Cadbury Fruit and Nut cupcakes for me!

After a bit of a tough week, with our son being ill, Mr Pixie Nom-Nom and I were in dire need of a bit of a treat... a nutty, fruity, chocolatey, cupcakey treat... After a quick jaunt to the local shop, we were resplendent with a BIG bar of Cadbury's Fruit and Nut... but what to *do* with it?

Why, make Cadbury Fruit and Nut cupcakes, of course!

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

There they are... well, the ones that lasted till Suzy arrived to take her beautiful pictures of them anyway!

Sumptuous cinnamon-vanilla-chocolate cupcakes, tenderly topped with Cadbury Fruit and Nut chocolate ganache, swirled with raisins and almonds, and glittered up with a Cadbury-purple glitter!

If heaven has a taste, this is surely it.

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Needless to say, they made everyone feel better, even our Small Troll-Child...

Pixie Nom-Nom and her Small Troll, taken by Suzy Harrison

Mr Pixie Nom-Nom with requisite Small Troll, taken by Suzy Harrison

See? Cupcakes make everyone smile. This is the joy they bring.

Pixie Nom-Nom and Small Troll again... by Suzy Harrison

It's hard to be down when there's cupcakes around!

Much love,

Emi

xXx

Popping Candy cupcakes for Bang Hair, York!

So there's this hairdresser's in York... a magical, magical place...

A place where they turned my hair from this...

Me, very early in the morning, about to get out of the car and go and get 'Bang'ed up...

To this...

Photography by Stuart Glossop

And yes, that's Mr Pixie Nom-Nom there...

Anyway, anyone who knows me will know that I regularly sing the absolute praises of  Bang Hair, especially the lovely Adele, the magician who whisked away my dyed black hair and replaced it with the pink!

I love their mixture of modern twists on classic hair styles, and wanted the cupcakes to reflect that all-encompassing Bang magic...

And so...

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

I know, they're gorgeous.

Vanilla cupcakes, topped with white chocolate dual-toned buttercream, decorated with chocolate sprinkles, silver balls, sugar hearts, white chocolate stars, then lashings of red, silver and black glitter, and of course, popping candy to make it go with a BANG!

And if you're curious, the twisty things on top? Yeah, that's a homemade toffee spiral, rolled in more red glitter...

 If you want to get Banged up yourself, their details are at the bottom of the post, and also, check out their fabulous Bang magazine, and follow them on Facebook!

 Much love,

Emi

xXx

Bang Hair

86 Gillygate

York

YO31 7EQ

01904 637 636

Gluten-Free peanut-butter cupcakes for people like Sarah D.!

So, who says that gluten-free cupcakes are gluten-Yuck? Who decreed this? Because they're wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

Sometimes, we meet people in our lives, perfectly lovely people actually, who simply can't have gluten. Like Sarah D. There are not enough tasty gluten-free cupcakes in the world, so I thought I'd support these glutenly-challenged individuals, and make something marvellous...

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Peanut-butter cupcakes...

With peanut-butter cream cheese frosting...

And chocolate sauce drizzled on top...

Oh, and did I mention they're gluten-free?

Oh yes. Yes, I did.

After eating some, and taking some round to Sarah D.'s house for her to try.

They were, and I quote "Om nom nom :) Seal of approval granted!".

And this from a lady who KNOWS gluten-free!

You can find more delicious gluten-free recipes on Sarah D.'s CookingFysh blog, including GF Goats Cheese and Red Onion muffins!


Love,


Emi,
xXx

Strawberry Icecream cupcakes for Amanda!

So, I know this lady, Amanda... She is gorgeous. And a great Mama. And nice.

Basically, we like her a whole bunch.

She suggested icecream flavours for her contribution to The Epic Cupcake Project, and I obliged...

Here is Phase One, (Phase 2 and Phase 3 coming soon!)...

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Aren't they just adorable? And isn't that some of the best cupcake photography ever?

Yes and yes.

So, strawberry and white chocolate cupcakes, laden with white chocolate, dual-toned buttercream, pink and silver glitter and an ice-cream sweetie on top, perched like some happy, chocolate-y, joy-bringing eagle.

I'm feeling happier just looking at these gorgeous little treats!

Sadly, Amanda lives in America, so we can't send these to her, but they were taste tested by my husband, Stephen, who said they were beautiful. (As did the three little girls who live next door to me, I'm *all* about sharing the cupcake love.)

And as I said, Phase 2 and Phase 3 to come soon!

Love,

Emi
xXx

Chocolate-orange cupcakes for Amy!

Hello all!

Is it raining where you are? Because it's raining here. I'm going to need an ark to get to work at this rate.

I'd also like to take this moment to remind everyone of the 2 minutes silence at 11am today, to show our respect for the fallen soldiers of Great Britain.



Ok, so back to cupcakes.

I made some lovely personalised cupcakes for the people I work with, (vanilla with vanilla buttercream, blue glitter and chocolate writing) and Amy decided she was going to save hers till the end of the day, so she had something to look forward to.

And come the end of the day...

Some unpleasant person had eaten it!

And not just eaten it and tried to hide the evidence, but eaten it and LEFT the cupcake wrapper ON THE TABLE!

Amy was distraught. Well, maybe not *distraught*, but she wasn't happy. And neither was I. So to make up for it, she got to have these...

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Chocolate-orange cupcakes! With a gorgeously melty piece of dark chocolate, hidden under swathes of orange buttercream, and topped with dark chocolate sprinkles and jellied orange sweeties.

Needless to say, I think they almost made up for the little lost cupcake...

Emi
xXx

Bleeding vampire cupcakes for... well... Me!

I apologise. I simply wanted a little bit of cupcake goodness for me...

So I made these...

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Bleeding vampire cupcakes... See, see, they've been bitten! (Although not by, to quote my husband, "a sparkly douche in a tree", ie. Edward Cullen, but a real one... like... Angel or Bram Stoker's Dracula)

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Creepy green vanilla cupcake, filled with a disgustingly delicious vanilla buttercream and freshly made strawberry sauce, all coated in white chocolate with the little tell-tale bite marks on top...

I wonder what a whole TOWER of these cupcakes would look like?

*wonders*

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Oh. Apparently they look something like that.

A Halloween creation by Pixie Nom-Nom Cupcakes.

Love,

Emi,
xXx

Non-Nestle After Eight cupcakes for Genny!

Hello!

Look at this picture... and specifically, look at the lovely girl in the front center (the one with the nice... dress)...

Photography by Stuart Glossop

That's a picture from my wedding to the lovely Stephen, and the girl I specified is Genny. Her contribution to The Epic Cupcake Challenge was After Eight cupcakes, specifically with a gooey, minty centre. However, After Eights are a Nestle product, and I, for reasons I'll go into another time, don't buy Nestle products. So I had the added challenge of finding a non-Nestle alternative to After Eights, which Asda obligingly provided.

So after some searching, I discovered a fantastic blog by The Lone Baker and her gooey minty cupcakes... Now, after a few Pixie Nom-Nom modifications and a trip to the supermarket to buy mint chocolate, something wonderful was born...

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

I actually felt like crying when I ate these. They are the most delicious things I've *EVER* tasted. Not only were they delicious cold, but the lovely husband and I shared a couple of them hot, served with Madagascan vanilla custard. It was like dying and going to cupcake heaven.

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Look at that. Seriously, take a few minutes and LOOK at it. I'll wait.

Moist and gorgeous mint-chocolate brownie cupcake, filled with peppermint creme, and topped with dark chocolate ganache and a non-Nestle After Eight.

They tasted divine. Like they were made by the fair hands of a god of cupcakes.

I'm so proud, and was ridiculously sad to see the last crumb, the last morsel being scoffed down.

Love,

Emi,
xXx

Rainbow Drops and white chocolate cupcakes for Russ!

Today, cupcakes to remind you of your childhood!

I work with this lovely blokey called Russ... for a Deputy Manager, he's not half bad... ;)

Anyway, he requested Rainbow Drop and white chocolate cupcakes... "Easy!" I thought... until I realised that I couldn't find any.

After a manic search, my lovely husband Stephen managed to find me some in a little old-fashioned sweet shop in York city center.

And as soon as he got them home my fingers were simply itching to get baking!

TA DAA!

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

I have to say, not to toot my own horn or anything, but these were so yummy! A simple vanilla cupcake, topped with white chocolate, Rainbow Drops and pink glimmery sugar... Biting into the cupcake, through this crisp white chocolate layer, totally contrasted with the soft pillowy sponge. *shivers*

So Good.

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

And Russ was even generous enough to share them with the rest of the staff! What a cutie.

Love,

Emi,
xXx

Mars Bar cupcakes for Jade!

Hello again!

Yes, lots of posts today! We're being constructive.

So, the story of the Mars Bar cupcakes.

There's this lovely girl I work with, called Jade, who went away on holiday with her fella and came back single when she found out he had cheated on her.

Being the smart girl that she is, she promptly dumped his ass. Quite right too. I then made cupcakes to aid her recovery.

These cupcakes, to be specific.

Photography by Suxy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

Caramel cupcake, with a hidden chunk of Mars Bar, with a swirl of chocolate buttercream, garnished with another hefty piece of Mars Bar and Green & Black's organic cocoa powder.

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

As you can see, the Mars Bar center worked a treat! I was *so* pleased with these, and they tasted just marvellous!

Love,

Emi,
xXx

P.S. And just so you know, Jade's fine now... She's in the picture below, won't tell you which one she is, but she sure looks like she's having fun without the unpleasant ex-boyfriend!

Photography by James T at www.JamesTphoto.co.uk

Crunchie cupcakes for Suzy!

Before I start on the cupcake-related post, I'd like to draw your attention to the beautifully stunning cupcake photography on my blog... Isn't it lovely?

Well, these photographs are from the creative mind of Suxy Harrison at Suzkyska Photos, a self-employed photographer based in the York area, who not only takes gorgeous photos, she also is the editor of an online webzine, Push To Fire, and if all that wasn't enough, she also plays trumpet and the organ for a ska band, Copasetics. As she says "Life is busy but I like it that way most of the time.".

Here she is...

Photography by Suzy Harrison of Suzyska Photos

So gorgeous, multi-talented *and* busy!

Seeing as she agreed to take photographs of all the cupcakes in The Epic Cupcake Project, I thought I'd better do one of her suggestions first, and so... CRUNCHIE CUPCAKES!

Photography by Suxy Harrison at Suzyska Photos

 Delicious vanilla cupcake with Crunchie pieces, chocolate filling swirled through it, half topped with caramel buttercream, half topped with milk chocolate, and all adorned with a piece of Crunchie... Heav-en-ly.

Photography by Suzy Harrison at Suzkyska Photos

Want to see what the inside looks like?

Oh, go on then...

Photography by Suzy Harrison at Suzyska Photos

What's that? You think they look delicious? Why, thank you!

Suzy thought they were pretty darn good too!

I thought that these were a great start to The Epic Cupcake Project, and was just blown away by the photographs from the lovely Suzy.

Next up... cupcakes to heal a broken heart!

Love,

Emi,
xXx

The Epic Cupcake Project

Greetings all!

I suppose you've heard about The Epic Cupcake Project then? No, well, let me explain!

In an effort to prove Pixie Nom-Nom Cupcakes' favourite mantra, 'If it's edible, it's cupcake-able!", I started The Epic Cupcake Project. Not only will this enable me to show off my wonderful cupcakery-related talents, it will also serve as an outlet to discover the best, most heavenly (and the worst, most horrendous) recipes, as well as, hopefully, create a good client base and word-of-mouth.

So, here are the rules!

1. No more than three suggestions can be submitted per person. If you give me more than three suggestions, I get to pick which three I think are the best and most challenging.

2. I can interpret your suggestions however I like. I am not God, I can't make 100% of everything into a cupcake, so if you decide to have 'chicken' as one of your suggestions, (Alex J, I'm looking at you!), then be prepared for chicken-SHAPED cakes! I know this is effectively giving me a 'cop-out' almost, but there you go. This is *my* Epic Cupcake Project. Not yours. Mnyeh.

3. I aim to do all of them by the end of my '101 Things in 1001 Days' project, which is February 2011. Yes, that's a long time, but I must have over 100 different cupcakes to make, and this way I can space them out!

4. I will *try* and get the cupcakes you suggested to you to taste, if I can. Obviously, Sydney in the USA is going to be impossible, but if you live in York, I will invite you round for cupcakey goodness.

5. I reserve the right to completely ignore ideas I think are gross or ridiculous, (eg. 'kipper' as provided by Dan, and olives 'cause I hate 'em!).
6. I will not be making anything with Nestle products. Best example of this, Taz requested Mint Aero cupcakes. Mint Chocolate, yes, Mint Aero as a Nestle product, no. I'm boycotting Nestle products.

7. I can mix people's ideas as I want to, for example, Suzy's glitter idea combined with Alice's Dolly Mixtures idea. Also, if different people ask for the same flavour, like toffee, then I am allowed to make one batch to fulfill it. Or you could just not suggest things other people have!

 

 

There we are then...

Want to see what people have suggested already?

Adam Glossop - zombie

Adele Handsley - toffee popcorn, custard, amaretto

Alastair Smith - Thomas The Tank Engine, chocolate & chilli

Alex Johnson - beef, sambuca, chicken

Alice McNeill - Pimm's and Sunshine, Teddy Bear's Picnic, Dolly Mixtures

Alison Negus - edible flowers, pumpkin, lime & ginger & brown sugar

Amanda-Jane Genius - raspberry ripple, strawberry icecream, 99 flake

Amy Yockney - chocolate orange

Becca Harding - licorice, pear, apple & mango (all vegan)

Ben Sutherland - '300' themed, Red Bull, banoffee pie

Bronte Watson - cream soda & cherry, rose & vanilla, dandelion & burdock

Cara Hudson - lemon drizzle

Carrie Fisher - bubblegum

Charity Mapletoft - musical

Claire Neill - whisky & dark chocolate

Craig Shields - popping candy, candyfloss, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Dani Morris - Tim Burton, ballet, pink chocolate
Faustino Park - reindeer cakepops

Genny Glass - After Eight with a gooey minty centre

Jade Heaney - Mars Bar, flapjack

J.D. Milligan - Jagermeister

Jenna Bielby - Alice In Wonderland

Kev Brookes - Firework Vodka

Laura McGill - Ferrero Rocher, rum truffle, apple & blackcurrant

Lindsey MacLoed - lemon meringue pie, toffee apple, Jaffa Cake

Mariel Stringer-Fehlow - 'City Morning', 'Wake Up!', Snow White (half-and-half)

Mark Lewin - Malteaser

Mike Brown - gin & tonic

Mikey Baker - Rolo & peanut-butter

Nikita Ashby - rocky road, fudge, coconut

Rebecca Morrison - apple, cupcake shapes, cakepops

Ree Smith - smiley faces, vegan-friendly

Russell Norton - Rainbow Drops & white chocolate

Sarah Dixon - filled cupcakes, rainbow, toffee

Sarah Reece - bitter dark chocolate, Cointreau, pancakes with lemon & maple syrup

Stephen Ralph - wasabi, 'Naruto' themed, tower

Suzy Harrison - Crunchie, rainbow, glitter

Sydney Bremer - passionfruit, alcoholic, spicy

Tara-Jay Cooke - dark chocolate & cherry, tangy-sour, apple & mango

Taz Watkins - mint chocolate, punk

Tess Harrison - Baileys, lemon sherbert

Vicky Newton - citrus (not lemon), Skittles, Tia Maria

Wendy Reece - dragonfruit, Pokemon, lolita

Yvonne Sears - sweet & sour, carrot & raisin, good & evil

So as you can see, a serious challenge!

As I get through them, I'll cross through them like this and you'll be able to click on the cupcake idea and be linked to the page the full post is on!

Let The Epic Cupcake Project commence!

Love,

Emi,

xXx

Introducing Pixie Nom-Nom Cupcakes...

Welcome one, welcome all to the Cupcakery!

This blog is to showcase the products that Pixie Nom-Nom Cupcakes can provide for you.

Whether you need cupcakes to say 'Happy Birthday', 'Congratulations', 'I Love You', 'I'm Sorry', or just to say 'Have A Nice Day!', let Pixie Nom-Nom provide a little magic in a hundred different flavours, from whisky & chocolate, cream soda & cherry, and Mars Bar, to chilli-chocolate, spicy hazelnut wasabi and traditional vanilla. Let your imagination run wild, don't just dream it, let us make it!

Alongside showing the cupcake-related talent here, we'll be trying out various cupcake recipes, giving product reviews, and following The Epic Cupcake Project, (more on that HERE!).

So, grab your sparkliest wings and your most magical pixie dust and come with us!

Love

Emi,

xXx

Photography by Suzy Harrison @ Suzyska Photos 2010