Wedding cupcakes

I was asked to do some cupcakes for a friends wedding a while ago and of course I said yes, just 40 cupcakes no problem. But eventually the figure grew to 60 (still no problem) and a giant cupcake (big problem). I have never baked one of the giant cupcakes, nor have a really wanted to and would I ever want to do another - I can safely say the answer to that question is no...

The giant cupcake tins or moulds don't come with a recipe as such, just how to make them using boxes of cake mix and they do seem to be more based on US users than UK. So after lots of searching for ideas and recipes I chose one and got to work the day before collection. Unfortunately halfway through mixing I realised that the recipe I was following was incorrect but at least I realised in time and managed to fix it. Basically a giant cupcake is made with a victorian sponge recipe x 2. 

The next problem was how to decorate it. As the wedding is not until Saturday I needed to ensure it would be as fresh as possible so chose to cover the bottom in fondant icing, not as easy as it looks. I tried to do a wrap around icing as on the net but I thought this just looked messy and after having taken it all off to start again I decided to try it my own way and it did turn out much better. At this stage I still had no idea what to do with the top!

Yesterday started at 6.30 (day of collection) and all 60 cupcakes were cooked and cooling before breakfast. So now I had all the cakes made as well as some little fondant flowers, which luckily I could make in advance.

Aiming to put off the inevitable I went to Rhiannons to help oil her newly sanded parquet floor and killed a couple of hours there, then dragged her back to mine to decorate the cakes and for moral support. 

The cupcakes were no problem once we got going and we finished those off fairly quickly, apart from having to keep mixing up more buttercream icing. I actually ended up going through 3kg of icing sugar in total and what felt like a ton of butter!

Each cupcake will have a blue wrapper added when in situ.

Then onto the giant cupcake and still no idea how to do the top. After more failing attempts Rhiannon checked the net again and we decided on an old ladies swimming hat design. After adding the flowers it actually turned out quite pretty with a nice neat fondant icing bottom.

I am promised a photograph of the cupcakes in their wrappers and on their stand after the wedding and look forward to seeing the final result. Hopefully they will taste great too.

On trial - A white chocolate and pear Charlotte

There is a wedding in October and the bride to be wants her cake to be something a little bit different, something more relaxed for a barn wedding. She choose a picture on the net of a Charlotte cake and after much consideration I handed over a trial cake this morning. 

The colours for the wedding are aubergine and ivory and so I decided to do a white chocolate and pear cake. Not a true Charlotte which should be made with mousse but its a start and I will have another go in a few weeks.

So on went the mixer and I started with a white chocolate chip sponge.

To carry on the white chocolate theme I made a white chocolate ganache that I whipped up the next day.

And then came the layering. I used a cake ring lined with the sponge fingers, lightly dusted with icing sugar and then dipped in a light pear syrup (underside only), next came the first layer of sponge (brushed with pear syrup), ganache, a layer of pears and then another layer of sponge, ganache and finally the pears on top. 

I put the whole thing in the fridge over night and finally removed the ring and added the ribbon this morning. 

Left to get back to room temperature the ganache should soften and will hopefully taste great.

A few official wedding photos

Wonderful - Thank you Amelia

The wedding - part 1

It is really difficult to know where to begin with writing this blog, so I have decided to do it in parts. 

The wedding for me, the bride, the groom's mum and the bridesmaids actually started on the Thursday evening, when we travelled to the hotel we would be staying in for a couple of nights in a little village called Charney Basset. Once off the motorway we hit the countryside and it was fantastic, everything I could wish for, for both the wedding accommodation and for my future dreams of a lifestyle (dream on!).

The villages we passed through were so picturesque, all thatched cottages and barns, village greens and of course the wonderful little country pubs. 

Obviously we did arrive much later than expected, so our relaxing girly night in wasn't quite as relaxing as it should have been. It didn't end up an early night either. 

Choosing rooms was fun and taking 5 minutes to open a couple of cards was a must.

We booked a table in the pub for 7.30 and only just made it, but the pub itself and the food was wonderful. 

There were last minute cards to be written before diner too.

We consumed a couple of bottles of wine with the meal and I had one of the best steaks, cooked to perfection, that I have ever eaten.

After dinner everyone reconvened in my and Emily's room for face packs and makeup trials. Two types of masks were on offer, a peel off and a self heating.

Minna, the groom's mum, chose the peel.

Emily chose the self heating. Good choice as it goes, 1 you only had to leave it on for 5 minutes, 2 it washed right off and 3 it looked great!

I too chose the peel and after 20 minutes I was still picking bits out of my hair and getting slightly worried that I would lose some eyebrow.

At nearly 12 o'clock, everyone was sent to bed.

Emily woke me up at 6.30 trying to quieten my snoring apparently, me snore, never. So after making a cup of tea I took a walk up the lane for a quick look around before all hell broke out. It was beautiful, apart from the rain clouds that were gathering with a vengeance. I really wish I could have captured the noise, or lack of it really. The only sounds were the birds, sheep and cows. Oh to wake up to that every morning.

The view from outside my bedroom.

Down the lane a little bit.

And on the way back.

I have a story to tell about the lovely family that live in the house below, but that will have to wait until a bit later on, as the lady that lives here has a big part to play in the early evening of the actual wedding party!!

Wedding update - 3 days to go!!

Cupcakes today - 100 of them. I really need to start being a bit neater in the kitchen, either that or a new house with a much bigger room to work in.

A few hours later.... actually the colours are brighter than the pictures show, white, green, pink and chocolate.

At 4 it was off to the nail bar for a relax, get our nails done and have a bit of fun. Rhiannon decided it was too cold though to even get her coat off. But then sadly she is a bit poorly today, oh dear!

But she seemed to enjoy herself anyway.

Emily decided it was more fun to spin around on the chairs.

But finally she did get round to having her nails done and unfortunately for her she got a bit of a miserable man to work with. He was definitely on the rough side and poor Safana ended up with him too, she actually had blood!

I managed to redo the cake ribbons too.

All sorted now, no more making to do for the wedding. Tomorrow is packing, bathing, plucking and going to the hotel for a girly night with the bridesmaids, then thats it, Friday is the big day. What we haven't done, it will be too late. What we haven't got, we will have to do without. 

Now i'm sure there will be a few hitches on Friday, but so what, as long as we all get there, everyone enjoys themselves, and the bride and groom have the day of their lives. It will be worth it, worth all the work, sleepless nights, sore fingers, stress and irritability. 

But what will I do with myself afterwards?

Wedding update - 5 days to go!!

Its been another busy couple of days, but today I needed to get on with decorating the cakes.

Now although I have done what I set out to achieve, I am not really happy with the results. For some reason that I can not understand I cut the icing incorrectly and now the ribbon does not sit properly. I'll have to think of a solution tomorrow, when I have a few more working brain cells.

But for today the cake looks like this......

For the top of the cake we had made some flowers to match Rhiannons bouquet, but i'm not sure about these either now. I might suggest we make some more like the bridesmaids bouquets to add colour.

What else have we done today.... We made the table names.

I also cooked a shepherds pie, only to find out that Jourdan would be working tonight and not home for dinner. I think I may turning into a house wife, I even got up this morning and cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast before school. I'll soon be making jam and wearing a nice house coat, with rollers in my hair if i'm not careful. Maybe not, I think the novelty of not going to work will wear off soon enough, at least before I get to the rollers stage.