Mini Cupcake Maker Baking Session

I was sent this super cute mini cupcake maker from Find Me A Gift a little while ago and I've been meaning to give it a proper review ages ago but a lot of stuff came up and it had to be set aside for a while. I was also holding it back to try out with my niece as it just screams her, anything pink girly and sweet! I knew she would be the toughest critic.

It would also be a great time to try out her new mixing bowl set I got her for Christmas, the bowl is shaped like a cupcake case, it's soooo cute. It came with a cupcake mix, which I usually hate using, but as it was part of her set I thought we could give it a go for ease. The mix was a standard vanilla mix, but we added some smarties to make them more child-appealing.

So the maker, it makes mini cupcakes, we put the batter in on its own, naked! As they're made for mini cupcakes it would have been difficult to find cases to fit but I suppose you could use the petit four cases you get in the shops. The cupcakes cook in 3-5 minutes, I did at them for about 5 I would say but probably not more than 7 for ones we probably over-filled. The lid is also domed so the cakes don't stick and burn to the top which helps.

It reminded me a little of when I was younger and had a microwave oven, who seriously - 18 mintues to cook a couple of chocolate muffins? That's insane! But the magic came back! It's also a lot safer so kids can actually help with spooning in the mix etc, but the baker gets very hot so you have to be very careful! (Don't you love my niece's whisking technique? About to start a fire I love it!)

I had heard from other people that sometimes the cupcakes could be raw in the middle so I was a little anxious as to how they would turn out and I'll be honest I wasn't expecting much. And I have to say, they came out brilliant, they popped out of the holes with ease and cooled in minutes. This is particularly important when baking with a child, you can't let them get bored so you don't want to leave the decorating time too long.

We made up  some runny icing and I set her up with an assortment of cute decorations. My niece is the most well behaved girly I have ever met so I had no worries about letting her loose with cake glitter, sprinkles, rice-paper butterflies and sugar balls.

She got stuck into the decorating and couldn't wait to eat them! I was even surprised by how they tasted, it was odd to have one that didn't come in a case though. I was really impressed with her decoration skills too I'll make a cake decorator out of her yet :D

Overall I loved the cupcake maker, but I would say I wouldn't use it for myself as I love using cases and they're quite small and I prefer to do them all at once if possible. But I think it's absolutely perfect for children, fast baking time, cooling time...and eating time! It looks really cute and is easier for them to use than attempting the oven. My niece has now inherited this...it does match her baking stuff after all. Pick one up online for £19.99

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This Week's Best Baking Buys

So I've been very good with my baking spending recently, but I'm afraid with The Great British Bake Off showcasing some seriously sexy items I have not been able to resist.

Of course the KitchenAid mixer is something that is always catching my eye, and if I could buy their little individual kitchens they all have then I'd even put one in my bedroom believe me. But both of those things are out of reach.

There were a couple of things within easy each though, I loved the look of the heavy duty baking sheet, I was saying only last week how I needed one without a lip, mainly for when I'm baking my giant cupcakes as sometimes I need to do two in one night and it would be handy to be able to put two in the oven at the same time. Luckily, Tesco has everything, of course, and I found this one there for £8.25 which I didn't think was too bad, sometimes you shouldn't always get the cheapest. It's also great because it was such a large surface area the baking possibilities will be endless!

I was also really intrigued by their piping bags, I go through so many it's actually a little ridiculous, I use them do much they end up splitting at the seams but find it hard to find one to fit my large icing nozzles and you can't exactly measure them first as none of the bags say what size they are. then ofcourse The Great British Bake Off contestants were using disposable blue ones, which fit for any nozzles as all you have to do it cut them to fit! Perfect, and they're biodegradable so you can use them guilt free. I my blue Savoy bags from eBay, but these are exactly the same from The Craft Company, 10 for £3.12. I'll do another post when I've given them a go, I'm always after the perfect swirls.

In October I have a weeding cupcake order for 150 cupcakes and a top tier with a pink and butterfly theme, which I love as it's my favourite theme to do! We're meeting up next week to discuss the details but I went ahead any ordered these butterfly plungers, I've wanted them for ages and saves me having to buy ready made butterflies in the future. These will be great for girly cakes and I can't wait to give them ago, I'm thinking pinks, glitter and shimmer! The plungers are veined too so they give off a bit more detail, I already have the leaf design one and they work great. They come in a pack of three, various sizes for £7.99 from The Cake Decorating Company.

I can't wait to give all of these a go at the weekend, I also have my eye on one of the loose bottomed pie dishes....I think I might be trying out some pastry at the weekend...and maybe some cupcakes! Pin It Now!