Let them Eat Cake!

by Tugba Kop - do pop over and see the great blog!

Who doesn't love cake?

And I do believe I've won one of these darling little cupcake brooches above!
  Squeal!  I never win anything - more than a tad delighted.
(and may I add, I don't remember entering - must have been a wine-fuelled online frenzy)

For today's recipe I've gathered together a bowlful of my scrummy baking, and stirred it up with a collection of delightful baking-inspired sewing creations from a variety of talented fabric artisans. The finished dish? .... I hope you'll agree it's very tasty indeed.

INGREDIENTS

Cakey makes - all based on recipes from "Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery. Quite easily the best cake book in my possession (and I have an awful lot of them). Easy to follow recipes that never fail to deliver.

Sewing aside, my other passion is cooking. I'm happiest when throwing something together in the kitchen - and if accompanied by a bit of rock music and a glug of wine, then so much the better. I adore baking, and could quite happily make cakes all day long. I try to reign this enthusiasm in though, as quite frankly I'm large enough.

Now.... Every keen cook needs a pretty pinny to get in the mood. Oh boy - have I found some fab ones....


How about this ruffly little lovely? Isn't it adorable! I absolutely love it, and best of all the pattern for this delightful make can be found on Rhonda Steed's great blog - http://www.rhondasteed.blogspot.com/

. What colours are you going to make yours in?

Okay then... We're dressed for the part. Let's see what's first to come out of the oven....
Mmm - Scrummy yummy, tangy meringuey, oozy floozy, sparkly Lemon Cake. Ooh - I can smell it now!


It tastes every bit as good as it looks. Whilst making room for another yummy, let's have a look at another pretty creation.


A simple style in a glorious fabric combination, I'm loving this make, from the studio of:
Nana Company - http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/. Beautiful floral loveliness and a stunning blog!

Stuck for a birthday present? Baking is a wonderful way to make a cheap and eagerly received gift. Look out for pretty containers to display in and the simplest buns can look fantastic.

These are chocolate cupcakes with pistachio frosting. People often ask me how I make the frosting look so professional. The key is to get your frosting at the right consistency, reasonably firm so that it holds it's shape when applied. I don't measure the ingredients, I simply adjust the amount of icing sugar until I'm happy with the result. This often means I have quite a bit left over..... No worries, store in an airtight container in the fridge for several days - its perfect to use again once at room temperature and stirred well.

Back to sewing, and I'm just adoring the colours here -

I can so imagine these hanging on a White shaker peg-rail in my kitchen. I found these little lovelies on the perfectly named site - Such Pretty Things.... http://www.suchprettythings.typepad.com/

By now your appetite should be well and truly whetted, so let's introduce another plateful.....


Malted cupcakes with marshmallow frosting. I wish I could waft the baking smell of these fresh from the oven. Oh - it's divine, and instantly transports you straight back to childhood. The marshmallow frosting is easy to make, but quite tricky to work with as you have to move quickly before it sets. There's never any shortage of takers for scraping out the bowl, but I'm very adept with my wooden spoon and manage to fight them off with aplomb.

Fancy a bit of kitchen flirtation? You cant go far wrong with this sassy little number.... 


Appearing out of the kitchen carrying a plate of tasty treats wearing this (and nothing else but a pair of heels and a suggestive smile) will have him eating out of your hands for days!

You can find this floozy on the apply named - www.flirtyaprons.com

I must give it a try! Lol, but first let's bake another batch or two....


Sophisticated and stylish, these buns are strictly for grownups with the addition of Baileys, Amaretto and Creme de Menthe in the frostings over a cappuccino cupcake.

Frosting tip - using a pallette knife, apply a generous dollop of frosting to the top of your bun. Place your knife at a 45 degree angle, and starting from the centre, hold your knife still and turn the bun slowly whilst working towards the edge. I use a small lazy suzan turntable, but it's also easy to achieve by twiddling the bun around slowly on the worktop. I know a lot of people find this tricky, keep practicing and you should soon get the knack. If it all goes Pete Tong - just scrape off carefully and start again.

If you are slow at frosting, remember to stir your bowl well between applications to keep it workable, if necessary adding a drop (and I mean drop) of water to soften it up.

Enough of cooking, let's feast on some more sewing flair....


Don't you just love this pretty little pinny? A feminine cacophony of cupcakes and frills - I think the wooden holder is inspired genius. A weapon at the ready for bashing naughty children and annoying husbands. :)
Top marks go to Future Girl for designing this delightful number. www.etsy.com/shop/futuregirl

Still got room left for another mouthful or two? Let's finish off with a few kiddie favourites...


Marshmallow dreams on a vanilla base - imagine picking off the mallow pieces one by one, then slowly enjoying the rosewater flavoured frosting. Or perhaps you'd prefer a double chococolate cupcake topped with crispy mint frosting and milk chocolate buttons?


Or you could do battle with the rest of the family to secure your favourite childhood sweet-topped delight..... (mine's the fizzy strawberry lace/White chocolate frosting/jammy vanilla based combo).

All that yumminess has got me in the mood for switching the oven on. Today I'm thinking Rasberry Ruffle cupcakes will hit the spot of the ravenous hordes. Before I scurry into the kitchen, I can't go without sharing this so Sew Lovely with you. It's adorable and I think I need to do one myself. I've been after a small portable machine to carry to classes for quite a while. Me-thinks a cheap second hand one is on the cards, transformed into a magical little talking piece. I take my hat off to you - Quilted Cupcake... http://quiltedcupcake.blogspot.com/ Very special indeed.


What a marvellous way to showcase all those pretty buttons lurking away unseen in an old rusty tin.

Anyone fancy an ice-cream?

Or perhaps an indigestion tablet..... Lol

These are very simple to make. Just line your silicone cupcake tray with foil, place cones within and fill with batter as normal. I then place another piece of foil loosely over the top. This is necessary to prevent the cones burning. Due to the foil, the cakes may take a little longer to cook than normal, and care must be taken not to break when frosting.  Oh so special for a summer party, they're worth the extra bit of effort.

I've got my bowls, my spoons, my pinny .... And I may be gone some time.