Giant Chocolate Buttons Cupcakes - National Cupcake Week 12-18 September 2011

It's National Cupcake Week and I decided to make some very easy chocolate cupcakes and decorate them with giant chocolate buttons.

The Giant Chocolate Buttons are from Marks and Spencer and look like real buttons. They come in a fabulous box with a real button attached, all of the buttons are in individual wrappers to stop the chocolate getting marked. Brilliant product.

I am not going to take any credit for the idea of using these buttons because the lady who owns my local coffee shop makes cupcakes topped with these, so lets say, I just borrowed the idea. I know she won't mind and will be flattered that I went home and made some too.

I have been having some problems with cupcake cases from one of the large supermarkets getting squashed in my muffin tin. By this, I mean when the cupcakes have been removed from the tin the concertina's on the cupcake cases have squashed themselves into the baked cupcake, it doesn't happen to all of them though. I think this is because the cupcake cases are too large for the tin. It isn't a problem that I have encountered before. Has anyone else had any problems with cupcake cases or am I on my own with this problem?

Happy Cupcake Week!

Lin, Pain d'Espices & Chocolat

I would like to introduce you to a blog that is written by a lady who lives in France - Lin, Pain d'Espices & Chocolat which translates to Linen, Gingerbread & Chocolate. I have corresponded with Veronique, the writer of the blog, for some time now. It was from her love of reading English Literature, and Sussex Pond Pudding being mentioned in the book Veronique was currently reading, that she did an Internet search to see what the pudding was and found my blog, because I have a couple of postings on here for Sussex Pond Pudding. By coincidence, Veronique used to be a French teacher at the same school in London where my daughter is now a teacher!



The blog covers food, interiors, travel, film, novels, photography and her love for the UK and beyond. No tickets or travel required, click on the link to take a look at this beautiful blog Lin, Pain d'Espices & Chocolat.

Raspberry, Blueberry and Lime Drizzle Cake

This cake is definitely one I will be making time and time again and I can't believe it has taken me so long to get round to making it.

It's full of fruity goodness and is a cake cum dessert bake. The lime drizzle is fresh and tangy, so it's a win, win bake.

I used frozen fruit and it worked perfectly, a tip here is not to stir frozen fruit into the cake mix or you will end up with streaked batter. I always put the batter into the lined tin and then simply put the fruit on top and press it down.


When it's cooled down cut into slices and put in the freezer for cake or dessert time!

The recipe is from the BBC Good Food website who, as always, bring us the most amazing bakes.

I know that there has been a lot in the press lately regarding obesity but it's everything in moderation. Although there are a number of sweet bakes on my website, I don't eat cake all day long:( My intake of cake is confined to one piece of cake in the evening with a cup of coffee, this ritual seems to take place at around 9 pm each evening and I am non the worse for this, because cake makes me happy! Most of the bakes on my website can be cut into sensible size portions and frozen, then thawed either in the microwave or at room temperature.

Happy baking and enjoy!