To celebrate this day I have made Walnut & Maple Syrup Cupcakes. I think I am addicted to [amazon_textlink asin=’B00A76IZ54′ text=’maple syrup’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’66c6926d-5e7a-11e7-9e5e-4da3a711bcc0′] now and I will be baking a lot with it over the next few days. There will be pancakes, waffles, cookies, brownies/blondies, a cake of some description – need I go on.

I have not only made one flavour of cupcakes though. Oh no. From one batch of cupcake mixture I have made Jelly Bean Cupcakes, Oreo Cupcakes, Bakewell Cupcakes  and my Canada Day Cupcakes. Did maple syrup come from Canada? I don’t know but it is something I will have to look into further. With my cupcakes, I use the standard cake recipe of :-

  • 8oz self raising flour
  • 8oz caster sugar
  • 8oz soft spread
  •  4 eggs
  • 1tsp vanilla essence

For the Oreo Cupcakes, I placed a whole [amazon_textlink asin=’B06WV9LDLM’ text=’Oreo Thin’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’834d4693-5e7a-11e7-a141-edf0ec843ee4′] on top of a small amount of cake mix then covered it with some more cake mix before baking it in the oven. I decorated these cakes with a swirl of vanilla buttercream and another Oreo Thin.

For the Bakewell Cupcakes, I placed a small ball of [amazon_textlink asin=’B00PIQCLC6′ text=’marzipan’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’95917b52-5e7a-11e7-9eba-4de7c1f91359′] on top of a small amount of cake mix then covered it with more cake mix before baking it in the oven. I decorated these cakes with white glacé icing and a half glacé cherry.

For the Jelly Bean Cupcakes, I baked the cake mix as it was then added a swirl of buttercream to these cakes before decorating with [amazon_textlink asin=’B002Z4YMKI’ text=’Jelly Beans’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’a8af6f12-5e7a-11e7-ae60-93bb6c04a7ca’].

Finally, for the Canada Day Cupcakes, I added a teaspoon of maple syrup and some chopped walnuts to the cake mix before transferring to the cases and baking in the oven. To decorate these cakes I swirled the buttercream on the top, added a chopped walnut and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Ahhh, maple syrup does come from Canada. In fact the main producer of maple syrup is Quebec in Canada. I never knew that but now I do I just want to emigrate to Canada even more. However, I know my husband would not agree so I will just keep on dreaming and eating maple syrup. 🙁

On a lighter note, I have seen a piece of equipmemt in Aldi which makes waffles, brownies and doughnuts. I so want one of these machines and even though I could have bought one I decided that it couldn’t make them as good as I do. I already have a machine which makes waffles, toasties and paninis which we use at least once a week and my eldest daughter is quite a dab hand at making toasties for the family. Another piece of equipment which I would love to own is an [amazon_textlink asin=’B00DS4MSEG’ text=’icecream maker ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’c61f7c31-5e7b-11e7-93a3-a5684a8b3593′]- which again I have seen in Aldi today. If I bought this machine I would be making icecream all the time and that wouldn’t be good at all.

This week I am going to make a Strawberry Cheesecake which is perfect for “Wimbledon Fortnight”. I will share some  recipes for my cupcakes and  cheesecake next week. As for the rest of the weekend I am going to have a break for computer and spend some time with my family.