How cute is this cake? When I saw it I fell in love with it and was completely delighted that I received a request for a Baby Shower Cake shortly thereafter.
The cake itself is simply vanilla with buttercream frosting. All the extra’s are sugarpaste – the washline, the clothes, the baby carriage and the daisies.
Such a simple, yet effective cake.
Pastel Daisy cupcakes accompanied the cake.
Such pretty, dainty cuppies!
It was my daughter’s 5th birthday this last weekend, and she wanted to have a Princess Party. A very pretty, pink & white, girly Princess Party.
I had such fun deciding on the decor and putting together the Dessert Table. We featured a Sweetie Bar, in which the girls could choose and scoop out their fav sweetie from the jars.
Red lollipops were tied with polka dot ribbon for a fun look.
I served Berry Juice complete with these gorgeous old fashioned paper straws.
I baked Cake Pops and dipped them in white chocolate – yummy.
The Cupcakes were Vanilla with Buttercream frosting and decorated with sugarpaste crowns and mirrors, which I made myself.
The cake was a 2 tier Chocolate & Vanilla Cake, frosted with buttercream and decorated with pink, white & lilac sugarpaste dots. Princess Polly (sugarpaste and made by myself) completed it.
All the girls had an absolute ball. They got to ice sugar cookies and make fairies too.
A very successful, very pink & white, very girlie party!
I found this recipe the other – for the life of me I cannot remember where – but decided that I was going to give them a try. I don’t think I would have tried these were it not for the fact that I *love* Red Velvet Cupcakes so much. I imagined these to be the same, only orange.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised. They were delicious. Soft, moist and indeed velvety. Not too sweet and a flavour that really just moves around in your mouth – you know what I mean?
Instead of Cream Cheese Frosting (this is traditionally used with Red Velvet Cupcakes) I decided to use just a simple Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting. As these cuppies are not too sweet, i thought it was the perfect finish to them.
Here is the recipe that I used – your feedback, if you make them, would be welcome:
Orange Velvet Cupcakes
Yields: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
– 1/2 cup butter, softened
– 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (i used light brown)
– 2 eggs
– A good squirt Orange Gel colouring
– 1 cup buttermilk
– 2 1/2 cups flour (sifted well)
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
– 1 tablespoon vinegar
– 1 teaspoon bicarb
Directions:
Beat sugar and softened butter well. Add food coloring and eggs. Beat well. Add buttermilk, flour, salt, vanilla and orange extract. Mix well. Stir the vinegar in by hand. Then add bicarb. Mix well.
Pour batter into cupcake liners. Bake +/- 20 minutes at 350 (180). Allow to cool before frosting with your fav Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.
And then sit down and enjoy with a cup of tea!
It’s that time of year again, and what better way to say thank you to teachers, or show your loved ones you care – than with a cupcake – but, even better, what about a Christmas Cupcake?
These cupcake toppers are all handmade with sugarpaste icing.
Cupcakes can be baked in you favourite flavour, and simply topped with a Christmas Topper to make them look beautiful.
These cupcakes make lovely gifts, or alternatively, you could have them instead of a traditional Christmas Cake. Or even, just order them because you feel like treating yourself!
Although Halloween is not a holiday we traditionally celebrate in South Africa, I have had a few requests for cupcakes to celebrate this day. I really had such fun making these – i basically sat down with my sugarpaste and made whatever came to mind.
This is the Halloween Collection – these cupcakes are a combination of plain chocolate and also Orange Velvet (a recent spin off from Red Velvet that is really quite yummy).
The Witches Hat
The Bubbling Cauldron
The Pumpkin
Ghostly Ghost
And a spooky spook
If there is one thing I have learn’t from being in the Cupcake Business – it is to let your imagination run wild and don’t let anything stand in your way!
As we are all aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I am sure that each of us has been touched in one way or another by Breast Cancer and am sure we will all agree that it is not something that we would like to happen to us or our loved ones.
In honour of this I have put together a selection of Pink/Pink Ribbon Cupcakes, of which I will donate 10% of all the sales to the Avon Foundation for Women.
I really believe that this is something that us, as women, need to be more aware of. And not only are you supporting a worthy cause, you get to feast on delicious cupcakes too!
I had a request recently for Farmyard Cupcakes. I’ve been wanting to do these for sometime, so was quite excited when this order came in. My client wanted Cows, Tractors, Pineapples and a Farmer’s Hat.
Farmyard Cupcakes
All fairly easy to make out of Sugarpaste. I pictured gorgeous Black/white cows with pink noses – until she told me that they had to be Brangus/Angus Cows ie brown ones, not Friesland (dairy cows). Now by looking at a black/white cow on a cupcake it is fairly easy to see what it is. Not so with a brown cow! Is it a teddy bear? A dinosaur? A horse? Anyway, after a bit of fiddling i got my cows right. The rest were a breeze. John Deere Green Tractors. So cute. Yellow pineapples. And Brown Farmer’s Hats. I did a mix of chocolate cupcakes, togethe with vanilla caramel cupcakes.
My client absolutely adored them – as did her father (they were his birthday cake). And obviously my cows don’t look too bad – because I’ve had orders for more!
When my daughter celebrated her birthday earlier this year, she requested ‘Monster Cupcakes’ instead of a traditional birthday cake.
So this is what I made:
They were so very simple – i just used a variety of sweets, marshmallows, biscuits and liquorice and got to work creating monster looking cuppies.
She loved them!
And they did taste rather nice too!
A couple of weeks ago I met up with a Bride to discuss her wedding cake requirements with her. She had a picture of the cake she wanted, but was unsure of what flavours to have in the three tiers.
So what better way to help her decide than to take with a selection of cupcakes in assorted flavours, including carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, chocolate with mocha frosting, vanilla caramel with vanilla frosting, red velvet with cream cheese frosting and chocolate with chocolate frosting.
Her colours are blue and silver, and she loves butterflies, so I tried to incorporate all of those elements into the design of the decor for the cupcakes. Clusters of mini roses, pearlised butterflies and dainty daisies. I really think that they came out beautifully and look so dainty!
Cupcakes are definately the trend for ‘wedding cakes’ at the moment – a tower of cuppies with a small 10cm diameter cake at the top is definately the way to go. Very little wastage and a good way to incorporate more than one flavour. And who doesn’t love a beautifully decorated cupcake?
Since being in the Cupcake Business, I have learn’t a few things. Whilst people love things looking pretty, they do not love to try new things. The trusted flavours remain the firm favourites in terms of orders that I receive.
Ie, Chocolate, Vanilla & Chocolate Chip. Those are people’s ‘go-to’ flavours when ordering large quantities. I think this is because they are safe. Chocolate in particular. You know exactly what you are getting, no suprises. Especially my chocolate cupcakes – they really are super moist and delish.
So, onto the Ruby Anniversary Cupcakes.
With this order, my client was very specific! I would like chocolate cupcakes. With whatever icing. And for the toppings – go wild – the only requirement is there must be mention of our 40th Anniversary.
I put on my thinking cap – and this is what I created. I loved how they turned out. The toppings were all ‘ruby’ in colour, but then I gave them a quick spray of ‘lustre’ and suddenly they looked pink. But the lustre looks gorgeous together with the pearl centres of the Gerberas.
I still feel like i’m learning. That i’m actually not that good. Perhaps I’m just humble? When I delivered them she was clearly very delighted and just a tad emotional. I almost felt embarressed at how wonderful she thought they were.
But she loved them and that is all that counts – and that she is still so very happily married after 40 years. Wow!
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