I think definitely worked in this combination.

This recipe makes around 15 cupcakes and you will need:

1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 tspn bicarb soda
1/2 tspn baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tspn vanilla essence

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Line and grease 2 x 12 cup muffin trays.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cocoa, plain flour, caster sugar, bicarb soda, baking powder and egg.

Add the buttermilk, water, oil and vanilla. Beat until smooth. The mixture will be runny at this stage, but don't worry about that.

Fill your muffin trays 2/3 full and bake for 20 mins or until set.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, remove from the trays and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Once they have cooled completely, use a teaspoon or a melon baller to scoop a hole in the top of your cupcake. You want it to be deep so you can cram as much filling as possible, but you have to be careful not to break your cupcake and make sure the sides and base are still nice and thick so they don't crack or split.

I brought a tub of toasted marshmallow fluff from the local bargain shop, but you can buy normal marshmallow fluff at the supermarket near the Nutella and sandwich spreads. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of the marshmallow fluff into the centre of each cupcake.

Now for the chocolate frosting, you will need

125g butter, softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk at room temperature
2 tbspns cocoa

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until butter is pale and creamy.

Gradually add about half the sifted icing sugar, beating constantly. Add milk gradually then gradually beat in the remaining icing sugar and cocoa.

Pipe or spread the frosting onto your cupcakes and sprinkle with mini marshmallows.

When Mr B got home from work today I asked him how these were and he said they were off the charts incredible.....and this coming from someone who doesn't necessarily like chocolate!! So go on, give them a try!

Mrs B xx

Pina Colada Cupcakes

I feel like I should start this post by telling you that at this particular moment in time, I am not being a good wife.

I am sitting on the couch in our garage writing this post, while Mr B paints the ceiling.

Not long after we moved into this house, Mr B converted the garage into a bar and he has done a fantastic job. The walls and ceiling in the garage / bar are like a grey colour and they really needed some livening up so Mr B went out and brought himself some bright blue paint and some bright green paint with visions of green walls with a blue roof and blue trims.

To be honest I thought he was mad and I believe someone may have said it was going to look like Cookie Monster and Kermit threw up.....but despite all this, Mr B stuck with what he wanted and I have to admit, it is looking amazing! I will put some photos up as soon as he is done (which should be just in time for our annual Christmas 8-ball tournament!!)

So how did I get away with sitting on the couch with my feet up whilst Mr B finishes the painting? I made him these Pina Colada Cupcakes of course! And I couldn't help but make them in these two little Christmas pans I got last year, how cute are they!!

You will need:

115g butter, melted
1 cup of caster sugar
3 eggs
1.5 cups of self raising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tspn rum essence
1 tspn coconut essence
125g tin of crushed pineapple (and juice)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs and beat until well combined.

Add the flour, essences and milk and beat until mixture is smooth.

Stir through the pineapple and juice, ensuring everything is mixed through.

Grease 2 x 12 hole cupcake tins and line with paper liners. Fill each one 3/4 full and bake for 20 mins. These are a very moist cake so they may not look done, but if you gently press on the top and it bounces back, they are good to go!

This recipe should make around 18 cupcakes.

And here are some Rice Krispie Christmas Trees and Christmas Wreaths I made for Mr B's lunch boxes using this recipe and adding just a couple of drops of green food dye!

Enjoy!

Mrs B xx

This Week's Highlights....

You may remember a few weeks ago I made a Rainbow Cake for my birthday? Well this week, Mr B requested rainbow cupcakes for his lunches. I made up 1 basic vanilla cake batter and divided it into 5 bowls, tinting each bowl a different colour. Then I dropped alternating teaspoons of the mixture into a greased muffin tray. I love that they came out all psychadelic looking! 

Awesome rainbow cupcakes require awesome rainbow frosting! 

To make the frosting I just made some blue, green, red and purple frosting and layered it up in a piping bag - I love that each one is different and has a different mix of colours. 

Last Sunday night Mr B and I got ourselves all dressed up and went to see a Johhny Cash Tribute Concert to celebrate what would have been the year of his 80th birthday. I will admit I was abit unsure about the concert as I'm not really a country music fan, but it was so much fun! The atmosphere was just fantastic and you really can't beat live music, Mr B and I have been singing along to some of his old Johhny Cash CD's ever since!  

Last Tuesday night Mr B and I went to visit Mum and Dad for dinner and they put up another one of their legendary caravan kitchen meals! This one is kind of like vegetarian eggs florentine.....Veggie Burgers topped with Cheese, Scrambled Eggs, Spinach and Mushrooms with a side of Haloumi and homemade Tzatziki! YUM!!

And this....well this is a bowl of ice cream, but I want to talk about the little heart sitting on top of it. I have been wanting to try this for ages and it was so easy and so awesome! Simply whip some cream up until it's thick, pipe it into a heart shape or spoon it into a heart shaped cookie cutter onto a plate covered with baking paper. Place in the freezer for a few hours and ta-da! The consistency is kind of like ice cream and I think they would be fantastic floating around in a hot chocolate or irish coffee!

Mrs B xx

Cupcake-a-licious

Yep, it's a word, I'm using it, I'm throwing it out there....cupcake-a-licious. 

Three weeks ago when I kicked off this years RSPCA Cupcake Day fundraising, I was a little taken aback when the very first order I got said 'something with dates, rum and toffee....' I mean my first thoughts were....what happened to plain old chocolate and vanilla!? But my second thoughts were off and running with all the different combinations and how to  incorporate each flavour. I decided to go with a date cupcake, topped with rum buttercream and drizzled with toffee sauce and this is how they turned out....

I used my favourite Date Loaf recipe and simply altered it by cooking it in a 12 hole muffin tin lined with cupcake cases and dropped the cooking time to about 15-20 mins. 

Once the cakes were cooled I made some buttercream using this recipe:

125g butter softened 

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

rum essence to taste

Beat the butter using an electric mixer until pale. Add the icing sugar and rum essence, beating until thick, creamy and smooth. 

Pipe or spread onto your cupcakes.

Now for the toffee sauce I combined 1/3 cup thickened cream with 1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar and heated it in the microwave in 30 second bursts until the sugar had dissolved.

If you are going to serve your cupcakes immediately, drizzle the sauce over while it's still hot, if you are keeping them for later or making them for someone else, place the toffee sauce in the fridge to cool and thicken for about hour before drizzling over your cupcakes.

Now life is not all cupcakes and shoes (although I strongly think it should be), but there is also pasta and cheese! Check out this spinach and ricotta agnolotti that Mum made Dad, Mr B and I for tea last week,
It was delicious and jam packed with cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, creamy fetta and sugar snap peas!

And last but not least, probably a month ago now, Mr B and I attempted to make stuffed squid tubes for dinner. We (Mr B) cleaned them, stuffed them with a mixture of egg, breadcrumbs, tomatoes, celery and spring onion and sealed the tops together with a tooth pick before cooking them in a well oiled fry pan over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, turning frequently. They were really nice, but I think next time I would change a few things like using cooked rice instead of breadcrumbs and preparing the stuffing mixture in the fry pan before filling the squid tubes because the stuffing itself doesn't get much of a chance to cook when the squid tubes are in and out of the fry pan so quick.Definitely going to give it another go soon though!

Did I mention it's not even 9am on a Saturday morning here and I've already been in the kitchen for 2 hours baking up a storm for Mr B's lunches....ANZACS, oat and berry slice, apple muffins AND chocolate marshmallow honeycomb bites! Totally time for a nap....

Mrs B xx 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

With Valentines Day right on our door step I wanted to make something special to take into work today....

And really, nothing says Valentines Day like Red Velvet...plus I've never actually made had Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting before, I've always gone with the vanilla option....AND double plus, last week I brought some red chocolate melts that I was a little bit excited to try....


Mmmmmm look at how pretty they are!!!

And they are so easy! I got this recipe from a book called Cakes to Celebrate Love and Life but I changed it a little because I realised at the last minute I had no oil so I just replaced it with butter and it seemed to work out fine!

For the cupcakes you will need:
2.5 cups plain flour
1.5 cups caster sugar
1 tspn bicarb soda
1 heaped tablespoon of cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
200g softened butter
1 tspn white vinegar
25ml red food dye
1 tspn vanilla essence

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease your tins. From this recipe I got 24 x mini muffins, 6 x jumbo muffins and 8 x normal size muffins.

In the bowl of an electric mixer add the flour, sugar, bicarb, butter, vanilla and cocoa and beat to combine.

Add the buttermilk, eggs, vinegar and dye and beat until smooth. The mixture will be quite thick.

Spoon into muffin tins (roughly 3/4 full) and bake for 10-12 mins (for mini), 15 mins (for normal) and 20-25 mins (for jumbo size)....or you can just test them with a skewer to see if they are done :)

Once they are cool you can spread them with cream cheese frosting and top with a chocolate heart.

For the cream cheese frosting you will need:
250g softened cream cheese
150g softened butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 tspn vanilla essence.

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth.

And for the chocolate hearts simply get about 3/4 cup of red chocolate melts and microwave in 30-40 second bursts, stirring in between until melted and smooth.

Allow to cool for 2-3 mins and spoon into a piping bag (I used a freezer bag and just snipped a tiny hole in the corner). Pipe heart shapes onto a piece of baking paper and place in the fridge for 2-3 mins to set.

This is the yummiest red velvet recipe I have ever tried and the bright red cakes with the white frosting is just such a striking combination, you can't go wrong!


So what have you got planned to spoil your loved one this Valentines Day?? I have a special 3 course dinner planned for Mr B seeing as we are both at work during the day....but more on that later!!

Mrs B xx

75 Cupcakes and 1 Cake Later......

And we finally have a decision on our wedding cake!

A Raspberry Yoghurt Cake with Vanilla Yoghurt Buttercream!


Raspberry Yoghurt Cake
¾ cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup thick raspberry yoghurt (I used Dairy Farmers Raspberries and Cream)
1.25 cups caster sugar
2 cups self raising flour

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Combine the oil, eggs, yoghurt and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.

Add the flour and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a greased tin and bake for 35 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Once the cake has cooled, frost with vanilla yoghurt buttercream.

Vanilla Yoghurt Buttercream
120g softened butter
1.5 cups icing sugar
3 tbspn full fat vanilla yoghurt

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer.

Add the yoghurt and beat until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more icing sugar to reach your desired consistency.

This cake was exactly what I have been looking for. It was moist yet dense whilst still being melt in your mouth light and the raspberries and cream yoghurt paired with the vanilla yoghurt buttercream is just the most gorgeous combination....I know yoghurt in a buttercream might seem a touch odd and I know yoghurt in the cake and the frosting might seem like yoghurt overload, but the yoghurt tones down the richness of the buttercream and really is the perfect partner for this cake.

So there you have it, over the last 12 months we have made numerous batches of cupcakes and even a cake trying to find a flavour combination we would be happy to serve at our wedding, I have made our parents and work mates trial them over and over, but each time there was just something missing, they were nice cakes but nothing that really grabbed us...but this cake ticked all the boxes....unique, delicious, simple to make, not too sweet, sickly or rich, something I would be proud to say I made and proud to serve up at our wedding. It's been a long and often very frustrating road, but the end result was well worth it!

And it's only 3 months to go till the big day now, I can't believe how quickly the time is going. 3 months till I'm a wife, 3 months till I walk down that aisle in my big poofy dress and look into the eyes of the man I love. I hope he looks at me in that moment and feels as amazing and as nervous and as terrified and as happy as I am going to. It's going to be one of the biggest and most memorable moments of our lives and I can't believe it's right around the corner....

Em x

Confession Time.....

I have a confession to make. It pains me to do this, but I need to put it out there in the open so I can start trying to move on and recover.

As most of you know, I get married this January and after seeing the ridiculous price of paying someone to make our wedding cupcakes, I decided to make them myself.

OH and I decided what flavour we wanted. I made some test batches. They were delicious. Case closed right? Wrong. This is where it gets nasty.....I was going to use a packet mix. I know I know, the guilt, the shame, the fact that they were beautiful soft fluffy vanilla cupcakes with a bright red raspberry swirl is not the point....it has been eating away at me for awhile now and today something just snapped. I cannot bring myself to serve packet mix cake as my wedding cake. I know no one else will know but I will and that’s not cool. I go to enormous effort to make cakes for other people’s birthdays, for morning teas, even just for something to do – but I can’t make my own wedding cake.....that’s not on.

So you know what the means? We are back into the test kitchen!

For the first test batch I’m thinking Lemon Yoghurt Cake (because it’s dense and moist whilst still being light and melt in your mouth awesome) with a raspberry swirl and a vanilla buttercream......

For the second batch I’m thinking a Moist Vanilla Cake (never made one before, but I’m after a moist, soft and flavoursome cake) with a raspberry swirl and vanilla buttercream......

This will also involve some experimentation with a) getting my buttercream as close to white as possible and b) making a raspberry swirl that is packed full of fresh raspberry flavour whilst adding a vibrant red swirl to the cakes.

So there you have it.....I confessed, I am ashamed.....but I am back on the horse, guns (or ovens) blazing and super excited about seeing the results of our first two trials!

Stay tuned for updates over the next few weeks!!

Em x

All the colours of the rainbow.....

...well nearly anyway!

We certainly had a very colour filled weekend!

First off, I received a voucher via www.livingsocial.com.au to get 7 assorted and beautifully gift wrapped macarons from Sweet Envy in Hobart for just $7! Helloooooo bargain! We finally got to pick them up late last week and they looked a lil something like this

Now in there somewhere we have Blueberry and Lemon, Chocolate Praline, Lemon Creme, English Toffee, Mocha, Rose and Apple and Blackberry. They were delicious, each one had a delicate buttercream filling and right in the centre, a suprise pocket of lemon curd or blackberry jam or soft caramel! Yum Yum Yum!!

Then on Friday my cousin Janine asked me if I could possibly put on my cupcake fairy wings and make two dozen cupcakes for her son's birthday party on Saturday. Could I ever!! I found out that Kai's favourite colour was orange and from that moment onward I was just itching to get home and get started on them! As always I planned to simply make the cupcakes and the frosting Friday night, bung it all in the fridge and do all the decorating on Saturday....and as always that didn't happen. I made everything and as soon as the cakes were cooled I started decorating my little heart out (I really do get too excited by all this baking caper...)


The look on Kai's face when we delivered them was priceless...almost as good as when he slyly pinched a car off one of them before the guests arrived! But you do get certain privelages as the birthday boy I suppose!

And last but not least, my new favourite obsession....I have been having this for afternoon tea at work every day and you know I have tried tins of spaghetti, soup, rice cakes and philly, cereal, porridge you name it...but nothing satisfies and keeps me from snacking when I get home like this does. One apple, 3 strawberries and 2 dates all sliced up. It takes me about an hour to eat because I just pick whilst I'm working and it is so good!! Would be yummy with a dollop of yoghurt on top too....on a cold winter's morning...whilst snuggled in my warm cosy bed with a book and a cup of tea....can't wait for my next day off so I can try that out actually...granted I do have yoghurt at work and could easily try it tomorrow, but I think it's important to try it as the whole package complete with electric blanket and rain falling on the roof :)


Happy Monday!!

Em x

RSPCA Cupcake Day 2011

Today was a pretty special day, not only was it the 2011 RSPCA Cupcake Day which meant a big morning tea at work to raise money....but it was also the day that the craft group at work were decorating cupcakes for their craft activity and donating the proceeds to the RSPCA. You know, raising the money for the RSPCA gives me that wamr fuzzy feeling but watching the craft group decorating their cupcakes this morning just took that to a whole new level....see for yourself...

And everyone was so proud of their creations....



And just goes to show....you're never too old to lick the spoon!!


I still haven't stopped smiling, definitely one of the best things I've been involved in....put smiles on people's faces and raised money for a good cause :)

Happy Cupcake Day!!

Em x

What a week.....

Well this week has been an interesting one....

There have been big things going on at work and I have been baking for at least 2-3 hours a night to clear my head at the end of some very long days....

But let's not dwell on that....let me show you what has been good this week....

OH brought me some gorgeous flowers :)


Mum and Dad cooked us this very tasty baked brie in a white wine sauce and served with fresh crusty bread :)


And my book arrived!!! For my one year blogging anniversary I decided to buy myself a book....and not just any old book, but my book! I used www.blog2print.com to turn my blog into a hardcover book and it finally arrived yesterday morning and as soon as the post lady was out of ear shot there was lots of singing and dancing and squealing! It's so much cooler then I could have imagined and a great record of not only the last 12 months of my life but all my recipes etc....did I mention it's really really cool? I just like the idea that even though I have the only copy, it's a printed version of my blog, my recipes and my life that I can sit on the book shelf and pass onto my kids one day :) It's definitely something I'm going to do every year as a little treat for myself :)


It's now Sunday afternoon and I am exhausted. On Friday night I went out to dinner with some ladies from work to a restaurant called Me-Wah that does fantastic chinese food....I was so impressed I'm taking OH and his Mother back tonight!

Then yesterday OH and I went for a ride on the bikes, it's been a few weeks since I have taken my bike out so I was abit concerned I would have forgotten everything but we decided it was about time I hit the road for real so I rode all by myself up and around the roads in our area with cars and everything! It was the first time I had ridden on a proper road and it was very exciting and more dancing, squealing and general excitement ensued when we got home! Then we went to visit OH's grandfather, had an awesome ham salad roll for lunch and went to watch some of OH's friends play footy. It was bloody cold but I was rugged up to the eye balls and for the first time in a long time, I even had a can of beam....I mean we were at the footy so it was only fair! Then OH and I went and got some pizza (I was really lashing out today huh!) and went home to curl up and watch a movie.

This morning we had a leisurely sleep in and brekkie in bed and that was pretty much where the relaxating ended! Tomorrow is the actual RSPCA Cupcake Day so I had to make some food for a fundraiser morning tea at work...sounds easy hey? Well for this I did some mini cupcakes, some lemon tarts, some mini quiches and some home made chocolates....simple....but I also had to make 120 cupcakes for the craft group at work. I work in an organisation that does community care for the elderly and disabled and we also have a day centre where there are music groups and craft groups and all sorts of activities for people to come and enjoy. Tomorrow there is a craft group and because it's Cupcake Day they are going to decorate cupcakes for their activity. So I am providing the cupcakes, the frosting and the decorations and they are donating the proceeds from the group to the RSPCA which is fantastic :) It meant a hell of alot of baking today and right now I feel slightly unwell, exhausted and like I never want to bake ever again, but it's so worth it :)

Anyway, I better be off, have to straighten my hair / get the cupcake batter out of it, before we go out for dinner! I'll post photos of the morning tea and the craft group decorating their cupcakes tomorrow!!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend :)

Em x

The Week So Far.....

OH and I have been struck down with a bug this week which has left us both exhausted and feeling very sorry for ourselves. Hopefully now we are nearing the end of it as we had planned a night out for dinner tomorrow night (and I know OH has his heart set on a 3 tier seafood and steak extravaganza!) and a nice relaxing and much needed sleep in on Saturday.

Cupcake orders have been coming in thick and fast this week and I am pleased to say that we surpassed the $200 mark today! Yay!! I really am so thankful to everyone that has donated so far, it's such a fantastic effort and we are only two weeks in! But all these donations mean cupcakes galore - today alone I delivered 60! Everyone seems to automatically default to chocolate when I ask them what flavour cupcakes they want, so to make it slightly more exciting, I made some different frostings....the photo below is a selection of the ones that went out today...


L-R - Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, Coconut Rough, Choc Mint, Strawberry, Penuche (Brown Sugar Frosting) and Choc Fudge!

In other non-cupcake related news (are we sick of the cupcakes yet!?) my Nan cleared out all her old cookbooks over the weekend and was nice enough to offer them to me. I picked them up today and she had also given me her old round loaf tins, I remember these from when I was little and they always use to fascinate me, I can't wait to test them out! There are so many cookbooks there, but the best part is Nan's handwritten recipe books. At Christmas time, my Mum gave me a book of her handwritten recipes, which I was really excited about, so having my Nan's as well will be very special. I can't wait to have a look through them all - in fact I'm off to make myself a cup of tea and start doing so right now!!


Em x

Howdy :)

It's Monday morning here and it is freezing cold!

Last night my hair straightener wouldn't even work, turns out if it is below 8C then they can go on strike and to be honest I don't blame them!

So what did we do over the weekend?

We slept in....lots

We ate fresh bread straight out of the bread maker at 8am and went back to sleep, woke up at 10am and had a second brekkie....

I had a relaxing lunch and went bridesmaid dress shopping with one of my gorgeous friends........

We made a mixed batch of chocolate mint, chocolate and vanilla, chocolate fudge, coconut rough and double chocolate cupcakes for a lady I work with....


We went bowling and I finally won a game :) ....although the deal was winner buys lunch so I'm not sure I won anything at all bar bragging rights!!

OH got himself a new toy.....


And took me for a riding lesson on the bike, despite my protesting at the cold...

And to top it all off we finally put OH's anniversary present up - it was a wall decal that says 'Forever Love' with lots of swirly things around it.....it wasn't easy, but we did it!! Photos to come once we get all the air bubbles out!!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend :)

Em xx

The cupcakes have returned!!

Yep, it's that time of year again, RSPCA Cupcake Day is fast approaching and this will be my 4th year baking my lil heart out (hold on, don't I do that all the time anyway?!) for those cute lil critters! This year I am doing pretty much the same as last year, every donation of $10 or more receives a batch of cupcakes as thanks and there will be a Cupcake Morning Tea at my work on August 15th as well. I am very excited because it’s only Day 5 and I’ve already raised $85.

If you are interested in donating then you can do so via my fundraising page http://www.fundraise.rspcacupcakeday.com.au/emily_balmforth_4


This was the first batch to go out this year, some decadent Double Chocolate Cupcakes and some heavenly Sticky Date Cupcakes.

And here is how it's done :)

Sticky Date Cupcakes (This made 18 normal sized cupcakes)

You will need:

250g pitted dates
1 cup water
1 tspn bicarb
60g butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1.5 cups self raising flour

Pre-heat oven to 180C and line your cupcake pans.

Place the water and dates in a deep dish (believe me you will thank me for this later) in the microwave on medium high for around 4-5 mins. They should be nice and mushy by the time you get them out.

Add the bicarb and stir to combine (see aren’t you glad you used the deep dish?!)

Melt the butter and sugar together in the microwave (or on the stove if you prefer) and stir into the mixture. Add eggs and flour. Stir to combine.

Now you may want to sit down and eat the whole bowl of mixture right now....believe me I know...but be strong and spoon it into your cupcake pans and bake for 15-18 mins (for normal size ones) or 12-15 mins (for cute lil mini ones)

For the frosting I used some pre-made vanilla frosting and mixed some maple syrup through it. I was contemplating making some toffee shards or something to go with them as well but I kind of believe that if you get too fancy and start adding too many layers on then it can take away from the cupcake itself. Fair enough if you have a plain vanilla or plain chocolate cake, layer it up with all you like, but when it comes to something like a sticky date cupcake, I think a hint of maple in the frosting is all you need to set the flavours off because a) I think the less is more approach is the way to go when it comes to cupcake decorating and b)there is nothing worse than going to a cupcake shop and they look so delicious but underneath that tower of creamy frosting is a very average cake, it should be about the two coming together to make something spectacular you know?! Ok rant over, moving on!

Chocolate Cupcakes (I got 9 normal size + 14 mini cupcakes out of this recipe so I’d say 15 normal sized?)

This recipe is from a book my Mum gave me and the first time I made it I was very hesitant as the mixture is quite thick, but my god does it make some good cupcakes!!

You will need:

125g butter
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1.25 cups self raising flour
1/3 cup milk
3 tbspns cocoa

Pre-heat oven to 160C and line your cupcake trays.

Melt the butter and sugar together in the microwave.

Using an electric mixer, add eggs, milk and cocoa and beat until well combined.

Add flour and beat for 2-3 mins until everything is mixed in.

The mixture looks a bit like mousse at this stage :) which actually makes it a hell of alot easier to spoon into your cupcake pans! Fill the pans about ¾ and bake for around 15 mins or until cupcakes bounce back when poked.

I frosted these ones with a pre-made chocolate frosting and topped them with a mini oreo just to make them look cute.

And while we are on a cupcake theme, check out my new Cupcake Locket!


And look at all those gorgeous people in it :)



And did I mention I have something very special in the works for you on Thursday?? Stay tuned!!

Happy Baking everyone xx

Em