So much baking...!

I have a lot of private orders this week...one of the pitfalls (and pleasures) of being a baker is that I am the first port of call for friends & neighbours when birthdays, weddings, christenings, bar mitzvahs etc come around! I soon have to bake 360 rabbit shaped shortbread biscuits as wedding favours/place cards for a neighbour...and above you see another creation for a 17 year old's birthday tomorrow. Dark chocolate & vanilla cupcakes...they're for a boy, so I didn't want them to look too feminine...but I couldn't resist a little 'sophisticated' gold sparkle!

The Coffee Tree has had a busy week too...sunshine and warmer temperatures mean that people love to find somewhere that they can bask in the sun while drinking coffee & (hopefully) eating cake! So some of the deliveries have included...

Lemon & Organic Strawberry Muffins....with sharp lemon curd glazing the tops a little...

Grasshopper Bars...a brownie bottom, peppermint middle and chocolate top...I sprinkled the finished tray with crumbled Aero bars for extra colour too...

But only thought of it after I took this photo...!

I had a special request to deliver some type of cheese scone on Saturday morning - these contained spring onion snippings and wholegrain mustard too...

Also on Saturday, there was a big and beautiful Pistachio Cake with Honey Butter Frosting...

that I was very tempted by...and a Lazy Daisy Cake which was from a lovely recipe that I found on a fabulous foodie blog that I've just begun to follow...The English Kitchen

It's a fairly plain cake with a caramelised coconut brown sugar top...

We're now into English gooseberry season...I really love their clean, grassy tang and clear green colour so I use them as often as possible during the short time they're with us. These muffins had an elderflower glaze (it complements the fruit so perfectly...)

And finally...I made some Fresh Apricot & Almond Muffins. Based on the very first recipe I posted on this blog, which was from the incomparable Ottolenghi - the cookbook they were an absolute delight. The originals were made with plums - but the apricots worked beautifully too..

they are, in fact, one of the few fruits that tastes better cooked - in my opinion, of course! To make them extra special, I baked them in some rather extravagant mini loaf cases I had - not great for the profit margins, but sometimes the artistic heart overrules the head!!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend...I would love to serve you one of these with a cup of something delicious at my kitchen table - but I'll send you my love instead xo