Saturday 18 May 2013

Cupcakes for a New Baby Boy ♥

"Straight from heaven up above, here is a baby for you to love"

We are so happy that our great friends welcomed a new baby boy into their sweet family earlier this week - he is a baby truly loved already, and we were so excited to be able to go and visit when he was just 1 day old - treats and gifts in tow of course!

I have been busy for a good little while now making some secret projects (that I had to hide away when they came over to visit!) in advance of their new baby and have a lot of blogging to do about it but first, seeing as I had shared a Sneak Peek of my cupcakes on my Facebook page I thought these could come first.


There was definitely a theme to my handmade gifts, you will definitely see elephants popping up on this blog a few more times as I write more about the projects.  A lot of the inspiration came from a cookie cutter/press I found months ago in a small kitchenware shop that I KNEW I would want to use for their new baby!  I hadn't used it until now, but I am so so pleased with how it turned out.  

The best bit about choosing an elephant theme... elephants may be making an appearance in the new nursery they are preparing!!  SO excited to see more elephants everywhere, we are all zoo lovers after all!


We found out their new baby had arrived on Monday afternoon, so straight after work I got to making the final sewing project for him (whilst watching the Leafs get knocked out of the NHL Playoffs BOO) before starting on some cupcakes to take with us when we visited the next day!

I had known all along I wanted cupcakes to be a part of the gift, and this set of 3 designs meant a little bit of variety, but still on the same theme - blues and elephants of course!


I used a basic vanilla cupcake recipe, with buttercream frosting piped on top (see the recipe below), and whilst I was aiming for a pale blue buttercream colour - the liquid food colouring I was using (which was definitely blue!) turned this beautiful shade of mint green after a few drops, and I was happy with that - it's such a summery colour (and one of my very favourite colours!) and provided a good contrast with the cupcake toppers and decorations I was going to use :-)


As I mentioned before, I used a cookie cutter/stamp to make the elephants but rather than cutting out cookies, I cut out fondant I had coloured grey!  BAH I love the press - and am definitely going to buy more from that same shop!  I also cut out pale blue fondant stars, and then used blue and white sugar big round sprinkles (that came from a pack of red, white and blue jubilee style sprinkles!) for the other two designs of cupcakes.




I am SO pleased with how these cupcakes turned out and cannot wait to share the rest of my projects with you, although the most important people this time already received them...the new beautiful baby boy, the cutest big sister and excited parents of two little ones! :-)


Recipe - makes 12

Ingredients:

4oz butter, softened
4oz caster sugar
2 eggs
4oz self-raising flour

I told you it was basic right?!  I also added a splash of vanilla :-)

8oz icing sugar
4oz butter
1 tablespoon of milk
Flavouring or food colouring if required

Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line a 12-hole cake tin with paper cases.
2.  Place the butter, sugar, eggs and flour in a large bowl and beat together until smooth.  Add vanilla if you like!!
3.  Spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
4.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until well risen, golden brown and when a cake tester (I use a potato skewer) comes out clean.
5.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
6.  While they are cooling, make the buttercream:  Place the butter in a bowl and beat until fluffy - sift in the icing sugar and beat together until smooth.
7.  When the cakes are cool, spread or pipe the icing on top of each cake and decorate as you like!

Nice and easy, which was lucky as it was 10.30 at night - but all totally worth it.  And I got the best approval of the taste - when a not quite 2 year old keeps coming back for more bites... Now that makes me a happy baker :-)


*** Two links to click today! ***

Check out the incredible photography business our friend and cousin runs here in Toronto - taking a little break while she enjoys time with their new baby gives you lots of time to read her blog and check out her great website full of beautiful babies and their families :-)  

And don't forget my new Facebook page is always looking for new followers and friends!  Click here to 'Like' my page and get Sew Lah Tea Dough updates right to your newsfeed.


30 comments:

  1. These cupcakes are adorable! I love the press/stamp you used. so fun!

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    1. Thanks so much Kathryn! Me too!! That was definitely my favourite part too, and I'm on the lookout for other designs of them, as it worked so well with fondant :-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. How cute are these cupcakes! What a lucky 1-day-old :)

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  3. Awww these cupcakes are way too cute, thanks for linking up at this weeks Sweet & Savoury Sunday link party :D

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    1. Thanks for hosting!! So glad you like them :-)

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  4. Hi,your cupcakes look adorable!

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    1. Thank you :-D Thanks for stopping by to check them out!

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  5. How cute and adorable, Hannah! Thanks for sharing at our All My Bloggy Friends Party !

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  6. Easy Life Meal & Party Planning23 May 2013 at 03:46

    Darling cupcakes! Stopping by from All My Bloggy Friends

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  7. I love these elephants! too cute! Thanks so much for sharing at Two Cup Tuesday on Pint Sized Baker. I've pinned it!

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    1. They are my favourite part too!! Thanks for stopping by and checking them out :-)

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  8. These look scrumptious! I love the elephants! Thank you so much for linking up!I hope to see more from you on my next party.

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  9. These are so stinkin' cute! What a cute gift for new parents. :) Thank you for linking up to Tasty Tuesdays.

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    1. Thanks so much Jess, and thanks for hosting :-)

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  10. Awww Hannah! Those are adorable! :) Thank you so much for linking up with me this week at Tasty Tuesdays! I’ve pinned this & shared it with my followers!

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  11. I've just posted my Tasty Tuesdays link party on my blog & wanted to tell you that this recipe has been featured! You can find the feature here: http://anyonitanibbles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/tasty-tuesdays-12.html Don’t forget to grab our features button and link up again!

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    1. Thanks so much Anyonita! I just shared this feature on my Facebook page, including a link to your site, and letting them know about your macarons in Manchester!! Thanks for featuring me :-)

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  12. They look super!
    Thanks so much for linking up week for week, I look forward to seeing what you share with us this week on Tutorial Thursdays Linky Party.
    x
    Natalie
    Marigolds' Loft

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    1. Thanks Natalie! You're so great for always stopping by and checking out my links :-)

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  13. Thank you for sharing it on A Crafty Soiree! I'm excited to let you know, your adorable elephant cupcakes are one of our features for this week, our last A Crafty Soiree. Thank you for linking up and please join us one last time!

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    1. I was super excited to have these cupcakes featured on your blog! Thanks :-D Excited for your new adventure!

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  14. These are so cute! What a great idea to use fondant for the elephants too. They turned out fabulous! I love them :) My friend has new twins and has done their room in elephants. She would thing these were the bomb! Krista @ A Handful of Everything

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    1. The elephants are FOR SURE my favourite part too! I love using fondant and it means for a cute and easy cupcake topper, I love cake decorating, and this means I can do it on cupcakes too :-)

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  15. So sweet. Cupcakes for a New Baby Boy are really amazing. Yes Krista they are fabulous. We would also like to try this in our CioccolatItaliani Restaurant " Cake Shops in Dubai "

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Thanks for reading!! Please leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you :-)