Tag: cupcakes

How not to bake with kids….

Baking is not my thing!  However, my daughter enjoys it, so on occasion I don an apron and we have a go at making cakes or biscuits. 

It’s all about the gear!

A few weeks ago, I bought a cake mix, preheated the oven, mixed it up and then realised I don’t own any cake tins!  Luckily, my neighbour across the road was kind enough to lend me a couple and she also lined them as well!

Last week I was sent a Fairy Cup Cake Set from Candy Stripe Party.  So again, I donned my apron and we proceeded to make the cupcakes.  There were eggs and flour everywhere.  Apparently, there is a difference between cupcakes and fairy cakes.  The recipe I was using said it would make 24 fairy cakes.  As there are only 3 of us I decided to halve the recipe, and for the life of me I couldn’t work out how I only ended up with six. Now I know that fairy cakes are much smaller than cupcakes.

What to do if you don't have a piping bag for icing

So we ended up with a ‘Fairies Cake’ instead of ‘Fairy Cakes’.  I still think they’re beautiful though.

Not Again!

And again, I discovered that I was missing a crucial kitchen tool, when it came time to decorate them, a piping bag.  But again thanks to YouTube I found this fabulous video for using a plastic sandwich bag.  Not as environmentally friendly but it saved me cleaning the piping bag and I think the effect was excellent.

So I don’t get caught out again, what ‘must have’ baking utensils/equipment should I have in the kitchen?

 

Banoffee Cupcakes

I was sent these from the people at Baking Mad.  And I was supposed to turn it into this, using this recipe.

Stop laughing!  Overall, it wasn’t too bad except a few minor hiccups, which was mostly due to my being domestically challenged.

How to make them Mediocre Mum Style:

  • Work out what the hell Dulce de Leche is???  Ask on twitter and then quickly ring a mate who is an RD person in the food industry, trained as dietician and all around genius in the kitchen.
  • Blag said friend into getting some Dulce de Leche in town, bringing it around and bamboozle her into making the cupcakes with Madame.
  • Stand back and watch the professional work.
  • Learn that using a whisk in a circular motion is not whisking.  Whisking is from side to side.  If you want to ‘fold’ anything into it apparently you must use a figure 8 motion or you will knock all the lovely air you put into it????
  • Make friend a coffee and send her on her way, thanking her profusely.  Open wine.
  • Let the cupcakes cool overnight.
  • Wake up to Madame wanting to decorate the muffins first thing.  Get slightly annoyed because you would rather being drinking coffee and tweeting.
  • Don Apron.
  • Follow recipe for icing to a T and don’t question that it calls for milk.  Panic because the icing resembles pancake batter and would ooze out of the decorating bag.  Quickly ask on twitter how to fix it.  Add more icing sugar as suggested, nearly the whole box, mix, mix, mix and get more annoyed because it still isn’t working.  Stress and start grumbling at Madame because she is throwing the last of the icing sugar around the kitchen.  Grrr!
  • Thanks to Twitter realize that I shouldn’t have put milk in it.  Throw the first lot down the sink and start again.
  • Omit the dried banana chips, not because I didn’t have any but because dried fruit makes me gag! :-)

Result!

So, what do you think?  They’re absolutely delicious!!  I think I could manage it on my own next time.

Pinkest Witch Cupcakes! Yum!

Good old Twitter! I was moaning about baking cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday. I’d already spent £11 and I hadn’t even bought the ingredients yet, when I was rescued by @PWitchCupCakes. She’s a friend of a friend and she was heading in this general direction for an event. The only thing I had to do was drive up the A1 and meet her in a car park to pick them up.

It was so worth the drive, the cupcakes were amazing and I didn’t have to bake. Result! They were presented beautifully in a gift box and the Cupcakes resembled artwork. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try one myself but according to the adults they were light, fluffy, zesty and a few other adjectives. One of the mums said that her daughter never eats a whole cupcake and she polished off the whole thing. I can’t recommend Klare and her cupcakes enough. Do check out Pinkest Witch Cup Cakes. She’s now offers a proper delivery service!

As usual, I didn’t manage to take a reasonable photo so I asked Clare to supply me with a couple.  But I can honestly say ours were just as gorgeous.  Talented Lady I’m sure you will agree!