Wedding anniversary at Peggy Porschen's Parlour

Halloween was our 11th wedding anniversary and of course we needed cake and where better than my favourite cake parlour in London - Peggy Porschen. If people ask where to go for tea and cake in London I always suggest Peggy's - who can fail to fall in love with such a beautiful pink parlour? This is the colour everything in my house would be if Manny would allow it! 

We opted for a cupcake each - Manny going for Chocolate Heaven and I opted for Sticky Toffee - one of their range I've wanted to try for some time. 

Manny's Chocolate Heaven cake was delicious. I'm sometimes put off chocolate cake by bad frosting - this one was as light as a feather. As was the cake.

My Sticky Toffee one was fabulous. The addition of walnuts was a little strange at first but I think it added some good texture to the cake. Again the frosting was divine.

When we finished Manny went and got the Halloween special - a pumpkin and cream cheese cupcake which we shared while finishing our coffees. I'm not that fond of pumpkin - sometimes I find it makes me gag - but this one was lovely. And the cream cheese frosting was again lovely. The cake itself was heavily spiced which I really liked. 

We left clutching two take away cupcakes (I know we're fatties but we just couldn't resist), for our trip around Brompton Cemetery where we snuggled, fed squirrels and crows, and had a lovely day. There are no photos of the second lot of cupcakes alas as when we were taking some photographs in the Cemetery I put the cakes down and the box blew over. We still ate them obviously! Manny had a Black Forest and I had a Banoffee - Manny loved his (I tried a bit and it was really flavoursome), however my Banoffee wasn't my favourite cupcake ever I have to admit - the banana flavour wasn't that strong but it was moist and fresh so better than a lot of cupcakes I've had previously. 

The perfect anniversary day out in London. 

Who you callin' cupcake?

I got this book last week, all the way from the US of A as Amazon UK kept mucking me about (after having it on pre-order for months) and it actually worked out cheaper to get it from Amazon.com, and only took a week or so to get to me!

I've not baked from it yet but had to let fellow cupcakers know that I've seen it for just over £7 on W.H Smith's website so grab it while you can.

The book is Michelle and Vinny Garcia owners of The Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago - the bakery they opened "with the mission of providing thought provoking pasty as delicious and beautiful as it is cutting edge."

The book is divided up into sections featuring approx 100 different variations in all.

Anarchy in the cupcake pan has all the basic cake and frosting recipes you'll need (lots are vegan but can be adapted accordingly if you'd rather use butter).

Happy Hour includes recipes for boozy cupcakes like Strawberry Daiquiri, Bloody Mary and the gorgeous sounding Chocolate Cherry Stout. I wish I'd had a chance to read it pre-Iron Cupcake as the recipe for lime tequila might've helped me! (If you check out the review at Tasting Table you can access an exclusive copy of this recipe).

Some of the more unusual cupcakes are featured in the World Tour section including Tandoori, Curry Cardamom and Oaxacan cupcakes.

There are also some meaty recipes in The Blue Plate Section including bacon peanut butter and bbq pork, and some non-meat with root beer float and mountain dew.

Farm to Table has strawberry shortcake and coconut mango and lots of other gorgeous fruity cupcake recipes.

Choc-o-Matic has (you guessed it) lots of choc-tastic recipes including one dedicated to Slash formerly of Guns 'n' Roses and one that looks and sounds right up Manny's street - chocolate decadence.

I want Candy has lots of American candy based cupcakes including the previously mentioned Chocolate Turtle, S'mores and Snickerdoodles.

The final chapter Shut your Pie Hole is dedicated to cupcakes based on pie recipes such as blueberry peach crumble and lemon meringue.

Lots of the cupcakes use the basic recipes from the first chapter but then talks you through additions needed for that particular recipe. As I said I've not baked from it yet but I do plan to this weekend and of course shall let you know how I get on. The recipes look fairly straightforward and easy to follow and even without baking from it I'd say this book is a must for any cupcake lover if only for the unusual recipes!

Lashings of cupcakes in Chichester

My birthday cupcake tour of the South East has taken me a while to write up but I still wanted to share with you this wonderful little bakery in the lovely town of Chichester - it is a definite must visit.

I have wanted to visit Swallow Bakery for some time, and finally got round to it 3 weeks ago and it was worth the wait.

Getting off the train in Chichester after being in London is like another world. We left Victoria Station on a day when a famous Dutch activist was in town so we spent our wait at the Station listening to bone head idiots who seemed to think they were the creme de la creme of Englishness shouting abuse at everyone, and surrounded by the usual fragrant part of the population that seems to be loiter in London stations. Chichester is lovely and I'm not just saying that because we found cupcakes, a great little food market, a fab kitchenware shop and a store where I found the cutest Hello Kitty purse all within 3 mins of each other. And they have a Lakeland which we didn't visit but it kinda adds to me wanting to live somewhere like this! It's a really picturesque little town - I loved it!

Anyways, to the cupcakes. Swallow Bakery is a cute little cafe, with about 4 tables and lots of lovely goodies to purchase. And the cupcakes - rows and rows of lovely looking, perfectly frosted cupcakes. I opted for a pink vanilla (my usual to test a bakery) and Manny had a double chocolate. Manny secured a table and I waited for the coffees and cake. This is where my first little problem with Swallow Bakery occurs - there were 2 tables free, however both were swarming with dirty crockery. The girl serving noticed and did nothing, fair enough she was serving. However there was another girl sitting down just near the counter reading The Sun who I did think could have perhaps gotten up and cleared the tables (sorry but even if she was on a break it's a cafe so tables need clearing, you can take a break later). We got our coffees etc and ended up clearing the tables ourselves, even when the girl behind the counter spotted this she just left them piled up on the table we'd put them on.

Anyways back to what we travelled two hours out of London for - the cupcakes. They were AMAZING. Really, really flavoursome, moist and yummy. Both were engulfed in a thick layer of really lovely frosting - some of the nicest cupcakes we've had. The coffee was great too - the perfect little cafe!

We decided to get a couple of cupcakes to take away and went back to the counter -where my second problem occurs (part of which we didn't realise till the next day). By going back and asking for takeaway we seemed to interrupt the staff chatting which seemed to perturb the girl serving to the point of putting one of our cupcakes upside down in the box. If you look at the pic above there isn't really any way just one could've ended up the wrong way up unless it was done purposely. They still tasted great though - Manny had a black and white (the upside down one) and I had an apple and fudge (I think it was a daily special). Both were still really fresh tasting and moist the day after purchase and really tasty - mine was full of lovely bits of fresh apple and the fudge on top was lovely. Manny loved the chocolate base of both his cupcakes declaring them some of the best he'd had. And again the frosting was just superb - some of the tastiest frosting I've ever had!

Staffing issues aside I highly recommend a visit to Chichester - next time we'll go back and explore a little more. If you do fancy a day out Southern Trains do a Daysave ticket which means you can explore all over the Southern network for a tenner!

Wu hu for Bake a Boo

Nearly a year and a half ago I blogged that we were heading to Bake a Boo in a couple of weeks...well on Friday we finally made it.

We ventured out on a very chilly afternoon, on an epic 3 bus journey quest to find it, passing some very interesting kitchen supply stores on the way (I shall be going back along the route again myself to check them out as Manny tires of kitchen equipment shopping). We got off the bus a little early, not realising the C11 stops directly outside it, so after a quick stomp down Mill Lane we found an oasis of pink cupcake cuteness.

It really is one of the cutest little cafes I've ever seen, lots of pink and vintage goodies everywhere and the tablecloths and crockery were gorgeous. I meant to get an espresso just so I could take a pic of their beautiful pink and white espresso cups - which were brought to my attention by another grown woman going into Meg Ryan in Katz's Deli style orgasmic excitement about them - they were that cute!

I fancied something different, and was really hoping for a fudge or Baileys cupcake but neither were available, so I opted for a gluten free lemon, Manny had a chocolate and we both had a much needed hot drink - this and the cosy atmosphere of the cafe soon had us warmed up. The cupcakes were as tasty as they were pretty. Mine was really zesty and fresh, the base was soft and the frosting was melt in your mouth. Manny's chocolate was deemed to be "one of the best I've ever had", so good in fact he ordered a second one and scoffed it!

The cafe had a really cosy atmosphere - lots of people were popping in to pick up orders, mothers and children popping in after school for a cuppa and a cupcake and there was a family at the back celebrating someones 21st.

On the way out I picked up a couple of packets of cupcake cases from their display of goodies to buy and set off back into the cold.

I definitely recommend a trip to Bake a Boo - I'll be back as I have to try the fudge and Bailey's flavours! They offer

Finally, Bake a Boo are offering some very interesting workshops, from knitting to burlesque hair and make up classes, further information can be found here - they all seem to include cakes! I'm very tempted by the knitting class but as it's a bit of a trek from South London I'm not sure as there is a 10am start time!

Damn you Godiva

WHY can't I buy these yummy pink vanilla buttercream cupcakes in the UK? I have emailed them to demand they stop teasing their UK customers with gorgeous looking cupcakes that aren't available to us - it just is not fair! Well I actually asked if they had any plans to sell them here, but I feel I should demand they start selling them as they're just look so nice and sound scrumdiddlyumptious

These sublime little cakes conceal an irresistible surprise inside – a luscious center of Godiva chocolate ganache. Our rich, moist, chocolate cupcakes are offered by the half dozen, all iced in pink vanilla buttercream especially for Valentine’s Day, or three each in chocolate and vanilla buttercream for a romantic weekend’s worth of indulgent nibbling. Sure to delight youngsters while sending adults into a state of chocolate bliss. 6 pcs.

But alas like their double chocolate cupcakes I blogged about previously they are only available in the USA - which sucks!

Godiva chocolate is really nice, and I can imagine their cupcakes, filled with yummy ganache must rock!

Thanks to Godiva.com for use of the photos of their drool-worthy cupcakes

I'm betting this image will turn Manny into a screen licker ;)

I saw these online some time ago but didn't blog about them as I was hoping eventually Godiva UK would see sense and start stocking them so I could buy some for Manny, the chocoholic, as a surprise. However, they are still only available in the USA at the moment so I thought I'd just post the pic to make Manny drool a little - and perhaps incentivise him to get back to NY asap ;)

If you're lucky enough to live in the US you can buy these online from Godiva, and I know their chocolate cafe in New York sells them also.

Primrose Bakery Chocolate cupcakes = home baked heaven

Firstly, I apologise for the pics, the light and my camera were working against me.

So last weekend, I finally got round to making the chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting from my Primrose Bakery book that I'd been planning since October.

Making the base used pretty much every bowl in my house -there was chocolate to melt, egg yolks to beat, sugar and butter to cream, egg whites to peak - then there was sifting, mixing and folding - all of which took ages. But once they were in the oven all my hard work seemed to be paying off as the smell of chocolate wafting through my house was making my mouth water. The frosting was also a first for me - when I've made chocolate frosting before it's called for cocoa powder, however this recipe called for lashings of freshly melted dark chocolate, which I had to stop Manny from drinking out of the pyrex jug I'd melted it in!

I could barely get them frosted quickly enough for Manny who was hovering round the kitchen waiting to lick the frosting bowl clean. No Maison Cupcake left-over frosting issues in my kitchen! I could use Manny standing eagerly waiting for me to finish as an excuse for my slap-dash approach to cupcake decorating but I really prefer them to look home-made rather than fancy, which is just as well as my attempts at fancy haven't really worked! Next time though I'd just leave them plain without sprinkles or use the chocolate sprinkles as I think the colour sprinkles look a bit odd on the chocolate frosting! The silver balls are for Manny as he loves them for some reason - I find they just hurt my teeth!

So, the important part - how did they taste? Firstly I'm not a fan of chocolate frosting (much to Manny's horror) and I found this frosting to be one of the nicest I've ever tasted. It was almost like a thick chocolate mousse and not too sweet (maybe due to the dark chocolate in it?). The base was really soft and very chocolaty - the denseness of the chocolate reminded me of a chocolate brownie, but the sponge was lighter. All in all one of the nicest cupcakes I've ever baked. If you're a fan of chocolate cupcakes, or know someone who is, I highly recommend the Primrose recipe - these would be perfect to give to friends or neighbours as a gift - especially if your decorating skills are better than mine!

Oh and I also highly recommend the Squires cupcake cases I bought some time ago - this is the second time I used them and they are by far the best.

Like your cupcakes spicy?

The featured "cook the book" on Serious Eats this week has been Bite Sized Desserts by Carole Bloom which is available on Amazon via the link above, in the UK from the 2nd Sept. It has so-so reviews on Amazon.com, but the bittersweet chocolate five spice cupcake recipe featured on Serious Eats sounds yum. For the full recipe click here. 

By the way, as much as I adore Serious Eats,  I don't particularly agree with their  description of my favourite baked good 

Sure, they might be a little passe and cliched but who's heart doesn't still flutter with a bit of happy childhood nostalgia when they think of cupcakes? 

Passe and cliched...pah! 

Today I went to....

Buttercup Cake Shop....aren't they lovely!! I think this is my favourite shop in London

We had banoffee, vanilla purist and chocolate purist - I resisted the temptation to get a sticky toffee one but they do look like they're missing one don't they!

As usual the frosting was melt in your mouth and the cake/batter was soft and yummy.

Any excuse for a cupcake!!

or two!

It was my friend Kevin's 40th birthday on Saturday so I popped to Primrose Bakery to get him a cupcake and couldn't resist picking up a few for myself and Manny and a couple of little ones for my friends Grey and Dawn.

I also had a coffee and a melting moment biscuit in their little coffee area - however it wasn't the lovely relaxing cup of coffee I was hoping for, nor was it particularly welcoming, with staff chattering over my head, and seeming perturbed at their conversations being interupted to serve myself and others that came in. One of the owners was in there when I went in and when I said "hello" (as you do when you go into a shop...or is it just me?) - I got a grunt and a forced smile - mind you I didn't take it personally after seeing their pic in the Mail.

Therefore I think this might be my last visit to the shop, which is rather unfortunate as their cupcakes are really nice and I really love the little shop with its ultra cute little cafe bit but I don't like to visit places where you are made to feel like your interrupting their day - don't run a cafe if you plan to make people feel like they've invaded your front room is my personal opinion!

I particularly found it rather perturbing that when you buy a load of cakes they don't offer a bag- not a problem to me as I always carry bags with me but the woman in front of me who bought a whole cake and a big box of cupcakes, at the cost of over £40, and wasn't offered a bag before the girl just wandered off to continue her conversation seemed rather pi**ed off - not a way to get repeat business I'd say.

Like I said the cupcakes were absolutely gorgeous - the frosting's very nice and the cakes are always fresh tasting - so at least their attitude doesn't curdle the cupcakes. Alas it does put me off visiting! There are enough other places in London that make lovely cupcakes without the attitude.

The Sweet Spot....drools!

I spend waaaaaay too much of my time looking at Etsy at work (Shhhh don't tell anyone!), mainly for cupcake stuff as you can imagine!

Lots of people seem to sell baked goods on their as well as the usual cute cupcake goodies and I couldn't resist posting some pics from the Sweet Stuff store - seriously dulce de leche cupcakes sound like HEAVEN to me! I adore that stuff - its just soooooo yummy! It sounds like the sickliest thing in the world but its like ambrosia on my tongue :)

Also their chocolate butter cream cupcakes look like Manny's idea of bliss!!

Wonder if they'd ship to the UK?? And would the cupcakes survive the journey?

This cupcake is hiding a very bizarre ingredient

Frozen mashed potato!! That's correct - inside these rather tasty looking cupcake are discs (!!?) of frozen mash!!!

These have been causing a bit of a stir in the UK as part of Delia Smith's "How to Cheat at Cooking" series on the BBC (including, of course, the obligatory book tie-in). These were featured in Sainsbury's magazine (A favourite of mine!) in their April issue (where I have borrowed the pictures above from) and I can't say that I'm that keen to try the recipe which can be found here) - apart from the mash, there's also condensed milk in them - surely its simple enough to follow a basic cupcake recipe without resorting to adding mash and sugar laden fat?

The fact that Giles Coren, food critic describes his taste of these cakes (as made by Aldo Zilli) as follows:

These were beyond horrible. They had the sheen of a freshly laid dog turd - and the consistency, with that potato in them ... Ugh. No resistance, no bite, nothing. Just an injection of sugar. It's not hard to make a fairy cake, for Christ's sake. Five-year-olds do it with their mums. Dismal.
Appearance 0 stars Taste 0 stars

kind of puts me off - although he does loose some brownie points for calling them fairy cakes, but he's a man so we'll let him off! All in all not something I'm keen to taste! I think I'll leave my mash (homemade NOT frozen!) to go with sausages and gravy or such like and my cupcakes to remain potato free!

Her name was Lola....

And she wasn't a showgirl, BUT she did make exceedingly good cupcakes! I honestly didn't mean to eat these many cupcakes in a week BUT I had an impromptu days leave last week and decided to go to shopping up town. This led to me walking for MILES hrough crowds of irritating people and finally after the hell that is Primark at lunchtime I NEEDED to go somewhere lovely and peaceful, and that place was the food hall in Selfridges, where I stumbled upon Lolas. Okay, I knew it was there and it was my very reason for going there but like I said I needed something nice after Primark!

I got myself a vanilla (insisting on pink - the girl serving wasn't one of the usual nice staff and seemed perturbed I specified what frosting colour I wanted..pshaw she obviously did not fully comprehend the significance the colour can make!) and Manny a chocolate. I resisted the urge to get two each so we could try the lovely looking Pistachio Cupcake (current flavour of the month - check here for all available flavours). I also resisted the urge to eat them on the way home and instead waited patiently till I was in the house, before scoffing mine with a cup of tea. I was drooling while taking the pics - aren't they just stunning looking! It was worth the wait, all vanilly goodness with frosting you want to drown yourself in, and you very nearly could - look how thick that frosting is!!! I then had to further avoid temptation as Manny was at the forge blacksmithing and his cake was calling me from the kitchen..however I was a good girl and made do with my own one! Greed is a sin you know ;)