The Gingerbread House

Tis' the season to be jolly! It's less than a week til Christmas (and less than a week of work!) and I've started the preparations! First up, a gingerbread house, complete with footpath, letter box and Santa's unfortunate mishap! Thank you to my wonderful partner, Joseph, for his contributions to the house - he has an eye for detail AND patience!

Unfortunately, I've been ill the last couple of days and won't be able to bake as much as I anticipated for Christmas! But hopefully, I'll have time to whip a thing or two more!

Otherwise, new year's cake, anyone?

Choc Mint Cupcakes & Caramel Cupcakes

November and December are the busiest months for teachers. Instead of relaxing and preparing for Christmas, we are marking essays and countless exams, planning engaging lessons to keep our students on task, writing detailed reports and on top of that re-enforcing classroom rules as students begin to enter “holiday mode”. Not that I blame them. The scent of Christmas is lingering and my frustration increases at the thought of the last day of school occurring only TWO days before Christmas! 

However, I refuse to allow all of my work to heavily impact my baking. I need balance!

I have been experimenting with different cupcake flavours and even different desserts. Being a lover of chocolate mint, I thought it was only fitting that I begin with that, looking up recipes and settling for Nigella’s Choc Mint cupcakes (http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/mint-chocolate-cupcakes-1170). I added a chocolate decorative piece on top for presentation purposes. 

Choc Mint Cupcakes

Next up. Caramel. My partner’s favourite. Although I disliked the buttercream topping (perhaps too sweet with the caramel), the cupcake itself tasted delicious and in future, I would use an alternate icing or salt the caramel. This recipe comes from the Women’s Weekly Class Collection Cakes & Cupcakes books. 

Caramel Cupcakes

Looking forward to trying Peanut Heaven, Strawberry Meringue and Banana Cakes!

Circus Cake

Yesterday, my adorable little nephew celebrated his 2nd birthday with a circus-themed party.

After several complex designs were scrapped (mainly due to insufficient time - why does work always have to get in the way?), I decided to settle on a three-tiered cake incorporating the colours and patterns of the invitation and party decorations - Blue, yellow, white and red! Stripes, circles and stars! Fun, fun and more fun!

The bottom tier was chocolate mud and the middle was white chocolate mud (both made by my sister)! However, to maintain balance and avoid problems, the top tier was polystyrene which also meant that it could be decorated much earlier on! The clown was based on the design by the cake company, Wilton. However, mine appeared to have gained a few extra pounds!


Happy Birthday, Cam Cam!

Circus Cake