I raise a Baileys cupcake to you all

 

2011 has been quite the year for me.

In February I got a Kitchenaid, and love it as much today as I did the day I brought it home squealing all the way from Chiswick to New Cross. I still often stand in the Kitchen stroking it in a way that isn't particularly normal for a girl and a stand mixer.

In March left a job that I for some time despised with a rousing chorus of so long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu, adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu. And yes I did sing it LOUDLY as I was leaving. Lots of Jägermeister may have been involved.

Then in April I buggered off to Madrid on a whim to see Manowar, visit twin baby pandas and eat cupcakes.

Then I started working in baking - first in a cafe in Brixton where I covered the bakery for two days a week while the other girl had time off. It was great while it lasted but alas I couldn't survive on just 5 or so hours of work a week and thankfully one of my favourite bakers in London was hiring and I was lucky enough to get the job. This led to months of baking, and learning, with someone I really admired. It also led to me getting more work with another fab baker. I can honestly say the time with these two has been the best time I've had at work in many years. I've learned lots - including NOT to turn a Kenwood to pulse just after adding the red colouring to red velvet batter or to turn it to pulse while only cream cheese is in the bowl. You will not look pretty afterwards. Mainly, don't pulse anything ever. And check the baking powder, bicarb each and every time - then recheck. Oh and don't pick up cake tins straight out of the oven with bare hands. This hurts. Lots.

I'm hoping 2012 leads to lots more baking and lots more good cake! Oh and can we hope that it's the year when some crapcake purveyors stop peddling their old tasteless poor excuses for cake please?

That shall be I Heart Cupcakes call for 2012:

What do we want?

Fresh n tasty cake!

When do we want it? 

NOW! please *  

Happy New Year everyone - may all your cupcake wishes for 2012 come true. 

Cheers, and thanks to everyone who continues to visit my blog!


* remember manners cost nothing

I Heart Cupcakes goes to Madrid

We recently popped to Madrid for a long weekend to see Manowar and rather than just hang around seeing the usual sights and eating Tapas we opted instead to see the 6 month old baby twin pandas, De De and Po, at Madrid Zoo, and, of course, eat some cupcakes.

This was my second visit to Madrid, and alas again we didn't make it to Cupcake Madrid (we opted to go and see De De and Po again on the Monday instead - they were too cute not to see again!), but we did make it to two others.

First up was Happy Day Bakery - a cute little bakery that sells American goods, was about 5 minutes away from our hotel in Malasaña.

We were hoping to enjoy a cold drink and a cupcake when we arrived but alas there were only two seats, which were occupied, so although this claims to be a cafe I'd say it's a bakery where if you're lucky you can sit down. At night I think you can buy hot dogs and baked goods from the little window on the right of the picture till the small hours.

The bakery inside was very cute and very retro. The guy serving behind the counter was dressed in a 60s style uniform and it all added to the kitsch factor. The cakes looked quite pretty and homemade. Afer some deliberation (we didn't understand some of the flavours), we opted for an Oreo for Manny and a vanilla cake topped with dulce de leche for me - I can't resist that stuff.

My cake came topped with a home made marshmallow dipped in something (candy melts?) I wasn't sure but it tasted good and I snuffled it all. The cake itself was fresh but had a rather odd scent/taste to it - like almond rather than vanilla, perhaps due to the essence being used rather than extract? While the cake tasted ok, and fresh, it was just too sweet for me with the topping - which was like the sweetest dulce de leche ever. I can eat that stuff with a spoon but alas this was too sweet for me, but Manny, and his incredibly sweet tooth, rescued the day and ate it!

Manny's oreo cupcake was again fresh and quite tasty, but again for me too sweet. The frosting was again incredibly sweet -it's like they don't use any butter, just sugar and some other melted sugar to mix it! I think the Oreo on top was home made as well - and I had a nibble and it was really nice.

If you have a sweet tooth, and are in Madrid,  I recommend you pop by Happy Bakery, but I probably wouldn't bother again - except to buy Manny cake!

Next up was Saturday's cupcake find. We'd been out drinking till quite late at the Lemmy Bar in the metal friendly area Arguelles, and Manny couldn't face going out so I went for a little wander in the 30degree heat and chanced upon Cosmen and Keiless panderia and pastelria with these little fellows sitting in the window looking at me.

The lady in the bakery was lovely and didn't mock my attempts at Spanish (a language I must make an attempt to learn!) and kindly packaged up the cake and some home made croissants for me to take away. 

Again for me the cake was too sweet, as were the croissants which were covered in a melted sugar syrup, but, again Manny loved them and polished the lot off! Although sweet, the cake was very fresh and very tasty so I would recommend if you're nearby to pop in. According to their website they have other cupcakes, but on the day I visited only this one was available. They also have the Madrid speciality torrijas which are kind of like a French Toast. I didn't try one but they did look nice!

Apart from cupcakes we also had

A wonderful dulce de leche cheesecake from Starbucks. I know, I know, Starbucks in Madrid, but Manny was asleep and I needed coffee after a night drinking bourbon and I figured if I couldn't order in Spanish I could order in Starbucks language. It worked, and the cheesecake was really nice - much nicer than any cake in UK Starbucks!

Manny had some chocolate cake and I had a dulce de leche cake at a lovely little cafe, La Cocina de mi Vecina, again, near the hotel after hours of walking round the zoo on the Friday - we also had some carrot juice and pear and ginger juice freshly squeezed so the cake was basically cancelled out. The carrot and orange juice was surprisingly tasty btw!

Finally Manny had some chocolate cake at Starbucks as well (again there was a good reason - we needed a clean loo - don't ask). I had none as was too ill to eat, but Manny said it was very moist and very chocolaty.