Nanny’s 80th Birthday Cake

Yesterday was my maternal grandma’s 80th birthday. Known to her 7 grandchildren as Nanny, this was a celebration that deserved a very special cake! I bought a new tin to make the numbers – but it will come in useful for years to come. An alphabet tin, it is divided into 28 equal segments, and…

My First Macarons!

On my trip to London last week I was lucky enough to be given a beautiful box of bright coloured macarons, which were very quickly devoured in the office. Loving their sweet, crunchy shell, chewy inner and moist, rich filling, I set out to find more about making them for myself. For meringue-style macarons such…

Autumnal Golden Ginger and Chocolate Cupcakes

My second bake for National Cupcake Week – well, it does only come round once  year! You can view my first batch of cupcakes here. Inspired by a big piece of root ginger that’s been in the kitchen for sometime, I wanted to make something tasty but beautiful! The cupcakes were a basic sponge mix…

Happy as a Hummingbird

National Cupcake Week. London. Time to spare before my train. It could only mean one thing… a visit to the cupcake mecca that is Hummingbird Bakery! I went to the branch in Spitalfields as it was closest to the exhibition I’d spent the day at. A short walk from Liverpool Street station, it’s also incredibly…

Nearly-Neapolitan Mini Cupcakes

Back from a lovely weeks holiday, relaxed, tanned, and itching to get back into the kitchen! We’d been home all of about an hour before I dreamt up a good unpacking-avoidance technique of making some mini cupcakes, and they’d be the perfect thank-you gift for our lovely cat-sitters. It was the first day of National…

Dulce de Leche Millionaire’s Shortbread

After making my banana and caramel cupcakes, I still had about half a tin of yummy dulce de leche caramel left. Whilst I was happily sneaking a tiny taste every time I went to the fridge, I decided it was probably time to use it for something more substantial. You know those tubs of mini…

A Trip to Tiffin Teahouse

On a fresh, late summers morning, in a leafy suburb of Nottingham, chaos descended as I met some friends for brunch aka cake-for-breakfast, at the delightful Tiffin Teahouse. Tiffin is located on Abbey Road, amidst only a handful of shops, but a mere minutes walk from the hustle and bustle of Central Avenue. There’s ample…

Hello Kitty Butter Biscuits

About a month ago I stumbled across this amazing Hello Kitty dessert display, and immediately wanted to make something Hello-Kitty-esque of my own! A quick search on eBay soon found me some super-cute cookie cutters. The down-side? They were coming from Hong Kong and took about a month to arrive. The up-side? They cost the…

Banana and Caramel Cupcakes

I have a confession to make. These photos have been on my computer for nearly a month, and I very nearly forgot what was in the cupcakes! They were made for the same housewarming as my New Home Biscuits so in all fairness I had such a busy time of baking and decorating that it’s…

Easy-Peasy Pavlova – Red Berry with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Last Friday my parents and grandma came over for dinner. I needed a dessert that could mostly be prepared ahead, didn’t require much cooking on the night (as I’d be working all day), and was quite light – to follow a big course of fish and chips! Still having a lot of eggs left and…