Giveaway results and exciting news!

Winter moves on...it has many of us in an icy grip right now, I know. But not here, thankfully! It's cold, blustery...but bright and not a hint of snow at the moment. Still, it's chilly enough, and it's the perfect time of year to be huddled in the kitchen with the ovens on, baking up a storm! As well as brownies , I've been making a few birthday cakes for friends and family (LOTS of birthdays here in January!)

 This was a simple one that we took to a supper party last week. I made it a plain vanilla victoria sponge, as I thought everyone would have had enough richness over Christmas...and although it was a 'significant' birthday the recipient didn't want any fuss...

 ..so i just made it simple and celebratory! And it was delicious I'm thrilled to say...

Now, before the giveaway results...some exciting news! Sugar Moon has been nominated in the 'Best Newcomer' category of the...

Yay! Even though I've been baking and cooking professionally for years and years, Sugar Moon is a new business, and we're absolutely thrilled to have been put forward for this award.
If you'd like to, I'd be so grateful if you'd vote for me! Voting is open until March...and it's so easy. You can vote from anywhere, too...lots of you have tried our brownies, I know...even some in Australia!! So if you want to, please click here ! Under 'categories' you will find 'Best Newcomer' and from there you can select Sugar Moon from the dropdown menu. Thanks so much! It would be fabulous to at least make the final round of nominations...

Ok, down to the most important business of this post...the winner of our giveaway!

CONGRATULATIONS to...............mcammuso2000! I'm sorry that I don't know your actual name! If you can send an email to the address at the top of the blog, telling me who and where you are I'll make sure that your fabulous copy of Honey & Co  begins winging its way to you!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I love reading your thoughts and comments...

Hoping that 2015 is being good to you so far. I'll post a recipe next time...perhaps you'd like to leave a comment requesting a particular type? Biscuit, cake, pudding? It's in your hands!

The week starts here...

and on this grey, cold and rainy Monday morning, I delivered these Little Pear & Hazelnut Cakes to the warm and welcoming fug of the Coffee Tree!

They are layers of toasted hazelnut sponge with tiny dice of fresh pear stirred through the cake mixture....sandwiched with a vanilla cream cheese frosting and no-sugar pear conserve and finished with a little more frosting and a toasted whole hazelnut!

I adore hazelnuts....but, bizarrely, they're not everyone's cup of tea baking-wise. So I thought that 'pear-ing' (sorry!!) them with this gently flavoured fruit might help them in the popularity stakes today! I think they look beautiful...and the sponge offcuts tasted so good that I had to make sure that I gave them to the birds very quickly before I wolfed down the lot! So a good start.
This is something that doesn't happen very often, but as it's my 50th Baking Brownies for Mozart post...
Paul insisted on taking a picture of me with my creations. And I'm posting it to keep him happy!

I'd love you to come into my kitchen and share a large cup of hot tea with me...but this may be the nearest we get for a while!
Happy Monday...xoxo

Fancy a Valentine?

Well, I warned you that they wouldn't be subtle......!

In the UK, these little fondant covered sponges are called 'fancies' - I imagine this is the original name for them, and it's sweetly old-fashioned and fitting name for a Valentine cake I think.

Mine were vanilla sponge,cut into heart shapes and covered in vanilla buttercream before being dipped in pale pink fondant icing. I left it to set a little before attaching the fondant hearts...

I used glitter in 4 different shades of purple, mauve, silver and lavender....just for extra flamboyance!

There were plenty of 'oohs' & 'aahs' when they were unveiled at the Coffee Tree this morning... where they are now displayed on a cream, lace edged cake stand. I made a few extra as people often like to buy one for each of their children for a teatime treat.

I hope that you have something sweet today, however you choose to spend this Valentines...

Wth love from me....and thanks for reading! xoxo

Just words..

Good morning and welcome to Saturday! I'm in London this morning, where it's grey, overcast...but thankfully dry and even warm by recent standards (about 10c) which makes such a difference...the birds sing and everything is a little less....Winter! That's the only word!

I have no pictures for today's post. Because I left for the weekend yesterday afternoon, I made my Coffee Tree delivery for today then...and wouldn't you know it, the battery went on my camera. SO annoying because I think pictures are a necessity. BUT I didn't want to not tell you what I baked, so here I am and hope you will forgive me...we are taking lots of interesting photos today to make up for it!

Firstly, I had a special request to make more of the Mini Victoria Sponges from earlier in the week. They sold so well and everyone who tried one loved it...so I made another 10 of those (and you all know what they looked like anyway!)

Then, I made a tray of Double Mango Cake. This is a beautiful, sunny coloured dessert...it also contained ginger, cinnamon and a little allspice. I called it 'double mango' because it was made with fresh and dried fruit. Earlier this week, a very thoughtful friend gave me a present from his recent trip to Thailand of some wonderful, soft & fragrant dried mango. While we could eat our way through the whole box quite easily, I thought it would be interesting to add some to this cake and see how it turned out. It looked and smelled good...very good....so I'll await the feedback on Monday!

Lastly, I made a big, tall, Caramel Cake. Two layers of sponge (I used organic dark muscovado sugar to give a butterscotch-y flavour and extra softness to it...) filled and topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. I also made some burnt caramel sauce which I cooled and spread on the bottom layer before the frosting, and then drizzled over the top of the cake to finish with a Jackson Pollock-esque flourish!

I so wish you could see it - but I hope that you can close your eyes and imagine. I'd like to cut you a slice right now. Maybe one day?!

Have a wonderful Saturday....xo

Everyone's an individual...

and I find that individual - or mini - cakes are what sell best at the coffee shop. Scones, muffins, slices, brownies, squares...something that doesn't have to be cut in front of you, but feels like it was made just for your plate, to accompany your cup of tea...

So today, I made the ultimate in single serving sized cakes...

mini Victoria Sponges...ooh, I was so proud of these! Don't they look cute?

here's a close up. I made the vanilla butter sponge cake as a sheet and cut out the rounds with a biscuit cutter...then sandwiched them with home made raspberry jam and cream cheese vanilla frosting before dusting them with a little icing sugar.
The beautiful paper cups they rest in are from a lovely, bright & pretty store in Marylebone, Central London, called Totally Swedish. They have a wonderful, though expensive, range of beautiful baking cups that I can't resist even though they're actually too big for the tins I have! These are printed with violets.....

and these with an array of coloured flowers on a black ground...gorgeous and they make good holders for these cakes, I think!

So, there you have it...a little Victoria Sponge, made just for YOU!!

I'm having a different kind of day tomorrow - so looking forward to it and I'll let you know all about it soon. There will be a baking post though, of course....

Thanks so much for reading, I really hope you're enjoying the Year of Blue Angel Baking so far....

xo