Category Archives: Cakes

Bonne Fete Maman! – Happy Mother’s Day!

Cakes, Mother's Day, Party Food March 1, 2016 Leave a comment

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I have seen it said that the French traditionally honour Mother’s Day by presenting their Mamans with cake that looks like a bouquet of flowers – and indeed, why not. So this year, I encourage you to add a little Gallic charm to your Mother’s Day offerings with these florally inspired Mook and Lulu’s Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes. Of course, the little tulip cupcakes cases go a long way in making your ‘Cake Bouquet’ – but what better reason for the extravagance of some charming cupcake cases than to spoil your Mum.

I first showcased these delightful little cakes in 2014, but I needed very little reason to share these light lemony wisps, complete with zesty buttercream icing with you again…

Bonne Fete Maman!

The full recipe can be found here

Afternoon Tea for Granny Mook & Lulu for Mother’s Day
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Nanny Mook & Lulu’s Easter Afternoon Tea

Cakes, Easter, Party Food April 17, 2014 Comments: 7
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Nanny Mook & Lulu’s Easter Afternoon Tea

‘Ooh, I didn’t expect you to go to all this trouble!” said Nanny M&L, when she arrived for her Easter afternoon tea, but there is something special about showing how much someone is appreciated with homemade gifts.

Lulu helped make the cakes, and as she proudly presented her sticky gingerbread to Nanny (for once heeding the plea not to bound in), it was lovely to see that she also understood the joy of taking the time to make something yourself.

I love that my kids are now old enough to help in the kitchen. There have been several occasions where I’ve lost Mook and Lulu’s help in the kitchen once the cake mixture has been made, as they disappear off, spoons in hand, to ‘clean’ the mixing bowl.  Lulu and I enjoyed making our Easter cakes together, but I would advise using a sprinkling of patience, and a serious adjustment to your schedule – little hands and lots of questions do make the process last a little longer than usual!

We made Nanny….

Mook & Lulu’s Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes for Mother’s Day

Cakes, Mother's Day, Party Food March 29, 2014 Comments: 2

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Looking for last-minute-inspiration for a baked treat for Mother’s Day?

Why not give these fruity Mook & Lulu Lemon & Blueberry Cupcakes a try?  There’s still time to nip out and pick up the ingredients and you can whip them up in no time at all.

You will need:

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The Battle of the Peter Rabbit with Floppy Ears and Other Tales from a 6th Birthday Party…

Cakes, Cookies & Biscuits, Party Food, Peter Rabbit Party February 1, 2014 Comments: 4

IMG_1583Lulu’s Peter Rabbit Party

There is something quite refreshing about a child who lives in the moment, a child for whom time, as a concept, is rarely used.  Refreshing that is until you try to usher said child out of the door to avoid the mad dash up to the school gates, or when a major event appears on the horizon..

Lulu was telling everyone she met that her birthday was in January, even before Christmas.  Since she went back to school she has asked with increasing frequency “when is my birthday?”, or “is it my party tomorrow?”.

Over the past week, she has witnessed the planning for her party and the creation and steady progress on her birthday cake, and the questions have been coming thick and fast.  This year Lulu asked for a Peter Rabbit birthday. She came home last Saturday in the midst of my struggles with Peter Rabbit’s ears, which (as previously mentioned) refused to stand upright – a bit of creativity with a couple of cocktail sticks and a safe place to dry and….bingo! Peter Rabbit with appropriately pointy ears.

Lulu didn’t see the finished cake until the morning of her party and, despite previously telling me that Peter Rabbit looked only ‘pretty good for a rabbit made of icing’, she was one happy bunny (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Peter Rabbit Birthday Cake

Peter Rabbit Birthday Cake

Here is how we did Lulu’s Peter Rabbit Birthday Party.

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Bonfire Night – Rocket Cupcakes!

Bonfire Night, Cakes, Party Food November 5, 2013 Leave a comment
Bonfire Night - Rocket Cupcakes

Bonfire Night – Rocket Cupcakes

We went to an organised Firework display at our local fire station on Saturday, it was fantastic! –  so here’s a huge thank you to the organisers at Middlemoor Fire Station, Exeter.

A Saturday night firework display was a good option for us, as Mook and Lulu don’t cope well with staying up late on a school night…so it was bed time as usual this evening.

Don’t worry, we’re not total killjoys! We’re shifting our bonfire night back to Friday, but as a concession to ‘no fireworks on November the 5th’ I made these Rocket Cupcakes for Mook and Lulu – fortunately, it worked a treat!

Here’s how to make Rocket Cupcakes..

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Halloween – Spider Delights!

Cakes, Halloween, Party Food October 30, 2013 Leave a comment
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Spider Delights!

Looking for a last minute baked treat for your Halloween Party?  Have a go at these ‘Spider Delights’ decorated cupcakes.

Lulu is terrified of spiders.  Needless to say, these Spider Delights cupcakes gave her no problems at all, in fact they were the first thing she made a grab for at our Halloween party and she devoured one in minutes – it was blood-chilling to watch!

To make six Spider Delights, you will need..

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Glorious Coconut Banana Bread

Cakes, Party Food, Things for kids to try August 28, 2013 Leave a comment

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There’s a definite chill to the mornings over the past few days and although we are still enjoying some fabulous weather, many of us are clinging desperately to the last of the English summer.
My attempt to squeeze the last few drops of sparkling summer effervescence from these late August days has been boosted by this heavenly recipe  for Coconut Banana Bread from Jenn Quillen at the rebelchick.com

It’s quite a simple equation:

Coconut + Banana + cake mix = a great big slab of golden sunshine!

Okay, so it might be more accurate to describe it as Coconut Banana Bread, and you don’t have to have a great big slab of it, but I defy you to not have a very healthy slice, or two!

I’m not a huge fan of bananas in cakes, but the addition of coconut delivers a truly delightful cake that has converted me.

Bake this while the morning is still crisp and fresh and by the time you’re itching to get out in the sun it will be ready.  Slip on your flip flops, cut a slice of Coconut and Banana Bread and enjoy in the sunshine with a nice cup of tea, or something more exotic if you like…

Here’s the recipe.

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Mook’s Star Wars Themed Birthday Cake

Cakes July 16, 2013 Comments: 2

Hello again, sorry it’s been a while.

Mook’s birthday and her Star Wars Themed Sleepover have kept me rather busy of the past week, but I’m really delighted to say that all the hard work paid off and Mook proclaimed her sleepover party to be the ‘best ever’ – high praise indeed!

Mook has always favoured things that might be considered quite unusual for a young girl – for three years running I had to create Postman Pat cakes, all different – so it came as no great surprise to hear that this year she wanted a Star Wars themed birthday party.  As a Star Wars fan *whispered* it was certainly more appealing to me than Postman Pat, but after scouring the web, and Pinterest, for inspiration for the cake I instead decided to simplify the design down to a blue and white star cake.  I left a space on the front to place her favourite Star Wars character figure, and as blue is Mook’s favourite colour it was, fortunately, a big hit.

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