Marshmallow Cake

This is a simple cake to make and perfect for a celebration. I made two of these cakes last month, for a family and friend’s Birthday. It's a simple sponge cake filled with vanilla buttercream and mini marshmallows. Although it looks quite massive and perhaps filled with a little too much buttercream, the light sponge and the fact that the filling is mostly marshmallows results in a cake that isn’t at all heavy. A friend commented that it was like eating a cloud!

This cake is a definite hit with me and I’ve also used the marshmallow buttercream on cupcakes, finishing them off with a chunk of Cadbury Flake. If you’d like to do the same, the buttercream recipe below would be enough to decorate 12 cupcakes.

Marshmallow Cake

200g caster sugar

200g unsalted butter, softened

4 medium eggs

200g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream:

120g unsalted butter, softened

375g icing sugar

25ml milk

2-3 drops vanilla extract

100g pink and white mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Line two 20cm round tins with baking paper and set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and light. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, milk and vanilla extract, and in another bowl combine the flour and baking powder.

3. Beat half of the wet ingredients into the creamed mixture, then mix through half of the flour.

4. Add the other half of wet ingredients and mix until combined. Finally stir in the remaining flour until you have a smooth and light batter.

5. Divide between the two lined tins and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, carefully transfer to a cooling rack.

6. For the vanilla buttercream, beat the butter with half of the icing sugar until smooth. Then add the remaining icing sugar, milk and vanilla and beat once more until smooth and creamy.

7. Set aside about 4 tablespoons of icing – you’ll need this to decorate the top of the cake. Stir the marshmallows into the rest of the icing until fully incorporated.

8. Pop your one of your cakes onto a cake board (I used a silver one from the supermarket and added a doily from a pack I bought from Lakeland) or plate and pile on the marshmallow icing. Use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to spread it evenly and then place the other cake on top.

9. Pop the icing you put aside earlier into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle, and carefully pipe stars onto the top of the cake.

10. Now for the finishing touches. Dust with icing sugar, sprinkle with pink decorating sugar, add candles... Et Voila! A springy, light, marshmallowy cake. Enjoy :-)

April and May

This here blog of mine has been rather quiet the past couple of months. I've struggled to find time to blog about my makes and bakes. I know, excuses excuses! Well, this month I will be making time to share some cake and crochet action with you. In the meantime, here's what I've been up to in April and May.

Above, from top:  A horse drawn tram and poster art at the London Transport Museum, the magnolia tree in bloom outside our apartment, Mr Makes' brownie Birthday cake, Singin' in the Rain,  marshmallow cupcakes, cheese scones, brownie ingredients, pretty flowers at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens.

April included two trips to London. The first of these was a girlie weekend with Mrs Norris while the Misters were away chasing zombies (two words: stag do). Singin' in the Rain is my favourite film of all time, and I finally got to see the musical. It was so much fun singing along and drooling over the amazing costumes. Although there is no picture, I went see the Royal Ballet for the very first time with Mrs N. We saw Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, and I was completely blown away. It was magical. I was mesmerised throughout and loved every last second. I cannot wait to go again!

The second London trip was for Mr Makes' Birthday. We went to the London Transport Museum to see the Poster Art 150 exhibition. If you've never been to the museum it is well worth going if you're in Covent Garden. I made the Birthday Boy a chocolate brownie cake filled with chocolate chunks, pecans, sour cherries and jelly bones. The idea was that the cake would be a dinosaur graveyard and you would find bits of bone and mysterious squidgy things, but it didn't really work out that way as you couldn't really distinguish any of it apart from the sour cherries and occasional pecan. Still, it made for tasty brownie!

Above (from top): mouth watering afternoon tea treats at Bettys, flowers in the park, Tyne Bridge, Me thinking something along the lines of 'if only they made real icecreams this big', delicious treacle tart wedding dessert, Mallard at the National Railway Museum in York, Saltburn pier and some y-arrrr-n bombing on the railings.

In May we took a road trip to the beautiful North East of England. We visited our old stomping ground in Newcastle, had a day out at the seaside in Saltburn and did some sightseeing in York. In between all this was the wedding of our good friends, now Mr and Mrs Devonshire! Massive congratulations to a very happy and lovely couple :-)

Finally, I had to share these fantastic posters I spotted at the National Railway Museum. I think they sum up the trip perfectly!

Cam City WI Craft Swap

Last month I took part in my first ever craft swap. It was arranged by the lovely Michaela of Miss Chaelaboo and was open to members of our WI group.

Our January meeting was all about tea. We had a talk from the ladies at Kandula Tea about the tea business, how it is produced and the different varieties. Then we got to sample lots of different teas. My favourites were Moroccan Mint and Earl Grey. 

Tying in with this meeting, the theme for the craft swap was tea. We were given a list of our swap partner’s likes and dislikes, but it was a tricky topic and I found it difficult to come up with ideas. Knowing that we wouldn't be swapping until March, I spent most of the time thinking about what to do.

Finally, with a week to go, I had a light bulb moment and knew exactly what I was going to make - a brooch. I like brooches because they can be pinned to bags and scarves as well as worn on jackets and other things. I sketched a rough design and got to work with some fabric and felt. Using some embroidery thread and a 1.75mm hook, I crocheted some edging and stitched on to the circular brooch to finish it off.

By the time the March WI meeting rolled around, I’d been so wrapped up in making the teacup brooch that I’d completely forgotten that I would be receiving something in return! Excitement built as I was presented with a cute little a polka dot box. My craft swap partner Katie had made me an adorable cross stitch teacup necklace. Isn’t it wonderful!  

I really enjoyed taking part and seeing how other people had been creative with the tea theme. As you might expect, there were a lot of stunning tea cosies being handed around! The swap made me realise just how many amazingly crafty ladies we have in our WI.

Have you taken part in a craft swap? Are there any you would recommend? I’d love to hear from you.

March

Well another month has passed, and boy was it a cold one. As you can see, there was plenty of tea and tasty cake to keep me going. 

From top: snowy Cambridge, lime pie, tea and a cupcake, working on my WI craft swap project (more on that coming soon), a Mother's Day Mexican feast, crochet, amazing maple pecan cake and polish doughnut from Afternoon Tease's pop up cake shop - part of Eat Cambridge, my chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate icing, the kitchen at the wonderful Ickworth House.

Of course we had Easter last month too. I made hot cross muffins and Mr Makes baked an absolutely amazing four layer chocolate cake, smothered in mouthwatering ganache and topped with a cheeky Milkybar cow. Who knew Milkybar cows lay eggs? What baking and making did you get up over Easter?

Fondant Fancie Hat

Since learning how to knit last year I've knitted several scarves. So I've been feeling ready to take on a more advanced knitting project. As I receive so many lovely comments about my pink 'fondant fancie' hat (see it here) I thought it would be a nice challenge to see if I could make my own.

I set about searching Ravelry for a pattern and lots of lovely projects popped up. I decided on this 'Snappy Hat' pattern. I used Sirdar Big Softie yarn in a striking shade of purple. The pattern suggests 6.5mm needles but as I was using super chunky yarn I used 5 double pointed 8mm needles and a 6mm cable needle.

I made the medium size and I found the pattern was really easy to follow. I’d say it took me about 5 maybe 6 hours to complete, but I am still a rather slow knitter.

Of course, I couldn't consider it finished until I’d added a giant pom pom to the top!

February

I can't believe another month has flashed by! Although its been a little quiet here on the blog, I got up to a fair bit of making and baking during February.

Bake-wise there were mini red velvet cupcakes, american pancakes, heart shaped meringues, and some delicious vanilla macarons made using a fab recipe by Claireabellemakes. I dived in and purchased a set of double pointed needles and cable needle to attempt to recreate my 'fondant fancie' hat (more details soon). My mum and I had a very creative craft session making some of the flowers in 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet - my mum is now hooked and has since bought herself a copy of the book!

I climbed to the top of the tower of Great St. Mary's Church for a pretty awesome view of Market Square, and Mr Makes surprised me with tickets to see Everything Everything at Cambridge Junction. In summary, a pretty good month! What have you been up to lately?

From top: mini red velvet cupcakes, crochet lichen for the Botanic Gardens crochet project, pancakes, Everything Everything ticket, Cambridge market from above, knitting myself a new hat, Valentine's Day meringues, flowers, vanilla macarons.

Glitzy Coffee Cupcakes

I’ve discovered edible glitter (how the heck did it take me so long?) and I want to sprinkle it on everything, but perhaps putting it on my chilli con carne was a step too far… Anyhoo, these sparkly beauties provide the perfect hit of coffee and glitz. So why not give them a whirl?

Glitzy Coffee Cupcakes (makes 24 - 28 mini cupcakes)

75g unsalted butter, softened

100g caster sugar

1 large egg

3 tbsp soured cream

2 tsp instant coffee, dissolved in a teeny tiny amount of boiling water and cooled

110g self raising flour 

For the icing:

100g unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp instant coffee, dissolved in a teeny tiny amount of boiling water and cooled

225g icing sugar

To decorate:

100g walnuts, chopped

50g dark chocolate, grated

Gold edible glitter

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan).    
2. Mix the butter and sugar until creamy and light. Beat in the egg, followed by half of the flour.
3. Stir in the soured cream and coffee, then the remaining flour.
4. Distribute the mixture into mini cupcake cases, filling each two thirds full, and bake for 12-15 minutes in the middle of the oven.
5. To make the icing, mix half of the icing sugar with the butter until fully incorporated. Stir in the coffee, then add the remaining icing sugar and beat until smooth. If it is a little stiff, add a little splash of milk to loosen it slightly and it will become easier to work with.

6. Pipe or spread onto the cooled cupcakes (I prefer to pipe with a plain nozzle so that the icing is distributed evenly on top).
7. Put the walnuts and grated chocolate in separate bowls. Dip half of the cupcakes in each, making sure the icing is well coated with either chocolate or walnuts.
8. Now for the fairy dust moment – sprinkle with glitter and Ta Da! Glitzy Coffee Cupcakes!