Pink Birthday Cupcakes

Getting ready for a pink cupcake order

Buttercream in two shades of pink with a cream vanilla.

I made 18 birthday cupcakes, with sugarcraft flowers, butterflies, hearts and rosebuds.

Cupcake Classes at Treetops

We have been running Cupcake Classes at Treetops for over two years now and have had great fun in the process.  We've shared lots of baking tips, discovered new websites, shared tucked away sugarcraft shops and made hundreds and hundreds of beautiful cupcakes!

I know many of you come to the classes because you enjoy baking and make lots of your own cakes, but I still like us to start baking and making the cupcakes together, so we can talk about baking and sharing tips before we move onto the icing and decorating.

Many of you come because you've got a children's party coming up, or need to know how to make masses of cupcakes successfully because you are making some for a wedding or a fundraising stall.  Being a small group of no more than six people, we have time to discuss your forthcoming event and help you plan for it.

Others just fancy a fun day out, it's very relaxing rolling and cutting out the fondant icing, it takes us back to our play-doh days!

Coming to a class is also great because you get to play with all of my cutters, plungers and sugarcraft equipment, try out a variety of decorations and sprinkles, and can work out which things you really like before you go off and spend your money.

You leave with a recipe and top-tips booklet, we talk about so many things during the class, it's useful to have something to look back on, websites I recommend, cookery books I think are worth investing in etc

But best of all is when I hear lovely feedback from you, saying what a great time you've had, and even better is when you send me photos of your new creations!

Here is a fabulous photo I received this morning from Laura who came to a class recently, she is on a roll now and is very busy enjoying her baking!  This is a giant cupcake cake she made for her sister's 21st birthday.

So, if you've been to a class and have any photos to share, please email them to me, I'd love to see them.

There are some new dates for the Summer Term, which can be found by clicking on the dates page at the top of the blog.

Wednesday's Cupcake Class

We had a lovely class this morning, very calm with pastel shades. 

They all looked delicious and very pretty. 

We spent time making our buttercream especially light and fluffy.

Two of our ladies were in practice for making family wedding cupcakes this year, so we spent time talking about making and baking for large events.

Here is one of today's Cupcakes in a pretty wrapper, perfect for weddings.

If you have been to one of our Cupcake Classes, the Stage 2 class is now open for bookings on Saturday 21 April 9.45am - 12.15pm.  £60.

Simple Gluten & Dairy Free Lemon Cake

A lovely and simple gluten free and dairy free cake for a sunny afternoon.

I used Dove's self-raising gluten free flour (my favourite) with half a teaspoon of baking powder, and sunflower spread instead of the usual butter.

Plenty of zest from a plump unwaxed lemon and half of it's juice.

Recipe:

100g self raising gluten free flour

100g dairy free spread

100g golden caster sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 lemon

Mix together the spread and sugar until light and fluffy, add the whisked egg along with the sifted flour.

Add the zest of a whole lemon and the juice from half of the lemon

(add all of it if it's not very juicy)

Bake for 20 minutes at 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4

(Or 25 minutes in the middle of the Baking Oven in an Aga).   

Spring Cupcakes

Some pretty Spring Cupcakes

Vanilla flavour with a hint of yellow colour in the buttercream

Colourful Cupcakes make delicious cupcakes to order, made with fresh, organic, fair trade and free range ingredients where possible then baked in the Aga.

Perfect for presents, birthdays, weddings and anniversaries.

New Stage 2 Class date added

New date for Stage 2 Cupcake Class

Saturday 21 April

9.45am - 12.15pm

£60

During this class we take the skills you have learnt in the Stage 1 Class a little further.

We get more creative with the sugarcraft side of decorating, try different nozzles to the usual classic star shape, make sugarpaste flowers and petals and buttercream flowers, it's great fun!

Places go very quickly, so book soon!

A great Cupcake Class and Birthday

We had a really fun time this weekend at the Saturday Cupcake Class, not only was it a birthday for two of our ladies (twins!) it was one of those afternoons where I could have baked and chatted for hours!  A great bunch of people and they really did create some beautiful cupcakes.

Future class news: there are 2 spaces left on Wednesday 29 February, Stage 1, 10.30am - 12.30pm and 1 space left on Stage 2 Saturday 24 March 10am-12 noon.