Lemon Drop Cupcake Recipe

Makes 12-16

These are very lemony!

Curd:

75g unsalted butter

3 large eggs

75g caster sugar

125ml lemon juice

Melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to whisk over a low heat until the mixture thickens up. Leave to cool.

Cakes:

3 oz butter

6 oz golden caster sugar

3 tbsp vegetable oil

4tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 medium eggs

3tbsp Greek yoghurt

6oz self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together and then add the vegetable oil. Stir in the lemon juice and once combined add the eggs one at a time. Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled at this stage. Stir in the Greek yoghurt. Use a fork to stir the baking powder into the self-raising flour. Add the flour to the mixture and stir to combine.

Icing:

200g cream cheese

100g unsalted butter

2tbsp lemon curd (that you made earlier)

600g royal icing sugar

Use an electric whisk to cream together cream cheese, butter and lemon curd. Once the ingredients are combined add the royal icing sugar. Whisk for 5 minutes.

Easter Weekend

The Easter holidays passed in a flurry of activity when will I learn that the word 'holiday' implies some kind of respite from the madness of everyday life? We began by visiting Powderham castle in Exeter where my older daughter is working. It is an astonishingly beautiful part of the world. I can't visit without daydreaming a life there before waking up to the fact it is just too far away. If I can ever prise my husband away from london it will be to Norfolk as that's where we grew up. I sometimes think we would have moved years ago if it wasn't for the park club. All that green space for the kids to run around in. And to be able to float on your back in a heated outdoor pool in central London is definitely worth staying for. 

Anyway, I digress. Back to Easter. On Good Friday I hosted a cupcake decorating area for the family day at Lingfield park races. It was hugely popular and great fun to do. It was a 4hr round trip though and the next morning we headed to my mother in laws house in Norfolk. This would normally have been our queue to relax. However, not this Easter. My brother in law, quite uncharacteristically had taken it upon himself to arrange his mums belated 70th birthday celebration. He had booked a house for the night for the whole family and a group of close friends. For Easter Sunday! So the next day we had to drive for an hour and a half to stay somewhere for 24hrs before driving back to his mums. It was utter madness but we went along with it. (The whole thing was planned whilst I was in Mexico otherwise I could have talked some sense into him!). Anyway when we got to the hose all was forgiven. Butlers Priory was absolutely stunning and in the prettiest grounds. DGs mum was suitably surprised and absolutely overwhelmed with the whole experience. The little ones (and some of the lucky bigger ones) loved the novelty of new grounds to forage for their Easter baskets in. As usual desperate to catch the bunny chocolate handed. Then we all pitched in to create a delectable salmon super, drank way to much Prosecco and danced into the early hrs. The next morning we feasted on freshly baked croissant and browsed the papers whilst DG serenaded us with Eric Sate. We really felt we were inns home from home. Unfortunately it was soon time to go. I'm sure we will return. Next time for at least 48hrs! We briefly returned to my mother in laws house before trundling back to London in desperate need of a rest. Roll on half term!

Polly's Hen Party

Polly's hen was a fun mixture of tasteful and tacky. Her girls did a great job decorating our Covent Garden Venue with vintage style banners and bunting. They ensured there was a light sprinkling of smut with her 'cupcake boobies' apron and other naughty 'bit's and pieces?! (Maybe you can spot some in the pics)'. The cupcake workshop hen party was a lovely mix of girls including her mum and a cross section of friends from school, work and uni. They absolutely loved the class and did a great job with their cupcake decorating. As you can see they were very focused on their cake making. Loving the edible decorations especially the hearts and glitter. There were a couple of anatomically correct creations which lead to much hilarity amongst the ladies who had by then got stuck into the bubbly. After they had finished their cupcake making they went to the private room next door where they sat down to a delicious meal and more party games.

Fun Cupcake Class

What a lovely way to start the weekend spending time with these gorgeous girls teaching them my cake baking and decorating techniques. This group was nice and small so I got to spend lots of one to one time demonstrating the tricky Rose Swirl. Everyone in the class was fairly new to cake making so they gained a lot of knowledge in this 2hr class. We worked with delicious cream cheese frosting and piped a variety of swirls. All the girls were thrilled with their cupcake decorating technique by the end of the class. As long as they go away and practice their Rose swirl technique they will all be ready to move on to my intermediate class soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing them again soon. http://www.cookiegirl.co.uk/empty-land/

Mexico Trip

When I was invited on a girls holiday to Mexico it sounded like a dream come true. But also beyond my wildest dreams. How on earth could I justify leaving my 3yr old and 5yr old with my husband (also known as Dream Guy) while I went away for some serious rest and relaxation? Heaven knows I could do with the rest. I felt like it had been years since I had got a proper night sleep. To my amazement hubby thought it was a brilliant idea and that I should definitely go. It still seemed a little bit unrealistic. Could I really blow that much money on a holiday by myself? 

It was a special occasion. Becky was turning 40. 10 yrs ago we had all flown to New York to celebrate her 30th with a shopping and cocktails, sex & the city style long weekend. It was when there were 2 dollars to a pound and we hit the shops hard. Anthropologie didn’t know what had hit it! But that was pre the little ones where I didn’t have parental guilt about every penny spent on myself. I told Becky that I would do my best to come but couldn’t make any promises. As the date got nearer I was under pressure to commit. Then DG had an unexpected windfall. A payment for residuals on a Dodgy (the band, not the type of song) song he had played on years ago. He booked the flight for me and then presented me with the ticket. I was thrilled. I had no need to feel guilty as the decision had been taken out of my hands. I was going for a child free week to Tulumn. Staying on the beach, child free in a villa with maid service!

 Arriving there felt surreal. It was more than 10yrs since I was last there. The heat was intense and the colours vibrant. I felt an immediate sense of calm. I had no one to think about and nothing to do for a full week. There were three books in my suitcase and I planned to read them all! The villa was fantastic with a view of the sea and our own private beach. We had a pool and sun loungers and for the first days we indulged and didn’t leave them.  When we did venture out we found a glorious Cenote where we went snorkelling in crystal clear, freshwater. The light refracted in shards through underwater caves and caverns. It was like being on another magical planet. The deep sea divers lurking up out of nowhere beneath us like strange alien creatures. The light from their torches giving momentarily access to views of whole other under water corridors. 

 The ruins were fascinating with spectacular views over Cristal clear waters inviting us in. We walked down to that beach and were amazed by its beauty. Powder white sand leading down to cascading waves of azure blue. To choppy to swim in but perfect for bobbing around in, laughing hysterically as we got thrown around wave after wave. Applauding each other for catching one and literally body boarding it all the way to shore. The palms swayed gently to their own rhythm as we ate fish tacos and guacamole. Drinking the obligatory Sol (the lemonade of the beer world).

Unlike the other girls holidays I’ve been on, which have been mainly hens in Ibiza, this was not a party holiday. The emphasis was very much on health and wellbeing. I managed to do half an hr yoga a day on the beach. Luckily I have been going to Karen's fantastic yoga class at The Park Club for long enough now to know the routine off by heart. The great thing about her Vinyasa Flow is that it has cardio benefits as well as all the other positive effects of regular yoga. This ensured that despite a fair few nights of Margarita inspired retro dancing to Saturday Night Fever (yes, those dance moves!). And pretending we were in a mosh pit at a goth gig. We finished the week feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed. Child free, even the flight home was a breeze. I could watcha movie in peace and even managed a few hours sleep.

 When I got home, much to my amazement I received a hero's welcome. The kids couldn’t have been happier and didn’t give me the hard time I was expecting as pay back. I gave DG a huge hug and thanked him profusely for allowing me that much needed time out. ‘Hey, that’s the least I could do. Considering everything you’ve gone through to have our kids’. I gave him a kiss and realised that for the first time in 5yrs I wasn’t tired.

Fun Family Day At The Races

Lingfield Park All Weather Champions was a great day out for all the family. Horse racing and cupcake decorating workshops- what's not to love? We were inundated on the cupcake decorating stand by young Great British Bake Off fans, showing off their talents. And a fair few of their parents were getting involved too. The kids ensured that there were more sprinkles on the table than in the containers by the time the event finished at 5pm! But they did create some beautiful cakes so it was totally worth it. The day whizzed by with  a constant stream of youngsters wanting to try their hand as cupcake decorating. They came away feeling a great sense of achievement and thrilled that they were getting to take their delicacies home or in many cases eat them right there. The boys were just as happy to get involved as the girls and they were all talking about what a fantastic activity it was to get involved with. Best of all it added to the fantastic family atmosphere of the day which keeps people coming back year after year. i had a brilliant time- despite not getting to see any of the races!

Team Building Event with TK Max

This was a really entertaining and effective team event. The participants created their own 'Ultimate Cupcake' from a variety of different flavoured cakes, fillings and icings. Then they tasted them and picked the best to represent each of their teams. After naming the cupcake they had to brainstorm a brand including shops, packaging, pitch and slogan. The winning cupcake was delicious. It was a banana cake filled with peanut butter and topped with chocolate buttercream. They named it 'Chunky Monkey'. This was their leaping off point for the brand. This was their pitch- 'Man cakes, not fairy cakes. Cakes for men, real men. Men with beards.' Their concept was a chain of shops looking like caves with vines and monkeys hanging from the ceiling. The customers would be served by men in loincloths with, you guessed it, beards! The whole room was in hysterics by the end and there was no doubt that they would take home the prize. They got a copy of my recipe book as well as a Cookie Girl branded cake decorating kit each. If you want to do a similar event then call us on- 020 3573 9135

Unilever Cake Class Client Event

This was an event that we hosted for Unilever and their clients. As you can see they found it a huge amount of fun and a really bonding experience. They loved the fact that we organised the whole event for them. This meant that the could have their drinks, cake workshop and supper all at the same venue (the fabulous Crusting Pipe in Covent Garden). We provided everything that was required for the event, leaving them free to relax, chat and get to know each other better. They were thrilled with how much they accomplished with their piping and decorating. Plus they all went away with boxes of their lovingly created cupcakes. The memories of the event will stay with them long after the cakes have been demolished and they will be able to test out their new found skills every time they have an office bake sale.

If you would like to experience one of our workshops or for us to create something bespoke for you then do let us now- info@cookiegirl.co.uk.

Jess' Baby Shower

I literally adore my sister in law.

She is one of loveliest people I know.

In fact, I met here before my brother in law, on a hen in Ibiza.

She was performing on stage with Leftfield and we were 

hypnotised by her.

When she turned up at our villa later that night (or morning by then!)

I got chatting with her and realised that she is a great beauty inside and out.

I had one of those rare moments where you meet someone and just think 

‘Wow you're amazing. How do I get you in my life?’

And then my brother in law met her (not through me) a few months later and clearly

thought exactly the same!

They have been together a few years and are now expecting their first baby 

together. Very exciting. So obviously I offered to do the cake table. And also host

the party. It was a great event. There where probably around 60 or 70 people there.

I made a ‘Cuddly Toy Sheep Cake’, This was the same technique as I used for Teddy’s 

1st birthday Teddy Bear Cake. ’ Baby Vest & booty biscuits’, ‘Bottle Biscuits’, 

‘Baby Cakes’ and Bunting Cupcakes’. I also made some healthy fruit skewers.

It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. And I did have some help from my children. Although 

some would say more hindrance….

Healthy Granola

I've always loved Granola until I realised how much sugar was in it. After a bit of experimenting I realised it wasn't difficult to create a healthy option. So here it is:

Ingredients: 500g rolled oats, 200mls soya or rice milk, 1 tbsp rapeseed oil, 1 tbsp honey/agave/ maple syrup, 100g nuts, 1 tbsp desicated coconut

Method: Place the oats in a large mixing bowl. Mix the milk, syrup & oil together until they are lightly blended. Pour onto the oats and mix together. You should find that you have damp clumps of mixture. Tip onto a baking sheet and spread out evenly. Place in the oven and bake for between 10 and 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Once they look golden and smell baked take them out and move them around in the tin to avoid burning. Sprinkle the nuts (I used cashews) on top. Put back in the oven and cook for another 7-10 mins until they are golden. Take the mixture out and allow to cool. Sprinkle on the coconut and tip the Granola into Kilner jars.

To make a simple but delicious desert; layer Greek yoghurt, Granola and soft fruits in a glass.