Hello Lovelies. How’s your week been? I’ve had a few broken nights sleep this week. A few more than normal really. Our five year old still prefers Mum and Dad’s bed to her own and tends to be a bit of a wriggly worm. I secretly love snuggling up to my little darling, but sometimes I do wake up feeling more like a grizzly bear than a loving Mama bear.
Hello there dear friends. I have been sitting on this recipe for a while, as real life cranks up a notch and time for my little hobby baking seems to vaporise in front of me. Somehow I managed to whip up these treats and photograph them on my favourite new / old rustic cake tin. They were delicious and give a bit of a WOW with the cute mini caramel apples on top.
Hello from my cosy lounge room. It’s Sunday afternoon. The fire is blazing and torrential rain is currently flooding the surrounding farmland. These are the best kind of days. I have been in my pyjamas since we came home from church and have just finished a pot of my favourite French earl grey tea. I am reading “Mr Midshipman Easy” by Captain Marryat at the moment. It was written in 1836 and my worn copy of the book appears to be almost as old. Last year I read “Children of the New Forest” by the same author, which was an equally brilliant book.
Apparently New Zealand is really beautiful. My neighbours just spent ten days there and were telling me about some of the marvellous adventures they went on. I stood in their front yard wrestling my huge border collie pup on his lead, listening in amazement to tales of how both hubby and wife went paragliding right off a mountain top!! I couldn’t believe it! Mrs B, I was informed, has done this three times!! Clearly my head has been buried in my lovely pink mixer too long. In my time warped 1950’s housewife brain, I think being adventurous is making toffee shards. I forget that other women out there love to jump off mountains with a piece of plastic and string. Good on them. Rah Rah you go girls!!
Just leave me with my mixer.
Hello Lovelies. I almost feel I need to reintroduce myself. Easter is just around the corner and regrettably I have been very quiet on the blog front. Is anyone else still chasing their tail since Christmas? For us, the holiday season seemed busier than ever pastoring our church and while we managed a restful week away in March, my head is still trying to catch up with the new school year and getting my girls into a productive work routine. Our older children’s lives are also changing, with one son starting an apprenticeship and our eldest becoming a father in July! Oh my! How wonderful to be welcoming another little lamb into the fold. And as I am wayyy too young to be a Grandma, or even a Nanna, I am working hard thinking up an age appropriate alternative name to call myself.
To celebrate the much anticipated arrival of autumn I am very excited to share with you my latest cupcake creation.
(Drum roll please…)
Introducing the one and only:
Sunkissed chocolate orange cupcake with Grand Marnier ganache
Thank you to all who requested this cupcake recipe. It is fast becoming (another) one of my favourites. The perfect summer dessert. A light and tangy lemon cupcake filled with a generous dollop of lemon curd, topped with the most delicious meringue frosting. It is not as sweet as other cupcakes, with the meringue cloud frosting providing a lighter alternative to buttercream. Let me take you through this recipe step by step, with the easy to print version giving the recipe details.
Baking is effective therapy. For me it is incredibly relaxing. No matter what I am going through, how messy and out of control my kitchen (or life) seems, as soon as I get out my mixing bowls and begin putting together a new recipe that has been mulling around in my head or bake something just because I like the sound of French Earl grey tea in my cupcakes, I instantly unwind. It’s not just about the sugar hit or opportunity to eat something indulgent. It is the process of creating. Of doing something with my hands.
With winter finally upon us I thought it was high time to do some of my favourite baking. I love all of the spices and flavours associated with the cooler months and keep dreaming up cupcake recipes that I will be trying over the coming weeks. I actually made these cupcakes as Mother’s Day gifts. I wanted to bless some special mothers in my life with home baked goodies on a recent trip away. I love the sweet ginger heart cookies on top of these moist and spicy cupcakes. They are super easy to make, adding a delightful touch to your gift box. Any gingerbread biscuit recipe will do, but I have included the recipe I used here. You can also change the shape of the cookie to suit any theme.
A delicious combination of crushed mint cream biscuits mixed into a chocolatey cupcake with peppermint cream cheese frosting on top. Perfectly refreshing when you want something a little bit different to satisfy the sweet tooth.
