Chocolate Muffins

I was always convinced that my baking lacked a certain something and the only thing I could blame was that every time I admired someone else’s cupcakes and asked their secret it was the same reply. They had an electric oven and mine was gas.  That was until today. My friend Kelly brought cakes to work and of course they were made using an electric oven. Even so I asked her for the recipe and discovered that they had Coca Cola in them and she said it was that that made them so delicious.
So today I made the muffin/cupcake recipe and never again will I blame my poor gas oven. They were gorgeous.

I admit they are very simply decorated but that is down to personal taste and the fact that cake doesn’t  
last two minutes in our house so why worry about intricate decor. Slap melted chocolate and a cherry on top and we’re happy. So I bet you’re dying to know the recipe aren’t you? Well ok but keep it to yourself 😃

Chocolate Cola Cake

250g butter
200ml cola drink
250gr self raising flour
300gr caster sugar
3 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder
Generous pinch of bicarbonate of soda
75ml milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Gently melt the butter and cola drink together in a pan, then add the dry ingredients together with the milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix gently but thoroughly, then tip into a cake tin.  Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in to the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Icing

Mix together 200gr icing sugar, 60gr butter, and 2 - 3 tablespoons of cocoa until blended. Add 2 tablespoons of cola drink and beat until smooth. Spread over the cake.

The recipe is for a full cake but I used paper cases and cooked for about 15 minutes until the top springs back when pressed gently.

I hope you try this recipe and if you do, let me know how it turns out xx

Rose Flavoured Cupcakes

I don't get that much time off nowadays but when I do I still love to bake.
Like many people I have been watching the Red Nose bake off over the last couple of weeks and as a result I decided to make a few little buns.  Not red nose ones but even so I really enjoyed making them.

I always use the same recipe given to me by my good friend Lucy Murray.  We worked together for about six years before I quit to run my own wool and haberdashery shop.

The ingredients I used are as follows:

6oz Margarine or butter
6oz caster sugar
3 eggs
7 oz self raising flour

Cream the margarine and sugar together. Beat in the eggs and fold in the flour.  That's it.

I added 1 teaspoon of rose water to the mixture to give them a lovely unusual flavour.

I got a bit carried away with the decorations.I made a butter cream icing using 8 oz of icing sugar and 3 oz of margarine.  I didn't use as much margarine as usual because I didn't want the icing to be too sickly.
I also added half a teaspoon of rose water to carry through the Turkish delight flavour.

The flowers were made using fondant icing and flower and blossom cutters.


The cupcakes tasted gorgeous with just a hint of the rose flavour coming through.

Butterfly Cupcakes

One thing about being off work for Easter is that it gives me ample opportunity to practice my baking.

I had lots of fondant icing left over which was rapidly drying up so I rolled some out and cut circles with a cookie cutter.

I then squeezed all the left over coloured icing together and then re-rolled it and cut out the butterflies.  This gave them an interesting marbled look. I dusted them with shimmer and added icing dots round the edge.

Simple yet effective.

Not More Snow

Oh dear this weather is getting to be a habit.  No market stall again this week.  We had so much snow yesterday and over night that I didn't even bother getting out of bed this morning.

I decided to sit and read my new book and eat a leisurely breakfast before tidying the craft room.  It has got extremely untidy following the decorating of our room and today is a good opportunity as I can't do anything else. I have been threatening to do it for the last month or so but so far I've managed to find other more pressing things to do, not surprisingly.

I will just show you a couple of things that I have been concentrating on lately. I'm not procrastinating, honest!

This is a cute little jar I covered the other evening.  I used a ball of 4 ply that had got dirty on my stall and that I therefore couldn't sell.  It only took a couple of hours to do and I am really pleased with it.

The buttons are from my stash and go very nicely with our bedroom decor.  I am never happier than when I am engrossed in my crafting obsession. 
I am currently struggling to find a suitable contract colour for our main bedroom.  I don't really want to stick to cream and camel and would love your suggestions.  The best colour yet is lime green but I don't think this goes with the French theme I am aiming for. It's the bedding that's the main problem as I can make the accessories myself later.

Since winning the Cupcake Competition I have definitely got the baking bug.  The pink ones here are flavoured with rosewater and the others are chocolate.  Very tasty but not good for the waistline.
Steve has got the bread making bug after watching Paul Hollywood the other night. He made a loaf yesterday which unfortunately didn't rise properly. It tastes delicious though.  He's going to have another go later today.

I'm turning in to a really girly girl lately.  This is my latest favourite nail varnish.  It's another Barry M one called Strawberry Ice cream.  I put a coat of glitter on top just to pep it up a bit. I love it. Of all the nail varnishs I own I must say that the Barry M ones come top of my list.

Comic Relief Baking Competition

Hello everyone.  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  I have just spent the last hour and a half tidying our wardrobe and bedroom and have now climbed back in to bed to drink a well earned coffee and to write to all you lovely people.
The office where I work Monday to Thursday decided to hold a baking competition in aid of Comic Relief this Friday and as I am always up for a challenge I decided to enter.

The Awards

There were four categories.  Celebration cakes, cupcakes, buns and muffins, savoury and biscuits.  The champagne was the prize for the celebration cake section and after the judging had taken place there was a silent auction for these.  These cakes weren't tasted so they had to look good.

My entry was a simple Victoria sandwich with jam and cream, covered in fondant icing and decorated with daisies and pretty orange ribbon.

The winner of the Celebration Cake Category

Unfortunately I was pipped at the post by this absolutely amazing bunny cake.  I knew as soon as I walked in to the room that I was beaten by this beauty.  Never mind.











As you can see the competition was stiff.  We were all amazed at just how many people had made the effort and everything looked delicious.
Success did come my way however.

My Entry

I was absolutely delighted when I learnt that I had won the Cupcake category with my cute little flower blossom buns.  Everyone loved them and I was very proud.
I wasn't there to pick up my prize but I have a little trophy and the Paul Hollywood baking book waiting for me when I get back to work.

The Chocolate Raffle

There was also a chocolate themed raffle.  I didn't win anything in that. We also had a bake sale and a  sweep stake on the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race which I don't think I won either.

I don't know how much we raised for Comic Relief yet but it was great to get involved and I'm sure everyone enjoyed the day. Roll on next year when I have to defend my title.

Naked Cupcakes

I knew I wanted to blog today but I couldn't think of anything particularly interesting to talk about. So in an attempt to drum up some inspiration I had a scan through my photo library.
The sad thing was that nothing really hit me so I picked this very simple stand of extremely plain cupcakes.
The stand came with a box set that had been reduced to 99p in the Works and included two squeezey bottles with decorating nozzles. Quite handy although I haven't used them yet.
I only have pot or glass stands so this was a nice change and it is quite cute.
The cakes were made with an Aldi cake mix and was gorgeous and so quick to prepare. I usually make cakes from scratch but these were really easy and I had ran out of sweet treats for pack up and the box had been left in the pantry for some time.
Right I'm going now and promise to take interesting photos and go to interesting places in order to come back and talk about something worth while!

Happy Birthday Mya

I can't believe how quickly time flies.  It doesn't seem two minutes since I was announcing the arrival of my great niece and now she's one year old.

She is an absolutely beautiful little girl. 
Her Mum and Dad are very strict with her diet but she was allowed birthday cake which she loved.  Her little face lit up every time she tasted it.

Who could blame her when cake looks this good.  Made by Miss Cakeaholic herself, no less.

Cupcakes too. Delicious.
We had a lovely day celebrating with family and friends.

Cup Cakes

Hello and thank you for dropping by.  Not much to report today so I decided to have a browse through my photographs and came a cross this one.  These little beauties were the cupcakes made by my son's partner Heather who owns Miss Cakeaholic.  You can visit her blog by clicking on my favourite sites link. They were my birthdays buns and were chocolate and orange flavour sponge with Matchmakers and Terrys Chocolate segments placed on top. We took them away to Norfolk with us and they went down very nicely with a steaming cup of coffee.  Very civilized.

A Great Day Out

Hello again.
Hasn't it been a beautiful day?  Lovely sunshine.
Today I took my Mum and son Joe out for lunch to a little gem in Braithwell called the Garden Room.  It is a great little restaurant with the most gorgeous garden with tables and chairs situated in their own little hedged areas which makes each table feel very private.
Unfortunately due to the great number of wasps which I absolutely hate we did have to sit inside today but even so it was extremely pleasant.
Mum and I had big steak, mushroom and onion sandwiches made with crusty bread and Joe had a fruit scone with jam and fresh cream. 
We then had a look around the shop which stocks lots of knick knacks including plaques, hearts and lots and lots of gifts that I would give anything to own.  Unfortunately I thought I had better resist for the time being as I'm not sure what surprises Steve may have in store for me for my Birthday so I will just have to wait a little longer.

Above is a tasty morsel that my daughter-in-law Heather (Miss Cakeaholic) rustled up for us today.  It is a Malt flavoured cupcake and this was the last one.  The flavour was incredible and I can't wait until we meet up next Friday as I have been promised a batch of a surprise flavour as part of my birthday present. 
Well it's bed time now.  Don't the days fly by.
Speak soon and thank you for visiting my blog.  Paula x

Miss Cakeaholic

Hello and welcome.
I can hear the gasps from here.  These little fancies taste every bit as good as they look.
My sons partner Heather (or my daughter-in-law as I like to call her) will shortly be launching her cupcake company, Miss Cakeaholic, and she very kindly provided a few samples for us to try.  These are the Coke and Amaretto ones which feature a little almond biscuit perched delicately on top.

The others which unfortunately did not last long enough to be photographed were Mint Choc Chip.  The pale green icing was jam packed with chocolate and were delicious. 
She has a blog which is in its early stages and an extremely clever logo which has been designed by Joe my son.
Well done Heather and Good Luck, not that you're going to need it.
Regards Paula x

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Hi again.

I was thinking quite carefully about what to blog about today.  I had a very restless night last night.  Not for any particular reason but even so it left me alittle frazzled today with not a great deal of get up and go.  All I could think of was getting home to a good meal and a long restful night.  However I couldn't rest knowing that you just might have been checking to see if I had posted anything today.  I am extremely conscious that my blogs don't really contain anything particularly profound and I am also determined not to make this a place where I let off steam about my upsets and grumbles.  My blog has to be a place to escape to, where all is well with the world. And so what was my blog to be about today?  Well all I could think about was scrummy chocolate cupcakes.  I don't know about you but I love to bake and when I find a recipe I like which works well and tastes delicious I have to share it with the world so here it is.  The best cupcake recipe in the world, probably.  Certainly in my humble opinion anyway.

For the sponge

3oz butter or margarine
10oz caster sugar
7oz self raising flour
1.5oz cocoa powder or drinking chocolate
Quarter teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
8.5 fluid oz milk
Chocolate and marshmallows to decorate

Heat oven to Gas mark 5(375 degrees F) and put paper cases in cupcake tins.
Using a hand held electric whisk mix together flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder with the butter and sugar until the mixture is free of lumps.  Alternatively rub the ingredients together my hand like making pastry.
Mix eggs and milk together in a bowl or jug and add half the mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix slowly and then add the rest and mix until smooth.
Spoon the mixture in to the cases filling two thirds of the way up and cook in the oven for approximately 18 - 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.
Allow cupcakes to cool and spread with melted chocolate topping each cake with a generous helping of marshmallows.
Enjoy!