A Cupcaking Round Up from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Ironbridge!

So we've moved...again! back to North Wales where we lived two years ago for my husband to finish off his last year of Uni.  We've been here for 3 weeks now and we've had amazing weather so we've been out and about exploring daily, showing Ella the sights and with everything basking in golden sunlight and blue skies I'm wondering what I didn't like about living here the last time around?

Oh yeah...lack of cake!

So whilst I'm dreaming about better cake days, here's a round up of all the best baked treats I've been eating over the past year!   

In Leeds on the last Saturday of every month, Kirkstall Abbey (pictured at the top) hosts a very awesome food market!

It's worth going for the Yummy Yank's stall alone! because everything's baked by an American, so what more needs to be said! Think huge slabs of rocky road bars, peanut butter bars, pecan pie bars and...

chocolate nutella cheesecake cake!
Everything I've ever tried from here is amazing!

I was also SUPER excited to discover a stall selling only Nanaimo bars! which originate from Vancouver Island and are a truly Canadian confection! It's safe to say I ate my fair share whilst we lived over there...and whilst I came across all kinds of combos - raspberry, peanut butter, mint variations...I never came across an Oreo one!

They were so tasty, and I wanted to buy every variety on the stall!!

Heading up to Scotland next...here's my cakey round up of all things tartan and bagpipe like!

Cup is right in Glasgow's town centre, they have a cabinet filled with a good variety of cupcakes, and they also offer afternoon tea's which seemed quite popular. 

For me, their cupcakes were just okay - not particularly moist and the frosting was on the heavy side.

Just outside of the centre is Cushion & Cake, a little vintage style tearoom.  I was a little disappointed with their cake selection on the day I visited.  I had heard good things about this place but none of their flavours were that appealing to me...

until I heard them mention coconut and I was sold! It also came sandwiched with some pineapple jam, I asked them if it was homemade and they said it wasn't (insert stoney Mary Berry face here!) I would have expected a little place like this would have whipped everything up themselves! it was a pretty good cake!

My mom and sister shared the polenta cake and they weren't bowled over either! 

Next up was Cupcakery Bakehouse, whose cupcakes I really wanted to love! We went in when Ella was still a teeny tiny newborn to take away some cakes for a sweet treat! The owner would have chatted to us all day and was such a nice guy, he told us how he had gone down to London and sampled all the cupcakes down there before he opened up...so in my head I was thinking these are going to be good!

 My husband got the ferrero rocher one, and his chocolate frosting tasted of mint! It was so weird! I don't know whether it had been next to mint flavoured ones in the cabinet or if the wrong frosting had been put on but it was just a strange combo!

 My coconut frosting on the bounty cupcake was tasty but again the chocolate cupcake part was just dry, so Glasgow really didn't impress on the cake front!

but in Edinburgh it's a whole different story and the cake scene is a whole lot tastier!

Just off the main road is Bibi's Cake Boutique specialising in cupcakes, and what a variety of flavours they had!

It was a no brainer! and I had to pick the Nutella one! A nice moist chocolate cupcake with fluffy creaming Nutella frosting - you can't go wrong!

Now my very favourite find is Love Crumbs.  I love everything about it, from the piano you can sit at that acts as a table to the little window seat if lucky enough to score it where you literally sit in the window - like you're on display or something! to their unusual flavour combos, and most of all their creamy dreamy beautifully frosted layer cakes! This place is a total winner! 

 

My only complaint, is that both times I've gone have been late in the day and they display their cakes in an open cabinet (which looks very cool and hip admittedly) but I'm pretty sure their cakes would be way fresher if they were contained better...

Storage issues aside,

I present the peanut butter and jelly layer cake!

Any UK cakery that presents peanut butter baked goods makes my husband do a happy dance! He was loving it!

Cheesecake swirled brownie - it's a win win!

Another time went and got peanut butter and white chocolate tart and this utterly divine mint and white chocolate brownie - see those green pieces on top - they were like mint cracknel! which features inside one of my favourite South African chocolate bars, peppermint crisp, where they found them in the UK I will never know but the baked goods are consistently inventive and amazing here! I'm still hoping to make it there one day when they have made their brownie meringue pies because they always look amazing on their IG feed!

Over in Leith, Mimi's Bakehouse had been on my to visit list of a long time! I finally made it with my mom and sister shortly before we left Scotland, which was a shame because had I discovered it sooner I would have been back for sure!!

It was very cute inside, bunting galore!

and I adored the hanging rolling pins and whisks from the wall!

Clearly, Mimi and I think alike!

This coconut slice was the dreamiest creamiest slice to ever touch my lips! I am so desperate to recreate it! a chocolate biscuit base, covered in creamy coconut with tiny coconut shreds in and topped with milk chocolate and a piece of bounty - a coconut lover's dream!

Once back in England again, we couldn't stay in Shropshire without visiting my favourite Shropshire cake establishment - Queenie's Cupcakery.

I was so pleased to see their more out their flavour combos this time around, our first visit they mostly had traditional flavours but I loved that they had branched out!

This berry cupcake was covered in cream cheese frosting, and meringue pieces and was so amazingly delicious it almost made me regret my choice...

almost but not quite because this snickerlicious cupcake was the best cupcake I've eaten all year! Now that's some compliment! The frosting was oh so silky and creamy with a little layer of peanut nougatty goodness underneath and a MOIST chocolate cake! Finally!!

Byron was also super happy with his chocolate hazelnut combo and again we couldn't get over the creaminess of that frosting!!

We took a random daytrip to Liverpool! I googled cupcakeries as you do, and came across Cuthbert's Bakehouse.  I heard their Nutella Cupcakes were worth the visit alone, I tweeted to ask if they would have them on the day we were going and they said they would make them especially - now that's service!

It was all very quaint inside...but with no cupcakes in sight we were getting worried! I asked about the Nutella cupcakes and I was told they were just coming out the oven.  So we had to wait a while for them to cool down and be frosted...but when a fresh Nutella cupcake is headed my way I can find a lot of patience!

They were SO worth the wait! and so good, that we boxed up a whole load of them to take home too! That frosting was to die for!

Sooo silky smooth! if you are ever near Liverpool, you have to detour to try on of those!

 

 

My last caking adventure ended up in London where I hadn't been for nearly 2 years! which was painful for me! I love London with a passion! and the one thing I was desperate to do was try a Nutella duffin from Bea's of Bloomsbury.  I've tried their jam duffins, but as you all know I'm obsessed with Nutella and these little beauties weren't around on my last visit.  I especially tweeted and asked if they would be in the bakery when we visited, I was assured they were made Mon-Fri.  So off we headed to their St.Pauls location which was waaaay out of our way but man I wanted a Nutella duffin! It was bank holiday so they only opened at Midday, cue sitting around in the rain waiting for 30 minutes because no other shops were open either!

and then we get inside and not a duffin in sight! Apparently they only make them at their St.Pauls store on the weekends! I was SO upset to have missed out.  We weren't going to have time to go to their other store...so we picked up a few goodies to keep us going but I was too bitter about my poor Nutella duffin disaster to enjoy them!

The brownie was packed full of coconut and walnuts and was just the fudgy kind of delicious you expect from a brownie, and the monster peanut butter and jelly slice was pleasing my husband no end!

When I'm in a happier mood, I'm sure their key lime cupcake will hit the spot! with toasted meringue frosting and a key lime curd filling - yum!

So that's that...the one upside of a lack of tasty baked goods to buy around these parts is I will be making alot more so hopefully this blog will see more action! and you can bet it's going to be Nutella orientated ;)

It's Cupcake O'Clock! Pimm's Cupcakes

This may or may not be the craziest frosting ever...certainly the craziest one I have ever made.  It is made up of four individual flavoured frostings, and so layering the piping bag is quite a feat in itself! Now bear with me while I tell you what the four flavours are; strawberry - yum! orange - not my favourite but I can bear with it! mint - we're getting a little bit out there now and wait for it ... cucumber! yes, cucumber frosting! I know what you're thinking - yuck! and that is what I was thinking too! but in a very weird way they just all work together.  I suppose it's the same way they all work in the actual Pimm's drink too, complimenting one another perfectly (or so I hear since I don't drink alcohol myself!).



So these cupcakes were the result of the baking day I had with some of my friends from uni months back that I've been telling you about for a while! They found and came up with the great idea to make Pimm's cupcakes! Well I think it was Katy's idea because our Irish friend Sarah had never heard of or tried Pimm's before and Katy thought that was a bit of a travesty that needed to be rectified! We kept a small portion of the batter back and made them just plain vanilla so that I could get to taste some of the deliciousness too! So if you don't like/drink alcohol you could do the same if you wanted to replicate these little beauties.



I've been waiting for so long to blog these because I wanted to post them when I felt like summer had officially arrived! Well it hasn't reached over 10 degrees at any point this past week here in Wales and there's been rain every day, I'm still wearing a coat so unfortunately summer definitely isn't here...but with the way things are going I don't know if it's ever planning to show it's face around here and these cupcakes were too cool not to be showcased so I caved.

I also felt like they would make a pretty fun bake for anyone celebrating the upcoming Queen's Jubilee since of course Pimm's is so quintessentially English! So I'm entering them into The Blogging Jubilee Baking Competition that is being run by Homemade By Fleur for a chance to win £100 of Amazon vouchers which are being provided by Appliances Online - just think of all the baking books you could buy with that prize! I'm excited with just the thought of it!

The girls especially loved getting stuck in to my massive box of sprinkles for decoration purposes! and we declared our baking day of fun a massive success.  I was definitely glad I had two helpers to bake up these cupcakes because I have a feeling by yourself making the four frostings would be a little time consuming but definitely worth it.  Don't skip out on any of the flavours, like cucumber, even though it seems odd I promise you it works! 

Pimm's Cupcakes:

Makes 24

From Good Food

250g golden caster sugar

250g margarine

250g self-raising flour

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract

120ml Pimm's

For the frosting:

800g icing sugar

500g butter

Strawberry: 16 Strawberries & 2 tbsp caster sugar

Cucumber: 60g cucumber, seeds removed & a drop of green food colouring

Orange: 1 orange, juice only & a drop of orange food colouring

Mint: 16 fresh mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.  Line your baking tins with cupcake cases.

Whisk the eggs and sugar for at least 4 minutes with the whisk attachment of a free standing mixer and beat the air into the mix so it fluffs up.

Sieve the flour and baking powder and add it to the mixture a little at a time, alternating with chunks of butter, whisking the mixture each time to ensure a smooth texture.  When completely combined, mix in the vanilla and the Pimm's.

Fill the cupcake cases 2/3 full and bake for 15-20 minutes until they feel spongy and the tops have got some colour.

Leave in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While they are in the oven, make a start on the frostings.

Mix up the icing sugar and butter to start with in a free standing mixer, do it in half batches so as not to completely cover your kitchen in icing sugar.  Once they are combined, mix for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

Divide the frosting into four separate bowls.

Strawberry: Roughly chop the strawberries and put them in a pan along with the sugar stirring constantly. Once softened, mash gently with the back of a spoon and leave to soften a little more (about 2 minutes).  Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds.  Leave the mixture to cool, then mix into one portion of the frosting. (This made slightly more strawberry than was needed, so just add a little at a time until it gets to a stiff consistency...if you add it all the icing will be too runny to pipe).

Cucumber: Cut the skin off the cucumber, chop it into very fine pieces and mix into one portion of the frosting.  Add a small amount of green, keep it quite pale.  

Orange: Blend the juice and zest into one portion of the frosting, again go easy as adding too much depending on the size of the orange you juice may make it too runny.  Add a small amount of orange food colouring to give it a pale orange colour.

Mint: Chop very finely and add to the frosting.  You can add green colouring if you want but we opted to keep ours the natural green that the mint leaves had made it.

To pipe: Place a large piping bag with an open star nozzle in a tall glass, spreading the top of the bag over the top of the glass.  Using a teaspoon, take a scoop of one of the frostings and gently push it down one side of the piping bag.  Repeating with the other 3 frostings until you have filled the bottom of the piping bag and the frosting is divided into quarters.  You can then use tablespoons to fill the rest of the piping bag with the rows of frostings.  Squeeze any air out of the bag and frost a little onto a piece of parchment paper first until all 4 colours start to swirl together.  Pipe your swirls on your cupcakes.

Finish with fresh slices of orange, cucumber, mint or strawberry or just for fun - with some sprinkles! 

Eat and enjoy! 

Homecoming Dessert Bar Deliciousness!

So last Friday I landed back on UK soil! and my amazing family had planned a homecoming dessert bar in my honour! 

If there's one thing I love (dare I say it) more than cupcakes....it is dessert bars! and so I was beyond excited! 

Check out the cute theme too....'Home Sweet Home' - wasn't it perfect! 

These malteser cupcakes were made by my sister Mel, and were absolutely delicious! She's been creating quite the cupcake stir up North recently and has narrowly missed out on winning Iron Cupcake Leeds several times now, every time I taste her cupcakes they get yummier so I've no doubt she'll win 1st prize one day soon! 

All the other goodies and the dessert bar set up were done by my sister Mara.  I love details! and look at these cute little straws and cups of Schloer! 

She is so extremely thoughtful, she had even somehow managed to find a comment that I had posted on Ice Cream Before Dinner's blog about how I wanted to bake these Brown Butter Brownies and so she baked them for me! 

She also baked these Lamingtons, since she is actually a native Aussie - she was born in Canberra! 

and if you follow my blog regularly you will know she works at The English Cheesecake Company, so of course no Jones Family dessert bar would be complete without cheesecake! This was a delicious strawberry and flake topped cheesecake...complete with exploding candle! 

and there were some totally chocolate cookies to finish it all off! 

I loved the polka dot tablecloth (since I am a huge polka dot fan!) and the blue and red colour scheme were a great way to welcome me back in a rather patriotic way! 

Look at this gorgeous cake server! 

and tying the patriotic theme together were these cute serviettes...

Mara even made this little bunting that was strewn across the table! How cute is that! 

I realised, after we'd scoffed most things up, that I needed a picture taken with my dessert bar! so here it is looking a little diminished...

and here I am with Mel and Mara and my lovely mom...the 3 people who gave me the best homecoming with the most delicious dessert bar! It was so good to be welcomed back in such a tasty way, and so good to be back spending time with the people I love most in the world! 

Home sweet home - indeed! If you want to see how we spent the rest of my homecoming weekend you can check it out here.