cupcakes and vows

Afternoon Lovelies

I hope all of you are well and chipper. We are now into the second week of Dr J.'s 'holiday' and working our way through the to-do list very well.  He is off out at the moment so I thought I would take the opportunity to just touch base with the internet world and bake some cupcakes, which are in the oven as we speak. I know that was a weird sentence but I am just letting you know as this post will probably be written in two stages, if you notice any strange continuity problems you'll know why. At least there are no pictures so you can't see if I finish off tomorrow by the fact I'm wearing different clothes.



But on with the post. Yesterday we spent the day choosing our readings and working out our vows, and all of a sudden it seems very real, we aren't just planning a really big party here but I am going to become a wife and I'll have a husband!! And I love that thought. I can't wait for the day I will be able to go somewhere and introduce Dr J. as ' and this is my husband'. Boyfriend has not sounded permanent enough for a long time now and partner is just so business like. I quite like finance and have used that quite happily for almost a year now. (That is also a scary thought we have been engaged that long !) But thought of quite legitimately being able to say 'and this is my husband' is quite wonderful and I go a little bit girly and giggly inside when I think of it.

The cupcakes are out of the oven now and cooling while the kitchen smells yummy. I am planning on attempting icing roses on the top again as I need all the practice I can get if I am going to be good enough to do some for the wedding, (remember cupcakes after the meal and then the bigger cake for cutting and eating later with the evening buffet.)
Here was my first attempt.

They're alright, but I have been having a little problem with cream cheese icing, which is what I want to use as it is Dr J.'s favorite and these are buttercream icing.  I cannot make a cream cheese icing (and I've followed a number of recipes) without it going running as soon as the icing sugar is added. I think that this is because the cream cheese and icing you get in the UK is different to the stuff sold in America and other places.  Any help that anyone could offer would be gratefully received, as I just can't fathom it out, and the icing needs to be really firm to make roses.

But just look at some of these beauties I've seen on the internet:

baked and iced by Lavvy's Kitchen.com


and these ones from the cupcake studio.com (don't think these are piped, but it's an alternative)

or how about this for amazing from the very talented Leslea Matsis Cakes:


But then there is alway the alternative of not have the cream cheese icing in a rose shape but something like this
 
from heytherecupcake.com, which will be easier to ice and I could make the flower part well in advance from  petal icing and so will be quicker to make up in the last few days before the wedding.  I'm liking that idea I must admit. And they are so glamorous I love them.

Well that was a useful quick perusal of the internet's world of cupcakes and I best be off to ice mine now as they should be cool. Any helpful hints on cream cheese icing would be great though folks and you can always follow me on Instagram as honey_pot_creations if you want to see my attempts at icing this batch.
Take care all and

Hugs and Kisses

Ally