Sometimes a cakey flavour is just staring you in the face...

So, I have my staple cake flavourings: Vanilla, chocolate, rose water, lemon, orange blossom, peppermint, strawberry, lavender and almond. But I'm tired of relying on the limited imagination of the flavour shelf in the supermarket. What if, for example, I want a blackcurrant and ginger flavoured cupcake but don't want to put whole blackberries and ginger bits in me cakes?! What then Dr. Oetker?

Well, I'll tell you what. You invest in some rather tasty cordials...

There's so many flavours! I tried out the 2 I happened to have in my kitchen because I figured they taste nice, and surely if I add a drop to some humble vanilla cake mix...I can make my cakes taste like the drinks...

So, observe my friends! Cordial Cakes :D

To begin, we have the humble vanilla mix in all its simple glory:

Next, choose your weapon...(cordial/flavoured drink) Basically anything like Ribena or those kinda drinks you add to water to make them taste rather nice.

Then! Add abooooout 2-3 tbsp of your chosen drink (this is for a 2 egg vanilla mix btw) BUT! Be warned, the amount of drinkage you add does depend on the strength of the drink, as the lime cordial wasn't that strong so it needed quite a lot of cordial (so I had to add more flour which as you shall see made me cakes turn out rather solid looking, but its all in the name of cake experimenting! Still edible of course...)

Anyway! So yes, before you go and add 3 tbsp of your drink, check for how strong it is. Because something like ribena is crazy strong so you might only need about 1 1/2 tbsp. You have been warned...

Really, it's about tasting it as you go. I mean I like quite strong flavours so I'd have quite happily poured an entire bottle of cordial into my mix, but I hear others arn't as partial to drinking straight cordial so best to play it safe and go for that 'hint' of flavour, rather than a smack in the face load of it :D

^ Lime ^

^ Blackcurrant and Ginger ^

Granted, this picture looks like mashed up intestines. But don't fear ladies and gents, for it does become the beautiful shade of lilac you may view below...

So here's the rather odd looking Lime cake you were warned about. It were quite dense inside but to be fair I did chuck a load of flour in the mix in a desperate attempt to save my mix from being like lime flavoured slop. But I've always found if any mix does get watery, just add another table spoon of butter, flour and sugar and that usually sorts the mix out and doesn't cause the ingredients to become insanely unbalanced.

Now here you have folks, what happens when you plop your mixture into cases without putting them into a cupcake tray! Love 'em or hate 'em all splayed it, I think they look rather interesting like that...(honestly, I only resorted to cooking them like this because I couldn't be bothered to make the long and trechorous 5 minute journey downstairs to find my cupcake pan...forgive me.)

These Blackcurrant ones, unlike Limey, came out beautifully. Really moist, purple, and a lovely sweet hint of blackcurrant from the cordial.

So! Cordial Cakes, enjoy :D x

Ice Cream Cakes...

Continuing with the chilly theme...I have for you...Ice cream cakes! No, not the cake baked in a cone we all know and love. Actual cakes made with ice cream.

Observe...

Ice cream my friends, is simply a combination of eggs, sugar and some kinda fat.


Cake, is simply a combination of eggs, sugar, some kinda fat and flour. So how does one make a cake using ice cream? Simply add some self-raising flour to your favourite ice cream of course :D




I chose Hagen-Daz Dulce de Leche ice cream because it's rather tasty.

Simply let it melt, scooped out 6 tablespoons of the lovely stuff, added 6 tablespoons of self-raising flour, mixed it all together (ate a bit) scooped it into cases, baked for 15 minutes and tudaah! Cupcakes made from ice cream :D The easiest cupcakes to bake, ever. No creaming, no egg cracking, just a tub of ice cream and a bag o' flour.














And the best part is you get to lick the bowl and the ice cream tub...

Iced with a tasty honey flavoured buttercream

Enjoy!

Frozen Cupcakes

Don't you hate it when The Cupcake Cravings start, so you get up to assemble the ingredients only to realise you have everything but the eggs, and really can't be bothered to make the 5 minute walk to the shop to get more.

Well, panic no more! For as I sat pondering at my laptop ways in which to abolish these fridge-y disappointments, it occurred to me, what if you could just freeze lots of cupcake mixture for the day when you have no ingredients and have to call upon your emergency frozen back up batter?

Does frozen cupcake mixture actually work?!

Yes my friends, yes it does. And here is the proof...

Admiteddly I had wondered if crazy things might happen during the freezing time, like the eggs getting too cosy with the flour and exploding or something before I'd had a chance to blast them in the oven. But actually, apart from a little dippage in the centre (which lets face it can easily be masked with a mountain of buttercream) They turned out edible! Which is all you really need from a cake...

I cooked these literally from frozen. I did for the sake of Cakey Science (It's a recognised branch of science...honest) Leave 2 cakes out to defrost to see if it would make a difference but the only difference was I had to wait an extra hour before I could eat my cakes...which is not recommended. Plus you get exactly the same result, so why put yourself through the agonising wait?!

So yes, frozen cupcakes! They work :D

A blast from the past!

I'm a sentimental gal at heart really, and I felt my little golf cake flew under the radar being modest as it is in the early days of what can I can only diagnose as my cupcake-mania period in life. This was one of the first cupcakes I really 'designed' so to speak that wasn't just a pretty pink swirl a'top a cupcake. And surprisingly, it was influenced by my dear ol' grandpapa who loves himself a bit o' golfing! So naturally I thought to put some chocolate golf balls and a flag on top of a cupcake.

Admiteddly, he didn't really have a clue what they were to begin with, they 'didn't have cupcakes in my day' apparently so some explaining had to be done with regards to the fact that yes its edible, no don't eat the flag, for they are just an addition to the whole brilliance of a golfing inspired cupcake...because you like golfing grandpa...stop looking confused...just eat the cake.

So yes! Welcome back dear golfing cupcake friend, you still live on in my heart and waistline...

Apple Pop!

Is it a Granny Smith on a huge stick? Nope. Is it an un-candied candy/toffee apple? Nope...because that would just be a Granny Smith on a big stick...(for those of you not familiar with what a 'Granny Smith' is, rest assured I am not referring to the act of seeking out Granny's with the second name 'Smith' and sticking said 'Granny Smith' elderly ladies on a Giant pointed stick, such acts are now frowned upon. I am in fact referring to the classic Granny Smith apple! So don't think I've taken to Granny smith hunting and spearing please, those days are behind me...

Anyway! Enough of the rambling if you've read this far and are not reporting me to the police. I have created the Apple Pop! An ingenious Cake Pop that resembles that of an apple! The tasty way to get your 5 a day!

Created using a stick, cake, buttercream, fondant and a chocolate sprinkle!

Cake as far as the eye can see...

I done a fair! I had me my little cupcake stall at my local fair and I baked a ton of cakes; over 200 to be precise...i think. 1 day solid cake baking, 1 day and night solid icing (who knew swirling buttercream on to cakes could take so long?!) Admittedly, I did bake way too many cakes after my optimistic estimation of how many people would be lured to my cakes like moths to flames. Unfortunatley everyone these days is 'watching their figure' despite my cries of 'they're low calorie!' and 'you only live once so eat as much cake as you can, when you can'.

However! Do not despair dear cake lovers, my little children/cakes did not end up in cakey heaven (the bin) I held my head high and marched off to some car boot sales to send my left overs to other homes and also pitched up down by the river to lure runners and children to my cakes for where children run to cakes, parents follow with lots of money to spend on cake :D That's why I love children. (Except for when they shout 'CAKE!' and proceed to plunge their little fists into my perfect buttercream swirls...at which point I smile sweetly and pray the mother is decent enough to pay for the injured cake, I don't have the goolies to demand payment upon enthusiastic child's actions, I just hand the bruised cake to my cake depository (my dad) where it vanishes in seconds to go to a better place. (I'll leave the image of what that 'better place' might be up to you...)

SO! 'PICTURES!!!' I hear you cry! Well, I was so swamped with all that is cake this weekend that I must admit I didn't take many of the cakes actually being sold, but I do have a couple of 'in the making shots' for your enjoyment, so enjoy...

Dark chocolate melting into butter for my delicious brownies.

And I don't know what's wrong with me readers, but I didn't lick the spoon...

I think something's wrong with me.

Tudaaah! The cakes of my labours!

Blood sweat and tears went into making them (not literally, although...I'm thinking there could be an interesting flavour sensation in that...shall report back when I've drunk enough to think making cakes using my own blood, sweat and tears would be a fantastic idea)

They're Croissants, honest...

Ok, as usual, things are not as they should be, and quite rightly so! Who says croissants have to look how they've always looked?! Time for a lil' change in the croissant world...

So, without further ado, I present to you...Chocolate Croissant Sticks! Ok granted, they don't sound as glamorous as an old school 'Croissant', and if you really want me to french things up a lil' I'll translate my creation to 'Croissant Batons' (don't judge me if my french is wrong, I've only been twice, and even then I just spoke English but loudly...) but lets face it, 'Croissant Batons' sounds more violent than delicious...

So enjoy my Croissant Sticks! Milk Chocolate encased in a length of buttery Puff Pastry for that light, buttery crisp pastry we all know and love as The Croissant...but in my twisted, chocolate style :D