Munchables

I love baking. I'm obsessed with it. I rarely use recipes out of books and prefer to make my own up when it comes to cakes. I have three trusty cake mixes that I know by heart and I pretty much add or change ingredients depending on what I'm experimenting with.

I learned to bake while I was ill to take advantage of the rare occasions I felt normal between dialysis sessions. I was never able to try what I'd cooked as things like chocolate and fruit are frowned upon during renal failure. And anyway, whisper it quietly, I don't like frosting. Shock horror! It's just too sweet for me. As a child if I was given 50p I would always buy crisps instead of a chocolate bar.

As it turns out, I'm a bloody good little baker which was a surprise to everyone given that I was born without the patience gene. If I could, I'd open a cupcake food truck and I'd drive around the south coast selling goodies. I'd call it Sparkles and every cake would have glitter on it.

There are a few items I could not live without when it comes to baking. My giant frosting nozzles and disposable piping bags from Lakeland, my food mixer - especially the balloon whisk attachment, my pallet knife and my silicone bakeware. They have all been life changers.

Anyway, here are a few (a lot) of my favourite bakes.

Brownie burgers, vanilla cake buns and shortbread fries

Chocolate Fantasy Cake 

Raspberry and white chocolate butterfly giant cupcake 

Banoffee cake 

Chocolate Buttons giant cupcake 

Chocolate and cherry cupcake 

Cookie Monster cupcakes 

Chocolate cake with Baileys frosting, Cadbury Fingers and Malteasers 

Ice-Cream cupcakes 

Lemon cake 

Strawberry and cream macaron 

Neopolitan Cupcake

Oreo giant cupcake 

Vanilla, white chocolate and marshmallow popcorn themed giant cupcake 

Oreo cake pushpops 

S'mores cupcake - chocolate cake, vanilla and chocolate frosting with marshmallow and a mini chocolate digestive biscuit all drizzled with melted chocolate