Smiles.

After an incredibly hectic first week back at school, I was more than happy to spend today baking up a storm. A day in the kitchen is simply the perfect way to relax. However, relaxation was not, in fact, my main reason for today's 'session'.  Tomorrow afternoon, I will be taking a cupcake decorating workshop with a group of 12-year old girls.  One of my colleagues runs a wonderful program called GirlLife.  In a nutshell, GirlLife gives these girls an opportunity to broaden their world view by seeing that there is so much more for them in life than they may have experienced.  I simply cannot wait to show you some of their creations which we intend to enjoy in a lovely high tea. 

In order to conduct such a workshop, of course, I have to prepare the cupcakes for the girls to decorate.  So I was busy, busy, busy.  Naturally, when I found that I had some extra cupcakes, I couldn't resist having a mess around with some of the yummy toppers that I had prepared for tomorrow! I baked my Mum's Chocolate Cake recipe before topping with Vanilla Buttercream and a sweet chuck of liquorice allsort. Both my chocolate cake and buttercream recipes are tried and true.  How could you not look at these and smile?

F. x