MotoGP themed birthday cake

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When a friend asked me to make a MotoGP or Formula 1 themed cake for her dear boyfriend, I quickly did a Pinterest search to get ideas. I knew my time for this cake would be limited and almost had a heart attack when I saw all the extremely elaborate designs on the Internet. So I had to get really creative in order to fit the cake in my already very busy schedule but still be able to deliver a cool cake. Which is when the local supermarket came to the rescue. I was stocking up on the usual: flour, butter, sugar when I spotted a tiny red motorcycle toy with MotoGP written on it hang off a random food isle. SCORE!

The actual cake had this Guinness base (I simply doubled the recipe to be able to cut the cake in 2 layers) but I needed a slightly stiffer frosting than cream cheese in order to avoid covering the cake in fondant (I don’t like the taste of it) so I used another favorite – Kahlua mascarpone. I cut the MotoGP logo by hand (other than the letters) from fondant and drew the shape of a nearby MotoGP circuit (the one in Jerez de la Frontera) in black royal icing. The birthday boy loved it! And here’s a few pictures:

MotoGP cake 2 MotoGP cake

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It’s not all champagne and roses

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I like blogs, can you tell? But what I like more is to imagine the life of the people writing the blogs I read. I am lucky to have a blogger sister (warning – it is in Bulgarian) and a few blogger friends so it’s not all in my head but I did go through a phase when I thought – how is it possible that these bloggers live such fabulous lives? Don’t they have a single worry in the world? Does nothing ever go wrong for them?

I now have a few more years of experience behind me – not only life- but also blogging-wise. And I know that the life we sometimes portray on blogs, social media, etc is not necessarily the life we live 100% of the time – not everyone is ready to share the negative parts publicly. But enough preamble – I was just getting to the point that not everything is Champagne and roses at Cupcakes & Unicorns HQ either and I had to share a picture of last night’s events which first made me want to cry but then I just laughed. In general, cakes break (the horror!); cream cheese frosting becomes as runny as milkshake; cookies burn; a thin layer of icing sugar usually covers every single space and thing in my kitchen.

So last night, I was attempting to create cake pops to resemble the decapitated characters in Game of Thrones for a themed party. I had to use white chocolate which has always been a pet peeve of mine. It is tricky to melt as it can burn very easily, it takes a very long time to set, etc. But I made it all the way to decent looking cake pops heads and let them to set. What I didn’t consider is that due to the recent heat wave the air temperature is not very far from the temperature at which you melt white chocolate (44C). So after waiting 45 minutes for them to set, I went back to the kitchen to find this (the chocolate was still as soft as it had been 45 min previously):

I decapitated these cake pops a tad too well

I decapitated these cake pops a tad too well

Lesson learned – don’t try and coat cake pops in white chocolate when the temperature is one million degrees Celsius. It simply won’t work. Needless to say these ‘chopped heads’ ended up buried in the bin and we won’t be having cake pops this weekend 😉

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It’s not simply edible lace, it’s magic! [+DISCOUNT CODE]

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Remember I moaned a while ago that I may have to convert to beauty blogging to get nice freebies? Well, it turns out I was wrong.

As luck would have it, the lovely people at Squires Kitchen Shop not only did read my blog, they also sent me an amazing package in the post (which was a nice change to the uninterrupted flow of various bills). You simply cannot imagine my excitement! I almost burst – not only does my favorite online shop for baking supplies read my blog, but they also want to collaborate with me!!! There is something in it for you too – keep reading.

So I received the following products to add to my ever growing collection:

The received goodies

The received goodies

Bridal Rose Sugarpaste
Baroque Pink Cupcake Cases
Silikomart Wondercakes Daisy Mat
Flexi-Ice Instant Mix

This meant I could now make edible lace! I was slightly skeptic at first – flexible icing? Which you can eat? But you bake it first? It sounded fishy. But behold: IT IS PURE MAGIC! Like unicorn magic, I’m telling you! Don’t be afraid to follow the instructions on the flexible icing. I was worried as the ratio icing to water is 1 to 1.5 – this didn’t sound right. But it is. These people really know what they’re doing – so trust them and simply follow what it says on the back of the package, and there’s no way you won’t succeed. I baked it for 25 minutes rather than 20 but this all depends on the oven. If you are operating a pre-war beast like mine, it is temperamental so times are always relative. And the lace doilies came out of the mold like a charm!

The silicone mould ready to go on the oven to dry

The silicone mould ready to go on the oven to dry

I put a thin layer of icing on the cakes, then rolled out the sugarpaste to cover them in it . For the cupcakes, I used CupcakeJemma’s vanilla cupcakes recipe, which I then topped with the Hummingbird bakery’s Kahlua mascarpone frosting. I recommend letting the frosting set in the fridge for 30 minutes or so before putting the sugar paste on. Especially if your kitchen, like mine, turns into a sauna in summer.

IMG_4569 IMG_4567Once this was done, I brushed a little edible glue so the lace sticks to the sugarpaste, and that was it. Et voila! I think I’m in love.

finished finished 2
I haven’t tried coloring the lace yet – this would be the next project, and I have some beautiful colors I had previously ordered from Squires. But I can definitely recommend the set to everyone. So simple yet chic, and super easy to make!

But the best part is yet to come. Squires Kitchen Shop is offering all my readers 10% OFF orders until 01.10.2014 if you also want to create lace magic or want to buy everything else they have in stock too (I know I would). Simply enter the code UNICORNS2015 at checkout to enjoy your 10% discount. Come on, off you go – the next order has your name on it. And they do classes as well – if you are based in the UK, get your butt over to Surrey! I promise I will only be jealous a little bit.

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4th of July dessert galore

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For a second year in a row, a few local businesses organised a 4th of July party in Gibraltar. And for a second year in a row, Cupcakes & Unicorns had a small dessert stall. Picture plenty of oreos, marshmallows, brownies, NYC style cheesecake. Luckily, this year I was able to spend less time on decorations (since I managed to recycle some from last year, plus the awesome Whitney and Alan just came back from a US trip and brought some fantastic goodies, including my little top hat) and more time on baking. This is what it looked like:

I loved my tiny top hat!

I loved my tiny top hat!

We had following desserts for sale:
– Sugar cookies with a royal icing flad drawn on each
– Lush fudgy chocolate brownie (which also came in a) gluten-free and b) egg- and dairy-free version)
– Vanilla and oreo cake pops
– Red and blue whoopie pies
– NYC style oreo cheesecake (oreo base, as well as crushed oreos in the actual cheesecake)
– Boozy cupcakes (Guinness chocolate cake with Kahlua mascarpone frosting)
– Funky marshmallow skewers

Here are a few more pictures from the stall:

Unfortunately, it turned out the Miss Gibraltar 2015 beauty pageant appealed more to the local audience so not a lot of people came to the event. It was still good fun though, and the local Nazareth House received a donation of brownies, cookies and whoopie pies to give out to the less fortunate amongst ones. Also, mine and G’s colleagues and friends did not mind devouring any left overs.

Here’s to you, America. Hope you all there across the pond had a lovely 4th of July weekend.

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And I quote: “Possibly the best cupcakes ever” [+RECIPE]

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Father’s day was not too long ago and as the designated baker in the family, it was my task to provide cake or cupcakes for the celebrations. I wanted to try a new recipe but wanted it to be a ‘manly one’ somehow. What do men generally like? Football, beer, cars. Luckily, I remembered a recipe Jemma posted not long ago for chocolate Guinness cakes – and it seemed really fitting!

I wasn’t sure what to expect – would you be able to taste the beer? Would it be weird. Little did I know that they will turn out to be amazing. Chocolatey but not overpowering, very moist and with an extremely velvety texture. It is like chocolate cake and fudge had a love child.

You can find the video recipe here but I have written it out below (easier to copy paste ingredients for a shopping list, etc.). Since mine were for father’s day, I had to write little messages with food coloring on a fondant plaque:

Father’s Day Hit

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
(makes 12)

Ingredients:
125ml of Guinness Original (from a bottle, not a can)
125g chopped unsalted butter
140g plain flour
35 g of cocoa powder
200g caster sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
70g sour cream
1 large free range egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 batch of cream cheese frosting (or use Jemma’s recipe)

Method:
Melt butter in Guinness over low heat and set aside. Sieve dry ingredients in a bowl and give it a whisk to mix them all in. In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream, the egg and vanilla as well as the Guinness butter (cooled down). Add dry ingredients to wet ones and whisk until it is all incorporated.

The mixture will be runny so pour it in a jug. Line a muffin/cupcake tray with cases and split mixture amongst 12. Bake at 150 degrees Celsius (fan oven) for 22 minutes. While they’re in the oven, prepare the frosting.

Let cool and decorate with cream cheese frosting.

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Mountain bike birthday cake

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I have never been particularly good at drawing or sculpting but I do love the challenge of preparing novelty cakes (even if I don’t like the taste of fondant). So when a friend of mine asked me to make a mountain bike themed cake for her dad’s 70th birthday, I was both really excited and a little nervous. I started well in advance, working my way through little mountains of fondant, mixing colors and preparing all the little bits and bobs. I used chocolate cake, cream cheese frosting and black cherry filling – I find that the cream cheese frosting really compliments the rich chocolate cake and it doesn’t make it too sweet while it goes well with the cherries too. Advice: If using fondant, the dirty icing on the cake will need longer to set with the cream cheese frosting. I left mine the cake with the dirty icing in the fridge overnight and had no issues putting on the fondant the next day. I proudly present you the finished product:

DSCN1439It was so much fun to make – and I was extremely pleased to hear the birthday boy loved it. Seriously, if you have something to say, say it wth cake. Unless you’re breaking up with someone. Then talk to them – otherwise there may be a cake flying into your face!

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You *have to* keep dreaming!

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Today was totally one of those days. My Out-Of-Office no longer ‘protecting’ me, very tired yet high on caffeine, 300 million things to do – in my world this automatically means highly irritable, flashing a red ‘Beware’ sign on my forehead. Until a personal email came in late in the afternoon – from the contact form of this humble blog no less. Suddenly I couldn’t erase the stupidest grin off my face, my work inbox no longer seemed overwhelming and having to stay in the office late no was not a chore anymore. But… since it is concerning more of a long-term project, I will keep this a secret for now. Not an easy task, I tell you – if it was up to me I would be screaming at the top of my voice for the entire baking & blogging world to know but let’s not jinx it just yet 😉

It did, however, remind me I still haven’t posted any details of another special encounter. Sometimes you really wish for something to happen. You envision it many times in your head, you tweet (a lot) about it, yet nothing happens. Eventually you get tired of constantly refreshing Twitter and move on, thinking it wasn’t meant to happen, maybe another time etc. A little part of you keeps dreaming though. But enough talking in code.

I had been dying to meet Jemma. I had tweeted her and her shop in Soho. No reply. Nothing. But I found myself in her shop on a recent business trip to London. The girl behind the counter was nice enough while I was silently debating on how many mini cupcakes I can gorge on without being sick. But then Jemma walked in. My hero. My idol. The one. We exchanged small talk, I ended up buying all 7 available flavours of mini cupcakes, she even agreed to take a picture of me, and I walked away. The happiest person on Earth. Whatsapping the photo to a select group of people while still outside the shop. Ecstatic. It wasn’t much, a 2 minute conversation with no real significance but you guys, I met her. And what I am trying to say is, keep dreaming. Even if the outcome is not guaranteed (it never will be), even if you have been discouraged before, even if you think your dream is beyond far fetched. Keep dreaming. And when it happens, you will mentally high-five yourself and you will hopefully remember my advice and whisper a thank you to me. You’re welcome.

So. Much. Happiness.

So. Much. Happiness.

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Tarifa indulgence

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June’s agenda is so busy: One business trip down, two more to go. Needless to say all this travelling doesn’t leave much time for baking or blogging but oh boy, does it give me what to write about! But let me not get ahead and myself and let me start with last weekend.

We haven’t been fortunate with the weather this spring (I don’t dare call it summer yet – don’t want to jinx it). Normally this time of the year is spent on endless white beaches (or at least the weekends), sleeping in a tent and generally being out and about as much as possible before summer heat arrives in full blast. So last Friday, full of enthusiasm, we packed the tent and some essentials and headed to Tarifa, where we are happiest. The sun, it appears, had other plans and it didn’t make an appearance at all. However, we were still lucky:

That weekend, Tarifa was throwing it’s 3rd annual Ruta del Atun (or the Route of the tuna). The Strait of Gibraltar is famous for it’s tuna fishing and as part of the ‘route’ 41 bars and restaurants in Tarifa had prepared their own ‘tapa’ or small dish of tuna. You were given a map of the places with a brief description of their take on tuna – to try as many as possible in a more organised way. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity to collect as many stamps as possible. Some were quite traditional, others rather exotic. I won’t describe all 15 or so tapas we tried but cannot not mention my favorite one.

The description simply read: Salmorejo de fresa con tataki de atun. Salmorejo is a summer soup (or pureee) served cold, traditionally prepared from tomato and bread with olive oil, vinegar and salt. We really didn’t know what to expect – would it be sweet or savoury? The waiter raised an eyebrow when I asked for red wine to go with it and kindly suggested I have a rose instead. I went with the flow and was really stunned: the salmorejo tasted like a strawberry mousse, had whipped cream on top and thin slices of tuna, barely cooked and sprinkled with sesame. It was the best! The light natural saltiness of the fish and it’s melt-in-your-mouth texture was complemented by the strawberry salmorejo and the cream in a fantastic way. We had left this for last seeing as it sounded like dessert, and believe me, the fact my belly was already pretty full was the only thing which stopped me of having 3 more of those. Pure heaven…

IMG_4335

Sweet and salty at the same time. Terrific!

However, one cannot survive on tuna alone. And we were lucky again. A small caravan unlike all the others was parked close to the entrance of our camp site. And it wasn’t just any caravan. It was a little mobile bakery! Now, if you are an avid baker like me, you simply cannot walk past and not stop by. Afternoon tea it is! Ok, more like afternoon wine but with a cupcake, sitting al fresco by the caravan bakery. It was the sweetest thing ever (no, I don’t mean the cake). Of course, I was dead curious to see it all and the nice owners let me inside to have a little snoop. They had a tiny pink oven and a pink fridge, and everything was adorable. Cakes were made fresh and I must say, even though I find my cupcakes better, the one I had was good too. It was the cream cheese frosting which is the best frosting, I tell you. We spent a most enjoyable afternoon there, G. indulging in his favorite ‘palmeritas de chocolate’ and me in dreams of my own mobile bakery. One day 🙂

One word: Adorable.

One word: Adorable.

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Gluten- and (almost) lactose free raspberry cupcakes [+RECIPE]

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What is the best way to say thank you if you are a baker, you may wonder? With cupcakes, no doubt. What is the best say to celebrate an achievement too? Yes, you guessed it. Freshly baked cupcakes all the way.

This week I finally passed my theory and driving motorcycle exams and to thank the people who supported me and to mark the occasion, I whipped up some gluten- and (almost) lactose free raspberry cupcakes. What a mouthful! But when allergies are involved, you can never be too careful. There are so many recipes for gluten and/or lactose baking out there, vegan and what not but to be perfectly honest, some of them are not worth the effort, at least from the sound of it. So what I tend to do is use my normal recipes but adjust the ingredients. I think they were a success, especially since I had to run to take a picture of the last one before it was devoured! What do you think?

Aren't the dinosaur sprinkles the best?

Aren’t the dinosaur sprinkles the best?

I used CupcakeJemma‘s recipe for vanilla cupcakes with her vegan buttercream recipe but replaced ingredients and added my own touch so here we go:

Gluten- and (almost) lactose free raspberry cupcakes
(makes 24)

Ingredients for the cupcakes:
250g self-raising gluten free flour
250g caster sugar
1/2 tsp of bicarbonate soda250g of soft unsalted dairy free soya butter (or spread)
4 large free range eggs
3 tbsp of lactose free milk
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
100g of chocolate chips (I used normal milk chocolate chip ones – hence it’s ‘almost lactose free’. You can skip those, or substitute for dairy free chocolate)
150g fresh raspberries

Ingredients for the (vegan) frosting:
200g dairy free soya butter (or spread)
660g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Dinosaur (or any other) sprinkles

Method:
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Sieve the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (I have a stand mixer so just use its bowl). Add the butter and eggs and beat for about 60 seconds starting on a low speed and increasing to medium-high. Add milk mixed with vanilla and blast for another half a minute. Scrape everything off the bowl. Gently fold the chocolate chips (if using) and fresh raspberries and fill the paper cases two thirds full. Bale for 20-22 minutes (I baked them 22 as my oven doesn’t have a fan). Leave to cool.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Beat the soya butter in the electric mixer until smooth (1-2 minutes). Sift the icing sugar in a separate bowl, then add to the soya butter in 2 batches and beat well after each sugar addition (start on slow speed unless you want it to snow sugar all over your kitchen). Add the vanilla (and a spalsh of water if too stiff) and beat for another few minutes on medium high speed. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, you can pipe as you wish and add sprinkles. Jemma is showing some pretty cool piping techniques here.

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Beauty blogging vs. baking blogging?

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I am sure you have read at least one post starting with something along those lines: ‘I was totally thrilled when [insert name of company] sent me their amazing [insert product name] to try out and review on the blog. Thank you [company name].’ It’s a win-win really – you get freebies and something to write about in case of a writer’s block, they get advertising. Which has recently made me think: Does this happen to baking blogs too? Would Kenwood, Squires Kitchen Shop or Lakeland ever read my blog (and send me goodies)?

I totally wouldn’t mind if someone is to send me a Kenwood Chef or this pink Kitchenaid. Or at least a small selection of baking tools, food colouring, decorations, etc. I will use it all and review diligently – promise!!!

And if it doesn’t work, prepare for a blog makeover and a lot of MAC make-up reviews!

 

P.S. Dearest Andy,
you will forever have a place in my heart. You are, after all, my first (stand mixer) love. But just look at this pink awesomeness:
Additional_1175X1290_P150116_9I hope you can forgive my betrayal. But isn’t she gorgeous?
Yours,
Nadia

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