Caramel Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

The Hummingbird Bakery’s Cake Days cookbook is becoming a firm favourite on the oul’ cookbook shelf! I’ve tried a good few things from it so far – Sticky Toffee Cupcakes, Chocolate Guinness Cake, Red Velvet Cupcakes and Marbled Cupcakes. On the back of my previous successes I decided to give their Caramel Cupcakes a try… Here’s how I got on!

Caramel Cupcakes! Yum!

I brought seventeen of these into work and everyone really liked them! I have step by step photos and a link to the recipe after the cut!

Marbled Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

I have Hummingbird Bakery’s Cake Days cookbook and I’m becoming a huge fan of the book, I’ve tried a few things from it so far – Sticky Toffee Cupcakes, Chocolate Guinness Cake and Red Velvet Cupcakes. I decided to give their Marbled Cupcakes a go next… Here’s how I got on!

Marbled Cupcakes! Yum!

These were brought into work and went down a storm so I’d highly recommend them! I have step by step photos and a link to the recipe after the cut!

Red Velvet Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

I got the Hummingbird Bakery’s Cake Days cookbook a while back, I’ve tried a few things from it so far – the Sticky Toffee Cupcakes and the Chocolate Guinness Cake. I decided to try their Red Velvet Cupcakes after I finished my exams today… Here’s how I got on!

Red Velvet Cupcakes! Yum!

I’m bringing them into work tomorrow so hopefully they taste as good as they look! I have step by step photos after the cut! 

Mince Pies

I made my first batch of mince pies yesterday, the smell in the kitchen really made me feel Christmas-y! I use a Ballymaloe recipe for the pastry, it’s a rich pastry – it uses a lot more butter than normal and an egg to bind.

Remove from the tray, cool on a wire rack and dredge in icing sugar.

I have pastry tips and step by step pictures after the cut!

Jam Swiss Roll

Sometimes there is nothing nicer than a simple Jam Swiss Roll! I brought one into work recently following a request for a plain jam sponge.

Spring Cupcakes

These were actually my Easter Cupcakes! But I’ve only gotten round to adding them now! I made plain vanilla cupcakes and made a “nest” out of chocolate buttercream. I filled the little nest with Smarties and mini Lindt chocolate eggs!

Beginners Sugar Craft – Week 1

I started a Beginners Sugar Craft Course in Cakebox in Dun Laoghaire. The course is six weeks long. Over the duration of the course I’ll learn the correct method to almond paste and sugar paste a cake, how to frill a cake and pipe in royal icing. I’ll also learn how to make christening decorations, booties, cradles, sugar babies, sugar roses, rose leaves and filler flowers!

On my first day last week we covered our dummy cakes with Covapaste white icing, using alcohol to bond the icing to the dummy cake. Then we used our crimpers to crimp a pattern around the edge of the cake and the board.

Our instructor gave loads of tips and advice over the course of the evening, a lot of the stuff she covered off were questions I’d always had! So it was useful!

Every week we’re going to build on what we’ve done to our dummy cake so prepare to become overly familiar with my cake!

Mini Brown Breads

I’m mad for all things mini these days! It’s so easy to make a lunch when things are already in lunchbox friendly sizes. Mini brown breads are my new favourite example of this. Making my bread mix in scone form saves me slicing and dicing a bread loaf!

One of my favourite bread mixes is the Odlums one. I think it’s actually the recipe on the back of the bag of flour… But I’ve copied the quantities from the site below! The site’s recipe is for a loaf of bread. I’ve amended the cooking instructions in the last step to reflect the fact that the mini breads will cook faster!

Cute Cupcakes and Icings – Cooks Academy

I attended the Cute Cupcakes and Icings class in the Cooks Academy Dublin last night. In a word, fantastic! At the start of the demo the tutor demonstrated how to make the perfect moist cupcake, then we were sent back to our workstations in pairs to make a tray of cupcakes.

Our booklets also had the recipes for four different icing types – Buttercream, Chocolate Glaze, Glace Icing and Creme au Beurre Meringue. The tutor demonstrated all but one icing, the Creme au Beurre Meringue. Again, after the demo we went back to our workstations in pairs and made the three icings she had demonstrated. We came away with a recipe booklet so I might give the Creme au Beurre Meringue a whirl at the weekend and see how it goes! We were also shown a few different icing techniques (I took quite the shine to marbling the chocolate glaze!)

Jam Swiss Roll

Friday is Bake Off day in work so I decided to make a Jam Swiss Roll. I love Swiss Roll! Given that it’s a whisked sponge recipe they’re never too stodgy and I get to fill them with raspberry jam, my favourite jam!

For the Bake Off I used the Swiss Roll recipe from my Ballymaloe Cookery Course book. The end result was a lovely light sponge, hopefully everyone else likes it as much as I do!