2015 has been a fantastic year, and some of my favourite memories are definitely cake-related. Looking back over my Instagram pictures, I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve had plenty of disasters too, but I’ve been able to laugh at them…and then eat the evidence.
Here’s a roundup of my year in cake and other baked treats. TLDR: I make a lot of cupcakes.
(Interested in more cake-related musings? Check out these posts:
Insignificance, standing still, and all that good stuff
Things I learned selling on a market stall
Four and a half things I’ve made this week).
Simple vanilla cupcakes
For a work friend’s leaving party. Looking back, this was definitely bittersweet as so many people were leaving. I ended up leaving only a few months later.
High protein peanut butter and salted caramel cheesecake
Low carb/high protein baking is something I experiment with on and off; it typically takes a lot longer, and the ingredients are far more expensive. Still tastes good though!
Dr Who cupcakes
In March I made Joe some Dr Who themed chocolate fudge cupcakes for his birthday celebrations. The chocolate toppers are made using a silicone ice cube tray mould; they’re much cheaper than baking moulds and can be used for all kinds of things.
Mario Party birthday cake
The gaming group I bake for celebrated their second birthday, so I made a Mario Party themed cake. This isn’t a particularly good picture; it consisted of an edible base I printed myself topped with fondant decorations and iced with buttercream jungle foliage.
Berry pavlova
One of my favourite things to make in summer is pavlova. It’s light, refreshing and great for my gluten free friend. It definitely has a love-it-or-hate-it reputation in my group of friends though, so I mostly only make it for special occasions.
Retro gaming cupcakes
Retro gaming cupcakes, again made using moulds. These were for a gaming night I hosted at home.
Chocolate brownie
Always a favourite. I’ve made a few this year all topped with different things. I made this to take on a trip to Wales.
Bucket and spade cupcakes
Seaside cupcakes! Again, this is a pretty bad picture: I was really happy with how these turned out. I made them for a summer BBQ (see How to host a BBQ like Jenni and Joe).
Superhero cupcakes
Made after I found out how many amazing 3D-printed cake/cookie cutters there were on eBay. They’ve already revolutionised baking for me, and this is just the early days.
Nutella
Not strictly a bake, but an early autumn crop of hazlenuts from the tree in our garden meant that homemade Nutella was a must-try. It turned out pretty well!
Naked cakes
If I can’t bothered with the faff of icing, I just make plain chocolate chip cupcakes…any kind of filling that stops them drying out will work.
Cherry macaroons
At the still melty stage. These were surprisingly easy to make but I need more practice on the appearance side of things!
Cherry bakewell cupcakes
These are a firm favourite in our house, so I’ve made a few batches this year. I prefer them to tarts because I’m not a huge pastry person.
Slow cooker chocolate crunchie fudge
This year I made slow cooker fudge for the first time. It’s actually more of a solid chocolate ganache than a fudge, but people liked the taste so I made a few batches. Another good naturally gluten free recipe.
Christmas cookies
These were done in a cake decorating class; I didn’t actually bake them, just decorated them. Royal icing isn’t one of my strengths, eoso I learned a lot from doing these.
Vanilla cupcakes
Ending the year how it started will some simple buttercream vanilla cupcakes. I bought some steampunk sprinkles and made more retro gaming controllers to top them off. These are the same cakes but look totally different with a simple geeky addition.
What food would you choose to represent your year and why?
1 Comment
OMG! The Doctor Who cupcakes! That’s fantastic!
15/12/2015 at 2:57 pm