Mothers Day

Before we even get to Valentine’s Day here I am thinking about Mother’s Day!
If my Christmas experience taught me one thing it was this – start making holly leaves in October! It’s no good waiting till the orders come in and then starting to think about what to do – I need to design some cakes, work out what is needed and get ahead. That way I hopefully won’t be working 17 hour shifts and roping in Miss FWL to help late at night on Good Friday!
So here are some ideas that came out of my playing around with a new batch of sugarpaste today. (I have started to buy pre-coloured sugarpaste as it is less messy and time consuming, but there are some subtle shades that I miss so not completely convinced just yet…)
First up – six luxury cupcakes for Mother’s Day

Then we have six fairy cakes for Mother’s Day – slightly smaller and unfilled, simpler decoration and box but just as tasty!

And finally – for now – six rather more brightly coloured cakes – who wouldn’t love these?!

Prices will start at £8 for a box of six unfilled vanilla fairy cakes. A box of six vanilla cupcakes filled with strawberry conserve will be £12.

For a small supplement of £2 a box cakes can be your choice of flavours, with more bespoke decoration or – if they take your fancy – the brights pictured above!

The order book is open and confirmed orders placed by January 31 will qualify for a 10% discount – enough to buy a card!

I look forward to hearing from you very much.

linda@filledwithlovecupcakes.org

PS: Please don’t forget cakes can be posted! Designs will be adapted slightly for the postal pods but this is a perfect way to send Mother’s Day greetings to someone special if you cannot see them on the day.

 

Good Luck, Happy Birthday, Get Well Soon…

 

I took Mel’s Bonne Chance cupcakes into Waterloo last week. The cafe where her drinks were held have asked me for some samples – so excited about getting Filled With Love into a London venue!

Meanwhile, Love life goes on and I was asked to make a special chocolate cake for a friend’s mum. I don’t really do big celebration cakes – my renowned sugar paste babies are as far as my modelling goes at the moment! But it’s surely hard to beat a great chocolate cake sandwiched with buttercream and finished with some of the flowers which I am pretty good at by now!

 

And finally – for now – I love sending boxes of cupcakes to surprise people recovering from surgery, celebrating a new baby, an anniversary or birthday. I had several of those orders this week and here is one ready to brave the Royal Mail…

 

Another post later – need to take photos of the courgette and ginger cake with lemon frosting (gluten and dairy free). Also the mint and blueberry cupcakes and the white chocolate caramel shortbread with pistachio and cranberry….

 

Twenty Four Hours

I’m kicking myself for not photographing everything I have baked and sent out over the last 24 hours. It’s been so busy that picking up the camera slipped down the list of priorities – so no photos of the Victoria Sandwich with caramalised sugar topping, or the delicious and delicate fondant fancies with a fresh strawberry filling. I do however have a pic or two of the coffee and walnut cake – already posted yesterday…

And also of the leaving cakes for my very deal friend Mel who posts on Mel and Joy Cook 

Not to mention the postal order picked up from Twitter (@lindaaanderson)

If you are thinking of ordering please do get your order in quickly – the diary is filling up fast!

 

An up and down sort of day…

Every day, cake bakers such as myself post pictures of beautiful creations on websites and facebook. These are blogged and tweeted out, pinned and shared.

But we rarely see – or hear –  what lies behind these glossy images – until now!

Some of you may be familiar with my “other” blog which is where thoughts such as this would more usually be shared. But to amuse those of you who follow Filled With Love here is a summary of today’s fun and games!

It all began yesterday if I am honest. I had been asked to create a set of cupcakes with babies on the top. But the babies were to be of different ethnic origins.  I messed around for ages with food colouring but somehow things went horribly wrong. Late last night I was remoulding them in chocolate fondant which tastes wonderful and hopefully looked the part too.

Up early this morning to bake thirty cakes for a thirtieth birthday party. And the cakes to nestle the babies on. Somehow my brain wasn’t computing properly and I hadn’t baked enough. Neither did they rise as I would have wished, but I cut one in half to test and taste and it was divine. The rind of three fresh lemons had been grated into the batter and you could taste the fresh citrus flavour! Not to mention the home made lemon curd I’d squeezed into the centre (remind me to blog about the sauce bottle…)

This order was needed in Waterloo by lunchtime so I dropped everything to catch the tube to and from Starbucks where the handover took place.

Then back to leafy Croxley Green and the realisation my sugar and chocolate fondant babies were too big to sit on a standard cupcake!

Another batch later – baked in large foil cases with 48g of batter in each and high fondant tops levelled to make a surface for them – the babies were settled. Have to say I was pleased and I think the recipient liked them.

But we both smiled when we realised just how dark the chocolate had dried. I need to work on my use of food colourings if I am to make more babies in future…

 

Happy Birthday!

Loved making these cakes for an 80th birthday. Been a while since I did such an elaborate bespoke order and was lots of fun!

Do you have a birthday or other special occasion coming up? Would you like to treat your team/office/family to some very special cupcakes?

If so do get in touch linda@filledwithlovecupcakes.org as I’d love to hear from you!

If you live in Croxley we could discuss your order over a cuppa maybe?

 

 

Giant Cupcake

 

My first ever Giant Cupcake!

It’s not perfect – a few wobbly bits of icing (and a few more under some of the flowers!) but the recipient was absolutely delighted and that’s what it’s all about really!

First attempt at baking the base was erm… problematic. Ensuring it was cooked through without the edges getting a bit crispy is clearly the biggest challenge. Reducing the oven temperature and cooking it for slightly longer seemed to do the trick, and the first one was blitzed into the best ever cake pops!

Speaking of which – you can buy these at the lovely Coco Cafe – well worth a visit if  you live in Croxley or the surrounding area. In fact if you appreciate really good coffee and are looking for the best it would be worth a car journey, a long distance train or a transatlantic flight…

 

Exclusive to Coco, Croxley Green

Tadaaaa…..! (cue drum roll, fireworks and general excitement building effects)

Coco Cafe opened in Croxley Green today – a really lovely cafe/deli serving just the best coffee you’ve ever tasted. Along with sandwiches, light lunches and nice cakes.

Two of my cakes can currently only be found at Coco. Here they are – if you would like to taste them then you need to come and visit!

This is the Coco cake. Dark chocolate, a shot of espresso, moist coconut and a mango curd filling (the stringy bits prove it is genuine real home made fresh mango curd!) Topped with a chocolate mousse-like buttercream, mango chunks and a drizzle of more dark chocolate.

If chocolate’s not your thing or you fancy a change here’s the lemon meringue cake. Fluffy lemon sponge filled with lemon curd and topped with swiss meringue buttercream – the Oscar of icings! Drizzled with lemon curd.

Pop into Coco and enjoy a cake with a delicious cup of Extract coffee. Or let me know you’re going and maybe I’ll see you there!

 

Coco

Hugely excited that a new Cafe/Deli is soon to be opening in Croxley Green. Watch this space as I am sure I’ll be writing about it here or over on http://www.lookingforlinda.blogspot.com

Meanwhile I took the lovely owner a box of cakes….

And a box of baby cakes too 🙂

 

Strawberries and Cream

Baby cupcakes to help with someone’s diet…

A strawberry theme…

Came up with these and pleased with the prettiness. The buttercream is flavoured and coloured with berry powder – strawberry of course!

Meanwhile… another boy, another birthday!

 

Learning Curve

I’ve been reflecting today on how much more difficult the whole cake making process seems to be recently.

I’d love to hear from other cake makers about the things that don’t go so well. The cakes that don’t rise – or rise too much and overflow; the icing that melts in the heat, the decorations that refuse to dry out. The designs that just don’t work, the things you drop on the floor and have to start all over again…

We love to post our finished works of art online but am I the only one who has a few rejects to show for a days baking? Eating into our slim margins and even bringing me close to tears at times.

This seems to be a new thing so I asked myself why and the answer is really quite simple. I’m now attempting cakes that are several times more difficult than anything I was doing six months ago. As with anything there is a learning curve that rises steeply then plateaus as you get to grips with the new skills and attempt bigger challenges.

I”m pleased with today’s cakes – 15 cupcakes for a 15th birthday and a box to be donated to a school summer fayre (along with a box of baby cakes – couldn’t resist the opportunity to show them off on the raffle table…)

But I sincerely hope that next time I attempt something similar it takes a whole lot less time than it today – and yesterday!