Cupcake Decorating Class...

Last Friday I went on a cupcake decorating course with my friend and her Mum. I have had a go at piping once before at home, but have never used sugar paste to decorate cupcakes and this class taught us both. I had been looking forward to this since November and was very excited when the day finally came!
The course was run by the lovely Kirsty at Kirsty's Kitchen and I would recommend her classes because she made it very clear and easy to learn, it was a beautiful  location and a very enjoyable way to spend half a day.

All the cupcakes are ready prepared by Kirsty as we need the full 4 hours for decorating, but we were all given a copy of the recipe and tips for perfect cupcakes to take home with us. She can take a maximum of 13 students at a time but there were only 4 of us on this particular day.

We started by making a sheep cupcake using sugar paste. This was definitely the one I found the easiest even though I struggled a little making the ears.

I then went on to making these little fellas, (This was my favourite to make!)

Kirsty taught us how to mix sugar paste to make new colours and we needed this skill to make the grass for a bumble bee garden cupcake.

I made 2 of this design at the same time which makes it a lot quicker. The wings are made from rice paper and I think he has such an adorable face, don't you?

We had a break halfway through for afternoon tea and were treated to homemade Devon Splits, which are a sort of bready scone that are served with jam and cream. I may have a go at making these myself one day! They were really delicious and soft inside.

We soon got back to work though, now using a piping bag with strawberry butter icing and a fair bit of edible glitter. My first 2 attempts didn't work the way I had planned so I started again and was much happier with the end result. These are the prettiest cupcakes and would also make a good Valentine gift.

In total we each decorated 12 cakes to take home. It was an amazing experience and I hope that I will be able to do the course again sometime. Kirsty told us that every 3 months she changes the designs for decorating the cupcakes so that you can come again and maybe learn something else that's new! She also runs a breadmaking course, which is more expensive but is for a whole day.
It has definitely encouraged me to keep practising the new skills I have learned and maybe experiment a little.
Here is a last photo of all the finished cakes that I decorated myself.....just me....and actually I feel quite proud.......

This week we have Shrove Tuesday and Valentine's day on the calendar which no doubt will feature in my next post. See you soon!

Big Yummy (Oh yes they were!) double choc chip cookies

So... yesterday I baked the choc chip cookies I mentioned in my last post. The recipe is from Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy book.

This is a nice easy recipe, even little children could make these with help! Not many utensils are needed and therefore there is not as much washing up to be done afterwards, which is a BIG advantage as far as I'm concerned!!

Lorraine Pascale states in her book that this recipe will make 8 cookies. I was able to make 16 from the mixture. I cooked them in 3 batches to allow space for them to expand. They spread out quite a large amount during cooking and it can be annoying when cookies spread so much that they all join together. Believe me I have been there!

These cookies only take 10 - 12 minutes to bake at gas mark 5, 190C  (375F), although in our oven they seemed to need longer but the first batch I may have left a little too long because they weren't as nice and chewy in the middle as the other 2 batches. Oops!

Overall I think they look as good, or maybe even better than cookies I have seen in the shops. The better 2 batches were chewy in the middle and crunchy on the outside. They had a lot of flavour but weren't over sweet. The batch that was left in a little too long were still tasty, just a much crunchier cookie.So far only my family have tasted them and they all thought they were exquisite. This afternoon I am taking some to share with friends while we go for a walk on a local nature trail. I'm sure that they will enjoy them too. After all, as one of my Mum's fridge magnet's says, "There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate".

Tomorrow I am going on a cupcake decorating course with my friend Kirsty, so I am sure there will be lots to tell you next time.

Beginning the Journey....

So this is my first post.Perhaps I should have created a blog a couple of weeks ago, as I really had some great treats to show you! I had tried a new recipe for chocolate muffins with the most velvety chocolate butter icing you will ever taste.
My blog will keep a record of my journey into what I hope will become baking perfection. I will post photos of my efforts, (even if they go wrong!) mention the recipe books I use and also the theory that I shall be learning. As much as I like the actual baking, I think there is a lot to be gained from reading too!
This week I am going to bake "Big yummy double choc chip cookies", from Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy book. I've made these before and everyone loved them, so I hope this week's batch comes out of the oven tasting as good as before.
Wednesday's post will reveal all!