But we're back, and what better way to come back than with cocktails!
It was my birthday last week and, as the hubs and I went off to Dublin to see the boys, I didn't get a cake (sob!). But we're making up for it tomorrow with a BBQ with our friends, so I thought I'd try all the cocktail cupcakes out on the willing guinea pigs!
The four mini cocktail/alcohol cupcakes in the pink bible are the Strawberry Daquiri mini cupcakes, Pina Colada mini cupcakes, Brandy Chocolate mini cupcakes, and the Mojito mini cupcakes. To be honest, out of all of these I'd probably only drink the daquiri and the mojito, if any, as I'm not a big drinker. But I thought what the heck, let's give 'em a go!
I decided to just do half a batch of each recipe... I don't want to be rolling my guinea pigs out the door tomorrow! The three cocktail-based minis require a white rum and caster sugar mix, so I did enough for three all in one go. Killing three cupcakes with one stone, so to speak!
Once the delicious smelling rum and sugar mix had been concocted, I left the strawberries (for the daquiri) and the pineapple (for the pina colada) to soak in two-thirds of the concoction...
While the fruit was getting drunk, I got on with the Mojito cupcakes. I've never used mint before... well, apart from spooning a dollop of mint sauce on to the side of a lamb dinner! So this was a first for me. And, I've got to say, the mojito ingredients looked a little strange in KC's bowl...
I haven't tasted any of the minis yet (have to wait for the guinea pigs to arrive for the barbie tomorrow), but I had a quick lick of the spoon after I'd finished filling the mini (Christmas) cupcake cases, and it tasted nice and fresh!
Once the cupcakes were out of the oven, the smell was lovely. Minty but fruity, thanks to the lime in the mix. I mixed up the topping, leaving out the extra white rum as there are some mini guinea pigs (also known as children) coming tomorrow and I didn't want to have to tell them they couldn't have a taste.
Here are a few of the Mojito Mini Cupcakes:
Next were the Brandy Chocolate mini cupcakes. Not dissimilar to a chocolate cupcakes, with the addition of some orange zest and, of course, the brandy.
I'm not sure why, as this has never happened to my cupcakes, but the Brandy Chocolate minis came out with a real dip in the middle of the sponge. Whether I'd overdone one of the ingredients, not added enough baking powder... I don't know, but the sponge feels springy under my finger so I'm sure they'll taste fine.
Again, I didn't add any alcohol to the buttercream, but I did dunk each mini in some decoration!
Next were the Strawberry Daquiri minis. This is one of my favourite cocktails (downed quite a few in Dublin last weekend!) so I'm very keen to try this mini tomorrow.
What I love about this recipe is the "surprise" at the bottom of the cupcake. The rum-soaked strawberries sit nicely at the bottom of each case - I'm not going to tell my guinea pigs tomorrow, will let them discover the rummy-fruity goodness for themselves!
Last, but my no means least, were the Pina Colada minis. Last time I made a coconut-based cake, I gained 3lb that week as I couldn't leave the thing alone! So I may have to steer clear of these tomorrow!
The recipes for all three cocktail-based minis are very similar, so by the time I got to the pina coladas I was hardly consulting the pink bible at all!
Once again, I left the alcohol out of the buttercream but did decorate with some yummy desiccated coconut - oh, yum!!
So there you have it, tomorrow is officially Cocktail Sunday! I just hope my guinea pigs approve of my choices.
In case any of you were wondering what a Hummingbird fanatic's kitchen looks like while the magic is in action, here it is. Basically, a mess! But a wonderful, pink bible-induced, scrummy smelling mess that is worth every second of the cleaning afterwards.
