Happy 100th blog post! Alice in Wonderland Cupcakes

Wohoo! It's officially Pudding Pie Lane's 100th blog post. It all started on that fateful sunny July day just three years ago, when pen met paper (well, finger met keyboard) and cakes officially became my best friend. 

So, to celebrate, my blog is having an un-birthday... a very merry un-birthday... a very merry un-birthday to me!

Thanks to Rex London for the adorable mini milk bottles and paper straws (the milk bottles come in a metal crate with handles and everything!) 

The title of my blog says 'A gir's road to self discovery through cooking, chocolate, and Other Important Things'. What have I discovered? Well, most recently I've discovered that you need to go to all lengths to get that perfect photo of your food. For example, today, I was rapidly running out of sunlight and desperately needing to find natural light to take this photo. 

So, I went out onto the patio. Thing is, my patio is on the ground floor. Which means I have a metal railing separating me and passers by just as I was sprawled in a bed of weeds getting a close up of my cupcake. 

And you see, passers by couldn't see the cupcake - which was hidden in the weeds.

I bet they've never seen a girl go to such lengths to take photos of grass. 

Happy Monday!

p.s. the labels I found online - by B Nute Productions. Very pretty!

Sour Cream ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Cupcakes Makes 12, takes about half a day (including icing) For the cupcakes 200g/ 7oz / 1¾ stick butter 180g / 6 1/2 oz/ 1 cup caster sugar 200g / 7½ oz / 1½ cup plain flour 3 medium eggs 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 tsp vanilla extract 100g / 4 oz/ ½ cup sour cream Optional: 2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder, if you want to also make chocolate cupcakes For the frosting 100g/ 3½ oz / 1 stick butter 400g / 14 oz / 3 cups icing sugar 2tsp milk Optional, food colouring and icing paste to make cool shapes 1. Preheat the oven to 175C/ 370F. Line a muffin tray with cupcake cases. 2. To make the cupcakes, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking power with a electric mixer (or by hand if you’re feeling you need the exercise!). Add the butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla and beat at medium speed until smooth. 3. If you also want to make chocolate cupcakes, spoon half of the mixture into another bowl and sift in the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. 4. Spoon the mixtures into the cupcake cases. Bake for about 20 mins, checking that they have risen and the top hasn’t crisped too much. Unless you like it that way. 5. Take the cupcakes out and cool on a wire rack. 6. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Sift the icing sugar into the butter and add the milk. You can mix straight way with an electric mixer but this usually results in a puff of icing sugar in your face so I would start incorporating the icing sugar with a spoon, then using a electric whisk to make sure the frosting is smooth. 7. Now you can add the food colouring (or not) and pipe onto your cakes. But only when the cakes have cooled, otherwise the frosting will melt everywhere and you will have to choice but to lick everything off. I know, it’s a tough life. 8. Suggestions for Alice in Wonderland toppings: hat and bow tie, Cheshire hat smile, queen of hearts playing cards, clock….the list goes on!