Friday 29 June 2007

The Catch Up - Part Deux - The Return of Sugar!!!

Howdy. It was a mega sh*t day at work today (End of Fin Year) so I need something to cheer me up (and prepare me for a weekend of study) - sugar!!!

I've had a few celebratory occasions of late, a friend from work went overseas for a year (and if I didn't bake, not only would there have been nothing for me to eat, there wouldn't have been a celebration at all!) and my middle nephew turned four. He's REALLY into pirates at the moment (who isn't???) and I ended up buying him the exact same book as one of my brothers!! I went to Dymocks today and got him a different pirate book and a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit. I know it's a bit girly, but dammit, he is going to have the classics forced upon him (that's the Arts degree talking)...

Firstly, Theresa (Ms. Tropical Vegan in Townsville - link on the right 'cause I'm lazy - yay for Tez!) posted about some amazing looking hot chocolate a few weeks ago. We found a Cadbury Hot Chocolate in Coles (the mint flavour) that we think is vegan! Cam loves it (I'm not in love with the mint)... I always add a bit of cinnamon - it adds extra pizzazz!
Hot Chocolate

Don't you love the swirly action? I thought it was mega cool (listen to me talking like a teenager - I've been watching way too much Clueless for Mr. Thesis!!)...

Cam made Margarita Cupcakes for a work BBQ (I skipped them 'cause I was on my sugar break). His work mates thought that they were very manly with the sprinkles!
Margarita Cuppers

He invented a cool way of transporting them though - another muffin tray on top (upside down) secured with zip ties (see, it is handy having a handyman around the house!):

Cupcake Holder

And last, but certainly not least, feast your eyes on this!
Tasty Tower
Tasty Tower 2

Starting from the top:
4 Gingerbread cupcakes (VCTOTW), topped with melted chocolate and a piece of crystallised ginger

Second row:
Strawberry chocolate thumbprint cookies (VWAV).
Bottom row:
5 Gingerbread cupcakes
9 Carrot Cake topped with Cream Cheese Icing
All were AMAZINGLY good! I have to say that my favourites were the Gingerbread Cupcakes - OMG so tasty. Plus they had a crunchy top (and the chocolate matched perfectly).
Here are some cupcake closeups for extra p0rn....
Ginger Cupper 2

Ginger Cupper 1

I had Cream Cheese icing leftover that day, so I made another carrot cake batch & took to Ma & Pa's for my nephew's birthday. I decorated with three sultanas so they looked like a flower. Scrumptious!!!

Carrot Cake
Hope everyone enjoyed today's post. I have a friend coming over tomorrow for vegan baking - I'm not sure what I'm going to attempt yet - maybe a lower fat gingerbread cupper? I could replace half of the fat with applesauce... Any suggestions? :)

9 comments:

Anna said...

Hi Amy--thanks for dropping by my blog! I've responded to your comment there, but having just ducked in to check your latest post, I'm compelled to compliment you on these very cute cupcakes! Very inspiring...

Amy said...

Oh YUM! I knew I'd be sugar heaven!! I made some of that hot chocolate of Theresa's. Lets just say, go lightly on the real melted chocolate part. Mine was so thick I felt sick (but it was still good, why is chocolate that makes you sick so great!?!?).

As for the classics, I hear you on that one! My kids have a collection of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Little Women, All the Magic Faraway Tree collection and the Magic Wishing Chair. Oh and can't forget Alice in Wonderland! I forgot about the Velveteen Rabbit. I'll have to get it. It never failed to make me cry (yes, I was a softie at birth). Thanks for the yumminess!

Caty said...

Everything looks delicious! But I'm lusting over the cake stand with all those cakes and biscuits- YUM!

Also is that a hello kitty toaster? I love it!

Rose said...

Oh my gosh that looks so delicious! I've been craving something with ginger, I think I'll make ginger bread or something :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

great cupcake arrangement!! what is that Hello Kitty item in the background?? it looks cute, haha

Ruiyi said...

Hey! Thanks heaps for the uber awesome cupcakes on Saturday! Everyone loved them. I think I managed to remove some anti-vegan food prejudice, so hoorah :D

On an non-food related note, here's something to whet your literary appetite: http://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/permalink/hot_library_smut/

Theresa said...

Holy wow, those cupcakes look amazing. So crafty of Cam to make that cupcake holder! It really does turn something like cupcakes with sprinkles into a manly creation, doesn't it!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Wow, I"m drooling....looks like you were in cupcake heaven! And the cupcake stand was adorable!

Anonymous said...

I didn't understand the concluding part of your article, could you please explain it more?