my baking creations..

over the last few months i have been baking more and more, it's becoming a tad addictive. not only do you get the enjoyment of making something but also the satisfaction of stuffing your face afterwards...can't go wrong with that can you really?

it all started back in june 2012 with the queens jubilee. work decided to have a kind of street buffet with all the colleagues one lunch time and people were asked to bring cakes. i had just purchased a magazine with a fruity little number on the front cover which just happened to be jubilee themed.

a lemony sponge with hidden raspberries and blueberries in the center, topped with a lemon buttercream frosting and finished off with more fruit. i really didn't expect the reaction i got from them...

suddenly people were asking me if i made cupcakes and cakes to order and if i did they would be interested in getting some.

my first order was from one of the managers at work, they asked for 36 red velvet cupcakes. at the time that was a MASSIVE task seeing as i had never before baked to order or on that scale. i didn't let nerves get the better of me though, i went for it and they went perfectly. the image about isn't from that batch instead its from valentines day 2013.

my second order was for 12 red velvets and 12 coca cola cupcakes. i had tried the coca cola ones out a few weeks before this order and surprisingly they went down a storm! i really only made them to test the flavours but people still say they are the best i have made.

shortly after those it was time for a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. there was quite a large group of us going on an overnight work trip so i took it upon myself to be the bringer of baked yumminess...i named them Wizarding cupcakes...its a chocolate sponge with a hidden peanut butter center topped with chocolate buttercream frosting and popping candy.

i was then asked to make a 50th birthday cake for a colleagues husband. they had heard by word of mouth that my red velvets were good so ordered a 2 tier cake without even trying it!
making this was more of a challenge as i had never frosted a layered cake before but i was really pleased with the result and she paid £10 more than i asked for so i think she may have liked it too!

you may have seen the cake a friend gave me for my birthday at the beginning of the month...well it was the return gesture of this bad boy. often we take baked goods to work on a wednesday night and have a little bake off. i made this salted caramel cake for her birthday and she returned the favour said cake. this has to be my favourite creation so far, it took a while to make but the finished product was well worth it! it was so big i didn't have a box big enough for it...

Emma then asked me to make her sister's 14th birthday cake. she was having a mad hatters tea party with some of her friends so obviously the theme was alice in wonderland.
this cake is made up of 2 red velvet tiers using topsy turvy pans. its then covered in cream cheese frosting coloured to match the absolem figure which my friend and colleague Fran made. She created all the figures on the cake bar the hat on the top, Emma's mum made that out of clay (something to keep once the cake was demolished).
this was a lot of fun to make even though it required trecking through the snow to deliver it!

i then rediscovered peanut butter after hummingbird released their latest book. these PB+J pinwheel cookies went down a storm, as did the peanut butter cheesecake...but sadly that didn't last long enough for me to get a picture. excuse to make another one? haha

i got to a point where i was baking purely for the enjoyment of it rather than baking for orders, its funny how it goes round in circles. i enjoy a cake every now and then but because of being diabetic i would probably make a batch and eat one to check the flavour and then give the rest away, i prefer the enjoyment of watching people enjoy them...gives a great confidence boost.

so i decided to do a charity bake sale in the staff canteen at work. every year we select a charity and all fund raising done goes to that charity. i made 3 different baked goods to sell. the first being the cherry cupcakes above. Cherry flavoured sponge with a hidden cherry in the center, cherry buttercream frosting and finished with chopped cherries and little hearts.

the second item was a clean version of Rosie's Slutty brownies, aptly named Single lady brownies as the bake sale was near to valentines day. Emma made these, but i'm taking partial credit as i helped stir and also she used my oven... *cough*

the third item i didn't get a picture of until i set it all up at work. cranberry and white chocolate cookies...

that table of goodies quickly sold out and raised a sum of £56.52 for the great western air ambulance.

feel free to comment and ask questions, if i take a while to reply its because i'm clearing up the drool thats all over my keyboard...