Easter Cake Pops

Last Easter  I decided to give Cake Pops a try!  I must admit that it was an awful lot of work, but they looked quite pretty and tasted yummy!

Cake Pops

Cake pops!  They are so cute... but after a late-night affair with them last Easter, I must admit I was happy to say I am NOT a cake pop maker - give me cupcakes any day!!  The baking of the cake, then the crumbling of the cake, then the mixing with frosting, then rolling into balls, then dipping, then decorating - sorry this was just too much work!

But then my beautiful sister-in-law surprised me with a Cake Pop maker for Christmas!  And I will say that I was very impressed with the outcome!  

Chocolate Cupcakes

Today I thought I would share these photos that I took quite a while back of some easy cupcakes that I made.  As per usual, I used my favourite chocolate flavoured packet cake mix, and on this occasion I used chocolate frosting in a can!  Doesn't get much easier than this!

Mini Oreo Cupcakes

You all know that I love a cute cupcake, these ones are really easy to make - and don't they just look adorable?!

Rubber Ducky with Cupcake Washers Gift Idea

Following on from my Cupcake Facewasher post last week, today I thought I would share this cute little present for a baby, which has the handmade touch, but takes very little time to put together.

                                 

Cupcake Facewashers Gift Idea

I made these lovely little cupcakes as thank-you gifts for my sister's baby shower last year.

Cupcake Day for the RSPCA

Did you know that Monday was Cupcake Day for the RSPCA??

I have embraced Cupcake Day 2011 (as one would imagine) by participating in a bake-off that we had at work, as well as doing some animal craft with my darling nephew...

On Monday we offered to mind my nephew, while my sister went to a friend's baby shower luncheon.  As always, I raced around as soon as I knew he was coming, gathering together activities that we could do while he visited.  As Cupcake Day was on my mind, I pulled together this cute little puppy-dog craft to do...

Basically, Jakey decorated a plain white paper plate with doggy eyes, doggy ears and nose/mouth, and cotton wool as the puppy's fur.

We added a stick to hold onto, and voila!  We now have a puppy dog mask/toy to play with.  He turned out so very cute, and we had lots of fun chasing each other around with it :)

Celebrations continued yesterday at work, as Cupcake Day was honoured and celebrated at our school, for the second year in a row.   This year proved to be bigger and better than ever!  We got on our 'bake on' and brought in cupcakes of all shapes, sizes and specialties, to sell them for $1 each - all proceeds going to the RSPCA.  Our staffroom smelt so amazing - my goodness what a blessing to be in the presence of all of those scrumptious cupcakes!  After scoffing 3 delectable cupcakes, I stopped myself from tasting any more...  luckily there were plenty left over, so we can have seconds when we go back tomorrow ;)

I kept my cupcakes simple, chocolate cakes with chocolate icing, and mini animal toppers, which I downloaded for free from here.

The creative juices must have been flowing over the long weekend - check out all of these amazing cupcakes that my colleagues concocted!  Just stunning, and oh so yummy!!

This was my favourite!!  So simple, yet so effective!

This all seems so timely, as Mum & Dad had a little puppy come to their door just days ago...  He was obviously lost and actually stayed a few days, enjoying being pampered by my parents (who loved him dearly, as he reminded them of their own dog who we had to put down last year).  However, due to their great efforts at finding his owner, they reunited him yesterday with a very happy 3 year old boy :)

I am really not an pet person myself, but they do bring much joy to the lives of their owners!  Thank goodness for the RSPCA and the wonderful work they do to keep animals safe and healthy :)  And what a great excuse to get crafty and cupcakey!

Packet Perfection - Chocolate Cupcakes

I will be the first to admit that I love to use Packet Mixes when baking.  Baking from scratch is wonderful, but life is busy and packet mixes work a treat :)  Today I am going to share my secret ingredients for these gorgeous, easy cupcakes, which I took to a very special friend's place for morning tea this week...

Cupcake Stands

Everyone is crazy about cupcakes at the moment, so I thought that I would do a little review on the Cupcake Stands that I have.  They all have their benefits and disadvantages, so hopefully this will help you to see which style of stand might just suit you :)

Pink Wire Three-Tiered Cupcake Stand

Note - cupcake toppers are leaning out away from wire on tier above

Cassadiva likes...
+ Pretty pink!
+ Stands tall and proud, looks very appealing on the buffet table
+ Holds large muffin-sized cakes, ideal for catering for large groups of people (or hungry people!)

Cupcake Toppers

I am a huge fan of cupcakes!  I just love them!  They are perfect for any occasion and so easy to transform to suit any event.  Earlier this year I discovered 'cupcake toppers'.  They are such a great way to make cupcakes even more wonderful!