roses

Made these couple of weeks ago for a girlfriend's birthday. She is one of the sweetest people I know, so I thought something simple and pretty would be appropriate. These would also be perfect for occassions such as Mother's Day or engagement/wedding parties.

an edible bouquet of roses

 

 

ashton's birthday cupcakes

Irene's little boy Ashton celebrated his birthday last week, and I was more than happy to oblige when Irene called up to order a box of cupcakes. These are part chocolate and part vanilla cupcakes, topped with a whipped chocolate ganache frosting and marshmallow fondant decorations.

Marshmallow fondant is made with marshmallows and icing sugar, from which you can design edible decorations which taste like marshmallows (who can resist?), instead of the rather nasty tasting pre-made rolled fondant that are available in the shops.

And now, for some pictures..

first you frost one cupcake..

then you frost 24 more..

put some little fondant flowers on..

spell out your message..

in the box they go..

there you have it!

I heard the little ones at Ashton's kindergarten had a great time with these =)

edited: here are some pictures of the kids!

that's a huge breath!

look at that cheeky grin! =)

1st Anniversary

I made my very first batch of cupcakes (ever!) a year ago today. I remember being really nervous and going through the recipe repeatedly before taking the final plunge. It was 9pm when I got home and started baking, and it was 2am by the time I finished putting the kitchen back to order (phew).

What made it all the more special was that it was my brother's birthday and I wanted to do something special (plus I couldn't think of what to buy, but shhh.. don't tell him that). Here's a picture of the cupcakes which started everything.. these are Lemon Cream Cupcakes.

they weren't the prettiest things, but they sure were scrummy!

oh, and if you're wondering.. he got an Almond Cake this year :)

Happy Birthday, dear brother!

batter up!

These cream puffs are really fun to make. Cook up melted butter, flour and eggs, pipe or spoon little blobs of dough on your baking tray and watch 'em puff up into golden choux pastries.  

no step-by-step pictures cos honestly, before it goes into the oven it just looks like.. well.. dough..

cook up some custard. you can whip up some chocolate custard as well.

pipe custard into the choux shells.. she sells choux shells by the seashore - the first person to call me and say this quickly 10 times gets a free batch!

Cream Puffs with Vanilla Custard

101010

or, "Why I was a Hermit This Weekend". I had several orders to complete, but here are some pictures of an order that I wanted to share with you.

Ashley turns 6 today and her mom ordered the Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate & PB Ganache as well as the Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. These were packed individually as little party favours in clear plastic boxes and white paper boxes. Here are some pictures..

we have yet to print labels for crumbs, so these cupcakes wore our old Ally's Tea Party labels

there were 82 cupcakes in total.. that's a whole lotta boxes..

made some little signs to personalise and brighten things up

these were "rejected" cupcakes which didn't make the grade aesthetically, so please forgive the rather weird looking volcano-like one at the back..

lastly, from us at crumbs..

we hope you had a great birthday =)

carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

I love making these carrot cupcakes. They are incredibly moist and are topped with a delectable cream cheese frosting.

 



i wish our carrots came with the green tops (see picture on bag), they just look so much nicer that way



 grate 'em. gorgeously vibrant orange.



fill your cups..

and watch them grow..

top with cream cheese frosting (oh my)..

and there you have it!

when life gives you apples..

the greenest Granny Smiths, to be exact..

make Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins!

first, grate your apples..

they brown so quickly that I had to speed up the photo taking

mix it up into a yummy batter and fill your muffin cups..  

into the oven, and wait.

patiently.

25 minutes later..



there isn't much that's better than the apple & cinnamon combo!