Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes for Ivy

It was my Ivy's 22nd birthday yesterday. Her boyfriend was working an evening shift so she came home for a birthday dinner with the family. Monday is one of my running nights so while I was kept busy with a 4 mile route around town, dad cooked up one of her favourite dinners - Mexican Enchiladas.

Earlier in the day, I had prepared a birthday treat of a cakey nature.

Ever since I had first heard of the idea of cooking sponge cake inside ice-cream cones and piping buttercream to give the appearance of a cornet, I have been dying to give it a go. This was my perfect opportunity. The cake mix did bubble up and over the cone which meant a lot of trimming and tidying up was necessary before the piping could begin. The plate of trimmings did not last long once a hungry Charis came home from school.

As often happens with me, time was running out when it came to the decorating. It all had to be done fairly quickly. Although I know I could have achieved a more professional finish and been more creative with toppings if time had allowed, I was quite pleased with the overall effect.

Ivy seemed happy enough with her plate of birthday cakes.

On the down side, they were very unstable being particularly top heavy. There were several toppling incidents and a couple of close misses which caused amusement rather than catastrophe.

Charis loves cake but hates wafer. We all watched with interest as she carefully peeled her dessert before eating. Perhaps I will stick to paper cases in the future!

Royal Christmas Mail

The last time I received one of these through my letter box was many years ago when a boyfriend from my first term at University sent me a Christmas card containing a small plastic bag filled with his mum's home made chocolate spread.

Our Sincere Apologies.
We are very sorry that this item has reached you in this condition. Royal Mail

If his mum had known that he was using the chocolate spread in some sticky naughty games with his girlfriend rather than as a nutritional spreadable on toast to sustain a hungry student, she probably would not have packed him off to Uni with jars full of the stuff. Had my boyfriend known that the chocolate spread package would explode in the card somewhere between his post box and the sorting office, he perhaps would not have attempted to send me a reminder of our little bit of fun in this way!

This latest item delivered by the Royal Mail with their sincere apologies contained no such deviant substances - just a simple red envelope housing one Christmas card with greetings from a very dear friend and his lovely family. It remains something of  mystery as to how the condition of it is such that it looks as though it has had bites torn out of it.

It made me smile when I removed the card from its tattered envelope to reveal the picture on the front.

That cupcake did perhaps look good enough to eat!

A Uni Send Off

Maybe it's because my daughter Taylor is small and petite or maybe it's because she has big brown puppy dog eyes that make her look vulnerable - whatever it is, the idea of her going off to University next weekend is quite scary. My head tells me she will be absolutely fine and has an amazing time ahead of her - my heart makes me want to scoop her up in my arms, hold her tight and tell her to stay home! Of course my head is right but to pacify my heart, we are doing little things to help us both feel able to deal with the big day.

Yesterday we had a party for the family to wish Taylor and her boyfriend's twin sister (who is now safely ensconced in the student room that she will call home for the next year) the very best of luck.

I do love an excuse for a party and spent some happy hours baking cakes, taking inspiration (and instruction) from the Cake Decorating Partwork I subscribed to earlier this year.

I had a go at some icing techniques to create red, white and blue 'cupcake' cookies. It was messy and tricky and I wasn't entirely satisfied with how they turned out but it has left me wanting to try again. The potential is there to make spectacular looking biscuits. With a bit more practise I might just get the hang of it. In the meantime, my children have demonstrated their support of my cake decorating hobby by kindly volunteering to eat all my disasters.

I was happier with my ladybird cupcakes. I absolutely love my new icing nozzle that creates a grass effect. I modelled the ladybirds out of sugar paste but cheated and bought a pack of icing flowers from Asda to complete the look.

I made a chocolate fudge cake and covered it in white chocolate buttons. I had bought a packet of milky bar giant buttons on special offer for £1 and a packet of cheap Morrisons white chocolate buttons for 39p (or 3 for a £1) thinking it would look nice to have two different diameter circles in the design. Once both packets were emptied onto a plate, it was almost impossible to tell the difference between them. Next time I need white chocolate buttons for cake decorating, I know which ones I will be buying!

My cakes were willingly pushed to one side to make way for the incredibly ambitious Union Jack cake made by the younger sister of Taylor's boyfriend. In the absence of a relevant song to replace Happy Birthday to You during the ceremonial cake cutting, we sang a rousing rendition of the National Anthem.

We presented the two almost Uni students with boxes of chocolates (they will both be making lots of new friends and chocolate can be a good ice breaker!) and celebratory bottles of champagne. When I say champagne, I do actually mean bottles of sparkling perry - weekend offer in Lidl's for £1.29. However, with my genius of a daughter Liberty doing a five minute photoshop job, we transformed the bottles into personalised 'Really Classy Champagne'.

Had it been real champagne with a real champagne price tag, I could not have watched as they shook the bottles and popped the corks with frothy spurting and hilarity in equal measure.

It was lovely to have a little celebration and the opportunity to wish both girls luck and apart from my little ones getting tired and grumpy by the end of it, there were plenty of happy faces.

I very much hope that the good feeling generated sustains us through the next week as we pack and prepare to go.

We're all going to miss you Taylor!

Cake Decorating

Earlier this year I blogged about my love hate relationship with Part Works.

There is a new Part Work out now entitled Cake Decorating. I saw the advert for it on the telly and wanted it badly. The next day, I handed my 99p to the lady behind the counter at WH Smiths and became the proud owner of Part 1, complete with butterfly cutters, pink sparkle glitter (non toxic but not recommended for consumption!) and a cardboard, two tiered cupcake stand.

I have pored over the pages of the magazine so many times already that it is starting to look a little tatty. Recipes, clear instructions, advice, tips - it makes everything look so do-able ... stunning cakes within my grasp.

The lavishly illustrated pages are practically pornographic in their explicitness (that really is how carried away I get about cakes).

I love baking cakes and have always dabbled in cake decorating. Although I have made some memorable attempts, my skill never quite matches my enthusiasm or vision. I was starting to convince myself that subscribing to the new Part Work might be the equivalent of taking a course in cake decorating. I could hone my skills to a professional level and be in great demand whenever there was an occasion that warranted a centre piece of a sweet and edible nature. I imagined all the Birthdays, Anniversaries, Graduations, Weddings, Births, Christenings and more that would be in my near future and saw myself providing spectacular creations that would be greeted with the oohs and aahs of appreciation. I really shouldn't let my imagination wander off like that!

I was very close to subscribing there and then.

However, I have an invisible companion that sits on my shoulder. I am undecided whether it is more aligned with demon or angel but it does NOT like me to spend money on myself. I am getting much better at silencing it but it still whispers in my ear. Part Works add up to a ridiculous amount of money over the weeks and months. Could I really justify that expense? Would I even gain any benefit? Were my dreams of becoming a cake maker in demand simply fantasies that had no foundation in reality?

There was one way to put all of these doubts to rest and that was to have a go at making some of the treats featured.

I had a really good time making iced butterfly butter cookies and white choc chip cupcakes decorated with buttercream and carefully crafted, sparkly, flower paste butterflies. It didn't feel like cooking, it felt like making art. I was quite proud of the results for a first attempt and I did learn a lot from my mistakes - mostly in terms of the importance of getting the correct icing consistency for different applications and having the right food colourings. The kids were very happy with my efforts and enjoyed the taste testing.

My little ones wanted to get involved  so I did let them have a go too which was lovely.

My older girls are very supportive of me subscribing - I am guessing that the idea of a different baking project every week would influence them quite strongly! Even my mum gave me the words of encouragement "Go for it!"

I shall sleep on it but don't be surprised if the QWERTY Mum blog starts to feature a lot more in the way of decorated fancies.

Reasons to be Cheerful

I have a very big  Reason  to be Cheerful today - a headache of epic proportions that has plagued me for nearly two weeks has finally released its brutal grip on my brain. Waking up this morning without the need to reach straight for the Paracetamol was an absolute joy. I feel like I can actually start living again rather than just struggling to get by.

Another positive is that my little Addy is back at nursery today having been off with chicken pox. It broke my heart to see her beautiful milky white skin ravaged with angry blemishes but she is on the mend and 'chicken spots' and 'calamotion' are now part of her life experience and vocabulary.

Despite the health issues that have dominated the past fortnight, there have been plenty of good things going on.

ONE

My daughter Ivy celebrated her 21st birthday. This had to involve cupcakes, decorated to her specifications. There were the 'worms in mud' variety that tested my conquered phobia of the wiggly dirt dwellers and vast quantities of brightly coloured butter icing.

I am so proud of the beautiful young woman my little girl has become.

TWO

More celebrations followed when daughter, Taylor, passed her driving test.

The ability to drive is such an important step towards independence. I do feel as a parent it is my responsibility to facilitate the acquisition of the skill. This has meant paying out a lot of money in lessons (although I do expect a fair contribution from the learner too) and making time for driving practise.

I let Taylor down badly back before Christmas when she took her first driving test and failed. The practise sessions had been neglected and she was simply unprepared. We were not going to make that mistake twice. Taylor learned from failure and I realised how easy it is to let important things slip when you are juggling the needs of six offspring and a husband... and with a home to manage.

Becoming a qualified driver has given a confidence boost to Taylor as well as allowing me to pass another important milestone on my parenting journey.

THREE

The Aldi hamper of treats that I won at the TOTS100 Christmas Party finally arrived. I had all but given up on it so it was a lovely surprise when it was delivered. Among other goodies were two bottles of wine that I will definitely be enjoying now the Headache from Hell has departed!

ENTER HERE for the chance to win one of 5 sets of Crazy Soap (closes 31/03/12)

Halloweekend

It's been a busy week this half term with our ongoing DIY projects and various trips and outings but I was determined not to let Hallowe'en go neglected.

We decided to have a Hallowe'en Weekend (or a Halloweekend if you like).

I made a Dexter inspired tablecloth (clear plastic packing material spattered with red acrylic paint) and baked cupcakes that I decorated with chocolate buttercream and spooky plastic rings bought from B&M bargains (9 for 79p). The kids loved them and enjoyed licking buttercream off the rings before wearing. Only 2 year old nephew Freddy actually tried to eat the ring!

We also made apple and ginger muffins, spooky shaped gingerbread and a fruit crumble with a Jack Skellington face impressed into the topping - but I forgot to take photos!

As well as themed baking we had fun with Hallowe'en arts and crafts. We made a very simplified version of the gorgeous paper banner described by Lightly Enchanted (her's is a million times better than ours but ours did only take seconds to make!)

These are my silhouette monsters that I made when challenged by my eldest daughter who was inspired by a photograph that she saw on the internet.

I was quite pleased that I hadn't been able to bring myself to throw out the bunch of red roses that my husband surprised me with a while ago. The faded blooms made a great starting point for dressing our mantlepiece.

Candles added the perfect ambience but we were reminded of the importance of diligence in extinguishing them by my eldest's Fireman boyfriend.

We all took the opportunity to dress up with looks from the hauntingly beautiful to the plain cute.

We have packed a lot of Hallowe'en fun into this weekend and we still have Monday to celebrate the time when the veil between worlds is thin (including a rather special gift from an equally special friend).

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN EVERYONE!

Cute Cupcakes - a Toyologist review

Galt Cute Cup Cakes Kit 

£5.99

"This pretty plaster moulding kit lets you mould and decorate 4 mini cupcakes and a cake stand to display them on. Add sparkle with glitter glue. They almost look good enough to eat!"

I misunderstood what this was at first. I thought we were making real cupcakes... to eat. After the initial disappointment, I remembered the Plaster of Paris kits I had as a child and felt a warm flood of nostalgia.

The kit said that it was not for children under 5 years. My 2 year old (who could actually add "and three quarters" after the 2) is not aware that she is under 5 years!! Obviously she was heavily supervised but  I think that she actually did a pretty good job. She has certainly learned a lot of new vocabulary in the course of the craft project. 

Unpacking the kit I was surprised at how tiny the models were but this was a good thing for me because I have a slightly out of character love of miniatures.

We mixed the plaster (the 2 year old thoroughly enjoyed this part) and filled the moulds. It was difficult to get the tops level and smooth, especially as by the time we had finished blobbing and dolloping, the plaster was already beginning to harden. The controlling perfectionist part of me really wanted to take over and make sure everything was exactly right but I forced myself to allow the kit to remain in the hands of the intended users.

The dried models slipped easily out of the moulds (which is more than can be said for the latex moulds I used as a kid - I lost count of the number of headless Donald Ducks I made because the model separated at the neck as I tried to ease the mould off the last few millimetres of the sailor's hat).

Both the cupcakes and the stand are constructed from two separate pieces that need to be glued together with the PVA glue provided. The bumpy surfaces didn't really fit together very easily but with enough glue they held and didn't look too terrible. Again, the perfectionist in me wanted to sand the surfaces smooth to make a perfect fit but that would have been horribly messy and not an appropriate task for a little one. I satisfied myself by picking the rough edges off with my fingernail! The 2 year old loved to squeeze the glue out of the tube but was not too impressed at having to wait for it to dry.

The instructions suggest that the models should be painted before glueing but putting them together so they actually looked like cupcakes before painting made it more exciting for the 2 year old and they were easier to handle.

Overpainting!

The painting part was great fun. I was concerned that the paintbrush provided was too fine - good for detailed work but frustratingly slow for larger areas. This did not prove to be true. The acrylic paints were lovely and thick so the paintbrush could be well loaded (a fact my daughter tested to the limit!). I painted one cupcake myself (just for purposes of this review you understand - nothing to do with the fact that I was getting far too into this!) The paint, in invitingly lovely pastel shades, covered beautifully with one coat.

The 2 year old was totally absorbed and did not consider herself "finished" until every drop of paint was used up! This of course meant that the models were somewhat "overpainted". Everything ended up a rather homogenous nondescript shade of yuk but did go through some beautiful marbled pastel stages in the process. She got paint everywhere but it all cleaned up easily with a damp cloth.

Lots of mess

Every drop of paint used up 

Then came the glitter phase. A bit of sparkle was just what our cupcakes needed and the 2 year old was happy to oblige.

Before I started this review I imagined that I would conclude with something like "I'd rather spend the money and time making edible cupcakes" but my opinion has changed. As you can probably see from the video, the 2 year old got a lot out of the project and the finished product is small and discreet enough to not be a monstrous eyesore. As much as I would have liked eating the real cupcakes, at least this way is calorie free!