Cooking with Children :: Spring Flower Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

This weekend Lara and I had some time to ourselves so we got ourselves in the mood for spring by baking some chocolate cupcakes and decorating them with flowers, sparkles and general loveliness (all supplied to us by Dr. Oetker) - these would make a great mother's day gift or easter surprise for someone.

SPRING FLOWER CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES (Makes 10 cakes)

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
50g self-raising flour
50g margarine
50g caster sugar
1 egg

75g butter (softened)
175g icing sugar
1 tablespoon milk
Natural yellow food colouring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Wafer daisies
Soft silver balls
Mini marshmallows
Silver shimmer spray

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to about 170 centigrade.





• Sift together the flour and cocoa powder.


• Add in the sugar, margarine and egg and beat well to form a thick, smooth batter.





• Split the mixture evenly into cupcake cases and bake in the oven for about 12-18 minutes.


• Allow the cakes to cool fully on a cooling rack before even thinking about starting to ice them!





• To make the icing, beat the butter until it is soft and fluffy and then slowly add in the icing sugar.


• Add in the vanilla essence, milk and about 4 or 5 drops of food colouring, enough to give the icing the colour of easter chicks!





• Pipe (or splodge) the icing onto the cakes and then decorate with wafer flowers, silver balls and mini marshmallows before giving them a spray with edible shimmer spray and leaving the icing to set.


• Enjoy!

Inspire Me – I Need A New Spring Wardrobe

As you know, I HATE shopping and prefer buy online from websites such as K and Co and from mail order catalogues as much as possible. I've lost weight since last summer but all my pre-pregnancy clothes are too small for my mummy-belly and look old and tired. It's time to stop splurging on clothes for Lara and instead focus on me - I'm seriously considering starting my entire spring wardrobe from scratch!

Mr. B. gave me a hand-written voucher for Christmas that I have yet to cash in, and with a holiday to the sunny south of France planned later this Spring, I've decided I NEED new clothes. So people, I need some inspiration – I’ve no idea what the current spring trends are. Are maxi dresses still the done thing this year? Or should I be looking for something a bit more revealing? Can I get away with bright, bold summery t-shirts or do you think of me as more of a 'neutrals' kind of lady?




With the gorgeous weather that we experienced over the weekend, I feel inspired to buy lots of short sleeved tops and long, floaty dresses to get me in the holiday mood. If only clothes shopping for me was as easy as it is for Lara.

This post is in association with K and Co.