The first rule of Cupcake Club

is to go with an appetite!

Alas I had a cold and had no appetite at all really, but I did manage to scoff one of Kelly's adorable, and very tasty gingerbread cupcakes.

The gingerbread men were awesome - the recipes on Kelly's blog

And a bite of both of Ellie's cupcakes - the HUGE (some of the biggest cupcakes I've ever seen - they were whoppers - but Manny still managed to polish off a whole one!) and chocolate'y black bottomed cupcakes, and her salted caramel cupcakes which I thought were really tasty and didn't taste too salty (I'm not keen on salted caramel really, but these were nice).

HUGE black bottom cakes - Manny loved them, but he does love a big bottom!

Half eaten salted caramel cupcake - I loved the frosting

I also had a piece of Kelly's mulled wine cupcake, again polished off by Manny, which he loved as it was very chocolate'y with a hint of red wine, and a lovely Brandy Snap made by Marcus.

Manny outdid us all and scoffed more cupcakes than I can remember him eating! Oh and my brussel sprout cupcakes went down ok, Marcus even took a spare one home so they must be ok! I will post the recipe this week that I used. 

A lot of people didn't turn up due to the tube strike, and I'm assuming the awful weather, which was unfortunate, but it was a great way to spend the evening, talking about cupcake ideas, where to buy cupcake stuff and zombies! I do hope if Kelly arranges her January club some more people make the effort to come along!

Oh, and before I forget, Kelly arranged prizes for the night. She drew the names out of a hat; Marcus won a an adorable ice cube tray from Paperchase, and I won the Jumbo cupcake mold!

Isn't it fab! I already have one giant mold but this has the bit where you can leave room for filling and I already have plans of what to do with it!

Even the box I used to transport the cupcakes didn't go to waste - the cats have been using it since we got home!*

Demon has taken over the cupcake box

Angel however preferred the bag we'd carried the box in

Angel guarding the bag

So thanks again to Kelly for arranging Cupcake Club and sorry for the quality of the pics in this post - my cold has rendered me incapable of doing anything much!

 *the cats only play in the box after its been used for cupcakes, never before. That'd just be wrong!

Don't stop me now...

So I went a month without a cupcake..and then I ate two in one day. I was on holiday, my diet was already out the window after eating at Wahaca and Byron over the first couple of days of my holidays so what was the point of resisting the call of the new(ish) Hummingbird store in Wardour Street?

The new store is really cute (as usual), lots of pop art pics of cupcakes, with a few seats and really friendly helpful staff. It was a bit odd being back there as the store used to be my hairdressers and it was a bit strange seeing it in a different light - its certainly more welcoming than my hairdressers used to be, or maybe that's just because I have a phobia about hairdressers.

They didn't have any pink frosted vanilla cupcakes so I opted for one of their hand frosted vanilla creations, with gorgeous lilac frosting covered in glitter with a very pretty edible flower on top. Manny pondered for a few minutes, deciding between red velvet, double chocolate and black bottom - well if I'm honest he badgered me for a few minutes to see if I'd buy him two but I was trying to be good, so he decided upon the black bottom (Decadent, dark and dense chocolate sponge baked with a cheesecake centre, and frosted with cream cheese frosting) which is one of his favourite Hummingbird cupcakes. (I must make these from the Hummingbird Cookbook for him at some point).

I've said it before, but I'll repeat myself again - Hummingbird really do make some of the tastiest cupcakes around - I know some people think they're overly frosted (pah) but I think they are just divine - soft flavoursome base and frosting that oozes yummy-ness onto your tongue with every mouthful. There's little else to add, except to say if you've not had one, go try one - and if you're feeling really indulgent and they have them, grab a whoopie pie too - we had one a few months back and they're nearly as good as the cupcakes!

Finally, the store sells some of the Hummingbird merchandise I've mentioned on here previously.

Post beer festival cupcakes

As mentioned in the previous post we bought some take-away cupcakes at Hummingbird to relieve the post-beer fest hangover - these were a black bottom and a chocolate for Manny and a red velvet and a pear and cinammon (Friday's cupcake of the day) for me (which got a bit squished in the cloakrooms at the beer fest)

I really liked the pear and cinammon, not sure I'd have it again though as there wasn't much pear in it. Also I heart red velvet but I seem not to enjoy the cheese frosting so much anymore - I think its since I made red velvet I've gone off them....the horror! 

Next time I got to Hummingbird I shall try to ensure it's a Sunday when the cupcake of the day is black forest which sounds gorge!

Hummingbird, hummingbird yum yum yum

On our annual pilgrimage to all things beer, The Great British Beer Fest, at Earls Court, we decided to lunch at Hummingbird on cupcakes and coffee. However after spotting the humongous slices of cake we instead opted for cake for lunch (red velvet for me, devils chocolate for Manny) and got some cupcakes to take away!

The cake was absolutely delicious and the people in Hummingbird were really nice and friendly, as people should be if they work surrounded by frosting and fabulousness :)

We got four cupcakes to take away - a red velvet each (Manny had a chunk of my cake and fell in love), a black bottom and a vanilla. Manny decided that the black bottom is his favourite flavour ever and mine were yummy as usual! The bases are always really light and soft, and the frosting is absolutely melt in your mouth lovely, with lots of it but not so much that it gets sickly!As you can see from the pics they got a little squished at the beer fest and from my photography you can probably tell I got a little squiffy!!! I can safely say that cupcakes are a far better drunken late night snack than any kind of kebab!

Hummingbird definitely is in my top cupcake places in London :)