My little sister is cooking a little boy inside that belly of hers. And so to mark such a wonderful occassion, friends and family were gathered on a rather cold and blustery Sunday afternoon in June, to celebrate such a beautiful wonder.
I wanted to give my sister a gift that was homemade. However I am not particularly artistic or creative and realised quickly that it would need to be something more self assembled then self made.
However, this didn’t need to mean it had to be something generic or boring. I could still add a little of my personality into a gift. You see a gift is more then the sum of it’s parts. A gift should reflect both you and the intended recipient. The gift however big or small should say “I thought of you” .
And so that is what I did. I thought about Daisy in the lead up to her baby shower and wondered what would be useful for her and what her baby might like. I landed on the idea of a hamper, something that I could put together over time and still ensure that it was personalised by what I filled it with. At every opportunity I would peruse the shops and pick up little bits and bobs to begin making her hamper.
Over the weeks I had gathered lots of lovely items to fill the Hamper with. Items varied in price and size but all were brought with equal consideration.
It did end up being a lovey collection of items from wet wipes to Moustache pacifiers.
I included practical items such as a bath towel, muslin clothes, talcum powder, cotton wool and a natural sponge. But I couldn’t resist miniature booties and that rather handsome Hare. The white rabbit comforter was also irresistible.
Isn’t the Hare gorgeous! He came from Ikea. Keep your eyes peeled if your putting together a hamper, gifts turn up in the most unexpected of places.
I put everything together in this adorable cloth basket. TK Max is a dream for picking up these sorts of items. It was difficult to make a choice, but the animals won me over.
Once the hamper was assembled I moved to the kitchen. I was also on cupcake duty. A party without cake is after all just a meeting!
I gathered up the ingredients and got to work early Sunday morning. If possible I think it is always best to make your cupcakes on the day. They taste fresh and always seem so much more soft.
I use this simple recipe for my cupcakes. No magic here just lots of yumminess in every bite:
150g very soft butter
150g caster sugar
2 eggs – room temperature
150g Self raising flour
1 level teaspoon of baking powder
a dash of vanilla extract
Once the ingredients are weighed and measured I combine them in my mixer, all together. No airs and graces here. Once the mixture is smoothed and pale, after a few minutes of beating, I spoon the mixture into cake cases.
About half full, too much and you’ll have burnt bits!
Pop the little lovelies in a warmed oven, at about 180 degrees. 15 minutes should do it. They’ll be golden and spongy to touch.
Your kitchen should smell like heaven right about now. Resist the urge to eat the warm beauties and pop them on a wire rack to cool.
Once cooled they will need icing. I love cream cheese frosting more then butter frosting and I always opt for it.
You will need:
Plain cream cheese
Mascarpone
Vanilla extract
Icing sugar
Heavy whipping cream
Trust me, this will be the best frosting you have ever done.
Whip the cream cheese and Mascarpone together. Once blended, add the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Add the whipping cream last to ensure it doesn’t get “over whipped”. You want your frosting to be smooth.
Once whipped, transfer your frosting into a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag just use a freezer bag with the corner cut off, it works just a well.
To make transferring easier, I place my bag in a half pint glass as pictured below and spoon the mixture into the piping bag.
Your cakes are ready to frost, so frost away!
Once ready I transferred my cupcakes to these darling little cupcake boxes. Can you believe I got these from the Pound shop! 2 boxes for £1.
I picked up my gift hamper and set off to town to the party.
I was jolly pleased with everything which I think is important. I believe that if you give something with kindness and with pleasure, that energy translates,it is all the better for the person to receive.
I almost forgot to mention! I also whipped up a cheats trifle and took it with me. Just to be sure there was enough sugar to feed a small army.
The party was so dear. Daisy’s oldest and best friend had done a beautiful and fun job of decorating her garden.
Blue was a central theme. Naturally.
We ate, talked and played games. We all wished her love and happiness and then went on our way. It was a lovey afternoon with lovely people, with soon to be one more lovely, all-be-it a rather tiny person, very soon…
Amellia Mae
