I had a go-to red velvet recipe, one I thought I was happy to use for the rest of my life... but then I went to London last October, bought a red velvet cupcake from the Hummingbird Bakery on Portobello... realised I have their recipe book at home, decided to try it and have not … Continue reading Hummingbird Bakery’s Red Velvet Cupcakes
I've said it before, that I'm not a fan of macarons. They're too sweet, and I don't really like the texture of the shells... but they are so much fun to make! Baking to me is a sacred art, one that removes me from this realm and takes me onto another plane of peace and … Continue reading Passionfruit Macarons
I've hit a snag in my holiday baking (or holibaking as it shall henceforth be known) plans: my family doesn't eat desserts as fast as I want to make them! Arrrrrgggghhhhh. This is tough guys, like, it's a serious problem. To me. I've got all this pent up energy and a basket of browning bananas … Continue reading Holibaking & Hummingbirds
My parents met each other at different times. In fact, my mother met my father years before he met her. Don't worry, I'm not going to go off the recipe blogging track and begin writing a time-travel romance novel. To hear mum tell it, she had a crush on papa since she was fourteen years … Continue reading Of Anniversaries, Chocolate, and Love
I spent the majority of last Saturday's daytime hours in the kitchen, baking cakes, cupcakes and scones for several orders received from friends and family. I first baked two dozen chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache for my mother to take to her friends' do, low fat raisin scones for breakfast (recipe coming up in the … Continue reading Beet It! Chocolate Cake
On every family holiday, my father allocates a minimum of TWO days for shopping, which is a very smart system so we don't go nuts on the first day, and also so we don't waste time in shops on the non-shopping days. On the latest holiday to NZ, I went to TOWN in Stevens, Albany … Continue reading Earl Grey tea cupcakes
I am currently in the holiday state of mind, ready to slip on my flip-flops, bikini, slap on the suntan oil and spend the day on the sand with a good book and a frilly looking cocktail. Here on the Equator, we're lucky enough to have constant holiday weather, but I'll do you one better: … Continue reading Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
What does one do when one bakes a cake and the cake falls apart when one tips it out of the pan? Go absolutely batshit cray-cray on the cake and mash it into pieces in a rage. That's what. And then, one obviously repents, decides to break up the other perfect layer as well and … Continue reading Red Velvet Cake Balls
Before we begin, let me just warn you that this entry may be a tad image heavy, despite the fact that by the time I got to photographing the cupcakes there were only two left... they were so cute, and the lighting was working so well for me that I got totally carried away! Anyhoo, … Continue reading Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
I came across a picture of a slice of strawberry cake while scrolling down my Tumblr feed last week, a basic vanilla cake with a layer of whip cream and fresh, plump looking strawberries in the middle. Made my mouth water, and I then proceeded to google strawberry cake. I can't believe I have never … Continue reading Strawberry Cake
Ellebug 