Personalised Cupcakes

Cupcakes have become more and more popular for gift giving…be it to toast the arrival of a new baby, to celebrate a birthday or special event, or maybe even to just add a little edible sparkle at special times of the year such as Christmas, Easter and New Year!

These cupcakes were ordered by one of my closest friends for whom I had also made her wedding cupcake tower.  The children at the wedding loved the cakes so much that Louisa wanted to surprise them at Christmas with their own personalised batch of sparkling cupcakes..

how did Justin Bieber end up atop my Christmas Cake?

Before we start strange blog topic I know.

It is now January 4th and hopefully everyone is well rested, stuffed to the brim with sweet goodies and ready to kick their New Year’s Resolutions into 2012 with a bang! A couple of weeks ago I posted a sneak peak of the choir boys that would sit atop my Christmas cake this year and without knowing it (and completly oblivious to it until my 15yr old sister pointed it out!) I had created the pint sized pop star Justin Bieber out of sugar….not sure realistically how I feel about this but I still think they are all super cute!

So below are the final pictures of my Christmas Cake for 2011 I hope you enjoy and it gives you something to think about when you attempt a Christmas Cake in 2012!

 

Happy New Year to all the readers of this blog – I hope 2012 brings much love, happiness and cakey goodness into your lives!

Claire x

Christmas Sugary Fun!

It has been a little while since I had chance to post, and at the moment I am in the middle of lots of projects so there will be loads to come in the next couple of weeks so keep your eyes peeled!

I am in the middle of making a beautiful Chrismas cake, it is currently in that stage of being fed lots of delicious rich spiced rum but this weekend I will be icing and decorating it.  I spent the previous weekend making some of the cutest sugarcraft figures to sit atop the cake…little choir boys singing their hearts out with songs of Christmas cheer.  Here is a little sneak peak…

Only 17 sleeps left until Christmas….

Claire x

Christmas Specialities – Frangipane Topped Mince Pies

As you can probably tell by now I love Christmas! Part of the reason for this (and its a large part!) is all of the festive baking and cooking that I get to do. 

Obviously Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the traditional favourite – mince pies.  However with the amount of food everyone is indulging in some times the poor old mince pie can be left to one side due to the fact it can be quite a ‘heavy’ treat.  That is why I decided to add Almond Frangipane to my mince pie recipe this year, keeping the sweet pastry base, and a generous dollop of freshly prepared mincemeat, the Frangipane spreads and swells over the top creating a sweet and light cake like topping that is a refreshing change to the traditional pastry, pastry, and more pastry! 

It is important when making these that the sweet pastry cases are rolled out as thin as possible so that a really lovely crunchy texture is achieved that blends well with the sweetness of the mincemeat and the soft light almost gooeyness of the frangipane. 

Only 2 more days until the official countdown to Christmas can begin – have you got your advent calendars ready?

Claire x

Christmas Cake Traditions

I am a very traditional type of girlie when it comes to making the much loved Christmas favourites, but traditional doesn’t mean little modern touches cannot be added that give the baking in question a beautiful extra something that makes it really special.

I have already posted about the finished Christmas Cake but this post is all about those things that make the cake TASTE great.  I opted for an Orange and Spiced Rum Christmas Fruit Cake this year.

I have 4 key tips for anybody out there tackling this Christmas tradition (and please do, its so satisfying!)

1. Do not skimp on fruit! – Pile it all in there…raisins, sultanas, currants, cherries, apricots, cranberries, mixed candied fruit – as much as you can cram.  Make sure you add your liquids to the fruit at least 12 hours before you plan to start baking the cake, this will give it chance to become deliciously plump and full of soaked up loveliness!

2.  Add something extra special – for me this year – Morgan’s Spiced Rum.  Christmas is all about indulgence and this just adds such a warm, rich flavour to the fruit.

3. Protect your cake from the elements – This is a very important part of making the cake extraordinarily moist and is something that has been passed down from my grandparents generation and their grandparents generation…Once you have lined your cake tin with baking parchment wrap the entire outside of the cake with newspaper and tie with string, your cake is going to be in the oven for at least 4 hours so it makes sense to protect it!  This stops the outside of the cake from cooking too quickly and becoming dry…and in my book there is nothing worse than a dry fruit cake.

4.  My final tip…it’s Christmas so there is one last thing that is a must have add to your traditional cake…Love!

Tretherras Christmas Gift and Craft Fair – 19th November 2011

Saturday was RosyCheeks Bakery’s first ever Christmas Fair!  It seemed only right to include some special limited edition Christmas flavours that are only brought out at this time of year these were:

Christmas Cupcakes – A cupcake filled with Christmas Spices such as warming cinnamon and all spice, as well as sticky raisins, sultanas and dried apricots, topped with a vanilla brandy buttercream and for that extra special festive touch – edible holly berries.

Gingerbread & Caramel Cupcakes – A vanilla and ginger sponge decorated with vanilla buttercream, mini gingerbread men and a swirl of rich toffee caramel sauce.

Simply Snowflake – For the purists! A light moist vanilla sponge topped with a vanilla buttercream and finished with a sparkling edible snowflake.

Chocolate Twinkle Cupcakes – A moist chocolate sponge topped with a gooey chocolate custard and a swirl of chocolate buttercream sprinkled with edible gold stars for that final lavish touch!

As well as the limited edition cupcakes I also served up a choice of double stuffed Oreo Brownies and Chocolate Gooey Brownies.  Doggy treats were also on offer as there should always be a choice for the best friend in our families!

 

If you didnt get chance to come and taste any of the delicious treats on offer – don’t worry!

RosyCheeks Bakery will be in St Austell this coming Saturday – 26th November 2011 as part of the MAKE Craft Fair from 10am until 4pm.  This is  a one day get together at St Austell’s fabulous Market House celebrating all things handmade and local.  Come and take a look around, eat some delicious Cornish food, listen to local live music, try something new, tell your friends and why not showcase your own crafty skills!  The event is the first of many, to celebrate the stunning 19th century building that has soooo much to offer!

You can also order cakey goodness directly from rosycheeksbakery@gmail.com and free local delivery is provided right up until Christmas Eve in Newquay and the surrounding areas, why not treat yourself and your family and friends for Christmas!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…(well nearly!)

Have I gone mad you say?  Its only the 13th of November…

It is only 42 sleeps until Christmas Day is upon us…and the truth be known I LOVE Christmas!

The festive season seems incomplete without traditional Christmas Cake so this is something I have been working on for a few months now so that the cakes have time to be ‘fed’ properly.  I like to make a very rich Christmas Cake with lots of fruit – raisins, sultanas, cranberries, apricots and cherries combined with a divine splash (when I say splash I mean pour!) of a good oak whisky and freshly squeezed orange juice…all in all it creates a beautifully moist, sweet cake – perfect for the most important day of the year!

I  wanted to achieve a more vintage elegance with the finish of the Christmas cakes so decided to opt for beautiful pure white snow flakes (something we all wish for at Christmas!) that shimmer and shine when the light catches the sparkling irridescent powder the cake is lavishly covered in.  To finish I added a vintage lace ribbon.