The giveaway is now closed. The winner was Vanessa Cox, Buckinghamshire.
Today’s giveaway is a silicone Christmas Tree baking mould from new online shopping site Mum et Moi. Find out how to enter at the bottom of this post.
A tale of two bake sales.
Round one, provide 100 cupcake for the church bazaar. The mission being to make them even better than the previous batch of pumpkin and cinnamon cupcakes.
The baking day arrives and Ted is still off preschool with chicken pox even though he’s barely showing any sign of ever having it.
With the so-called assistance of my little helper, I still manage to churn out four double batches of cupcakes (two vanilla, two chocolate) by lunchtime, spend 2 hours in Sainsbury’s and then decorate them in around 90 minutes in time to drop off.
I had a little of the dulce de leche buttercream left over and so used this with vanilla for the first half and then chocolate buttercream for the chocolate bases. Toppings were Dr Oetker Christmas novelty shapes (shown above), Dr Oetker jazzies (below left) and Sainsbury’s chocolate coated crispies (below right).
Fast forward to the preschool disco one week later and I’m feeling fairly sure of myself. We have this mass cupcake production thing pretty much sewn up I think. I don’t even start baking until 4 hours before the party.
And then this happens. I only have plain flour and think “it’s ok I’ll add baking powder so it’s same as self raising”. Not done this before and I should have played it safe and popped to Spar. My cupcakes exploded and had big holes inside. They taste ok but look messy and even if I disguised their shape with icing, they crumble badly when peeling the wrappers off. Not a great impression to give as “the lady who makes cakes.”
Frantically, with less than one hour to go, I opt for a replacement.
What do you get for being a smartie pants trying to make your cupcakes at the last minute?
Smartie pants rocky road. It’s one step up from cornflake crispies but the bottom line was I knew the children at the disco would enjoy them. Which is what counts.
Smartie Pants Rocky Road
Makes around 50 squares, takes around 40-45 minutes from start to finish.Ingredients:
2 x 200g bars white chocolate
1 x 200g bar milk chocolate
2/3 box Coco Pops or Nesquik Puffed Chocolate Pops Cereal
1/2 tub glace cherry halves
handful of raisins
weird stuff left over in cupboard i.e. remnants of packets of flaked almonds, dried fruit etc (use your discretion here)
75g mini marshmallows
2 tubes Smarties or about 8 boxes of funsize mini Smarties (sugar coated chocolate jelly bean type sweets)You will need two 8″ square tins lined with baking parchment.
Directions:
1. Do not panic.
2. Break the white chocolate into squares then blitz in the microwave, give it around one minute then 20 seconds at a time stirring in between so it doesn’t get hot spots and burn.
3. Decant the cereal, cherries, raisins, mini marshmallows and anything you’ve decided to scrabble out of your baking archive into a large mixing bowl.
4. Tip melted chocolate onto the dry ingredients and combine.
5. Press the mixture down into your baking tins.
6. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave too. Pour over the white chocolate/crispy pop mixture.
7. Scatter over the Smarties.
8. Allow to cool then freeze for 20 minutes (or leave in fridge for 2 hours if you are blessed with time).
9. Cut into 25 squares per tin and throw haphazardly into Ikea storage tubs lined with coloured paper napkins. Run to party.
Introducing “Mum et Moi”
I discovered Mum et Moi online shopping site shortly after it launched around a month ago. I was impressed with owner Emilie’s drive, starting an online shopping business with 3 young children and her choice of products. Mum et Moi features stylish gifts for children (and their mums) ranging from eco friendly toys to jewellery. There’s also a selection of cookware and it’s from this range that we have today’s giveaway in the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways on Maison Cupcake.
Mum et Moi silicon cake mould giveaway:
This Christmas Tree silicone mould measures 280 x 200 x 40mm. RRP £17
There is one mandatory way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries.
This giveaway is open to readers with UK mailing addresses. Readers from overseas are welcome to enter provided they can give the UK mailing address of a friend to receive the gift on their behalf with any onward delivery being at their own cost.
The winner will be chosen using an online randomiser and announced in a subsequent post on this blog – the winners of several of the 12 giveaways will be will announced together across 2-3 posts according to their closing dates.
To win:
1. Mandatory. Leave a comment below telling me about a novelty birthday or christmas cake that made an impression on you.
2. Second chance to win, tweet a link to this giveaway as follows: “Win Mum et Moi cake mould @maisoncupcake” WITH A LINK TO THIS POST as it may no longer be the home page item if you enter later this week. Then leave a second comment saying you’ve done so telling me your Twitter ID.
3. For a third chance to win, visit and “Like” the Mum et Moi Facebook page then leave a comment below saying you have done so.
You must leave a further separate comment for each bonus entry otherwise they cannot be selected in the draw.
Closing date: midnight GMT on Saturday 18th December 2010.The winner will be notified by email. If the winner does not reply within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.Good luck everyone!
With thanks to Mum et Moi
Also up for grabs during the Maison Cupcake 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways:
Waitrose Christmas goodies RRP £35 Closed
Green & Black’s Ultimate Chocolate Chef gift set Closed
Nigella Living Collection Measuring Cups Closes Jan 16 (bloggers’ competition, international)
Alex Polizzi’s Little Black Book of Hotels Closed
Sainsbury’s Different by Design cookware Closes Dec 15
Heinz Secret Ingredient Hamper Closes Dec 16
Chai Caramels from Matcha Chocolat INTERNATIONAL Closes Dec 17
Steenberg’s Christmas Spices Survival Kit, Christmas Chai Tea and Stollen Spice Blend Closes Dec 17
Interflora Christmas Hamper RRP £100 Closes Dec 19
Eric Lanlard’s “Home Bake” from Octopus Books
Cookware from Jamie Oliver
Cupcakes look lovely! I went thru a phase of wearing Kickers, had them in red, purple, brown etc and form my 21st birthday I was presented with a cake in the shape of Kickers – fantastic !!!
Lovely cupcakes and bars! I am drooling…
Cheers,
Rosa
The cake I remember the most was for my 11th birthday. It was an attempt to recreate a Sinclair ZX90 computer our of cake and icing. The shape was about right – but the icing was a very yellow buttercream (made with margarine) – which would have been ok but the computer itself was supposed to be white. The keyboard instead of being blue and black was made up of chocolate buttons with white glace icing letters piped on them. But there wasn’t space for the full alphabet!
It was a good attempt – but would probably feature on Cake Wrecks these days.
My 13th birthday cake was a hunk of baguette with thirteen candles stuck into it…. (we were on holiday in France at the time – and the heat caused the candles to droop!)
I remember for my fifth birthday my mum made me a train birthday cake out of a huge swiss roll, smarties for the rivets and biscuits for the wheels! I loved it and still remember it really vividly now!
Just shared the competition on Twitter – my ID is @joromerofood.
… and liked Mum et Moi on Facebook 🙂
i loved my Zippy (from rainbow) cake when i was only about 10 years old
i have tweeted too @ashlallan
I totally love those Rocky Road chunks. And who doesn’t love Rocky Road?
Wow!! You are good at thinking and baking under pressure missy! I think I’d have run out to Sainsbury’s and bought bulk quantities of their cookies/mini mffins/tiffin and tried to pass them off as mine!
A novelty birthday cake that made an impression on me – well,most of my childhood birthday cakes which my mum made. My favourites were a barbie cake and a park scene cake with little LEGO men, and grated coconut grass dyed green.
I don’t think I even had time for that if I’d wanted to! I like the sound of your lego cake with green coconut grass.
I have ‘liked’ the Mum et Moi facebook page.
I just wished Christmas would hurry up! Love your pics!
Luiz @ The London Foodie
I loved my Barbie cake – the dress was the cake and Barbie was popping out of the top!
My favourite novelty cake was Nigella’s Christmas Rocky Road (from the christmas book) adorned with a snow-scene – icing sugar snow, plastic reindeer and fir-trees. Christmastastic!
I will be making your smartie rocky road for our last day in the office at work. What a treat for everyone!
I have tweeted @GoddessWannabe.
MM Rocky Road, I love all novelty cakes as they look fab, sometimes too good to eat, but we do, what joy to have made a fab cake and see peoples faces when they see it
At school the cookery class used to do christmas cakes near the end of term and one of my friends covered hers in marzipan, and sculpted an igloo and iceberg with lots of little iceberg penguins! It was an amazing fantasy cake 🙂
I’ve also liked the “mum et moi” facebook page. Looks like a great business to support.
The cake that made the biggest impression on me was a Super Mario Cake in a Debbie Brown book. My son adored Super MArio and no where else sold a cake like it so I had to roll up my sleeves and attempt to make it – I am now raring to go on my next cake.
I love the one my mum made my brother for his 5th birthday – a sponge treasure chest overflowing with gold chocolate coins, sweetie necklaces etc
I’ve re-tweeted the message @Isis1981uk
Liked Mum et moi on Facebook
The birthday cake I most remember was from when I was around 8 years old. It was of a castle and was made totally from chocolate – chocolate cake, chocolate buttons, chocolate fingers etc. I can remember thinking it was the best thing I had ever seen 🙂
Competition tweeted (@sharonald)
I have also liked the Mum et Moi Facebook page. thank you very much for the competition
The only time I had a proper baked Birthday cake was for my 13th birthday, which I had to spend in hospital as I was having a very serious back operation. Not a great place to spend your birthday but boy did I get some great presents including a lovely cake!
gorgeous cupcakes, I love them all
brilliant post. Even your (very occasional) “mistakes, turn out good. xxx
My family made me a cake roughly resembling an owl as I am Brown Owl with the local Brownie Unit – I was most impressed especially as none of them have an artistic streak in their body
My mum made a cake once that was supposed to be my face… well, it was round, had blond hair and blue eyes – I still knew it was me…
My sister made me a tree stump cake with all these animal characters having a picnic on top and it was amazing!.It was so detailed and had all the little cups,plates,cakes,drinks,a picnic basket,and accessories.I loved it and the animals were so cute.
my Grandma made me a mibile phone cake as i am always on my mobile
I remember for my 16th birthday getting a rally car cake. It was brilliant and so apt as I was doing my first ever rally navigation that weekend! 11 years on I still have the number plate from that cake!
Have tweeted too.
http://twitter.com/justforcomps/status/15390524458401792
@justforcomps
I have “liked” the facebook page too (Rhoda Kellar)
I once made a Garfield cake with Garfield painted on. Spent hours on it and the interest lasted about 5 seconds before they cut into the cake to eat!
tweeted @sarokaal
liked
My mom always used to make us the caterpillar cake and I still love them today
I love making novelty cakes. I made a Thunderbirds Tracy Island cake for my children when they were small, complete with palm trees, lake, etc and a model Thunderbird 2 on the runway. It took a couple of days but was so worth it when they saw their cake!
I’ve liked you on facebook, too!
and I think I’ve tweeted….not very good at twitter… :S
my mother in law made me a laptop cake last year
a friend made a ballerina cake for my daughter one year. The perimeter of the cake was the frilly tutu. my daughter loved it.
The first novelty cake I saw was the Barbie crinoline one. I thought it was so amazing!
I have tweeted as @beachrambler
I was proud of the chocolate and licorice monster cake I made for my daughters birthday.
My mum once had made a rabbit and rat cake which are my favorite things ever!
The cat face cake was cool.
I have liked on facebook too.
I love this, would be a great prize to win.
I actually puT yhese on “my letter to Santa”,but just to make sure may I enter here as well?I’m sure Santa won’t mind!Thanks.
My mother always made rich chocolate cakes for our birthdays and she made the same for our weddings.
Have tweeted. @maisietoo
Have liked Mum et Moi on Facebook.
Somebody actually bought me a errr male inspired cake tin, it was very well endowed! Been too embarrassed to use it..lol
Have retweeted as @StomaFreeBuddie
I made a birthday cake for my son’s 8th birthday in 1977 with a huge Union flag on it as it was the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and everyone remembers it to this day!
Oh stop it stop it! You are showing us too many delicious things. Stop stop stop.
My neighbour made the cutest dragon cake last year and the year before a YODA cake. Now that is cool, surely?!
Tweeted and follow.
Maggy
my friend makes fab cakes with her daughters last one being animal based with animals on top and all around the icing was done like animal skin was amazing
A friend made a great caterpillar cake the other week and when she explained how to do it, it seemed really simple.
have tweeted @kikicomp
Tweeted @ericahughes
have liked on facebook too
Liked on facebook – Erica Price
Great prize.
My mum once backed a cake in the shape of a guitar, to celebrate my first gig!!
my mum made me a cake in the shape of a cooker, I always remember the little frying pan on the top with some fried egg sweeties in it!!
A superb Princess Castle birthday cake for one of my daughter’s friends! A delicious masterpiece!
I have tweeted the comp link @CoxeeFoxy 🙂
Liked Facebook page 🙂
A dragon cake, made by my Mother in law for my sons 6th birthday. He wouldn’t let anyone eat it as he wanted to keep it. We compromised and kept the head
My Great Grandma used to make what seemed to me hundreds of Christmas cakes every year, they were gorgeous and massive, they lasted well into the new year.
Reindeer cake pops made for our school christmas fair. Photos here http://charlottescupcakes.blogspot.com/2010/12/reindeer-cake-pops.html
My daughter’s Chocolate Truffle Cake shaped and decorated to make a gorgeous Pink Handbag Birthday Cake was wonderfully impressive!
Tweeted @wendymcd83
Like Mum et Moi on facebook!
christmas cake which made an impression on me was cheesecake
Tweeted as @marzutek
http://twitter.com/#!/marzutek/status/16107684860268544
Like the Mum et Moi Facebook page (Marzena Szymborska)
my mom’s christmas cakes, missing them …
My 50th birthday cake from my children ha aphoto of me on it, it did make an impression on me but not a good one it was a sneaky photo my hubby took of me sat on the loo
have tweeted @barbmerv
I used to make my children a dinosaur birthday cake that always used to get a good reception. I used to make 2 cakes and then cut them up to make the dinosaur and cover it in coloured butter icing. I used jelly diamonds for spinea along the back, chocolate buutons, jelly tots, smarties, anything went to decorate it with. It was so simple to do and I didn’t have to worry about smooth icing.
We had a godfather party once with a horses head cake.
Love making cakes this mould looks fab
I always had barbie cakes as a child! My mum has made dog cakes, cat cakes, castle cakes you name ’em in the past twenty years! I also liked you on facebook.