A few cupcakes to end National Cupcake Week with...

In the UK it has been National Cupcake Week this past week.  I have been sad to be missing out on it, but mostly sad due to the lack of cupcake baking that has been going on in my life! So I finally rectified that yesterday by making some at an Island BBQ I was attending.  I decided hummingbird (pineapple and banana) would fit in to the tropical theme well! However making them was a whole other story, wow do I miss my KitchenAid! I was on very limited utensils...I had to mix the ingredients in a saucepan! but surprisingly they still turned out rather tasty! and were enjoyed by all.

Here I am frosting in action.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to take proper photos because they took so long to make that they flew off the plate before I could even take a photo of the finished item.  So they looked similar to these ones below, but they were just topped with a little chunk of pineapple too.

I made some minis for the Kids at the BBQ and the regular sized ones for the adults.  I made them in my silicone baking cups which apparently they don't have here in Turks and Caicos, because my employer's husband threw his cases away and then when he realised he said he had wondered why they seemed so durable!

So this is the start on my new cupcaking life in Turks and Caicos! but I certainly haven't forgotten about the cupcake scene back in the U.K and get regular updates from friends and family to keep me informed about the latest cupcaking news! 

I was very excited to hear about The Hummingbird Bakery's new Soda range.  Even more excited that my sister has agreed to trial every single one on my behalf! So I present to you Saturday's offering - the cream soda cupcake:

The report from my sister was that sponge was nice and moist and the frosting was really light and fluffy.  It tasted exactly like cream soda and the sweets on top were cute too.  She can't wait to try the rest of the range! and how cute is that little box they give it to you in! 

After her visit to Hummingbird on Wardour Street, she went to broadway market in Hackney and stumbled upon the Violet stall.  She said they had cute bunting and all the cakes were really nicely displayed, as you can see below.

She went with a regular sized coconut cupcake and a mini salted caramel.  Here is her report: 

'The salted caramel was delicious (the saltiness taking away the sweetness of the buttercream) and the coconut milk topping was so creamy and both cakes were nice and moist.  It had dessicated coconut on top as well.'

I will have to try and visit Violet for my self one day when I get back over the Atlantic but for now I'm going to see how cupcake baking kicks off over in the Caribbean!