Baking days

As you may remember, my kitchen in halls is pretty limited, which hampers my ability to bake lovely things somewhat. As I am a massive fan of all things cupcake-y, this was obviously something I struggled with. So one of the first tasks when I got back home, after giving the cat a much-needed cuddle and saying hello to the family, was to nab the oven and settle in for a fortnight's worth of baking. And bake I have.

First on the list were ginger cupcakes with toffee frosting. They've been on my list since about November and struck me as the perfect Christmas treat. They were lovely, but I'd definitely add more ginger as it was a bit lost under the sponge and the toffee frosting. My mum and my friend both suggested using a combination of ground ginger (as called for in the recipe) and stem ginger in the batter to give the flavour a bit of 'oomph' and to add another texture. I decorated them with some edible gold glitter but I think some artfully-scattered ginger on the top would finish them nicely, too.

Yesterday, whilst in the middle of making Jamie Oliver's tried and tested chicken and leek pie, I had a sudden yen for delicate, pastel-coloured macaroons. I'd tried making them earlier in the summer, but a failure to read the instructions properly meant that they weren't so much macaroons as they were sugary, almond-flavoured flat cookies. This time, I decided to actually pay attention to what I was supposed to be doing and read the recipe before I got stuck in, and they turned out wonderfully. Coloured a beautiful, delicate pink (it's amazing how much food colouring you need to make them change colour!) and sandwiched together with whipped cream, they make a perfect "and a" for with a coffee. And, if you read the instructions properly, they're really not difficult to make at all.

Next on the list is an apple pie, the traditional sticky toffee pudding for Christmas day, and chances are some more Christmassy cupcakes. My mum bought me some lovely festive cupcake cases and I am determined to use them!