Cupcakes: check. Catastrophes: check.

This blog is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Emily & Dan eating cupcakes in their 'boat'

Here are the rascals, sampling the fare. They are my biggest fans and my toughest critics. Fortunately my baking is not good enough yet that I have to worry about them getting too chubby. I'm not as discerning... I'll need to get a pair of trainers soon I think!

Cupcakes. I'm on the hunt for the perfect recipe, so anyone out there, please feel free to send me yours... even if it was your beloved great-grandmother's tried and true secret concoction.

I'll be honest, it may come down to execution rather than recipe. Since we moved to our current abode in Papamoa, NZ (nearly two years ago now) I haven't bothered to find out what the various settings on our oven are - they have all been rubbed off by the previous owners (seriously, who wears off the settings on an oven?!) Brings new meaning to the term 'blind baking'.

My secretive oven

But I can't just blame my oven. While there have been some successful cupcake attempts...

...there have been some not-so-good products too. Among them were the under-cooked yo-yo biscuits and coffee kisses with lumps of unsifted flour. I promised I would be honest in this blog so here are the catastrophes...

Even the culinary disasters have brought a smile or two. Emily, who is not yet two, can now name all ingredients even 'bah-ee powda' (baking powder) and 'anillah' (vanilla). Dan, three, informed me very seriously after taking a bite of a blueberry buttermilk scone, "Mummy, these are good. You're getting better."

Dan and the blueberry buttermilk scones

And so I soldier on with this challenge. I'm not sure my baking really is 'getting better'... but it is a lot of fun trying! TTFN.