Plum cupcakes

Page 111 - Plum cupcakes

Yum yum! I was excited by these lovely cupcakes, partly as they were yummy in themselves but also as I feel like a world of possibility has opened up with the whole "jam in cupcakes" idea!

They were very sweet, but I think that's as the jam was particularly sweet in itself. I was really happy with these and would definitely make them again! The sponge was more dense than the "normal" vanilla combination, almost scone-like. Perhaps it was the buttermilk, and I guess that's why the jam didn't sink while baking...

Earl Grey cupcakes

Page 103 - Earl Grey Cupcakes

I'm not a massive earl grey fan but these were only subtly flavoured so I thought they were nice... Some people said the earl grey flavour was quite strong but others thought they just tasted like vanilla cupcakes.

Would be interesting to try these with fruit tea instead as the recipe book suggests...

Manchester United cupcakes

Manchester United cupcakes

Based on some cakes I found online... LOVED using my new grass nozzle to make these!!!

Cat birthday cake



Cat birthday cake

A birthday cake for a cat lover...

Carp cake



Carp birthday cake

A carp cake for a keen fisherman... Wasn't quite as "carp-like" as I'd hoped but I was happy with it for my first attempt :-)

Blueberry and soured cream loaf

Page 109 - Blueberry and soured cream loaf

Another lovely moist loaf recipe and the tangy blueberries were tasty. However the sponge was fairly plain and perhaps would have been nice with a bit of additional flavour, i.e. some crushed blueberries stirred in perhaps.

Still yummy but wouldn't rush to make another one...

Orange, almond and yogurt loaf

Page 104 - Orange, almond and yogurt loaf

As with all Hummingbird loaves, this was nice and moist, and the orange gave it a nice warm flavour. Its really simply to whip up in a few minutes, and everyone likes a simple recipe!

It wasn't a mind blowing but tasty with a cup of tea nevertheless!

Summer fruit cheesecake

Page 100 - Summer fruit cheesecake

OMG This was amazing! I was scared about making this as I've been looking forward to it and thought it wouldn't live up to expectations... but it did. Dad gave it 9.5/10 and Leigh gave it 9.9/10 - definitely a record! The cheesecake and biscuit base were the perfect consistency and the berries just gave it a little bit of summery flavour.

I was dreading the whole bain marie thing but I'm guessing that's what stopped it drying out - looking forward to the strawberrys and cream cheesecake coming up!!

Marbled cupcakes

Page 96 - Marbled cupcakes

I knew these would be nice as it's combining two of the Hummingbird's simplest and finest recipes - chocolate cupcakes and vanilla cupcakes. The marbled icing and cake looked fab!

Courgette, walnut and cinnamon layer cake

Page 95 - Courgette, walnut and cinnamon layer cake

The title may not strictly be true for my version of this cake - I've found that the Hummingbird's layer cakes generally come out HUGE! So I only made 2 layers as opposed to three. It was still chunky though so I'm glad I did!

I was half dreading and half looking forward to this slightly random recipe - courgette in a cake?! But actually it was like a very moist carrot cake and I likes getting people at work to guess what the random ingredient was! I'd make this again for sure, and especially the icing which was amazing with the cinnamon and greek yogurt.

This is why I love doing this project :-)

Lemon and poppy seed loaf



Page 91 - lemon and poppy seed loaf

I was looking forward to this and wasn't disappointed, although I may have gone a bit nuts with the lemon as I love it tangy! Really (really) moist sponge due to the ricotta and also sheer amount of lemon juice I used.

Again, the taste test with work peeps will tell the true picture. I split the recipe in to two smaller loaf tins so dad could have his very own one as he loves lemon :-)

Carrot cake whoopie pies



Page 87 - Carrot cake whoopie pies

After my last few whoopie pie experiences (choc, pistachio and vanilla) I wasn't much looking forward to these... but I've definitely improved...

The marshmallow fluff does make the filling lovely and light - although it's expensive as I had to buy online. I only made half of the filling quantity (as I'm tight) and it was still plenty - when I put them in the fridge to set, the tops had still slipped off by the morning.

The sponge is lovely and moist and very warm with the cinnamon - I may have used too much as I love it!

Anyways - I like them, lets hope the guinea pigs at work too!