Valentine' cupcakes

Just to say thank you to all of my friends at work.

Chocolate cupcakes, cola flavoured pink coloured icing , white and silver sweets and pink sprinkles  - that and heart sweets is all I needed.

Wrap it nicely into cellophane and its done!

Valentine's tarts...

I happened to be off for this V day. I felt kind of guilty for it - so I made some tarts.

Use 350 g of plain flour, 225 g of butter, 100 g of sugar , pink colouring and 1 medium egg - mix all this to get smooth dough. Leave some of the beaten egg for egg wash. Cut circles and line the tin.

Fill these with blackcurrant jam or other red jam and cover cakes with more dough - need to be glued with egg wash. Cut heart shapes out - go mad! Egg wash tops of tarts and bake until golden pink.

Some like these covered with sugar - but not me!

Into infinity ! Buzz cake!

Buzz-light year cake was asked for earlier on this month !

Start with basic cake  - three chocolate sponges filled and covered with lemon and orange icing. Then covered with blue fondant  - to imitate "the sky" wallpaper in Andy's room - in Toy story. Buzz figurine was bought in local cake supplies store. Glue this on with icing. Then use white fondant to make slogan for cake  - "into infinity and beyond" and place it round the figurine.

Make white clouds using cutters or free cutting. 

Use grey fondant to create a rocket. Don't forget the fire coming out of the rockets and windows . Use sharp cocktail stick to finish the details like panels and bolts.

It looks good with dinosaur cupcakes.

Spray the silver spray to finish the look.

Dinosaur cupcakes for 5 year old.

5 year old boy asked for cupcakes for him and his friends at school.

Firstly prepare dinosaurs - 150 g of chocolate needs melting down and moulded.

Make cupcakes  - I made chocolate ones . Make butter cream to covet them all.

Pipe butter cream on cool cupcakes and apply some white and some blue sprinkles  - I got mine from my friend Monika  - http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fitm%2F181177895207%3FssPageName%3DSTRK%3AMESELX%3AIT%26_trksid%3Dp3984.m1555.l2649%23&h=MAQElvDrY

Then stick the dinosaur on!

Spray cakes with silver spray and you are done!

Chocolate Heart

My fiend's birthday were upon us  - when I asked what she would like -she said I love chocolate - This is chocolate loving her back!

Line the cake tin placing baking paper over the tin bottom.

Prepare the sponge you want - my was chocolate - 200 g of butter, 200 g  of self-rising flour,  150 g of sugar, 3 medium egg, 50 ml of water and coco powder. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C or gas mark 5. 

Roll fondant and cover the cake tray.

Prepare some chocolate - melt and shape to hearts.

Allow for a cake to cool. I left my as it was but as it kind of lost it's shape I would define the heart bit more by cutting the V on the top of the heart  - just for future reference.

Fill the cake with white chocolate icing and jam. 

I used chocolate spread to cover cake with . Then used split piping bag and chose to pipe with hazelnut and white chocolate spread (which you can buy from breakfast isle) on the cake. I piped circles from inside out which made this sweet design.

I put chocolate heart on every one circle - but you can use as many or as little as you wish.

Mini Apple pies

This is an alternative to mince pies. Still very popular. It has simple dough ready in minutes.

Prepare dough - 225 g of cold butter, 350 g plain flour, 100 g of caster sugar - you can use golden sugar, 150 g of apples  - cooking or apple sauce , 1 small egg - beat egg separately , keep small amount of beaten egg for egg-wash.

Dough will be nice and smooth once kneaded. You can put it in the fridge for short time or use it straight away.

Roll out the dough, cut out circles and line pre-greased tin.

Fill these with cooked mashed apples or apple sauce and cut out flowers from the rest of the dough. 

Use the egg wash for edges and flowers. Bake until golden . Leave to cool then remove from baking tin.