Easter eggs

This week I took delivery of my own tub of cocoa butter. The postman seemed a little taken aback by my puppy-like bounding to the door, but after I'd failed to source cocoa butter in the north east's cookshops (one advised me to try the Body Shop...) my only option was to order online and wait.

The postman was barely out of the gate by the time I'd made some Easter egg cake pops, warmed my cocoa butter and daubed them in pretty colours.

 

I learned handpainting on a masterclass earlier this month at Little Venice Cake Company with the Queen of Couture Cakes, Mich Turner MBE. The class was brilliant fun and Mich was very generous with her time and advice. I painted these two cakes (baked and covered by Little Venice) and am excited about practising this technique some more. The cakes were absolutely delicious too!

While I'm talking about Easter eggs, yesterday I did a chocolate egg making class at Davenport's Chocolates with the lovely Jane Williams. It was fascinating to see how artisan chocolates are made and quite a thrill to pack my own Easter egg with a selection of them. Mostly I indulged my obsession with violet creams  - I swear there's a little old lady inside me trying to get out. When I decorated my egg, I forgot my own mantra of "less is more" and over-egged it (ha ha...)

My nephew Alex is only 6 months old, so I am hoping he'll share his Easter egg with the family. To be honest, he's not going to have any choice in the matter.

Lastly, Easter isn't Easter without a chocolate rice crispie cake with a couple of mini eggs. Here's a twist on the theme - a nest with a lemon chick cake pop. 

 

Cakes

I don't usually post cakes here without a matching cake pop but these two cakes are for two special people. The wigwam cake was for my dad's birthday today; when I showed him the big book of cake ideas, I just KNEW he'd plump for this one. Happy 67th birthday, you big bairn!

The playful kitten ruining a perfectly decent ball of wool is inspired by my mum's ginger cat. He's long past being a kitten, but could still give a ball of wool a run for its money. I made this lemon cake for mother's day. Happy mother's day to my lovely mammy!

I'm very lucky to have such great parents. All I can give them in return is far too much cake, and a quiet thanks for their constant support and for saving me six months ago xx

Easter bunny cake pops

Pink strawberry Easter bunnies standing in a chocolate Easter cake. Just as well I've not given up chocolate for Lent, or indeed anything else. What I like best about the bunnies is the back view:

Little bobtails! My mum says the word for a rabbit's tail is "scut". She knows everything.

Butterfly cake pops

These strawberry chocolate cake pops were made for the launch party of FYEO Portraits in Newcastle. I thought FYEO was a lapdancing bar, but this is a studio specialising in body portraits taken by female photographers. Their branding is black and pink with butterflies, hence the glittery butterfly cake pops. Next stop, gettin' me some sexy photos of me being a sexy laydee (not really, their photography isn't THAT good).