Lovely Summer Cupcakes

Tonight our house is having a BBQ and although I won't be eating any of the food I wanted to contribute something! So I made some cute little summer cupcakes. They are your normal mix with chocolate chips in and buttercream on top. Again, I didn't really have the energy to use a piping bag so I used a fork to create a pattern in the icing. They are topped with raspberries (which make them look somewhat like nipples) and various butterflies and hearts. Trying to get the silver balls to stay was fun as the icing had dried up and they were rolling all over the place!

Lesson number 14: Don't let the icing dry, or decorate them quicker!

Chocolate Tart

The other day my flatmate and I bought some chocolate tarts and I was inspired to give it a go myself! I'll admit I cheated, a great deal. I bought the base from Tesco... But I'm a student on a budget and it was only 70p I couldn't help it! But I did make up for this by making the filling without really knowing what I was doing. This is made up of melted plain chocolate, egg, milk and whipped cream (thoroughly whipped!). And despite the base being quite clearly a fake, it is rather yummy. It took a long time in the oven but apart from that it was pretty straight forward. Licking the bowl out after was a bonus!
Lesson number 13: You can cheat, but it always tastes better if you make yourself!
Ps I know it's not a cupcake!!

Cranberry and Blueberry Muffins

Today most of my flat had exams at 9 so I had the place to myself. I wanted to make something a bit different with a more exciting taste so went for some interesting muffins. They were not difficult to make except I mistakenly added some spices as I was reading the wrong recipe! Not cool! I also forgot they wouldn't rise because they don't have self raising in them. And they took longer to cook than I thought they would. And, in the end, I don't particularly like them. A bit of a fail really. They look quite nice but I got my flatmates to try them and nobody was all that keen. They are edible but just don't leave you wanting more. Oh well, not all my baked goods can turn out perfect!
Lesson number 12: Stick stick stick to the recipe!!!! And keep trying new things, it doesn't matter if you don't like them.

New Piping Bags!!

These babies were an experiment...a very successful one! Yesterday I bought some new piping bags at Tesco and couldn't wait to try them out. I googled how to use one as my last attempt was dire! And I am quite pleased with them. Unfortunately I was only able to decorate half the cakes I made as I underestimated how much icing I would need and only made half the amount. Turns out the book wasn't lying and I really did need 12 oz of icing sugar! However, I am pleased with the 6 I did make, even more pleased with the fact that they have malteasers on top! Now all I have to do is decide what to do with the other 6...
Lesson number 11: follow the recipe!

Frustration Cookies!

These cookies were made for me to take my mind off getting angry about being woken up by some really inconsiderate housemates last night. I was so angry I couldn't sleep until maybe 7am! Therefore I have been tired an possibly slightly grumpy today. The way to make myself feel better? Make something delicious. And these certainly didn't disappoint. They are simply chocolate chip, satisfyingly doughy in the middle but crispy on the outside. However, they are very chunky and I would have preferred it if they were flatter - I should have flattened them on the baking tray. Still very yummy!
Lesson number 10: Stop being a perfectionist, it doesn't matter what they look like!

More cake-making, a lot less revision!

These little cakes were the left over mixture from Tuesday's cupcakes. I didn't know quite what to do with them so looked through some baking books for inspiration. In the end I decided to cut the top of and then stick them back on with a spoonful of raspberry jam (there was a lot of spoon licking!). I then added a squirt of whipped cream and some chopped strawberries. They were delicious!! I actually ate about 4 and my flatmate had maybe 5! They were so goooooood! I would say the only problem I really had was that the cakes weren't really big enough for me to cut the tops off and I ended up making a bit of a mess with the cases etc. However, once covered in cream, nobody would have known!
Lesson number 9: Put a little more mixture in the cases so that they rise!

A Hard Day's Work

We are currently in the middle of exam period and with no more lectures or seminars my time at university is now solely for revision. But with a short attention span there is only so long I can spend looking at revision notes so, role on the cupcake making! These are just simple cupcakes that took me moments to make. The majority of time was spent decorating and coming up with ideas of what to put ON them. However, I lack somewhat in food colouring so had to stick to blue, yellow and grey (which was supposed to be silver!). I also needed a rolling pin which was provided kindly by Rachel Green who helped to jam up the decorations. It was fun though and it will be hard for me to get any revision done AT ALL!

Lesson number 8: You do not have enough food colouring!