COOKIE MONSTER CUPCAKES!!!!

OMG!!!!! So last night me and Carly made Cookie Monster Cupcakes!!! And WOW they are soooooo cool!!!

I have yet to eat one tho because when we were making them I ate far far far too much butter cream icing that now I feel a bit sick thinking about it! But I'm sure later today I'll be craving the icing and the cake of course :D 

The best thing about them is that its not just boring sponge mix for the cake its Rhubarb and Ginger so a bit fancy too! The recipe for the sponge is from The Primrose Bakery Book but instead of using fresh Rhubarb as there wasn't any available atm we used tinned which is almost as good. For the Topping we made a vanilla butter cream icing with blue food colouring in it. And the fluffy bit is coconut. I put a load in a bowl and added food colouring and mixed really well until desired colour. Then laid it out on a baking sheet till dried then it was sprinkled onto the icing which was put on the cake by spoon. For the eyes we used white chocolate buttons and choc drops stuck on with icing. Then for the cookie use any type you like, we just used supermarket ones. Once the cake is iced and the coconut is on it make a slit through the icing and cake to fit in the cookie. Then put the eyes on after.

The cupcake would have looked nice also with a bit of the blue icing on and a little coconut sprinkled on the top too. Also what would be fun would be to change the colours of the icing and coconut and have some fun with it.

Invasion of the Cookie Monster in our fridge!

Continue Reading...

Present for carly

Here is a pretty vase of hearts on sticks I made for Carly last weekend as a surprise. I found the inspiration from a few blogs online.

Continue Reading...

Beautiful find! Damon's + Gin = Damson Gin!!

Wow! So a few weeks ago I was walking home from town and spotted what I thought was plum tree, a few moments i realised it was a Damson tree! Jackpot! I took one home to check it with Steve to make sure it was actually a Damson, we came to the conclusion that it was (hopefully!) I went back to the tree and picked as many as I could get. Then decided to make the most easiest and tasty drink! Damson Gin! We haven't opened the bottle yet as we have another 2 months to wait, perfect timing for winter cocktails! Fingers Crossed!

Damson Gin

Ingredients

Large jar or bottle enough to fit in Damsons, must be serialized

Enough Damsons to fill 1/2 the jar
Granulated sugar

Gin

Method

Put all the damsons into your bottle/jar. Pour in enough sugar to totally cover the damsons and give a good shake. Top up to recover the fruits. 

Fill the jar with any gin, I'd advise not to use expensive gin until you have perfected the recipe.

Give a jolly good shake and store in a dark cool place for about 3 months to develop. Keep shaking the jar every week or so to get the sugar dissolved and mixture to even out.

Continue Reading...

Cocktail Time!!

Hi everyone I thought I'd make a post of a my current signature cocktail I'm in love with! Especially because the jam is home-made.

Gooseberrytini

Ingredients (makes 1 strong or two weak drinks)

2 shots Gin preferably Bombay Sapphire or Bloom

2 Tablespoons Gooseberry and Ginger Jam

Ginger Ale

Ice

Juice of Lime

Method

Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add in the 2 shots of Gin and the Jam. For now squeeze in the juice of 1/2 Lime.

Shake the cocktail for about 30 seconds till blended well.

Taste the mixture to check for sweetness/acidity and adjust to taste.

Pour into a chilled Martini glass or wine glass if you don't have one.

Top up with a small amount of Ginger Ale and enjoy!!

This recipe would be great to adjust! Change the jam to Raspberry, Strawberry or whatever tickles your fancy! Also changing the Gin to Vodka would be fab too!

Continue Reading...