a little sample box

I made a sampler of some of my newest creations to deliver to neighbours. I finally made some lavender cupcakes out of my very own dried lavender (right out of the pot in my little yard!) What I did was, first I dried the lavender and then crushed it up in my mortar and pestle - what a nice aroma it made, then I simply added some dried flowers to my batter and saved some for a pretty garnish! Next, I created a jasmine cupcake by brewing some strong jasmine green tea. This gave the cake a very subtle floral note. I also added my spiced chai cupcakes and made a sweet mango cupcake by adding fresh crushed mango to the icing as well as the cake batter. Because I use fresh ingredients and no artificial stuff, each cupcake had just a hint of flavour that any cupcake connoisseur would appreciate :)

the versatility of chai...

I made some chai tea from an authentic recipe I own to add to my cupcakes. A little cardamom, ginger and cinnamon give this cupcake the reminiscent taste of a warm cup of chai tea. I iced the cakes with a cream cheese frosting with a little bit more ginger and cinnamon to give it an extra zing! To prepare your own, I recommend steeping a cup of chai tea using milk and spices as well as a scoop of loose leaf chai tea. Use the chai tea in place of the water or milk you use in a regular cupcake recipe.

enjoy :)

YeEhaW!

Cowboy and Cowgirl cupcakes!

chocolate and vanilla bean cupcakes

with marshmallow fondant hats and boots!

The horses were a bit experimental using vanilla wafers for the necks and mallow circus peanuts for the heads and tails. Next time I will use only 1 wafer for the neck instead of gluing 2 together - makes the cupcake split at the bottom. I had a hay day with these cakes! The marshmallow fondant worked out perfectly for shaping and the boots and hats and they dried just enough to keep their shape but didn't turn into rocks - kid and tooth friendly ;) All I did to make the fondant was soften a cup of packed mini marshmallows in the microwave for 20 seconds, then I added up to 2 cups of icing sugar and kneaded until I had a nice ball of fondant. I kneaded cocoa powder into some for the hats and for the boots, a bit of red and blue food colouring! Have fun!

Happy Easter! bird nest cakes

Cadbury mini eggs are perfect for creating these easy bird nest cakes! I made these nests with toasted coconut. Here's what I did: I iced the cakes with a knife and then rolled the edges of the cake in a small bowl of my toasted coconut then I placed 3 cadbury mini eggs in the centre. Voila! bird nest cakes!

Try a nice lemon zest cake recipe, I added zest and lemon juice from meyer lemons from our tree. Another refreshing flavor is strawberry cake - mix in fresh chopped strawberries and add a little bit of strawberry juice to your buttercream icing to add a nice flavor.

New recipes to come in future updates: avocado and lavender honey

patty cake, patty cake, St. Patty's cake!

Here, we have a lovely vanilla flavoured cake with a hint of butter rum, dyed green for the occasion. The icing is flavoured with a dash of Irish Cream liquor, mmmm. Decorations are four leaf chocolate-covered sunflower seed clovers! So pretty as a nice accent, but also very addicting....ah well, they are good for you though ;)

february blahs

...are almost over, but for now let's get through those dreary days with some happy snowmen cupcakes ok? Make a batch of mini and regular size vanilla cupcakes, ice them with white icing and then roll the edges in coconut. Stack the mini 'head' on the large 'body' of the snowman. I used goody candies for the carrot noses and microwaved starburst candies for about 4-5 seconds, rolled them out and then cut scarves, earmuffs, etc. out of them! These guys are cute, super fun and super GOOD. I eat 'em up, and you should too.

be my valentine cupcake

Try this recipe for your valentine!

Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

1 box of chocolate cake mix

Follow the directions on the mix box only substituting buttermilk for the water. Ice the cupcakes with chocolate fudge icing and top with a pretty raspberry buttercream rose or make a heart shape!

Chocolate Fudge Icing

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup milk

Combine the dry ingredients with the melted butter, alternately add the sugar and milk until desired icing consistency.

Raspberry Buttercream

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/8 (or less) tsp raspberry extract

2 cups icing sugar

milk

Cream the butter and add the extract and icing sugar until desired consistency. Add a teeny bit of milk for a good consistency.

more Christmas cakes...a little late!