At the Make Lounge on the weekend, Natalie and I learned how to make cupcakes look pretty. During the workshop we learned how to ice cupcakes using a piping bag, how to make decorations out of marzipan and how to add delicate touches with a small piping bag.

The most important lesson I learned though was that glitter makes everything look better. One of the first colours of icing I made was lilac. Well, that's what I wanted to make. When I added the purple colouring to the icing, I expected it to go lilac and it actually went a horrible purple grey colour. It looked horrible in the bowl and horrible on the cupcake. Luckily, after I added some pink marzipan hearts and a liberal dose of glitter to the "purple" cupcakes they once again looked edible. Actually, I think they even looked a little bit pretty.

After the poor results with purple, I switched to pink and yellow. You can't go wrong with either of these colours. I think my favourite cupcake was one where the icing had a pink & yellow swirly effect. The effect can be made by putting two colours of icing into the one piping bag. It was pretty.

I found the workshop really useful. I'm a self-taught cook, so often I don't know all the little tips and tricks. Like folding the piping bag over your hand to make it easier to get the icing in. I've had some messy experiences with piping bags in the past. Now I know how to do it properly. Often I come home and tell these things to Andrew. He had a baking mentor so he usually just says "duh!".

I took the cupcakes along to a dinner party with the Holicka family. Gaby (age 7) made a beeline for one of the pink cupcakes. It had pink icing, pink hearts and glitter on it. It was the definition of girliness. I was a bit worried that all the cupcakes would be too girly for Dylan (age 4) but he picked the pink & yellow swirly one. I called it the fire cupcake.

The cupcakes were a big hit with the kids and also with this big kid. I'm really impressed with how easy it was to make them look so good. I just need to practice my piping and I'll soon be churning out beautiful cupcakes like a professional.

Some cupcake baking tips:

• Bring all ingredients to room temperature before using. Adding cold eggs or cold milk to a mixture will cause it to curdle.
  
  
• If the mixture looks as if it may curdle when incorporating the eggs, add a spoonful of flour.
  
  
• When adding the flour, stir only until it is all mixed in - over mixing at this stage will result in a heavy, rubbery sponge.
  
  
• Bake at a lower temperature than most recipes call for.
  
  
• Turn cupcake tray around in oven halfway through for even baking.
  
  
• Foil cupcake cases will retain cake freshness longer than the paper variety
  
  

More photos on Flickr.

The other day, Natalie and I were on a bus from Angel into the city. As we passed Bea's of Bloomsbury, Natalie mentioned that she had always wanted to go there. Bea's of Bloomsbury is famous for its afternoon tea. It was named by Timeout as one of London's best tea rooms.

It was an easy decision. We got off the bus at the next stop and walked back to Bea's for a spot of afternoon tea.

Natalie and I decided to share so we could try a few of their cupcakes. We decided to try the Red Velvet, the Victoria Sponge and the Chocolate Caramel Explosion (I've just made that name up as I can't actually remember its name. It was a chocolate fudge cupcake with a gooey caramel centre.) We decided to eat them in order of richest to lightest.

What was the verdict?

The Caramel Explosion was far too rich for my tastes. The caramel centre didn't really work either as it has sunk to the bottom of the cake and was just a congealed mess at the bottom of the patty.

Next up, Red Velvet. We picked this one because it is our favourite flavour from our favourite cupcake store, The Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill. Bea's Red Velvet did not measure up. Although the cake bit was quite tasty the cream cheese icing (which is really what the cupcake is all about) wasn't as good. Bea's went with a fancier mascarpone icing. I wasn't a fan.

Finally, we tried the Victoria Sponge. A light vanilla sponge, with cream and jam in the middle. Just like a normal sponge cake but in an individual serving. Perfect! This was definitely the favourite of the day. So much so that I might just try to bake them for a picnic this weekend.



Thanks to Caitlin for featuring this post on her blog, Goosberry Fool. Check out all the other great foodie links in her weekly round up.

London: Friday evening - Summer. Sydney: Saturday morning - Winter.

"Here I am "cooking" mars bar slice at 10pm in my PJs. Not really cooking because there is no actual baking involved. Just some melting in the microwave, some mixing and then a bit of refrigeration. It's the perfect thing to make when you don't have a lot of time. I took this mars bar slice to frisbee on the weekend and as usual got lots of positive comments. Rightly so, it's very tasty. I feel like a bit of a sham though as it's so easy to make. I shouldn't bake in my pyjamas though. I finished the evening with a chocolate stain on my PJ top. I was saving it for Ron."




Check out Sue's day at noodlebowl.net and her photos on Flickr.

A visit to Croatia's Pag island is like a quick trip to the moon. The landscape is devoid of greenery. It's just grey as far as the eye can see.

We stopped in the town of Pag for a quick wander. It was Easter Sunday and most of the town was at church. After church finished the townsfolk gathered in the square for a special Easter brunch. The village band played and kids danced to the music (well most of them anyway). It was quite a festive atmosphere.

Pag is famous for Paški sir, cheese from the island of Pag. It's a hard cheese made from sheep's milk. There must be some greenery on Pag as the flavour of the cheese comes from the diet of wild herbs that the sheep graze on.

Cheese making is a family business on Pag. You visit people's homes rather than head to a traditional shop for your cheesy goodness. We found a Paški sir sign, knocked on the front door of the cheese seller's house and asked for cheese. We were then taken to the cheese vault. The mother of the house was in charge of the transaction but the 16-year old daughter was our translator. We wondered just how many languages the daughter spoke. I'm sure she knows the word for cheese in at least 7 languages.

We had Pag cheese sammiches for lunch while we waited for the ferry back to the mainland. Pag cheese is yummy!

More photos on Flickr.

Our visit to Pag was part of the Aegean Odyssey. Mum, Dad, Andrew and I spent a few weeks in Croatia and Greece with a quick visit to Slovenia and Austria in the middle. Other entries from this trip include: Climbing in Croatia.

Caitlin and Jack are having a very busy 2009. It's all stations go. Married last month ... congratulations Caitlin and Jack! Now, they are moving to the US. They are leaving London and moving to San Francisco. Farewell Caitlin and Jack!

I baked some cupcakes for their farewell picnic in Kensington Gardens. To celebrate the destination of the move I decided to give my decorating an American theme. I turned my 12 cupcakes into the American flag. It didn't have quite enough stars and the stripes aren't quite right, but I'm pretty chuffed with the end result.
Good luck with the move Caitlin and Jack! We hope to see you someday soon in San Francisco.