E.vil Cupcakes!!

Made by E.vil available in the UK from bunnyhug online boutique - these fabulous, if rather pricey (if you want both items you'll have to part with £100!!) cupcake shorts and vest top!

Cute but just too expensive for me!

I heart cupcakes bag

I finally joined Etsy last week, solely to email someone and ask them could they make me a custom "I heart cupcakes" tote...and they did and it's GORGEOUS and soon to be flying across the Atlantic to me ...wu hu

You can buy them online from Whitney's Etsy store and don't forget to check out her other fab items!!

Thanks Whitney, you're a star :) Once I get it I plan to go shopping and fill it with cupcake fabulousness

Cupcake News

Lola's Kitchen was featured in the business pages of the Sun here in UK recently so click here to read some background info about the two women behind the business. Sorry for the delay but I've only just read it on Lola's site - I don't read the Sun!

I wish them all the luck for the future as their cupcakes are some of the nicest I've tried...now this business of giving away unwanted cupcakes at the end of the night..where do I sign up????

Btw I think those vests the ladies are modelling are the ones you get in the Lola's Hampers - they're soooo cute!! I'd order one but they only come in small sizes - hello I eat cupcakes how extra extra small do you want me to be...hurumpf!

I'll name that cupcake....

Crumbs and Doilies monthly "name the cupcake" competition is now underway, with entries due by July 18th, the winner receving a free box of 24 cupcakes and a mini stand to show them off on :) Unfortunately the competition is only open to those in London, unless you want to collect them personally from their stall!

I enter this competition every month and one day I WILL win :)

They also have a new cupcake flavour of the month - Earl Grey....

"Crumbs and Doilies Earl Grey cupcakes are delicately flavoured using an infusion of the finest-quality Earl Grey tea leaves (from our friends at Tiger Spring Tea) with a touch of Madagascan vanilla to add sweetness and background. They’re light, fragrant and perfect for the summer. "

Not sure if I'll like them as I'm not too fond of Earl Grey tea but I may try and pop along to give it a try, purely for research purposes and because they look so pretty :) Next months flavour sounds much nicer - honey and lavender.

Awright Treacle

They're very "awright" indeed...as usual!

I got 2 chocolate (for Manny) and a lemon and vanilla for me, with a mini vanilla thrown in as I thought it would stop them moving round in the box and getting squished!! I particularly liked the lemon one, it had a really sharp taste to it. Wasn't so keen on the vanilla with chocolate frosting but then I'm not a fan of chocolate frosting really - I should've specified a pink one!

Manny absolutely loved his two chocolate ones - especially the butterfly one :)

Go visit Treacle one Sunday and experience them for yourself - as they say "Too much is never enough"

Stuffing my Cakehole :)

After a hectic Saturday painting my kitchen a gorgeous shade of light blue I felt I deserved a treat so headed up to Columbia Road on one of the nicest days of the year so far. When I got to Cake Hole I was upset to see how busy it was so pootled off to Treacle instead and got a box of cupcakes - 4 for £7.50, with a mini one thrown in for my lunchtime treat! However as I was leaving the market I spotted the back entrance to Cake Hole and a free seat so I went in and ordered myself a cappuccino and a vanilla cupcake. I love how the lady behind the counter asked me if I had a specific colour choice of frosting!!!! A woman after my own heart - the colour of frosting makes a difference you know!!!

The cake was lovely - the bases are quite dense, but in a good way and their frosting is just the right amount of sweet and there's lots of it which I like!!!! It's a lovely little place and I really must remember to get Manny a slice of their cake next time as they look gorgeous, but with cupcakes this good how can I have anything else :) Cake Hole is a great incentive to get me out of my bed on a Sunday morning I have to say!!

I'm happy that Cake Hole still exists as I read with great disappointment today that their sister site at Borough Market, Shipps Tearooms, has been forced to shut down by Borough Market's Trustees - I was planning to eventually check it out this week so I'm sad to see it go. I hope they find somewhere else to trade from soon. London needs more cupcakes, not less!!!

Big John's Sweety Cupcakes

Today I popped to Whitecross Market and after a coffee from Coffee@Whitecross (who make the finest coffee in London) I had a wander through the food market. I was trying to be good and although I stopped at Netty Poskitt's stall and admired her gorgeous cupcakes I resisted, but then I saw Big John's stall and the lovely cupcakes above and my temptation crumbled. I bought the two cupcakes above - a chocolate banana and a strawberry flavour. I also got a chocolate coconut kiss and a triple chocolate brownie and he gave me some money off which is always nice :) I had a good chat with Big John as well and he was absolutely lovely and was worried I wouldn't enjoy his cakes....how wrong he was! The cakes were FAB! Really nice and soft, with lovely tasty frosting, utterly fantastic and I shall definitely be back...I have to go put John's mind at rest, its not that I plan to buy more of his cakes ;)

Oh yeah and the marshmallows which I think he made himself were gorgeous too and melt in the mouth. As were the biscuit/kiss and the brownie :) As Manny said - he was in cake heaven!

I heart Buttercup

If you've read this blog before you'll know how much I utterly love Buttercup Cake Shop in Kensington.

I popped in there last week and bought the fantastic array of cupcakes above - picture three and four show Fantasy and Banoffee and picture four shows Sticky Toffee and Chocolate Purist. They were all melt in the mouth, sugar rush fantastic!! Although the Fantasy looked fantastic it didn't taste as good as their vanilla purist which and seeing as it was a Vanilla Cupcake I thought it would - however it was still lovely, looked great, but I just prefer the more vanillaesque Vanilla Purist.

Buttercup is definitely in my top three of cupcake places in the world!!!

Quick go visit!!!

Radley cupcakes bag - an update

Remember this lovely bag I mentioned earlier in this blog?....well now Debenhams have it on sale so you can get it for the bargain price of £68 which is a saving of £17 - which can buy a few boxes of cupcakes for you to scoff while carrying your bag :)

Quick get to Debenhams!!!

Is there anything better....

Thank a cup of tea and a cupcake (or two)??

This fantastic teapot matches my lovely cupcake cookie jar - I MUST go buy it asap! Available from Debenhams for £15...an absolute bargain!

Some gifts for your special cupcake

A keepsake as sweet as the cupcake painted on it, this pretty glass token, with the word 'Cupcake' etched in, is for the sweetest person you know. Available at John Lewis for £9, made by Spaceform.

Spaceform also do this gorgeous cupcake mirror for £14.95 on their website and this cupcake paperweight for £22.95. They also have photo frames for £14.95.

How cute!

Ann Arbour goes mad for cupcakes!!

Cupcake War is coming to Ann Arbour! They already have the fabulous looking Cake Nouveau with its amazing cupcake menu - I'd love to try some of the flavours on there, although I'm a bit confused as to what a chocolate turtle has in it!! They have a virtual tasting room online but unfortunately it doesn't explain what a turtle cupcake is - the pic above is labelled a choc turtle cupcake...but it offers no ideas as to why!!! Can someone tell me - I'm assuming there's no turtle in there!

Now The Cupcake Station is coming to town with its fab logo - "They're cute, compact and cost about the same as a cup of coffee...they're cupcakes" I want to try a Michigan Bumpycake cupcake - just what is that!!? For the rest of their fab flavours click here...I WANT the banana split one NOW! And I totally have to try their Halloween ones...it's a bit far away but how cool do they look!!!

So if you live in Ann Arbour go visit them now, take pics, eat cake and send them to me!! BTW the reason I'm writing about AA is one of my bestest chums lives there and this is a GIANT hint to him to go buy me cake ;)

Fathers Day Cupcakes

It's Fathers Day here tomorrow in the UK and if you're in London it's not too late to pop to Selfridges to get your dad a few cupcakes from Lola's Kitchen! Unfortunately my step-dad is far oop North in Scotland so it's a bit difficult to get them up to him but I did get him this lovely cupcake Fathers Day card from Scribbler :)

Cupcake Undies

From Marks and Spencer's Limited Collection and only available online are these lovely bikini briefs made from stretchy silk costing just £12. Aren't they cute!

Netty Poskitt's cupcakes - time for the big 'uns!

Last time I went to Whitecross Market and bought some of Netty's cupcakes I went for a little egg box with 6 mini cupcakes and although they were really yummy I often find you can't really tell with the little ones so I thought I'd best go back and get some of her full size cupcakes to check they were nice...and my first impressions weren't wrong! They were yummy - a bit dry in the base but still good. Definitely worth a wander up to Whitecross, especially if its not wet and you have time to sit outside Coffee@Whitecross and watch the world go by :)

Recent cupcake purchases

On my day out to Hummingbird I also purchased a couple of cupcake items.

First was a pencil case from Paperchase - its got ice cream, cherries and little cupcakes all over it. You can buy it online via Paperchase at Amazon here for £3.50. Its v.cute, glittery and roomy and will make a fab make up bag :)

Second - I popped into Lazy Oaf on the off-chance they might have some new cupcake merch I'd not seen yet. Alas they didn't but I decided to buy the cupcake brooch I'd had my eye on for a while. You can buy it online for the bargain price of £8.50!! Its ever so cute and pink :)

Hummingbird Bakery Portobello Road

Last Wednesday was another day off work so I went for a wander down Westbourne Grove, via Whiteleys/Hyde Park, checking out Food Inc @ Whiteleys on the way - they had cupcakes but I didn't try them this time as I wanted to go to Hummingbird, but will try them next time - they actually looked like cupcakes from Cake Hole in Columbia Road. I also popped into Tom's Deli in Westbourne Grove and saw their lovely display of goodies including Primrose Bakery cupcakes.

When I've gone to Hummingbird in Portobello Road before there's been such a HUGE queue to get in I've not bothered but at 11.30am on a sunny Wednesday they were quiet :) I got a chocolate for me and a vanilla for Manny and a little cute single container with a vanilla one for my friend Helen! I couldn't resist having a cupcake for my lunch so sat outside with a coffee and a scrumptious red velvet cupcake :) Hummingbird is definitely one of my favourite cupcakeries in London and as usual their cakes were lovely and moist, their frosting thick and yummy :) The shop is v.small but had a good range of flavours (including lemon curd which I must try next time if they have it!) and a few big cakes for sale, whole or by the slice! They had a poster up advertising Thursday as meringue topped cupcake day so I must pop over one Thursday to try those!

What I really loved about my trip there, apart from sitting outside watching the world go by while scoffing a yummy cupcake - when I was sitting outside a couple of Big Issue sellers came over and asked me to watch their dog while they went in and bought a big bag of cupcakes to scoff - they reckoned it's their weekly treat, they were followed into the shop by an obviously wealthy "yummy mummy" with her designer clad kids, while the 4x4 was left outside complete with designer little doggie...cupcakes bring everyone together, they REALLY are magical :)

Bea-utiful cupcakes

I walked past Bea's of Bloomsbury and couldn't resist getting cupcakes - Manny had chocolate with ganache frosting (the frosting was absolutely lovely, I tried a little bit!) and I had a vanilla caramel one which was quite nice but I'm not so fond of the frosting still. I've read that Bea's use a different, healthier style of frosting and I'm not sure I like it. Its nice but nothing that makes you go YUM! I have to say I prefer the good old sugar laden variety - its not like you eat them all the time ;)

While I was there I just couldn't resist having one of their individual lemon meringue cakes and oh.my.god it was one of the scrummiest things I've tasted I have to say!! I was hoping that Manny wouldn't like it so I could snuffle it all myself but he loved it too! It may look a bit squished in the pics - when I took it out to take pics it fell apart - still tasted gorge though :)

Treacle-icious

I've been having trouble sleeping so was up at the crack of dawn last Sunday so popped to Columbia Road/Brick Lane which is always a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning, even with the crowds, especially when you can pick up some scrummy cupcakes from Treacle.

We had chocolate, vanilla and lemon and they were all utterly gorgeous!! I love how they always look as pretty as they taste and they don't scrimp on the glitter and I'm a glitter girl at heart :) I have to say they are quite little compared to some of the other cupcakes in London but they are so cute and yummy they are worth the schlep up to East London on a Sunday for!

Sex and the City cupcakes - part two

I had some very bad news a few days ago and I seem to have eaten a TONNE of cupcakes and little else - thought I'd post some pics of those I've eaten!

First up was some Sex and the City cupcakes from Lolas at Selfridges which were really nice. I went in today and they still have the SATC range in stock! I think the films so popular they might be making them for some time :)

Buy a cupcake, help a pussy cat :)

Last weekend I received this gorgeous cupcake shopper from the Cats Protection League that I ordered a few weeks ago. You can buy it here for the bargain price of £9.99 - they also have some other cupcake goodies for sale including this rather spiffy mug! So go buy some and help a little kitty have a better life!

Talking of pussy cats and cupcakes I couldn't resist sharing pics of the fab cupcakes I found on the site A Cat in the Kitchen - how cute are they - the recipe can be found here.