Author: Anna Hogbin

RECIPE || Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Hello sweet friends,

What a beautifully gloomy weekend. You won’t find me complaining about cool, rainy days. They epitomise my favourite weather perfectly. Give me a cosy fireplace, good book and cup of earl grey tea over long hot summers by the beach any time.

While I still don’t feel cold enough to put on my favourite boots, or wear any long sleeves (thanks menopause), the temperature has dropped enough to start thinking about warm, wintery comfort foods. Bring out the stews, bangers and mash and tasty soups for dinner. We are stoking up our fire and eating dinner in front of it most nights.

Winter is undoubtedly my favourite season and one day I hope to live where there are dramatic seasonal changes, cooler summers, no humidity and freezing winters. Surely I’m not being unreasonable?

I also like to shop and bake seasonally. Have you ever eaten grapes in winter? There is just something profoundly wrong about it, plus they never taste quite right. Our orange, lemon, mandarin and lime trees however, bulge with citric goodness, dosing us up with flu fighting vitamin C right when we need it. Pumpkins are another winter favourite and we often have a flourishing vine in our back yard.

I spend a lot of time daydreaming about new cupcake flavours. I love the challenge of turning brilliant flavour combos into cake. With this in mind, and in my quest to bring you delicious wintery comfort recipes, let me introduce the Pumpkin Spice Latte cupcake.

While I haven’t technically tasted a pumpkin spice latte, or ever seen one actually, the combination of home cooked, puréed pumpkin with aromatic winter spices and a shot of coffee is pretty irresistible in my books. Add a drizzle of caramel over the top and you’ve pretty much got heaven in a cupcake.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcake

Moist cupcakes made with real pumpkin puree and aromatic winter spices, topped with ccoffee swiss meringue buttercream. A perfect treat for the cooler days.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin
  • 2 cups plain flour, sifted
  • 1 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • 1 tsp bicarb soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cardamon
  • 2 tblsp cinnamon sugar, extra

Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 tbsp egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cups castor sugar
  • 300 grams butter, cubed
  • 1/4 cup strong coffee Granulated coffee or a double shot of espresso

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180C

  2. Line two muffin trays with 18 cupcake papers

  3. Peel, cube and steam enough pumpkin to make 1 cup of puree. Mash when cooked and leave to cool while you make the cupcake mixture.

  4. In a medium bowl, using a hand whisk, mix together eggs, oil and sour cream.

  5. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients - Flour, sugar, bicarb soda,baking powder and spices.

  6. Add pumpkin to the wet mixture. stir until combined.

  7. Carefully pour the wet mixture into the dry mix, stirring well with a rubber spatual until combined. Using an icecream scoop, fill cupcake liners until each is 2/3 full.

  8. Bake in moderate oven for 18 minutes. Leave on a wire wrack to cool. Top with coffee buttercream. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired.

Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, hand whisk egg whites and sugar until well combined.

  2. Place bowl over a saucepan with about 2cm filled with water (like a double boiler). Simmer over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

  3. Place bowl in electric mixer, with whisk attachment, on high, until stiff peaks form.

  4. Turn mixer onto low. Add cubes of butter two at a time. The mixture will deflate, then turn soupy and have the consistency of scrambled egs. This is normal. Eventually the buttercream will come together with a silky smooth texture. This may take up to ten minutes.

  5. Add coffee to buttercream a little at a time. Keep mixing on low until well combined.

  6. Pipe buttercream onto cupcake sand sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

I mentioned on an instagram post this week how I never tire of baking and photographing my cupcakes. It’s difficult to describe the joy and satisfaction it gives me creating these tiny works of edible art and styling them on their own little stage. It’s like telling a story without using any words.

Sometimes I chuckle to myself thinking ‘Oh my goodness Anna! They are only cupcakes, get a grip!’ But the reality is that they are  so much more than that. This little baking venture is my cup filler, my happy place, my window to the world of creativity that has nothing to do with raising children, keeping house and being a mum. And at 52 I just might be in need of a little diversion.

Ahh dear.

Speaking of diversions, the kids are all on holidays now and let me just say that I can smell adventure in the air! Not your run of the mill family adventure, but something extra special. Before you all get carried away thinking what an amazing mum I am to plan super fun things for my kids all holidays, I need to clarify that this is a Mum only adventure. That’s right, this is a ‘no kids allowed’ space and definitely a ‘no Mum guilt’ zone. While the dear sweet treasures will be having a lovely time at home with Papa Bear and the beach, Mama Bear will be taking time out to fill her cup until it runneth over, doing something new that will bring a taste of freedom as she gives herself room to stretch those wings and see if they can still fly. I can’t wait to share it with you. 

Until next week,

Love Anna xx

 

Twenty years in Heaven

Hello friends, thanks for joining me. It has been quite an effort getting this post out. Lots of things happening in our busy household which has pushed back blogging time, but I am here at last and have quite a story to tell. 

Twenty years ago this month our little boy went to Heaven. I always dread June. There are three anniversaries to deal with. His birthday on the 7th, the 18th when he left us and the day he was buried on the 21st. Our baby was alive for eleven days, so basically the whole month feels revolting. I won’t go over the details of his death, but you can read his story here in this post I wrote last year. 

It’s hard to think of my little baby being twenty. Everything about him is so abstract and intangible. We had no time to get to know our son, have very few memories, and those we do have are painful. As difficult as it is losing a baby, I often think how much harder it would be to lose an older or adult child, with whom you have built a life. Although at the end of the day all loss is loss, a life not lived, a life cut short and nothing left but a broken hearted mama with a lot of unanswered questions. 

Grief changes a lot over the years. Even in the last twelve months I noticed a shift in the intensity of the heartache. I think this was the first year that I didn’t completely fall apart. I did, however shed a few tears when I least expected it. I was proud of myself for tracking fairly well until one night I was watching a movie with the kids and suddenly felt a familiar sadness creep up out of nowhere. Grief for my dear sweet son hit me with no provocation. Grief will do that. I’ve learnt by now that it will burst through your heart when you think it is safely tucked away. 

By now I am far enough away from the initial pain of loss to be able to sit in peace knowing that I have a son in Heaven waiting for me. He is safe, away from all harm and nothing will ever hurt him. He is mine and I will spend all eternity with my baby. I have much to look forward to and I am grateful. I am grateful he exists and everything I have missed out on with him here will be given back to me in the fullness of time. 

I think a lot about Keith and Melody Green. You may have heard of Keith Green, a famous Christian singer back in the 80’s who tragically lost his life in his twenties, along with two of his children, when a light aircraft crashed. His wife was pregnant with their fourth child when they died. I follow Melody on social media and she is very active in keeping Keith’s memory alive. He was an extraordinarily gifted musician, full of zealous love for the Lord and the broken. I have one of his records and still get teary when I listen to him.

Recently Melody shared that her loved ones had been in Heaven for forty years next month. That struck me as such a long time, until I realised that my own dear boy had been in Heaven with Keith and his children for half of that time.  I wonder if Noah plays with Josiah and Bethany, or listens to Keith play the piano singing songs to Jesus. Imagine that!I can’t help but smile when I think of all that goes on in Paradise where there is nothing but beauty, peace, creation perfected and Jesus. 

After twenty years, living with loss is essentially a waiting game. While I have this treasure in Heaven, my earthly life is still full of living jewels who need my love and devotion. They are the ones I can touch now, hug (if they let me!) and cherish. I understand how Melody Green can be at peace and live a full life in the here and now while she waits for the day she reunites with her precious ones. While grief is deeply complex, we do not grieve as those who have no hope, and that makes all the difference.

Next week I will share my new Spiced Pumpkin Latte cupcake recipe. I baked a trial batch this week, and although I’ve never actually had the latte, boy the cupcake version was delicious! Ahh perfect wintery bliss. 

Thanks again for hanging out with me for a few minutes. I am so grateful to all of you who take the time to read my ramblings. Whatever you are doing this glorious Winter morning,  make sure to stop, breathe deeply and inhale the gift of being alive.

Until next week,

Love Anna xx

RECIPE || London Fog Cake

Hello Lovely ones, 

Thank you for joining me today. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this week’s post. I have been wanting to get this London Fog cake recipe out to you for years. Ever since I stumbled upon this incredible Union Jack flag at a vintage collectibles sale years ago, I knew I had to make a London Fog cake and use it for the photos. The flag is actually quite old and has a tag on it that says ‘Department of Corrective Services NSW’, so it may have quite a colourful history.

If I had my wits about me, I would have done this post a few weeks ago when the Queen (God bless her) celebrated her 70th Jubilee. But life is rarely convenient, or on time and so I am a couple of weeks late. Oh well, better late than never. 

I adore her Majesty. I think she is the most remarkable woman who has given so much for her people. Plus she is just so darn cute in those matching outfits. Here’s hoping she can hang onto her reign for another two years so she can beat King Louis XIV as the longest serving monarch of all time.

You will be interested to know that a London Fog is actually a drink which originated not in the UK, but Canada. It is essentially an earl grey infused vanilla latte. I have only ever come across this delicious drink once. Most cafes don’t make them, but occasionally you will see them on the drinks menu. if you ever do, make sure you try one, especially if you are a tea drinker. 

For this London Fog cake I used my favourite French Earl Grey tea from Love Tea  

(This sounds like a paid plug, but I assure you it’s not!I just looooove this tea. It is by far the most delicious tea I’ve ever tasted and I am unashamedly addicted.) Any loose leaf earl grey will do, but I highly recommend using a good quality one.

This cake really is something special. Don’t be put off by the use of tea in a cake. It is in no way overbearing, rather it gives a delicate floral tea flavour. My husband, who is definitely not a cake eater or tea drinker, said this was his favourite cake, and I even spotted him finishing off the extra icing off his cake plate, something that never happens. 

One of my favourite parts of this cake is the crushed tea leaves added to the cake batter and frosting. The French earl Grey tea I use has sweet little purple leaves in it, which adds a nice texture to the cake.

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London Fog Cake

A London Fog is a tea infused vanilla latte. This delicious earl grey infused cake with vanilla bean buttercream has a delicate floral tea note which will impress even the most reluctant cake eater.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, lightyly beaten
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 cup strong earl grey tea Use 4 or 5 tea bags and make the tea as strong as you can. This will enhance teh flavour of teh cake.You will need 1 cup of tea.
  • 2 cups plain flour, sifted
  • 1 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • 1 tsp bicarb soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp crushed earl grey tea leaves

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cup castor sugar
  • 300 grams butter, cubed
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 2 tsp crushed earl grey tea leaves

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180C

  2. Line and spray two (or 3) 20cm round cake tins

  3. In a medium bowl, using a hand whisk, mix together eggs, oil, sour cream, vanilla and strained tea. set aside.

  4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, sugar, bicrab, baking powder

  5. Add tea leaves

  6. Carefully pour wet mixture into dry mix. Stir carefully with a hand whisk until well combined.

  7. Divide mixture evenly between two or three cake tins

  8. Bake in moderate oven for 30 - 35 minutes. (Check after 30 min)

  9. Leave to cool on wire rack. Wrap in Glad wrap and refridgerate until cold.

  10. Use a serrated bread knife to level the cakes. Put buttercream in between layers and place the top cake layer upside down. Finish putting buttercream around all of the cake as desired.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. Whisk eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Put mixer onto a saucepan (or double boiler) with 2cm of water. Whisk every few minutes until all sugar is disolved and you cannot feel any grains between your fingers.

  2. Put bowl into electric mixer, with whisk attachment and turn onto high. Mix for about 5 minutes or until stiff meringue peaks are formed.

  3. Reduce speed to low and add cubed buttewr a bit at a time, until all butter is mixed in.

  4. The buttercream will go through a soupy stage, then look like scrambled eggs. This is all normal. Keep mixing. It can soemtimes take around 15 minutes to come together, depending on the weather, so be patient. It will eventually look like silky smooth buttercream.

  5. Add vanilla bean paste and crushed tea leaves

  6. Put frosting onto cake

Recipe Notes

This recipe can be used for cupcakes. It will make 18.

Honestly I don’t know where I’d be without my tea. I have been drinking it every day for most of my adult life and I cannot express how powerful it is in soothing an aching heart, giving strength for a busy day, calming frayed nerves or bringing sweet fellowship when a pot of earl is shared between friends. Tea is like your best friend who listens to your heart, takes nothing from you and just keeps giving! Ha! I think the same could be said for a pet dog, but as I am in no way an animal person I guess I’ll never know.  People love their coffee, but in my opinion, not enough credit is given to the humble cup of tea.  A dog may be man’s best friend, but I do declare that tea is a womans!

And so I dedicate this post to tea drinkers everywhere. May our pot continually runneth over and our brew never be too weak. I know for a fact that the Queen starts her day with a cup of tea in a pretty (expensive no doubt) tea cup so let’s all raise a pinkie for our favourite monarch, make a London Fog cake and give a jolly tally ho cheer as we pour another pot of tea. 

Long live the Queen.

Until next week,

Love Anna xx

RECIPE || Iced Vovo biscuits

Good morning Dear Ones,

I hope you have been out enjoying this beautiful winter sun. It’s been a long time coming and I am so grateful the weather has finally cooled down.

As you know, I was hoping to bring you my London Fog cake recipe this week, in honour of her Majesty, but as fate would have it, I came down with yet another hideous flu that left me bedridden for most of the week. All of my ambitious baking plans came to naught, so I implore you to be patient with me and I will get the recipe to you as soon as I can. 

In the meantime, let me share this recipe for homemade Iced Vovo biscuits.

Growing up back in the glorious 70’s, we would always bring a packet or three of Arnott’s biscuits home on shopping day. I loved hanging out with my Mum, especially doing the groceries together. Mum would buy us kids each a frankfurt from the deli to eat as we shopped. A young boy was usually at the end of the checkout cheerfully packing our groceries into paper bags and all prices were entered manually into the till. I can still remember how shocked I was one day when our grocery bill cost a hundred dollars! Wow! What a lot of money! That was a week’s food for a family of four. Oh how times have changed. 

It appears the good old Iced Vovo has changed too. I bought a packet a month or so ago for ‘research’ and was shocked by how it failed miserably to reach the standard of my childhood memory. Where were the lines of pink puffy pillows? The whole thing was completely flat. So dismally disappointing. And as for taste, bah humbug.

So I set about creating my own perfectly puffy, marshmallowy rose scented pillows, lined with real raspberry jam on an oversized crisp cookie base. Oh yes, they are most assuredly as delicious as they sound. I imagined these to be something you would make as a treat for yourself or to share with a group of girlfriends for a special afternoon tea. They are definitely not for the kids to hoof into after school. Being such delicate little creatures, they need to be handled with care and eaten by humans who appreciate them. Toss the kids a packet of biscuits and they’ll never know what they are missing.

The recipe is fairly straight forward. 

I use Glorious Treats sugar cookie recipe for the base cookie, and Manuela’s (Passion For Baking) Marshmallow Frosting recipe for the delicious puffy pillows. You will need to download Manuela’s App (Love Manuela) for the recipe. All of her recipes and frostings are insanely delicious and next level beautiful. Eye candy for sure. 

A few notes to consider:

  1. I used a large fluted rectangular cookie cutter, which can usually be picked up in a two dollar store or online here  (feel free to use any cutter shape you want).
  2. Add a few drops of rosewater essence to the meringue frosting, and a few drops of pink gel food colouring. (Do not use Colourmill colours for this as they don’t work in meringue based frostings. Trust me, I know. I tried this at least three times before reaching out to the lovely Manuela for help.)
  3. Any jam will do, but I recommend Bonne Maman Raspberry jam, as it is super tasty and has a lovely red shine to it. Place spoonfuls of jam into a piping bag, cut the tip off and pipe a line onto the biscuits, in between the lines of frosting. It’s much easier this way.
  4. Pipe the marshmallow frosting onto the cookies using a star tip. Make the pillows nice and big. If you need help, there is a piping tutorial here .
  5. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut before putting the jam along the centre.
  6. Leave at room temp. Store in a single layer as the marshmallow does not set firm. Eat within a week, but I promise you they won’t last that long. 

I loved these biscuits when I was young. Actually, I loved any biscuit. The simple pleasures of a sweet toothed little kid. I had a really happy and carefree childhood, which I have always treasured, realising what a foundational blessing it has been in my life.

If my childhood was good, then my teenage years were the best. I often tell my girls how amazing it was growing up in the 70’s and especially being a teenager in the 80’s. They are actually quite envious and wish that they too knew the uncomplicated joys and fun of hanging out with friends at the roller skating rink and driving to the video store to spend half an hour choosing a video to watch.

Stranger Things has certainly helped revive 80’s nostalgia. I confess I’m a bit of a sucker for monster movies and enjoyed taking a step back in time watching it. The attention to detail, like phones with cords, orange laminex in the kitchens, the furniture, funky wallpaper, patterned dinner plates, big hair, rock solid friendships and the delightful nod to The Neverending Story.…ahh, I love it all. It’s like watching my glory years all over again. Oh, except for the monsters, alternate universe, invading Russians and kids with powers. Somehow we missed all that at Tamworth High. But we did, however, realise how awesome Kate Bush is. I have been bombarding my kids with her brilliant music for years. I’m so pleased that she is now cool again. 

I guess that’s enough rambling from me for now. It’s been such a joy spending a few minutes with you. I hope you like this recipe and please let me know if you make the biscuits. Feel free to send me a DM on Instagram if you have any questions.

Take care, and have a wonderful winter weekend.

Until next week,

Love Anna xx

 

RECIPE || Choc Caramel Cupcakes

Good morning Lovelies,

How was your week? What a treat to see the sun poke his shy head out of the clouds, after so many months of constant rain. It was quite novel hanging the washing out on the line and being able to bring it back in again fully dry.  I even managed to get to the bottom of my extra large washing baskets for the first time in an embarrassingly long while. The joy is in the small achievements folks, or so they say.

I was busy running around doing the usual Mama Bear things this week and totally forgot about the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. I adore our beloved monarch and was quite gutted to discover I’d missed the Trooping of the Colour on Thursday night. I admire Her Majesty and believe she deserves every honour given to her.

Can you imagine staying in the same job for seventy years, a job which encompasses almost every facet of your life, and dictates what you can and can’t do. There is little to no room for personal expression, following your own dreams and passions, or any option to walk away if it all gets too much. Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds an awful lot like motherhood. 

The major difference of course, is that the Queen lives in a palace, never has to cook her own meals or wash up, has servants for absolutely everything and is the only human being on the planet who looks fabulous in every single bright colour. Oh, and she is the most important person in the room all the time. Can you imagine!?

Our Queen knows what it’s like to do the same thing day in and day out, year after year. She never wavers in her responsibilities. She constantly puts the needs of the Commonwealth before her own, despite the personal cost. She gives her best, when the world is watching and also, I imagine, even when it’s not. Her life is one of sacrifice and duty for the good of others. There is no other option for her, and ironically, this was never a life she chose. This was not meant to be her destiny. How nobly she has embraced it all.

What a woman.

This weekend I hope to catch up on all of the Jubilee glitz and glamour. If I’d had my wits about me earlier in the week I would have baked my favourite London Fog cake. I have been wanting to share this recipe for years, so, in honour of Her Majesty, I think I will still do it, even if it is a week late. 

Meanwhile, let me encourage you to whip up a batch of these decadent cupcakes. This is a subtle coffee cupcake, with creamy dulche de Leche caramel filling,  topped with smooth chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. It’s super easy to make your own caramel, but if you want to buy it, I recommend Bon Maman . Always eat your cupcakes at room temperature for maximum ooh ahhh factor. 

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Choc Caramel Cupcakes

Bringing together two of the most delicious flavour combos, chocolate and caramel, these cupcakes are a marriage made in heaven. Silky smooth caramel filling inside a subtle coffee infused cupcake, topped with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. You're welcome.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup very strong hot coffee Make this first and leave to cool slightly while making the rest of the mixture.
  • 2 cups plain flour, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarb soda
  • 1 1/2 cups castor sugar

Dulche de Leche

  • 1 can condensed milk or 1 jar of store bought caramel sauce To make your own dulche de leche, remove the label from the condensed milk and place the can in a pot full of simmering water, ensuring it is always fully emersed. Simmer for 3 hours.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 1 200g block dark chocolate Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave. Set aside.
  • 6 eggs, separated You will only need the whites.
  • 1 1/4 cups castor sugar
  • 1 1/4 blocks (300g) salted butter, cubed and at room temp.
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180C

  2. Line two muffin trays with 18 cupcake papers

  3. In a medium bowl, using a hand whisk, mix together eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla.

  4. Add slighlty cooled cup of coffee. Whisk until well combined. Sit aside.

  5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, bicarb, baking powder and sugar. whisk until combined.

  6. Gently pour wet mixture into dry ingredients. Whisk until well combined.

  7. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake papers until each is 3/4 full.

  8. Bake in moderae oven for 18 minutes or until cupcakes are slightly brown on top and firm to touch. Cool in pans on a wire wrack.

  9. When cupcakes are cold, use a small sharp knife to cut a large triangle out of each cupcake. Discard (you know I mean eat!) scraps.

  10. Put dulche de leche caramel into a piping bag and cut the tip about 2cm from the tip. You can add a piping tip if you want to be a fancy pants, otherwise the bag will be fine. Fill each cupcake generously with caramel.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. Put 2cm (ish) into a medium saucepan and simmer.

  2. Separate eggs and put egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Discard yolks or make lemon curd!

  3. Add sugar to egg whites. Whisk by hand until well combined. Put bowl over simmering water. Leave until sugar has dissolved and you can't feel the grains between your fingers. It will feel like gross snot, and this is what youy want!!

  4. Put of bowl egg white/ sugar mixture onto stand mixer with whisk attachment and whisk on high until soft peaks form, about 5 - 8 minutes.

  5. Turn mixer onto low. Add butter 2 or 3 pieces at a time. Do this until all pieces are fully incorporated into the mixture. This will take up to ten minutes, so be patient.

    *Note: SMBC takes a good while to make and goes through some weird stages, including turning from divine meringue peaks to soupy slop, then curdled scrambled eggs. This is all completely normal and you just need to persevere until it magically becomes silky smooth buttercream and your life will never be the same again.

  6. When your SMBC is firm and delicious, keep the speed of the mixer on low and slowly scrape the melted chocolate into the bowl. Try not to eat it all at this point. It is crazy delicious. Pipe onto cupcakes and top with a dollop of caramel. Eat at room temp. Enjoy.x

Recipe Notes

SMBC troubleshooting:

  • If your buttercream is taking foreverrrr...like over half an hour to come together, it is most likely affected by the weather. It hates humidity almost as much as I do, and wayyy prefers a cool environment. Pop the bowl of buttercream into the fridge for ten minutes and then try again. It should come together now that it's happily chilled. 

Whatever you have planned this weekend, I hope you spare a few minutes to check in on some of the Jubilee celebrations. The Queen’s life may seem a world away from us mums giving our all for our families, but the more I think about it, the more I start to see the shimmer of jewels on our own heads. Stand tall precious mama, and know that you are in great company when you give your life in the service of others. I think we actually have it better than the Queen, because at the end of the day we get to hug our people, and she doesn’t, unless of course they are teenagers.

Until next week,

Love Anna xx 

Cupcakes, Cookies and wedded bliss

Hello my Lovelies,

Thank you for joining me here today. Oh how much I have to share with you!

Last Saturday, as most of you are aware, our beautiful eldest daughter Alice got married. Oh my beating heart! This Mama heart is absolutely full to overflowing, and then some. While I won’t bombard you with abundant raving, I can’t help but share just a teeny bit with you. 

For now though, first things first. How cute are these cupcakes and cookies? I created them for a friend’s daughter who didn’t know if she was having a boy or a girl. Keeping with a vintage theme, I used mostly earthy colours, with a hint of eucalyptus blue. Boho rainbows, cute onesies, and the most darling pram and blankie made up the cookie collection. 

Matching cupcakes decorated with dried edible flowers and the smoothest home made dulche de leche caramel gave guests the sweetest baby shower treats. 

In my previous blog post you can see how I used these same cutters to create a completely different aesthetic. I went with a brighter, more colourful retro vibe, which is more in line with my love for colour. (You can see it here ).  It’s amazing how dramatically you can change the look to suit any baby shower theme.

I get as much fun and creative fulfilment styling and photographing my baked goods as I do baking and decorating them. Always on the lookout for new ‘old’ props, I found this background on a run down farm. I spotted a very worn, dangerously rusty piece of tin that oozed rustic charm and it’s oh so perfect. Another piece of scrap metal to add to my ever growing stash. 

And now, to my daughter’s wedding. I look forward to sharing more photos as soon as I can, but for now all I can give is my heart. 

I never anticipated my daughter’s wedding feeling any different to my son’s. Of course the love is the same, but somehow watching my daughter marry the love of her life filled me with emotions I was not expecting. The separating, the leaving and cleaving, facing the stark reality that our little girl is not so little anymore and asking the obvious question, where did all those years go? How did we get from my baby Alice to this beautiful princess before me? Forever after she will be joined to another and establishing her own family. This day signified the end of one season and the beginning of the rest of her life. 

The wedding, of course, was a success. Every detail lovingly crafted by my daughter and her man. It was held in a gorgeous, rustic barn filled with blush pink and coffee coloured roses. Six bridesmaids, three junior bridesmaids and a handful of flower girls made up the bridal party. I guess that’s what happens when the bride has five sisters and heaps of friends. Weddings are certainly more elaborate than they were back in my day.

Watching the groom gaze in awe and wonder at his bride walking down the aisle was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. He was completely undone. More than a few of us lost it, including the groom and just about everyone in the first four rows, and the tears began to flow. I have never seen pure, overwhelming joy on a person’s face like I did that day. He was entirely overcome with love for his bride.

Later, when reflecting on the groom’s reaction, I was reminded of a bible verse which says:

‘As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will my God rejoice over you.’ (Isaiah 62:5)

The Lord speaks to me in many ways, and through the love of a young bridegroom for his sweetheart, another layer of His love for me was peeled back and revealed. Imagining Jesus responding to me in the same heartfelt, emotional way the groom responded to my daughter touched me deeply. Weddings truely are sacred and speak of more than human love. 

And so my daughter is married. She is currently honeymooning in France. Yes, France. Sigh.  A bit of a step up from the Gold Coast where we went nearly thirty years ago! Her new husband speaks fluent French and has spent a lot of time travelling the globe, so I know she is in safe hands. I look forward to sharing the wedding pics with you and having a proper rave about my adorable new son-in-love. He truly is remarkable and we are so excited to officially welcome him into our family. 

To finish, I will show you a sneaky peak photo that was taken by the groom’s brother (Alpha Imagery ) just so you can see the wedded bliss for yourself.

It certainly was a fairy tale, and I have no doubt that they will live happily ever after.

Until next week,

Love Anna xx

Hello 2022 {take two}

Oh my heart. Helllooo!

I hardly know where to begin. 2022 has proved to be a wild ride thus far on so many levels.

Personally, it has been a challenge settling dear treasures into new and old schools, juggling visitors and reoccurring sickness with the usual demands of a busy household and meeting everyone’s growing needs.

 And then came the floods. 

I bet I am not the only one who was walking around in a daze after our community was hit not once but twice with devastating floods. While we were not directly impacted beyond empty supermarket shelves, internet issues and no petrol, our whole community felt overwhelmed, shocked and in disbelief. Driving through Lismore, even now, breaks your heart. To be honest, I am not sure if recovery for the town is possible. Time will tell.

On the home front I have been creating beauty behind the scenes and chipping away at a few inspiring projects. I have certainly missed blogging and am oh so relieved to be back. I hope you will all join me, with an albeit very late kickstart to 2022, as I share some amazing things I have been doing, very exciting family news and ideas for future cupcake flavours.

You may have noticed on my instagram stories that I have been delving into the highly addictive world of decorating sugar cookies. Cupcakes will always be my first baking love, but I am really enjoying expanding my skills and creating a world of beauty in cookies. I have had the opportunity to create some cute baby shower cookies this year and loved experimenting with a retro colour palette, based on some of my favourite genuine 70’s tablecloths and wallpaper. Is there ever a better colour combo than orange, yellow and brown?!

Another highlight of the year so far has been collaborating with lovely Mandy from White Cottage Flower Farm in Tenterfield, one of my all time favourite towns. She owns a vintage flower and antique shop, filled with the most perfect old wares from all over the world. She even has two large scale French apartment models that were used in the real Moulin Rouge movie!I mean, seriously, who owns stuff like that?! Well, Mandy does. And when I boldly declared to her on a previous visit that one day I am going to publish a book and asked if I can get photos of my cakes and cupcakes in her cute cottage, she was delighted, suggesting we do a fun practice shoot. Needless to say, she didn’t need to ask twice. 

We had the best day photographing my cake and cupcakes using her stunning antiques, until the cake melted,  flowers fell off and we had no choice but to have a cup of tea and hoof into the broken cake pretty much with our bare hands. Pure animal instinct.

Later in the year, I will be joining a group of precious young mamas who organise a ‘Mum Hub Collective’ market in Lennox Head. Their goal is to reach out to mums suffering from post natal depression by providing a safe place to come and wander around looking at beautiful, mostly hand made, treasures for mums and bubs.  All proceeds of the gold coin donation also go towards this worthy cause.

I am beside myself with excitement because I will finally get to fill my ultra cool 1960’s Danish glove counter with fancy  boutique cupcakes! Can I hear a hearty hoorah please?! I am also going to make as many cute cookies as I can, with gift boxes and individual cookies available. 

If you want to come and grab some Mama Bear sweetness and give me a hug ( I looove hugs), the market will be held in the

Lennox Head Cultural Centre on Sunday 14th August. 

(For more info, look up @little_marquetta or @mumhubcollective on Instagram)

ok, now for the biggest news of 2022 by far. 

Our beautiful, wonderful amazing eldest daughter Alice is getting married!! Woo HOO! Like next weekend actually! I say again, Oh my beating heart. I will resist the urge to positively rave about how awesome my first ever number one Son – in – love is, but suffice it to say, if I hand to hand design a husband for this incredible daughter, he would pretty much be the one. The joy it brings to see your dear ones so happily settled is rich indeed. We couldn’t be happier. This is my first time as mother of the bride, so I’m a little nervous. Fortunately, I have my authentic gold glomesh bag, shiny hot pink sandals and the most fabulous boho gown to wear to get me into the groove! Stay tuned for all the post wedding goss in a few weeks.

It really is so lovely to be back. Every mama needs to keep her voice and I really miss sharing mine when life gets too crazy for me to blog. 

I have lots of great photos to share with you and after the wedding  I’ll be back in the kitchen baking up a cupcake storm. My latest flavour obsession is strawberry milkshake cupcakes, made with delicious pink Nesquik  powder, for a sentimental trip back to our childhoods. I’m also slightly obsessing over sticky date muffins at the moment, with sneaky dulche de Leche swirls on top. 

For now, thank you for staying with me and reading my blog. I am looking forward to sharing heart and home each week and hope you feel inspired and refreshed after our time together. 

No post next week as I will be way too busy helping my precious daughter get ready to marry the love of her life. Sigh.

Take care,

Love Anna xx

 

Glad Tidings

Hello Dear friends. I hope you are doing well, treading slowly and purposefully into the new year. 

This week has been a blessed one with many young visitors staying in our home. I mentioned last week how we had seven swags out on the back deck and quite a few mattresses in the lounge room. They all left on Wednesday for a few days before heading back next week. So, you could quite easily say that our new year started off with a bang. 

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Hello 2022!

Good Morning Friends, and let me wish you a hearty Happy New Year! 

2022 Bring it on! I for one am happy to see the back end of 2021 and didn’t give it a backward glance as I toddled off to bed at 8:30 last night. 

It was a tough year for many, with jobs lost, business dreams shattered and families separated. My heart goes out to all of you who have suffered and are struggling to find your way forward under duress and heartache.

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