Holidays like Easter bring out my inner child. I love the egg hunts (you’re never too old in my opinion), the treats, the pastel colours – it’s hard not to get excited! Of course, having kids keeps that magic and excitement alive and these adorable Easter basket cupcakes are the perfect holiday baking project for them to enjoy.
In my last post I mentioned that I’d visited Ottolenghi in Spitalfields during my U.K. holiday. Being the fan that I am I simply had to make time to pop in during my trip and as I walked towards the restaurant entrance the first thing I spotted was the iconic giant meringues in the shop window, along with a large selection of tempting and beautifully decorated sweet treats, just gorgeous. Inside we spotted a table laden with the most incredible salads and hummus that I could have just devoured on the spot. I spent a bit of time perusing the store before it was time to move on, and while I was there I bought a jar of rose petals. Inspired by the beautiful treats that I saw that day I decided to make some lemon and rose mini cakes and decorate them with a few of the petals.
The cake theme continues! Not only did I celebrate 10 years of Cupcakes and Couscous last month, but my daughter also celebrated her 11th birthday, yay! I am also thrilled to let you know that we have just completed the photography for the book (whoop whoop!) and the images are looking fantastic. I am so blessed to be working with an incredible team who have helped me to bring the recipes to life in such a beautiful way. All I can say is that I’m more excited than ever to share this book with you later in the year. So there has definitely been lots to celebrate lately.
These pretty apple crumble cupcakes are my latest baking creation. I’ve been busy with lots of savoury recipe testing lately and felt like doing something on the sweet side – and these cupcakes will definitely keep that sweet tooth happy! They’re inspired by one of my family’s favourite desserts, the classic apple crumble, and have a spiced apple flavour, a creamy white chocolate buttercream icing and a crunchy crumble topping.
Hello from a very cold Cape Town! It’s been a crazy two weeks here trying to juggle distance learning, work and the usual day to day admin that needs to happen, and as a result it has taken me a while to get this post together. But I think these delicious cupcakes are definitely worth the wait.
Happy New Year foodies! I’m sure most of us breathed a sigh of relief when the clock struck midnight on December 31st, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet. After the major rollercoaster of a year that was 2020 I hope that you managed to squeeze in some holiday down time, and that the year ahead will be kinder to all of us.
I’ve been baking up a storm this past week. We celebrated my daughter’s birthday over the weekend (which meant party cake and treats as well as cupcakes for school and home) and today Cupcakes and Couscous turns 7! Last year we celebrated with this caramel choc chip ice cream and this year I decided that some decadent chocolate ganache cupcakes were the perfect treat to celebrate this milestone.
Continue reading “Chocolate and peanut butter ganache cupcakes”
This week’s recipe comes from a feature I put together for Cheers Magazine last month in which whiskey and sherry were the heroes. I have to be honest and say that sipping spirits has never been my thing, I am more of a wine gal myself! But I do keep a small stash of tipple tucked away for culinary purposes. A splash of brandy here, a dash of sherry there… they certainly add a deep richness to the dishes they are added to. These easy dark chocolate cupcakes are proof that whiskey is not only good for sipping but also has its place in the kitchen (and that cupcakes aren’t just for the kiddies!).
Continue reading “Dark chocolate cupcakes with whipped whiskey ganache”
Cupcakes & Couscous 