National Cupcake Week 2011

Cupcake-a-holics rejoice, it's National Cupcake Week!

It's time to get out those cupcake tins, whip up a batch of sugary-sweet frosting and get creative to celebrate our miniature bakery favourite.

Now in it's third year, National Cupcake Week is organised by British Baker magazine and you can follow the cupcake adventures of fellow frosting addicts from your kitchen...(if you can tear yourself away from your mixing bowl and sprinkles that is...)

The Official National Cupcake Week Twitter  or Website

The website is full of FREE downloadable resources to help you celebrate, including bunting, logos and posters. It's crammed full of recipes, news, pictures and all the cupcake information you could ever need.

Celebrate all things cupcake on Cupcake Cavern and kit yourself out with the tools you need from the Cupcake Cavern Store  

Read Time Out's guide to the most scrumptious cupcake bakeries in London HERE and make time to treat yourself to one (or two) this week - it'd be rude not to really!  My personal favourites are the Hummingbird Bakery on Portobello Road or Soho's super-cool Cox's Cookies and Cakes 

Or treat yourself to a new recipe book - it won't be here in time to bake this week, but I am excited about Lola's Kitchen's first book that's released next month landing on my doormat, so why not order yours too? 

The bakery claims to 'hand-craft the best cupcakes that you have ever tasted' and after sampling a few of their cakes from the Selfridge's bakery over the years, it's a close call...so get baking your own versions!

Whatever you do to celebrate the sweetness this week, have fun cupcake fans!

Photograph by Lindsay Garvey Photography

Let's Get Knitting (or Baking?)

I've been lusting after 'Yarn and Sewing' themed cupcakes and cookies for a while now.

I don't know why and what's brought it on, but Sugar and Meringue's Yarn Ball Cupcakes are so twee that I really am going to have to indulge in some knit-based baking that my Granny would be proud of. You can't leave the blog before 'ahhhing' over their super-cute Button Cookies either. I'm in love.

Having a 'coffee and biscuit' moment recently also meant I stumbled across cookie company, Biscuiteers recipe for knitted cookies in their gorgeous book, the 'Biscuiteers Book of Iced Biscuits' (Buy It) It's full of iced goodness for all occasions and so the fascination continues...

Somehow they just all seem so homely and quintessentially English, and as a non-knitter, it's the closest I'd come to making my own woolly jumper any time soon.

Here's my Top 5 'Knitted' Cookies and Cupcakes...(in no particular order!)

1. Yarn Ball Cupcakes (See the recipe on Sugar and Meringue)

Sugar and Meringue's 'Yarn' Cupcakes

2. Biscuiteers 'Sewing Kit' Biscuits (Visit the gift store or buy the book online to make your own)

Biscuiteer's 'Sewing Kit' Iced Biscuits

3. An ACTUAL knitting patten for a cupcake from Spud & Chloe 

So, you can't actually bake them and yes, I've admitted I can't knit, but I'd love to try and how cute would these delightful knitted cupcakes look on a sweet table at an event? (Get a FREE pattern on the website)

4. Vegan Yum Yum's 'Knit Night' Cupcakes (Visit the Blog or Buy the Book)

These vegan (which gets bonus points from me!) are stunning - and you can see how they are made on You Tube from a demonstration on Martha Stewart HERE. The detail is fabulous and perfect Autumnal and Winter cupcakes...and I do love Marzipan! 

Vegan Knit cupcakes with marzipan 

5. Sewing Machine Cake and Cupcakes from Small Things Iced (Visit the Blog)

To say I'm impressed with the detail and skill on this cake and coordinating cupcakes is an understatement. How amazing is the Singer sewing machine cake and the fabulous pin cushion idea for the cupcakes? There are a few avid seamstresses amongst my family and friends and this cake would be perfect. It'd be a shame to eat it...

Vintage Sewing machine and Pin Cushion Cupcakes

I'm not sure whether I want to bake some knitwear or knit some baking now?