Cooking: Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree (and puddings)

The Christmas cooking vibe has hit me for the first time and although I'm not really a cake baker I got inspired by my cousin Audie's Crabapple Bakery cupcake cookbook and whipped up these christmas tree cupcakes. It's a WHOLE LOTTA FROSTING to eat in one sitting and to tell you the honest truth those cachous are kinda crunchy but they're super cute. The cake part of the cupcake was really good and I think a recipe I will use again with more subdued frosting, it has brandy and fruit mince in the mixture and a liberal dose of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves, which makes it Christmassy but still really light.

As I was inspired I found a recipe for those little balls that you make by breaking down a fruit cake and mixing it with delicious rummy goodness so I made these mini plum puddings as well :) They're dipped in white chocolate (which is a travesty when eaten along but ok for decoration) and I used my new found icing skills to add some holly to the top.

Cooking: The Cupcakes Have Landed :)

Rita and Owen's baby shower was a completely awesome success! There were heaps of lovely people, which is only a reflection of how lovely Rita and Owen are. There was babies, games, iced tea, sunshine and it was fabulous. The cupcakes went down a treat and elicited squees of approval when the lid was lifted. As always click on the photo to embiggen :)

Cooking: Cupcakes

So Rita's baby shower is next weekend and I wanted to contribute something fun. I'm making cupcakes and today I made my first test batch. I've chosen the icing patterns that I'm going to use, but I'm ditching the Robert Gordon straight sided pattys for the traditional patty pans. I used fondant icing and also piping bags and orchid icing for the first time, thanks to the advise of my cake decorating friends.

Here's me, with said cupcakes, minus the ones we ate.