Halloween maple apple cupcakes

Maple apple cupcake
Maple apple cupcakes (makes 12 muffin size cakes)

Ingredients
150g (5.2 ounces) self raising flour
60g (2.11 ounces) unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
60ml (2 fluid ounces)maple syrup
200g (7 ounces) grated apple
Vanilla butter cream
Pink food colouring
Black edible glitter


Cooking instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160-180 deg C.
  2. Line muffin tray with paper cases.
  3. Beat flour, butter, eggs, cinnamon and maple syrup in a bowl with an electric mixer until mixture is a pale colour.
  4. Stir in apple and divide the mixture between the paper cases.
  5. Place in preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and place cakes on wire rack to cool.
  7. Add pink food colouring to butter icing, mixing thoroughly.
  8. Put coloured butter icing into a piping bag with small nozzle.
  9. When cakes are cool, pipe butter cream icing in peaks on top.
  10. Sprinkle glitter on top using a small paintbrush.
  11. Stick cupcake topper in top.


To make the cupcake topper,
  1. Download and print the "Poison" label below x2.
  2. Place double sided tape on the unprinted side of the label from edge to edge.
  3. Press a cocktail stick into tape
  4. Place the second label over the top of the stick and press firmly together.

Poison cake label
See Halloween cake stands and cases for where to buy cupcake wrappers.

As I have to have a gluten free diet, I substitute the self raising flour for Gluten and wheat free self raising flour.

Have a sweet day!

~ Dining Table and chairs ~

We really need a new dining table and chairs.

Requirements are that it needs to be able to seat 12 adults as when Mr A's family comes to visit there is currently 11 adults and 10 kids.

We found this nice extension table at Freedom - when extended it is 3.2m long so this will work. When closed it is still 2.2m.

The chairs that match it weren't bad as well and currently on sale (which never happens when you need things but this time we are in luck)


Can anyone suggest some other good extension tables they may have seen?

It's a wrap

The lovely Jodie @ Poss Bloss asked me to photograph her adorable creations.
Here are a few of my favourite shots - the rest I am about to mail off to Poss Bloss headquarters!












'ipanic' - when realisation and destiny collide

Months ago, I was persuaded to enter a 60km mountain bike race in the Southern Highlands, competing against a thousand or so fellow cycling enthusiasts.

I agreed because:

a. I thought it might encourage me to get back on my bike post-pregnancy
b. The race was MONTHS away, leaving me plenty of time to procrastinate about point 'a'
c. A number of friends were doing it, and I don't like to be left out

... but mostly I agreed because

d. My husband sneakily entered me at 5.30am before I got up one morning and then 'surprised' me with it over breakfast.

It's not as though riding a bike is new to me; before Fern I used to ride quite a lot! It's just my body is not quite the same as it was here just before I fell pregnant:



I'll admit that when I'm tired or stressed I eat... and this year, I've been both. A lot! Plus, my body just doesn't look the same as it did before, and I wonder if it ever will again.

I've had this race in the back of my mind over the last few months, but it seemed so far away I figured there would be plenty of time to get fit and psyche myself up before the day. But now all of a sudden it's three weeks away. Is three weeks enough time to get myself into enough shape to finish the race... the same day as I start it?

Today I did 20 sit ups and half an hour on the trainer and started my diet which included a row of dark chocolate, a spoonful of Nutella, and 4 Fererro Rochers.

Heaven help me. :)

ps. Thanks to James for the tommy-toning-tips, I'm gonna give it my best!