Simply Delicious

While other girls are getting excited about Heat and such I get excited about the new issue of Delicious - that kinda sums up my life now - it's all about the food ;)

This month's Delicious and its gorgeous Christmas Cupcake cover is like food porn to me! And inside there's even more, including this gorgeous festive ginger-spiced cake with ginger cream. The cupcakes are mince pie cupcakes with brandy butter icing - which I think I shall be making before Christmas for sure. Oh and all the cake recipes are by the ladies behind the Primrose Bakery.

Testing the Primrose Bakery book

Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery arrived on Thursday am at work and it was SOOO beautiful I left as early as possible to test out the vanilla cupcake recipe!

The recipe was quite different to the usual Hummingbird one I use - using self raising and plain flour and more eggs but apart from that it was the usual suspects of the cupcake recipe. I was quite concerned that the recipe kept telling me to mix lots as I'm used to not over-mixing being the norm for my cupcake baking. It was all quite easy except I was a bit worried when I went to fill my cupcake cases and there seemed to be LOADS of mixture! I divided it between the 12 cases recommended and put them in the oven to bake.

Firstly can I say the smell was heavenly - cakes baking always smell good but these ones wafted a gorgeous smell throughout my house. I had a peek half way through cooking time (through the glass door, don't worry!) and they seemed to be doing well, 5 minutes later I looked again and they were rising into MONSTERS!! When they were fully cooked they were HUGE!

I left them to cool and started to make the frosting. It was only then I realised the frosting recipe was for 15-20 cupcakes - which I find quite annoying when the recipes are for 12 cupcakes. What am I going to do with the extra frosting? I know I could eat it but I eat enough frosting without making extra for goodness sake! So I halved the ingredients and thought if there wasn't enough I'd deal with the consequences later. As it turned out there was just enough to cover all the cakes - I think they could've used a smidge more frosting but then that's just because the frosting was TO DIE FOR! Seriously - it was FAB. Very tasty and very much like you get in their shops :)

When it came to frosting them they were quite difficult as they were a bit bumpy on top (and I can never bring myself to cut off the extra cake on top to make a flat surface as I've read some people do!). Next time I'll follow their easy (looking) guide on how to frost a cupcake the Primrose way which calls for lots of frosting!

So the frosting was gorge - the cakes were a little dense, which I think was to do with the over-mixing - next time I'll be a bit more conscious of the mixing. Also I'd have added a wee bit more vanilla to the base - maybe fresh rather than the good quality extract I use. I was a little disappointed on the day with their dense texture however the next day they tasted really good - still a little dense but still much better than some I've had by professionals so I was quite chuffed.

The book is full of really gorgeous sounding recipes including the lovely rose cupcakes I like so much from Primrose - and lots of festive and seasonal cupcakes - I may try out their Halloween suggestions. As well as cupcakes it features a few of their layer cake recipes but none of their yummy biscuits which is a shame. The book photography is pure food porn - just looking at it makes you want to slap on a pinny and get baking - or pop to one of their shops if you don't fancy baking!

Finally as you can see in the pics they're not the prettiest looking cupcakes ever - a bit lumpy and bumpy but the lovely cases do help them look prettier I think. They're from Squires Kitchen and I highly recommend them - the best cupcake cases I've used!

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Finally I got my hands on the latest mammoth book of Cupcakes by Martha Stewart and it is simply one of the most glorious pieces of cupcake pornography ever to grace my hands! It is filled with pictures to make you drool. There are 175 of recipes to keep you busy for months of cupcaking - from everyday cupcakes to filled and layered to special holiday cupcakes. There is a section on the basics with hints and tips (ie how to make a piping bag),  and did I mention  the photography is stunning!

 I heart Martha and wish she was as big here as she is in the States but alas thanks to our Government treating her like public enemy number one and refusing her entry to the UK (Which riles me as we let known terrorists and all manner of evil people in and give them free-reign in our country but a woman who committed a crime and cooks cupcakes is refused entry...utter poppycock!) I'll just have to rely on her books and magazine for my Martha fix. 

Her websites great too! 

I shall definitely be trying my hand at the witchy cupcakes for Halloween - and maybe the Devils food ones for Manny sometime soon too! 

Pics courtesy of Martha Stewart - with thanks

Sticky, messy, chewy, gooey

I think I just heard Manny drool..lol

I spotted the book Sticky, messy, chewy, gooey - deserts for the serious sweet tooth by Jill O'Connor in Fred Flare's fantastic valentines day selection.

In addition to each sugary favorite, the author has included simple techniques and tools to help home cooks recreate each decadent treasure again and again. Sprinkled throughout are tips on using phyllo dough, toasting nuts, and making a heavenly ganache, so every over-the-top treat tastes as irresistible as it sounds. For the serious sweet tooth, pour a tall glass of milk and get ready to bite into all that's Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey!

Also available at Amazon. Those cupcakes look fantastic don't they!!

Martha Stewart cupcake extravaganza!!

The ladies over at Cupcakes Take the Cake went to see Martha filming her cupcake special of her show to be shown this week in the US - I'm hoping I can catch it on the Internet somewhere!!! You can see their photo blog of their visit here.

Today they also featured the cupcake special of Martha's Living Magazine, which I've been excited about getting my hands on since I read about it on Chowhound last week - I even went to Borders to check they get the magazine in, and they do...yay! I cannot wait to get my hands on this food porn!

If you want to make something from this issue now, check out the coconut cupcake recipe here.

I'm REALLY hoping this has arrived in London as I'm off shopping tomorrow for inauguration cupcakes and am v.keen to get my hands on this!

Thanks to Stacey Joy for the pics of the magazine, and to Martha Stewart's site for the coconut cupcake pic!