Simnel Cupcakes

I had been wanting to making a mini version of the traditional simnel cake since Easter eggs went on sale in Tesco. However, before I went about doing it myself I discovered Emma from baketheneat.com (check out her fantastic blog!) had created the most perfect simnel cupcakes that were exactly what I had in mind. I left out the booze but they were still fantastic and went down a treat with both mine and Hannah's families.

The Best Snickerdoodles!

Back in February I stayed with my friend Lydia for a few days while Hannah was in Yorkshire. She is the most amazing cook (with a collection of beautiful cookware) and so I had the pleasure of sampling some of the tastiest food known to my mouth. The first night she cooked a gorgeous pasta dish with butternut squash and pine nuts and pecorino melted on the top (I am a firm believer in a pasta dish not being finished until it has been put back under a grill blanketed in cheese) and ummm it was delicious. I was also treated to a delightfully boozy tiramisu (one of my favourite desserts) and tried snickerdoodles for the first time! Now I can't lie, I find the name of these crumbly melt-in-the-mouth little balls of heaven to be rather off putting - I really do not like Snickers bars, but let me tell you I was so so so wrong (and my low expectations made it an even better experience). If you have not tried these before you are in for a treat!

Ingredients

165g flour (I used self-raising)

1 egg

Vanilla Rainbow Buns

Everyone loves colour, especially bright colours so what could be more exciting than these moist and fluffy Vanilla Rainbow Buns? Although not the most obvious choice for a cake, these are fun to create and little kids, big kids (my friends, despite at 19 one is an 'autonomous adult') and even bigger kids (my dad!) alike will enjoy these crazy colourful cakes.

This recipe will make 12 large muffin sized cakes or one 7" cake.

 

Ingredients 

100g unsalted butter

100g sugar