One of my all time favourite favour bag ideas is the personaled Calico Favour Bag.
I used it last year for Indi’s 4th Birthday Party and again we used the same concept in our Logan Brae Orchard Shoot for Sweet Magazine! They are such a simple and cute idea – so easy to personalise with your theme and something that leaves a last momento for your guests that can be used as a little pouch for nick nacks, a coin holder or even a place to store your iPod ear phones!
Indi’s 4th Birthday Favour Bag & Sweet Magazine Logan Brae Wedding Shoot – both bags by Penny Lane Studio
I love these cute Monkey Themed Bags found here and more cute bags by Penny Lane Studio here
Bank Paper Goods also have a fabulous range of Calico Bags – you can purchase them blank and have fun with them. The have been personalised with markers, stamping and fabric paint or even a pretty tag. Find them here.
I am working on a new party concept at the moment for my soon to be 10 year old and I know that the calico bag will find its way into this party.
Have you managed to grab a copy of the latest issue of Sweet Magazine yet? It has been released online now so if you have not been able to pick one up in your local newsagency then visit the website to purchase online.
Lisa Brown, editor extrodinaire, is popping in here today to show us her absolute favourite things that she is loving right now! I hope you enjoy her picks.
Happy Monday everyone! We are back from our wonderful two week break in my most favourite place in the world, Bali and the change in temperature is certainly a shock to the system. Getting out of bed this morning was not easy for any of us!
Today though I am popping in to let you know that latest edition (Issue 3) of Sweet Magazine is now available in newsagents nationally (the online version will be out this week). I am particularly excited by this issue as there are a number of articles in there that I worked on – and all have one or two great behind the scenes stories.
The gorgeous couple on the cover – Sam and Jess – were our cute models when we shot this boho styled backyard wedding set up. I teamed up with our editor Lisa and the super clever duo, Melissa and Simon from Ashdown and Bee to bring this story to life. We had a fun day with gorgeous flowers, sequenced cloths and divine and pretty food! Yes there is definitely a story behind the balloons that you see in the shots – if you happened to be in the area on the day and noticed a large flying gold V you can imagine the rest – lots of “oh no’s” could be heard! You know the saying never work with kids and animals – we can now add helium balloons to that saying as well!
The second story that I was part of the team for, was the stunning rustic shoot at Logan Brae orchard in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. Gillian our food editor came down from Queensland laden with delicious baked goodies, and after many emails and phone conversations planning the shoot we finally got to hang out for the entire weekend and talk all things sweet and take pretty pictures! We were joined in the mountains by our other lovely friend Nicole from Penny Lane Studio to create the gorgeous set up amongst the apple trees while we chatted with the spunky orchard owner Sam (we obviously had a thing for Sam’s in this issue!).
After a spectacularly sunny day in the mountains we packed up to head home only to have the most amazing hail storm hit full force as we climbed into the car – we certainly let out a sigh of relief that it didn’t arrive any earlier than it did!
The final article I put together for this edition is an interview with Dewi from Sweet Bloom Cakes about her growing business and the recent move from being a home based baker to taking the plunge and moving into her gorgeous new studio space. You can see more images of her really beautiful studio in my blog post here as I photographed her launch party earlier this year! The article is gives a great insight into this talented and creative lady whose business I have watched blossom.
I promise to do a full blog post on these great stories in the coming weeks but in the meantime make sure you pick up your copy of Sweet Magazine Issue 3 now. To find your local stockist click here.
Seeing as it is International Ice Cream Month I have had my mind on all things ice cream related!
There are so many fabulous ice cream themed goodies to be found to help with your next party or even to decorate your house! Here are my favourite picks all available online.
I am excited to be sharing a series of Vegan recipes courtesy of Bianca Virtue from Botanic Baker. The beauty with all of Bianca’s recipes is that they can easily be made non vegan by changing a few simple ingredients. Today we have delicious Chocolate Cupcakes – be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post to see some great topping ideas for these cupcakes as well. Happy Baking!
2 cups coconut milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cup caster sugar
1 cup sunflower oil
2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp corn starch
1 tbs icing sugar, sifted *
In a medium bowl whisk coconut milk and apple cider vinegar until it becomes foamy and bubbly. Add vanilla, sugar and sunflower oil and whisk until combine.
Set aside.
In a separate large bowl sift flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, baking powder, corn starch and icing sugar if using. Gradually add your coconut milk mix while stirring with a wooden spoon until all wet mix is added. Be careful not to over mix this stage you just want the dry ingredients to be combine.
Pre-heat oven to 175 ° c , spoon your mix into a lined cupcake tray about ¼ full if making full sized cupcakes.
Place in oven to bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until a skewer comes out completely clean.
* icing sugar does not have to be used but it will make the cupcakes slightly more sweeter.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
½ cup butter
3 cups icing sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 tbs milk
1 tbs cocoa powder
Cream butter with an electric mixer once light and fluffy start to gradually add your icing sugar. Once all combine add in vanilla and milk and continue to mix for a further 5 minutes.
CUPCAKE TOPPING IDEAS
Salted dark chocolate: melt dark chocolate in a double boiler, once melted pour into a line tray and sprinkle with salt and place in fridge to set. You can add as much or as little salt depends on how salty you want the chocolate.
Flaked toasted coconut: Place ½ cup coconut flakes into a small frying pan, dry roast the coconut and stir constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn. Once slightly toasted allow to cool before placing on cupcakes.
Bianca Virtue is the creator and owner of Botanic Baker Blog in Melbourne, Australia. After meeting her vegan husband six years ago she started to create and develop vegan recipes that are easy for everyone. Every recipe can be made non vegan which is the beauty of her recipes. From simples bakes to learning to make something with seasonal produce her passion is sweet treats. She is currently studying Patisserie.
