Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I found some all natural, egg free, mini ice-cream cones, at my local supermarket the other week..

I decided I should try out the uber cute ice-cream cone cupcakes, that I've seen showing their cute faces about the web lately..

Simple and trusty magnolia vanilla cupcake base, with a twist..

No dairy. No hydrogenated fat. Low fat. No refined sugar.

So instead- canola non-hydrogenated spread, apple sauce, barley malt syrup & maple syrup..

Topped with a simple and not so saintly, good ol' vanilla buttercream frosting:

Partially hydrogenated vegetable spread & confectioners sugar..

If I'm eating ice-cream cones- which I almost never do- at least give it to me with ice-cream..

There is nothing worse, than a less than crisp ice-cream cone..
I found by pouring the batter straight into the cones for baking, it sogged them out a little..

And I re-discovered, that unless they're waffle cones, ice-cream cones aren't very nice to begin with..

SO-

Hubby and I ended up pulling the cupcakes out of the cones :)

Probably a Zero out of ten!

Retrospective look at a tea party..

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. ~Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

On the 8th of April I had a tea party, for my succulent and foodie friends.

The tea party was organised as a way of giving thanks, and also revealing my little secret hatchling of a plan.

The plan is to go here, and study their chef training program.

The thanks given, was because of my belief, that without the succulents and foodies, it would have taken me a lot longer to discover my path..

So, the scene set, all I had to do was bake according to my envisaged future..

There was a smorgasboard of delectable goodies, but as this is a cupcake blog, I'll stick to talking cupcakes..

Vanilla & lemon zest cupcakes, dolloped with a serve of lemon curd..

These were everyones favourite.

The tartness of the curd, coupled with the subtle sweetness of the cake- divine! :)

The food was made with natural sweeteners, no hydrogenated fats and no dairy..

Except of course the frosting, which was made from partially hydrogenated margarine & confectioners sugar..

Tea Party cntd.

Almond meal cupcakes with rosewater frosting, sprinkled with pistachios..

These were yummy too-

The frosting tasted like those old school musk stick lollies..