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Jazzy Cupcakes for Julia

Nov27
Blue, Lime green, Purple Flower Cupcakes

Blue, Lime green, Purple Flower Cupcakes

Julia had her 15th birthday party in a delightful Christmas garden setting on Friday night.  I made these cupcakes a little different and jazzy to suit her personality.  I cut out flowers using 3 different size cutters of the same shape flower.  I embossed all the flowers with a spiral embossing sheet just for some added funky texture and then placed a smaller flower onto a larger one completing them with a centre of pearl beads and a sparkle of glitter.

Blue, Lime green, Purple Flower Cupcakes

Blue, Lime green, Purple Flower Cupcakes

I iced the chocolate cupcakes with a lime green icing to match the green of some of the flowers and pearls and the vanilla I iced with a white vanilla icing so there was a contrast of colours in the cupcake display.  Congratulations Julia and thank you for trusting me to do these cupcakes for your party.

Snowglobe Christmas Cupcakes

Nov23

The Cake Boss is nearly a household name after having been aired on South African Television for a while now and I am sure I am not the only baker to have been inspired by his creations and to have picked up  a few ideas from his programmes.  One episode in particular grabbed my attention when he was designing a cake with a polar bear theme. He used crushed mint humbugs in his icing to compliment the theme of the icy polar bear cake and I thought this was pure genius.  Of course then I hunted for mint humbugs which I found had become extinct here in SA.  The idea was filed to the back of my brain until recently when Woolworths brought out yes you guessed it, Mint Humbugs, in the most delightful Christmas packaging.

Snowglobe Cupcakes (Humbugs
Snowglobe Cupcakes (Humbugs

I thought that using the crushed humbugs in the icing would be a perfect idea for a snowglobe Christmas cupcake.  I wanted to make these cupcakes after being inspired by  a cupcake post on Bakerella.  Take time to click on this post as these cupcakes are the essence of Christmas Delight!  Immediately after reading the post I searched our supermarket shelves for a plastic bottle with a similar shape to the Coca Cola one for the dome for these cupcakes.  I found 2 which I planned to cut to shape but they were quickly recycled once empty  – good to know my recycling drive is working so well in the house – but for once I wouldn’t have minded if the bottle had been around a bit longer!  Again it was by chance that I found the most delightful red polka dot cupcake cases with their own domed lid, (Kadees, Fourways).  Perfect for my snowglobe cupcakes.

I made vanilla cupcakes and iced them with my new found humbugs crushed into vanilla icing.  I did add a drop of peppermint essence for an extra kick.  I made a small teddy with a bow and placed him on the iced cupcake.  To complete the snowglobe look, I painted tylose onto the inside of the dome and then sprinkled white sprinkles into the dome.  They stuck quite easily and the loose ones dropped out onto the cupcake as I placed the dome over the teddy and cupcake. (You could also use glitter on the inside of the dome for a non Christmas theme).  These cupcakes are quite small as I haven’t found the dome in a bigger size yet but they look really cute.

Snowglobe Cupcake - Red Teddy

Snowglobe Cupcake - Red Teddy

I tried the snowglobe cupcakes out using a pink and white striped cupcake holder and pink and white teddies too!

Snowglobe Pink Teddies Cupcakes

Snowglobe Pink Teddies Cupcakes

Lindt Chocolate Cupcakes

Nov22
Lindt Chocolate Cupcakes

Lindt Chocolate Cupcakes

I now know that any bar of chocolate can inspire me to make cupcakes – I just have to make sure I don’t eat it before I get the inspiration.  I wanted a treat for my family on Sunday after them seeing all the orders go out on Saturday wondering if they were going to get any cupcakes at all.  There is an easy formula for making these cupcakes. First cut off as many little blocks of chocolate you will need for each cupcake and then melt the rest gently over a double boiler.  Fold the melted chocolate into your vanilla icing.  You can either mix it in completely to give the icing a light chocolate brown colour or you can mix it in just enough to give a marbled effect which I have done in the photo above.  Pipe your icing onto the cupcake and then top with a block of the Lindt chocolate.  You will love the way the dark Lindt chocolate contrasts with the sweetness of the cupcake and the icing.  The only dilemma you may have while eating this cupcake is: do you eat the chocolate block first, do you leave it till the very last bite or do you bite into it as you reach the middle of the cupcake?    Now I can’t wait to try something with some of the other Lindt chocolate flavours!  Any ideas?

Sun in my Pocket/Locnville Cupcakes

Nov19

A perfect sequel to my last post Hot Hot Hot Cupcakes – here is the inspiration behind my Sun in my Pocket/Locnville cupcakes.  I delivered the Ice-cream cupcakes to Lisa at the Memory Shed on Wednesday.  While I was diligently and noisily scrapbooking a young girl, Carmen, came up to me and asked me if I had made the cupcakes as she needed some for her birthday party.  She new exactly how many she needed and I agreed and then asked her what the theme of her party was to which she replied – Locnville.  At 43 I am pleased to say yes I know who they are but it was difficult to come up with any immediate idea for cupcakes for Carmen.  I said I would do music notes for her as she was so excited about her cupcake order and her party.  Carmen I must say is definitely the most delightful client I have had so far and I was inspired to do something a little bit out of the box for this very confident 10 year old.  My trusty research technique is google so off I went into cyberspace and you might have guessed it I was reminded that Locnville’s first song was “Sun in my Pocket” .  I was so excited to translate this into sugar art and thought that these decorations would appeal to the joyful spirit in Carmen.

Sun in my Pocket Cupcake Sugar Art

Sun in my Pocket Cupcake Sugar Art

I made the suns using sugar paste which I coloured yellow and orange and used a sculpey clay flexible push mold to mold them.  For the pockets I coloured sugar paste a denim blue and cut out squares which I then shaped into pockets.  I added the stitching detail and popped them over the suns while they were still soft.  By then I was so impressed with myself I was actually humming the song to myself – not sure if I should be admitting this to you all!  I iced chocolate cupcakes with my delicious vanilla icing and added a Locnville pocket to each cupcake along with a music note.

Sun in my Pocket Cupcakes/Locnville Cupcakes

Sun in my Pocket Cupcakes/Locnville Cupcakes

I didn”t see Carmen when I delivered these cupcakes but I am sure her and her friends loved them today and knowing her she had a brilliant birthday celebration with her friends and was proud to give each friend a cupcake to take home.  If by now you are humming this catchy Locnville tune to yourself then I will know that Carmen’s spirit has touched not only me but you guys too.  To a delightful young client it was a pleasure to meet you and do business with you and thank you for the inspiration behind these Sun in my Pocket Cupcakes and I am certain that you are a  pocket full of sunshine in the lives of all around you.

Sun in my Pocket Cupcakes/Locnville Cupcakes

Sun in my Pocket Cupcakes/Locnville Cupcakes

Feelin’ Hot Hot Hot!

Nov17

Buster Poindexter poses the question in his song “How you feelin’ ?” Hot Hot Hot has to be the reply and we can relate to that here in Joburg over the last few weeks with this extreme heat.  We are all ‘glowing’ in this heat and it has been a challenge to say the least to firstly muster up the energy to be creative and then to try and protect my cupcakes and their sugar art decorations from wilting!  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of summer and extreme heat – okay well what do you think of after sipping strawberry daquiris in the jacuzzi?  You guessed it …. ice-cream!

Ice-cream Cupcake Sugar Art

Ice-cream Cupcake Sugar Art

I used a cutter to cut out these ice-cream cones from white sugar paste and then added the cone cut outs from brown sugar paste.  I painted some tylose onto the tips of the cones and sprinkled them with the most well known of all cake decorations – hundreds and thousands – I hadn’t thought I would be using them in a hurry again!  And then for the cherry on the top I rolled small balls of red sugar paste and added them to the ice-cream cones.  I made vanilla cupcakes (note to self – you need to have an original ice-cream flavour cupcake for these next time) and iced them with a gorgeous strawberry icing and added my cute ice-cream cones to the cupcakes.  I think you’ll agree that both the cones and the cupcakes turned out simply Lickable!

Ice-cream Cupcakes

Ice-cream Cupcakes

American Dance Awards & Oreo Cupcakes

Nov14

There wasn’t  much time for baking or trying anything new last week with my daughter taking part in the finals for the American Dance Awards held here in Pretoria, South Africa.  The girls from her studio danced all week in solos and in group performances and they were all beautiful.  Ceire qualified in her 2 solos and 2 group dances to go to Orlando, Florida next year and compete internationally so I am such a proud mom of a truly beautiful daughter.  I now this is not a cupcake picture but have to post my favourite of many pictures taken during the competition.

Ceire - American Dance Awards - Nov 2011

Ceire - American Dance Awards - Nov 2011

Yesterday I wanted to make cupcakes to celebrate her achievements and wanted a cupcake with an American theme so I thought of Oreo Cupcakes.  Luckily I had a packet of the dark chocolate Oreos with the creamy white centre hidden away in the grocery cupboard and I took 6 and twisted them so that I had half an Oreo with its white centre to pop into 6 cupcake holders.

Oreo Cupcake Bases

Oreo Cupcake Bases

I then took the halves I had left and 6 more oreos and chopped them into big pieces.  I added these to my trusted vanilla mixture and folded them in gently.  I spooned the mixture over the halved oreos in their cupcake cases and popped them into the oven.

Oreo's for Oreo Cupcakes

Oreo's for Oreo Cupcakes

I iced the cooled cupcakes with a deliciously rich cream cheese icing.  I added a half an oreo cut from the top this time to each cupcake. These cupcakes were a perfect ending to a hectic and exciting week for us all.  Thanks to you Ceire for your awesome achievements and the inspiration behind these gorgeous oreo cupcakes.

Oreo Cupcake

Oreo Cupcake

Just one more picture just because I can!

Ceire - American Dance Awards, Nov 2011

Ceire - American Dance Awards, Nov 2011