I love weekends! Especially productive weekends when I have something to show for my efforts at the end of it. I was born with this creative bent and that means I have to be constantly creating and to have an end product to gaze in wonder at. Not that everything I create is worthy of wonder but I give it a good shot. The strange thing is that my creativity is usually poured into my non-work hours. I have never had a particularly creative job while working for someone else though there have often been small elements of each one where I could express a little creativity. But when you work for someone else, you have to follow the company lines and that feels like wearing shackles. Hence, I am creative in my spare time and this blog is a great fit. I have such fun cooking, then styling and photographing the food. But having said all that, I think one of my careers had its own creativity even though there was no end product I could touch. I taught English as a second language for … [Read more...] about Lemon Curd Cupcakes – I got to use the excess berry cream cheese frosting
cupcakes
Mini Carrot & Zucchini Cupcakes
I am still trying to lose weight for our holiday in Italy at the end of September hence these wee baby cupcakes. It does work, you know. There's no need to completely deprive oneself of all the joys of eating, but this keeps it under control. I must say, these are very little so you might want to nibble at them or you will find them gone in a mouthful. And then you will feel deprived. I am using the trick these days of eating slowly and thoughtfully so the experience lasts longer. Sometimes, you are eating something delicious but talking your head off to someone and suddenly the food is gone and you can't remember eating it. So sad. A couple of years ago, I was standing at Machu Picchu in Peru in the pouring rain with a sick son and a needy American girl. And I could have thought, dang it all, here I am in this amazing place and it's all ruined or I could have just thought, here I am in this amazing place. I chose the last one. The American girl had got up at some ungodly hour to … [Read more...] about Mini Carrot & Zucchini Cupcakes
Chocolate Marshmallow Mini Cupcakes – gluten-free
Dario has been complaining about all the unhealthy baking I do on Saturdays because then he is forced to eat it. I should also be complaining because there’s been a certain growth problem going on while I sleep. Each morning, the scales are evidence of this nocturnal activity. So we have come up with a solution or at least, Dario has. It is the mini plan. I make mini cakes, cookies, bars and cupcakes. Of course, that only works if you stop at one but I was willing to give it a try. I bought a baking tray for tiny cupcakes and the requisite tiny cupcake papers and went to work. You might remember some normal-sized, gluten-free chocolate cupcakes I made with cooked rice a while ago. I found the recipe on the Chocolate-Covered Katie blog. I had some cooked rice in the fridge but not as much as the recipe dictated so I made up the difference with more almond meal and crossed my fingers. Once I had combined all the ingredients, I realized that if the mini-thing was going to work, I … [Read more...] about Chocolate Marshmallow Mini Cupcakes – gluten-free
Chocolate Rice Cupcakes – Gluten Free
I have been toying with the idea of trying a few gluten-free recipes. I don't think I am gluten intolerant but it's an interesting concept to try just in case because maybe I can feel better than I do. You don't really know until you try. I found this recipe at one of my newest favourite food blogs - My Kitchen Stories. I loved the idea of using leftover cooked rice as the starch and I just had to try it. I was definitely worried while making them because it just felt all wrong but they actually turned out fine though they rose into strange shapes but the icing covered all sins. The family haven't tried them yet so the verdict hasn't come in. [print_this] Chocolate Rice Cupcakes Ingredients: 250gm cooked rice 250 gm caster sugar 1 tbsp golden syrup or honey 6 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 200 gm almond meal 50 gm cocoa 1 tsp baking powder Method: Put the rice and sugar into the food processor and process till smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, almond … [Read more...] about Chocolate Rice Cupcakes – Gluten Free
Hummingbird Cupcakes – Weekend Baking
Until the other day, I had never heard of hummingbird cake and now I see it all over the internet. It's weird how that happens. Anyway, the weekend is when I have time to bake and it was the turn of hummingbird cupcakes but I might give them a rest after this lot. I have done enough different cupcakes for a while and there are so many other types of baking to explore. This recipe is a traditional recipe of the southern states of the USA and I found it here. [print_this] Hummingbird Cupcakes 12 big cupcakes Ingredients: 2 cups flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ¾ teaspoon salt ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 & 1/3 cups mashed banana (2 to 3 large bananas) 2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained 2/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped 2/3 cup shredded coconut 1 & 1/3 cups granulated sugar 165g unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 2 eggs Icing: 340g cream cheese ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 4 … [Read more...] about Hummingbird Cupcakes – Weekend Baking
Coca Cola Cupcakes with salted Peanut Butter frosting
A wonderful extra day of holiday and I got this decadent craving for cupcakes and thought I would give them another go. I found this crazy recipe on Sprinkle Bakes and I was rather taken by the idea that the liquid was coca-cola instead of milk. I was keen to photograph them in natural light but by the time I had baked them, cooled them and iced them, the light was gone. I guess I should have started earlier but I went to the movies this morning, which was a big mistake. Adriano wanted the car in the afternoon and Dario had the other one so I needed to choose a movie early in the day and Battleship was the choice. I love Liam Neeson but he made a serious error of judgement with this one. When they started walking in slow motion towards their destinies, I almost walked out. It was second only to Transformer in cliched horribleness. Give it a miss at all costs. Anyway back to the cupcakes. [print_this] Coca Cola Cupcakes with salted Peanut Butter … [Read more...] about Coca Cola Cupcakes with salted Peanut Butter frosting