Ice Cream Cake

Vanilla sponge truffle balls are dipped into strawberry chocolate and positioned onto mini ice cream cones ..... the finishing touch is a generous drizzle of dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sweet sugar strands ....

Get Cakey Bakey with Betty Bowl, Suzy Spoon and Trinny Tray

My adorable niece Ruby turned 4 this week ... the perfect age to start fostering her interest in baking and so as soon as I spotted the baking equipment from The Kids Cooking Company I knew this would make the perfect birthday present for her.

The wide eyed and bubblegum pink threesome of Suzy Spoon, Betty Bowl and Trinny Tray come packed in a beautiful interactive gift box .... cute, cute, cute ...

Also in the range is Aggie Apron who comes packaged with a real chefs hat, together they will save the cakey mess from getting all over your little ones! 

The kit also comes with wipe clean recipe cards for Raspberry Muffins and Candy Cookies, to help get the Kids Cooking on their cakey bakey way ....

I have my niece staying with me during the half term spring holiday and I will be sure to share her sweet creations here .... Suzy Spoon is going to be busy! However, not sure her smile will be so wide after a hard day's mixing at Sweet Marie's!

For further details on the range visit  www.thekidscookingcompany.co.uk

The Perfect Sunday

The Perfect Sunday? A relaxing morning in bed with a big cup of tea and the Sunday newspapers, cuddles with my cats and then an afternoon with friends and family in one of my local country pubs where we all tuck into a traditional Sunday roast dinner .. roast beef, buttered greens, Yorkshire pudding & all the trimmings .... and a big glass of red wine ... or two ... or three and maybe a sticky toffee pudding for good measure..... heaven.

Today however, I am home alone and so I am making my Sunday perfect in another way .... I'm getting some 'Marie Time'!! I have spent the morning having cuddles with Molly & Oscar (my adorable cats) and drooling over all things cake on my ipad ... and now I am about to lose myself in the glossy pages of Vogue .... for the next few hours I will be transported into a world of beautiful couture and beautiful people, dreaming  up new cake designs that are inspired by the art on the pages .... and there will be tea and there will be cake.

The Perfect Sunday.

Earl Grey Cupcakes in Teacups.

The delicate flavour of Earl Grey can be tasted in every bite of these elegant cupcakes, perfect for a lazy afternoon with big cup of tea and a pile of magazines to drool over!

I used a recipe from the Primrose Bakery which is simple to follow and the cakes taste divine! :

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (Fan) / 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F / Gas Mark 4 and line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases
• Gently heat up 125ml of milk (I used Semi Skimmed) in a saucepan over a medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and add 4 Earl grey tea bags. Cover the saucepan with clingfilm and let the flavours from the tea bags infuse the milk for 30 minutes, then discard the teabags.
• Cream together 110g unsalted butter with 225g golden caster sugar until pale and smooth
• Add 1/2 teaspoon of Almond extract and then slowly add 2 lightly whisked large organic eggs, mixing for a few minuted after each addition.
• Mix 125g of sifted Self Raising Flour with 120g sifted Plain Flour in a bowl. Add one-third of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the infused milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all of the milk and flour has been added.
• Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minuted until slightly raised and golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a skewer into the centre of one of the cakes - it should come out clean.
• Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tin for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool. Once they are completely cool decorate with lilac coloured vanilla butter cream and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.

Or you could bake and serve your cupcakes in teacup-shaped silicone molds like I have shown here. I received a small box of these cute molds in my Christmas Stocking ... Santa really does know me well and knew I would put them to good use!! I am not sure where he purchased them from but they are made by a company called 'Fred' :)

All you need to do is lightly grease the insides before adding the cake batter, just like with the paper cases you just need to fill to two-thirds full. The cooking temperatures and time to bake stay the same ..... and there you have it.... beautiful Earl Grey cupcakes in teacups .....

I finished mine with a big swirl of lilac - coloured vanilla bean butter cream, a signature Sweet Marie's sugar heart and a sprinkling of vanilla sugar.

How civilised .... adorable, dainty and perfectly poised!!