Happy New Year to you all!

It's New Years Eve and I'm on a boat heading home to Northern Ireland for my Christmas part II. Before I blog about what I was baking last night I just feel the need to mention how amazing this ship is! Me and Mr.Geek are on the Stena Superfast ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast, which I think just launched in November this year. Wow. Ipads on the wall....cinematic screens pretty much everywhere....fish projected on the floor (which children are going mad for)....xbox Kinect... and there's even a spa with a glass front over looking the Irish Sea. Just like it says on the advert for it "its flipping brillant so it is, its like a big hotel". This is us just leaving Loch Ryan at Cairnryan, seems like we are in for a calm, peaceful crossing which is always good :)

So last night I baked some Christmas/ New Year cookies to bring home with me for my family and friends. For me, a must have ingredient in Christmas baking is cinnamon. I love it, it's just so warming and gives your baking such a nice, subtle spice. Also, when the smell is released throughout the house it is DE-lish! I decided I would make some cranberry, white chocolate and cinnamon cookies. I've made these a few times before and I've been lucky if they have still been around at the end of the day. 

Of course it's all about presentation as well, I got these little Christmas fabric bags in Hobbycraft (favorite shop ever). Lovely presentation bags and I'm sure they will get used again! I'm giving these as a gift but secretly I cannot wait to sink my teeth into one with a hot cuppa :)

The second part of my cookie baking last night was some star and heart shaped goodies for my fabulous friends Trudy, Jonny and Karen who I am going to see on Monday and I cannot wait. (miss you guys x). Trudes very kindly gifted me with some star shaped cookie cutters from Lakeland earlier on this year which are great! They make little bitesize cookies ....well I suppose that depends on how big your gub is. So last night I made some star vanilla cookies, dipped them in milk chocolate and covered in multi- coloured sprinkles. I also made some heart shaped vanilla cookies which I drizzled with vanilla candy melts topped off with some edible glitter. Of course there was some 'mis-shapes' left over and I had one and yum, they are tasty. What I like about the hearts with the glitter sprinkled on them is that there is no denying you have had one...it's a cert that your lips and fingers will end up covered in glitter. "Elaine, have you been eating cookies?", "No"....... with an expression like a kid who has just bedazzled himself. 

I really do hope my family and friends enjoy eating these as much as I've enjoyed baking them! 

Well, however you are seeing in the bells tonight I wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope you have a great night! I hope 2012 brings you everything you wish for!

Looking forward to getting more into this blogging in the New Year :)

The Cupcake Geek (who can now see Northern Ireland!!) x

my first blog post...go easy on me!

Did you know that 9 out of 10 blog readers don't even get past the first line of your post?

Well, I'm hoping this isn't the case for me. I'm hoping my pretty pictures capture your eyes enough for you to read on....

So I've decided to start my own cupcake blog as I really do think I am a bit addicted to all things cupcakey... and rather than bore my friends and family with cupcake this and cupcake that I thought I'd vent my cupcake obsession into a blog. What seemed to start as a little baking hobby is starting to turn into something I want to do everyday. After a long 8 hour day in the office, I won't have to think twice about coming home and switching my K-mix on (best present ever by the way). Anyway, I'm going to keep my first post short (and sweet....) and blog about some of the festive fancies I have been creating over the past few days.

I made these little snowmen cuppies for my good friend Miss Lillabella as part of her Christmas goodie bag. Simple and fun, I got the idea from Annabel Karmel's 'things to make with your kids this Christmas' section. However, I will say if you're going to make these then try and keep them horizontal as their heads were partial to falling off...as I found out when I handed Miss Lillabella a tin full of decapitated snowmen.

These Merry Christmas cakes were for my work 'secret' Santa lunch...they seemed to go down well! They were vanilla cake mix and I was attempting to make them look like a Christmas tree by dying the buttercream icing green, multi-coloured sprinkles to imitate the baubles and lastly some regal icing stars for the top!

Christmas 2011 saw me having my first non-Northern Irish Christmas! For those of you who don't know, I'm originally from Northern Ireland but moved to Glasgow around 8 years ago for uni...bla bla bla..met my lovely fiance Kris and ended up staying here. It was oh so very strange wakening up on Christmas morning and not having my dad leading us down the stairs, to open the living room door and to say "Well you may go back to bed because Santa hasn't been". Yeah, I'm 25 but you just can't beat family traditions like that.


Anyways, Christmas morning with my better half was fantastic in our own wee different way, with lots of cupcakey presents...I'll leave that for another blog! So as Christmas dinner was to be at the in-laws for my first time, and I was in charge of desserts, I really wanted to make something to make a palatable impression! So I opted for the above. A festive cheesecake consisting of mixed fruit, nutmeg and cinnamon (when it was baking in the oven, our house smelt just like Christmas!) and Mary Berry's Chocolate Roulade. After having the compulsory hour or two break from the festive eating, my desserts seemed to go down a treat.

Until next time.......

The Cupcake Geek x