New Young Pony Club

I was asked to make some cupcakes for a client going away to Pony Camp last week! I provided cupcakes for the same client last year, so I thought I'd try and do something a bit different for her this time.

These are the cupcakes for Pony Club 2010! Chocolate flavoured sponge cake drizzled with fresh vanila pod syrup, iced with vanilla buttercream swirls edged in sugar sprinkles and topped with a horseshoe and pastel pink glitter stars.

Hope you all had a great time girls!

Secret Garden

I have been crazy busy with birthday orders and parties this month! There are a lot of Cancerians who are fond of a cupcake it seems...

Kicking the month off in absolutely epic style was Mala's amazing birthday party. I provided sweet treats for a glamorous afternoon tea, taken in the garden beneath jewelled Bedouin tents. We used a fantastic selection of china and accessories from the gorgeous range at Idyllic Days* to serve the tea and I styled the garden with brightly coloured feather butterflies, raffia garlands and Chinese Lanterns (all bought from the complayetel adictive Cox & Cox website.) The finished result was completely magical but sadly I only had time to take a handful of quick pics before the guests arrived but I'll post more when I get them.

I also made a special cake for the birthday girl complete with gold candle! Happy birthday Mala, this was one of my favourite and most special projects to date. x

*Have a look at Kim from The Pink Pumpkin & Idyllic Days' blog here. It really is very very lovely!

Very Very Lovely, The Blog

Sleighbells ring...sun is shining?

It has been a strange day at Comfort & Joy HQ today. I spent the morning baking and the afternoon shooting a new Christmas product with C&J's official photographer, Guy Moorhouse.

For now all I can say is that we have all eaten far too many Christmas spice biscuits than we should have done...

...and that Chief Taster Oscar gave his seal approval. Phew! More details soon!

Click here to link to more of Guy's amazing photography. He's a very clever chap.

http://www.futurefabric.co.uk/

D.I.V.O.R.C.E

Dolly sang about it, people are throwing parties to celebrate it and now even Debenhams have set up a Divorce Gift List! A few months ago I was asked to create some cupcakes to fit an article on divorce and it's impact on brands for the stunning magazine Contact. It's a title that has won multiple awards for it's design so I was really flattered to be asked to supply cupcakes for one of their photo shoots . The tilt of the article was a positive one so I wanted to make the cakes look bright and punchy and a little bit tongue in cheek.

The end result makes for a really nice graphic background for the article, and oddly a few people have said that these cupcakes are their favourite yet! I might call them the Billy Ray Cyrus cakes!

Or...maybe not.

Tea Break

It has all been very quiet at Comfort & Joy HQ hasn't it?! A horribly extended bout of building work has meant I have been really limited in terms of kitchen time - and space. But everything is finally finished and actually, the hiatus proved quite useful for getting a few new recipes off the ground.

Macaroons are everywhere and I'm an absolute addict, so baking up a whole batch one lazy Sunday afternoon was a bit of a mistake...but a delicious one! About ten chewy, chocolate filled treats each later we were slumped in front of the Easties omnibus in the recovery position. But goodness, what a nice way to while away part of the weekend!

I also tried out a new recipe for Chocolate Orange Brownie Bites on friends who came over for an impromptu afternoon tea. I often find brownies just that little bit too rich, but the zing of the orange is a divine contrast to the chocolate and the gooey middle tastes absolutely velvety. We ate many more than we should (all in the name of research you understand.)

The macaroons and brownies will form part of our new range of sweet treats launching in the Autumn. And now, I'm off to renew that gym membership...

Chandos House

At the end of last year Comfort & Joy was added to the recommended supplier list at the stunning Central London venue, Chandos House. Being inside this gorgeous Georgian townhouse is like being cocooned in a box of sugared almonds, it is just stunning. On Saturday I was invited to show off our cupcakes at their wedding open day.

There was a huge amount of work to do as I was also asked to provide little cupcake gifts for the guest's goody bags, so there were hours spent handcrafting roses...and bows...and butterflies...and cupids...and yet more bows! But after a day's bake I was ready to go.

The cakes looked lovely set in the window of one of the reception rooms, overlooking the courtyard terrace. I borrowed some beautiful vintage tea cups and saucers from Kim at Idyllic Days (who have the most amazing collection of mismatched vintage china I have ever seen) and sat a couple of little cupcakes inside them, to make really pretty place settings.

Image via Mark Alesky

Image via Mark Alesky

Kim set up an amazing candy station, an idea that I've seen on American wedding blogs but not over here...until now! Sugary favourites such as coconut ice and strawberry bon bons nestled into little vintage cut glass bowls and sugared almonds in organza bags tied with ribbons tempted all of the guests!



It was great to be involved with such a great day, and it's got me completely in the mood for the start of wedding season!

Birthday Girl

I started the day with a special birthday delivery this morning. There were two mixed boxes of vanilla cupcakes topped with fondant and handwritten message or buttercream and chocolate cupcakes iced with a really wicked chocolate buttercream frosting.

Happy birthday Lucy!

Hearts for Haiti

Last week I was asked to donate some cakes to a bake sale in aid of Haiti. It's a really busy week here, but of course I wanted to help.

As well as cupcakes decorated with glittery hearts - it's almost Valentine's Day after all - I needed another really quick recipe, so I made up a batch of the gooeyiest, most decadent double chocolate pecan brownies. YUM!

I had intended to make a biscuit bar which is almost obscene in it's lusciousness. (Really. It has been christened by friends as 'The DD'.) Unfortunately I completely ran out of time, but I have a shocking weakness for it and now it's in my mind I'll be knocking up a batch at the weekend.

Here's the recipe if you fancy making it...it's super easy, and really nice with a cup of coffee and a little sit down.

'DD' Bar

200g digestive biscuits

100g butter

3 tbsp golden syrup

2 tbsp cocoa powder

50g raisins

100g dark or milk chocolate

Butter an 18cm sandwich tin. Seal the biscuits in a strong polythene bag and bash into uneven crumbs with a rolling pin.

Melt the butter and syrup in a pan. Stir in the cocoa and raisins. Spoon in to the tine and press down firmly.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (or microwave cautiously - it's very easy to ruin the chocolate in a micro). Spread over the biscuit base and chill for about half an hour.

Vintage Gift Box

It's Mother's Day in a couple of weeks people! Get organised now so you can avoid a frantic afternoon in John Lewis trying to buy up perfume gift sets and bath salts (Christmas shopping horror still looms in my mind, so I'm all for an easy life this time!)

We are now taking orders for our Mother's Day gift boxes.

I'll be sending my Mum a box of our extra special Vintage Cupcakes. The gift box is gorgeously sparkly, inspired by motifs from vintage china. The cakes feature sugar roses dusted with gold lustre, blossoms, butterflies and bows. They are super feminine and make a really special gift. A box of six cupcakes costs £18.*

You can call us on 07876 700775 or email at comfortandjoy@live.co.uk to place an order. Mother's Day gift deliveries will be made in London and Surrey on Saturday 13th March

*Excludes delivery. Minimum order, 6 cupcakes.

Hot Off The Press!

Hooray! Comfort & Joy is featured in two wedding magazines this month.

Perfect Wedding featured Kerry & James' amazing New Forest wedding, where we supplied a gorgeous mixture of ivory and gold butterfly, blossom and dragonfly cupcakes. The cakes were strewn with white roses and surrounded by flickering candelight for a natural, soft and romantic look.

Cosmo Bride suggested our cupcakes to fit with a decandent Art Deco themed wedding. Swirls of buttercream icing topped with a single gold cupid and the classic rose cupcake make a really dramatic impact alongside the vintage china and pearls.

p.s. The lovely Kerry recently moved to Ghana (I know, exotic!) and now writes a fabulous blog about her experiences over there. House girls, a one armed Bhudda and a chap called Quality...I'm addicted! http://kerryinghana.blogspot.com

Welcome to Comfort & Joy Cakery!

Welcome to the Comfort & Joy Cakery blog! We make delicious decadent cupcakes for weddings and special occasions...or for those moments when only a bit of glittery, sponge based indulgence will do!

I'll be uploading images here for an online portfolio for clients as well as adding updates on the latest news from Comfort & Joy HQ.