Baking Your Dreams Come True

Funky New Website

2012-01-29T09:11:00.004Z

Firstly I have been so busy getting into the swing of running our cupcake tearoom I haven't had time to blog about it but my awesome sis has just got our funky and fab website running so I guess that's the perfect time for a short blog piece!

Check it out at www.arightroyalteaparty.co.uk

We had our busiest Saturday yesterday - in fact by 12 noon we ran out of cakes and I had to re-bake more! Thanks to all our customers for making our first few weeks a success! Hopefully we will continue to go from strength to strength and ring even more yummy flavours of cupcakes to the Rossendale Valley!

Opening Day Arrives

2011-12-16T07:49:00.003Z

I can't believe that I am actually opening the shop tomorrow. It's been a real journey getting it ready and doing most of the work myself (that didn't require a qualified tradesman).

Finishing touches going in today for our opening tomorrow so I will post pictures of the finished article asap!

The shop is 'A Right RoyalTea Party at 6b Ormerod Street, Rawtenstall (next to Tufties).

Initial opening hours will be 9am to 4.30pm.

See you there!

Learning Curve!

2011-11-17T19:04:00.009Z

Opening a shop is a learning curve when you are just used to making cupcakes. But I have discovered I have talents I didn't know I had! I learned to hang wallpaper, and me and Sam learned how to make kitchen base units from a flat pack!

Tomorrow I'm laying a vinyl floor!

Strangely satisfying!

Fantasy Cupcakes Shop - Opening Soon!

2011-11-17T18:53:00.003Z

Exciting news folks - Fantasy Cupcakes are on the move! We're opening a shop in Rawtenstall town centre. It's just on Ormerod Street next to Tufties (off Bank Street).

We'll be continuing our make-to-order bespoke cupcake service, but in addition you'll be able to buy our cupcakes over the counter (like you could when we were on Rawtenstall Market) and also have a cake and a brew to eat-in!

We're going to do 'favourite flavours' milkshakes too!

Our planned opening date is Monday 12th December if all goes to plan! Watch this space for more news on our progress!

Black and Red Wedding Cupcakes

2011-10-22T08:10:00.001+01:00

Black and Red Hall Wedding Cupcakes, a photo by Melinda's Fantasy Cupcakes on Flickr.

All the best for the future toVicky and her new hubby. We were delighted to make the cupcakes for their celebration at The Red Hall Hotel in Bury!

Groundwork 21st Birthday

2011-10-06T14:13:00.006+01:00

Groundwork Pennine Lancashire called Fantasy Cupcakes to ask if we could help them celebrate 21 years of great works by providing them with some cupcakes for their celebration event.

Eventually in consultation with them we came up with some green triangles with the 21st in the centre (the green triangle is Groundwork's logo). And to break up the design a little we made a third of them plain with emerald green sparkle.

In the picture kindly sent to us by Amanda, the Mayoress of Blackburn and the Executive Director of Groundwork Pennine Lancashire are about to enjoy a cupcake!

Lancashire Food: Fantasy Cupcakes

2011-09-19T10:27:00.000+01:00

Many thanks to Lindsay from the Lancashire Food blog who enjoyed the cupcakes she ordered last week after winning our voucher in the North West Fine Foods hamper!

Lancashire Food: Fantasy Cupcakes: This week I finally got the opportunity to use the voucher from Fantasy Cupcakes which was in the NW Fine Foods hamper we won. I ...

Purple Wedding Cupcakes at the Holiday Inn Bolton.

2011-08-01T20:04:00.004+01:00

We made cupcakes for a delightful wedding at the Holiday Inn Bolton this weekend. The setting was incredible! There was an actual traditional church with stained class windows inside the hotel!!! I can honestly say it wasn't what I expected in Bolton Town Centre!

The cupcakes were a lovely contrast of white and purple and were personalised with the bride and groom's initials. The flowers on the Top cutting cake really set the tower off.

It was a gorgeous sunny day too so I hope the bride and groom had a wonderful day!

Tropical 21st Birthday Cupcakes

2011-07-11T18:19:00.003+01:00

We made some lovely cupcakes this weekend for Chelsea's 21st Birthday party at a Caribbean restaurant. What a brilliant idea for a party! Really different.

Fantasy Cupcakes at Wow Thank You

2011-06-20T16:30:00.004+01:00

Just a quick post to draw everyone's attention to a new website that celebrates crafting, and supports UK craft sellers. It's call Wow Thank You and Fantasy Cupcakes have a shop on there!

You can purchase set boxes of cupcakes online through the website but you do have to collect them from our The Chapel Bakery in Rawtenstall as our kind of cupcakes are not postable unfortunately!

It's well worth a look 'cos there are all sorts of crafts represented from foodstuffs such as cheese and chutneys to diarys and party bags, bunting to bathbombs........I could go on and on. And it is all lovingly handcrafted by independent sellers in the UK. A marketplace of crafty delights!

So check out the website at www.wowthankyou.co.uk

Food North West Article

2011-06-19T10:10:00.005+01:00

Food North West have written a lovely article about Fantasy Cupcakes and what winning their Gold Heart award means to us!

Check it out here

Lancashire Telegraph Features our Win

2011-06-15T21:58:00.003+01:00

The first article about our win appeared in the Lancashire Telegraph yesterday. Not only did they print a lovely pic of me getting my award they did a nice little write up on Fantasy Cupcakes too.

Thanks guys!

Read the full article here.

We Won a Gold Heart in NW Fine Food Awards 2011

2011-06-13T09:20:00.010+01:00

At last I can reveal our very exciting news about our entry into the North West Fine Food Awards 2011 that I blogged about previously!!!

WE WON A GOLD HEART AWARD!!!!!

Actually we won two awards all together. Our Vegan Mud Pie Cupcake won a gold heart and therefore it was one of the 12 best general food products out of 400 products submitted and taste tested.

In addition to this we won a heart award for our Very Strawberry Cheesecake cupcake.

It's always awesome to receive recognition for the thought and work that goes into your product, but I feel this is a really special award because the cupcake as a rule gets a rough deal (possibly due to so many inferior cheaper products on the market - that's not me being a food snob it's me being a person who enjoys eating tasty cake) and in this competition we were up against general products from all over our region - from butter to flavoured vinegars and steak to yogurt and cheese. As well as other baked goods of course! And sourcing fantastic locally produced products to use in our cupcakes is close to my heart - and this award really champions that!

The other reason I am so chuffed to have won a gold award is that the judges were of such a high caliber! They were top food buyers, food writers, chefs etc...... Headed of course by award winning Northcote and Ribble Valley Inns chef Nigel Haworth, who presented my award to me and gave me a free cuddle during the photo :)

What has also come out of the awards and my amazing visit to Nigel's Fantastic Food Show was that it was a great opportunity to see and taste the amazing foods this region has to offer, and to meet the people that produce them. It has given me loads of ideas for new cupcakes - of course using some of those fabulous products being made in the North West of England!!!!

North West Fine Foods Awards

2011-06-07T12:19:00.005+01:00

I ventured onto the North West Fine Food Awards Facebook page to check it out and 'like' it and lo and behold I spotted a picture of the cakes we entered into the competition (see two entries ago I was kicking myself because I hadn't taken a picture before I took them to the tasting).

What a stroke of luck! I must say the picture was far more excellently taken than I would have myself so perhaps it was all for the best!!!

Back from a Break

2011-06-03T17:12:00.007+01:00

Fantasy Cupcakes have been taking a break this week soaking up the Welsh Sunshine in North Wales.

But we are back and raring to go with princess cupcakes and farmyard cupcakes going out Saturday morning - easing us back into the swing of the bakery.

Just to get me back in the mood I will post some pics of some Toy Story cupcakes we made last weekend!!!!!

North West Fine Foods Awards

2011-05-25T15:37:00.005+01:00

Today was pretty exciting. Its a while since Fantasy Cupcakes have entered any cupcakes into a competition - since of course our National Cupcake Week win in 2009!

So we found out about the Fine Food Awards 2011 via Twitter and decided to enter.

Today was the judging day and we entered three products into the competition for taste testing. We dropped them off at Blackburn Rovers Football ground this morning where the judging is taking place.

We entered:

The Very Strawberry Cheesecake cupcake which is a vanilla sponge with juicy fresh strawberry chunks baked into it, a cream cheese and pulped strawberry frosting and sprinkled with digestive rubble! We finished our entries off with some cute little heart sprinkles.
The Vegan Mud Pie Cupcake - a moist and very chocolaty vegan sponge topped with a vegan chocolate ganache made with soya cream, rich dark chocolate and icing sugar. The cupcake was then dusted with cocoa so it looked like a giant Belgian chocolate truffle. We put a cute little sugarpaste flower on too for good measure!
The White Rabbit - our ever popular carrot cake which was our winner in the National Cupcake Week competition in 2009. This is a very moist carrot cupcake with an orange zest and cream cheese frosting. We finished this off with some bright funky sprinkles!

And I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of them before we sent them in! D'oh.

I'll put a picture of the original White Rabbits instead that won back in 2009!

Fingers crossed that the judges liked them!

Thankyou 'Quando Eu Casar' blog

2011-05-04T10:28:00.005+01:00

Just wanted to say thanks to the 'Quando Eu Casar' blog (that is 'When I Get Married' in Portugese - thank you Google Translate!)

They blogged about our bride and groom cupcakes and I think they are saying they look too good to eat!

Many many thanks guys!

Check out the blog here!

The Cupcake Blog Blogged Us! Cheers.

2011-03-15T21:15:00.002Z

Thankyou The Cupcake Blog for your recognition of our Peppa Pig cupcakes.

The Cupcake Blog. Thanks guys!

Excited - Royal Wedding

2011-03-15T20:32:00.006Z

I am so excited for the Royal Wedding. I think a massive tea party is in order - after we have made cakes for everyone else of course. We recently made these Union Jack cupcakes which I reckon will be popular come the big day! Hope so!

A Baked Creation

2011-03-15T19:47:00.005Z

Just checking my Google Analytics (like you do) and noticed some traffic came from http://www.abakedcreation.com/2011/02/fondant-dinosaur-round-up-2.html . I spent some time reading this blog and was totally fascinated by their visits to various cupcake joints (I said that because it's an American blog and I thought it might me sound cool! Oh well ever mind).

Blogs are such a brilliant way to keep in touch with what's going on around the world in our field and it's always exciting to get a mention. I get a jiggly feeling when I see people have taken the time to recognise our cakes and comments upon them.

Thank you 'A Baked Creation' and we'll keep an eye on your very interesting blog from now on!

Cheers

2011-02-23T21:25:00.002Z

Check out these In the Night Garden cupcakes we just made. Cute idea for a little In the Night Garden fan's birthday. They are such bright colourful characters they really lend themselves to cupcakes! Check out our Flickr photostream for other ideas for birthday and other occasion cupcakes.

Personalised Gift Boxes

2011-02-01T12:46:00.005Z

Just to remind everyone that our personalised gift boxes make great gifts for friends. Its a gift guaranteed to be unique and is perfect for those people in your lives that have everything!

All you need to do is get together a list of their interests, quirky things they love e.g. pets, cars, travelling, the beach, fcooking, foods/drinks etc and put together a gift box that will blow them away with how thoughtful you have been.

Check out the picture above for an example. And they are not as pricey as you think. Personalised cupcakes like these cost around £2 each and are individually hand made. So the box above would be £24. Whoever receives it would be sure to remember the gift you gave them! And enjoy eating them too.

Check out the website at http://www.fantasycupcakes.co.uk/ or call 07936263385.

You can also call in at our bakeshop at The Chapel, Bury Road, Rawtenstall, BB4 6EH but it's best to call first to make sure we're open. We don't have cakes available to buy over the counter at The Chapel but it is our collection point for orders. Check out Rawtenstall Market (Thurs and Sat) and Lambert's Mill Shop, Rawtenstall (open 7 days) where you can pop in and pick up our cupcakes whenever you want.

Happy New (Belated) Year

2011-01-25T18:07:00.003Z

Just wanted to wish all of our customers - and cupcake fans in general a Happy New Year. Can't believe another one has come round again and we are still here baking little cakes!

Its nothing short of a great achievement I feel to be still here in the middle of very difficult financial times. During the last year Fantasy Cupcakes have moved on from our market stall and opened our bakeshop (though our cakes are still available at Rawtenstall Market from Jane's Cakes, and of course our concession at Lambert's Mill in Rawtenstall).

This was a significant move for the business because the market stall was in the centre of town and people knew we were there. The Chapel Bakeshop is out of town a half mile, and as yet we haven't managed to get any signage outside yet so many people don't know we are there. However this is slowly changing. Our regular customers know where to find us of course, and we are hoping over the next few months to get out there and attend lots of events to spread the word about our cakes and our passion for baking.

We also have some exciting new opportunities opening up (watch this space for news - it's secret secret at the moment).

So lets hope that this year is a year that sees Fantasy Cupcakes going from strength to strength. A bride to be came to see me last week and made the comment that she knows "the cupcake phase has had its day" but she still wants them at her wedding. Forget fads and phases. The humble cupcake, fairy cake, bun....call it what you will........has been around for hundreds of years. Good honest homestyle baking is not a fashion, it's part of the fabric of our families and lives. If the death of the fad means that there will be less sweet tastless cheap mass produced cupcakes in the supermarkets then thats not a bad thing! Try a homebaked cake and you'll know the difference.

Home bakers and artisan bakeries just keep doing what you are doing and enjoying and sharing the fruits of your labours.

Bring on 2011!!!

Merry Christmas (hope you had) to all our customers

2010-12-31T11:21:00.002Z

Just wanted to say a belated Merry Christmas and a Super Happy New Year to all our customers. Save some room for our cupcakes!!

Pirates and Princesses Party Cupcakes

2010-12-02T14:10:00.003Z

We recently made cupcakes for a fantastic pirates and princesses party in Burnley. Funky pirates and cute princesses. I especially enjoyed making the treasure chests bulging with pieces of eight!

Racing Car Cupcakes

2010-11-22T10:35:00.007Z

Racing car cupcakes for little boys and girls - or even grown up ones- that love cars and racing. Made in lots of bright colours these were really stunning. And they all had the number 7 on because they were for a little boy's 7th birthday! These would be great set out using a racetrack as a cake stand!

Tatty Teddy Cupcakes

2010-11-22T10:29:00.005Z

Our little friend Tatty Teddy is always so popular when it comes to cupcakes - probably because he is so incredibly cute. This is one of our popular giftboxes which can of course be multiplied to create a large birthday box, or indeed a tower of Teddys!

Cuteness......Christening Cupcakes

2010-11-22T10:22:00.004Z

These cupcakes were made for baby Ralphie's christening. His mum called and asked if we could do our baby design, but personalise them with Ralphie's name. We try our best to oblige - they are Fantasy Cupcakes after all - that means you choose the theme, we swirl the cream.

Halloween Wedding Cupcakes

2010-11-22T09:26:00.004Z

Well I said I was going to use the blog to showcase some of the work we have been doing so here we go with a recent wedding we did on Halloween. The bride wanted to go with Halloween/pumpkin colours, but we still wanted to keep the cake stylish and I think the idea worked out great. We went with our signature rosebuds in pumpkin colours, and then black and orange pearls both on their own and in mixed colours. There was a madeira cutting cake finished with black and orange silk roses, and black and orange ribbon at the base. The overall look was a very stylish cake befitting the time of year and the occasion. The wedding took place at the Red Hall Hotel in Bury, and apparently the bride had to get hotel staff to put some of the cupcakes away so there would be some left for her and her family later on. They literally were going like hot cakes!

Afternoon Tease

2010-11-16T11:20:00.004Z

Me and my fella Paul started a new blog this weekend to give us an excuse to partake in lots of afternoon teas in lots of lovely places...............yummy!!!

Its called Afternoon Tease and we intend to seek out lots of cool places to eat sandwiches and cake and drink tea, and then let everyone know how much we enjoyed it...and whether they should go themselves.

Afternoon tea is a fantastc institution - celebrate and...............enjoy!!!!

Changes and The Chapel

2010-11-15T21:29:00.004Z

Well there have been many changes here at Fantasy Cupcakes in the last few weeks - all hopefully leading us towards our new visions. Exciting times here at Fantasy Cupcakes!!

Our cupcakes are still being sold on Rawtenstall Market, but we no longer have the Fantasy Cupcakes shop there. They are being sold by our good friends Jane and Amelia at the market hall cake stall (along the back wall). You will still be able to get some of your favourite flavours - though there won't be six flavours as on the shop. There will be four or five, but I will rotate the flavours over the weeks. You can email us with ideas for flavours you want to see there.

Our cupcakes will also still be available 7 days a week at Lambert's Mill in Rawtenstall.

OUR REALLY EXCITING NEWS.................

is that we have opened our first premises in a converted chapel - funnily enough it's called The Chapel - on Bury Road in Rawtenstall - Just past the Whitchaff.

Here we will bake our delicious cupcakes, our customers can collect their cupcakes from us, and they can call in to discuss their requirements, browse our brochures and see the cupcake stands and towers set up.

So the chapel is now set up and rocking and ready to receive visitors. At the moment we are not observing set opening times as our baking hours are mostly concentrated at the end of the week. But if you phone ahead, we can make sure someone will be there to chat with you.

What all this means is that I will have a little more time to concentrate on ways to make our cupcakes reach more people. We will be attending events, and launching our new 'off the peg' gift box range shortly (see picture above for an axample of one of our giftboxes).

One of the plans is to use this blog as an information point, and also as a showcase for the cupcakes we make.

So..............watch this space!!!!!

The New Website is Here!!!

2010-10-04T21:43:00.008+01:00

Its been a while in the making - lots of hard work by the excellent Emily at Small Dog Marketing - but it's arrived! Fantasy Cupcakes now have a very informative and attractive website which we feel really showcases our work!

We are very grateful to Emily for all the hard work she has put into the site. We think she's done an awesome job.....all that's left is for you all to check it out.

www.fantasycupcakes.co.uk

New Website Coming Soon - Yippee!

2010-09-02T21:19:00.003+01:00

Well we have suffered our tired old website for too long now.

Thankfully I found Emily Hunt at Small Dog Marketing who has painstakingly picked through random ideas from my head and crafted them lovingly into a beautiful and stylish website that we can really be proud of!

The finishing touches are being added as we speak and we should be up and running sometime this month.

I will post when we are live - maybe we will have a launch tea and cakes party to celebrate!!!

Holidays

2010-07-20T10:32:00.003+01:00

Just a note to all our customers - we will be taking a well earned break from 23rd July to 9th August. The bakery will be closed - but the market shop will be open on Saturday July 24th though this will only be for collection of orders and retail sales as Melinda will not be there in person to discuss your requirements.

Thanks for your continued custom and see you when we get back........

Lamberts Mill Opening

2010-05-24T16:19:00.007+01:00

This weekend saw the opening of a new outlet for us, and indeed the opening of the whole Lambert Mill shopping experience in Rawtenstall. The mayor opened the complex and it was well attended throughout the day by the general public - if not by the local press! Now its just a case of spreading the word. All publicity is good.

The owner Shaun and his team have worked really hard on the Mill and the result is a credit to all concerned. Downstairs is a furniture showroom featuring lots of unusual pieces as well as beds, sofas, carpets and bedroom furniture. The footwear museum has also been re-opened and is definitely worth a visit.

Upstairs is an interesting mix of products from local producers. Producers have been chosen from the local area which can only be a good thing for the local economy. Of course Fantasy Cupcakes are in there selling not only our fresh cupcakes, but also cupcake-related merchandise and products, china cake stands, teapots and cups, and vintage china tea sets.

There's also hand made belgian chocolate gifts, Fitzpatrick's Cordials, clogs and leather goods, silk flowers, a gift shop, footwear, textiles, handbags, special diet biscuits, jams and chutneys, local artwork, jewellery, candles, handmade cosmetics and Lancashire Sauce - to name but a few of the products available.

There's also a wonderful bright and airy tea rooms which is a superb mix of modern and traditional selling a great selection of lunches, teas, coffees and cakes. Well worth a visit.

So.................don't hang around - get down there to Lambert's Mill on Fallbarn Road in Rawtenstall and see whats going on.

Leeds United Cupcakes

2010-05-18T19:46:00.004+01:00

We were asked by someone close to the Leeds United squad to make some good luck cupcakes for the players just before their big game a week last Saturday. It was an important game and a win would mean promotion!!!

I drove them over to the training ground outside Leeds and handed them over. I heard word later that everyone was very happy with the cakes and really enjoyed them.

And even better than that...........they won!!!!!!!

RESULT!

New Outlet

2010-05-11T19:46:00.006+01:00

Well it's been so long since I posted and I really must make more time, but things have got really hectic. The shop at the market is doing well and our order book is nicely full.

And an exciting new development........we will be selling our cakes in a new outlet from 22nd May 2010. The Lambert Howarth Mill Complex is re-opening on this date and Fantasy Cupcakes will have a concession there. And we are diversifying slightly - though you will still be able to buy your favourite flavours of cupcakes there.

We will also be stocking cake stands from Kirsty Jane China, and a selection of cupcake related merchandise. We have embroidered bags, cupcake handbags for little girls, cupcake hanging hooks, cupcake book ends, cupcake salt and pepper sets, cupcake/tea party bunting, and lots of other cute little items.

Watch out for pictures of the stall coming soon.

We also have a new website in the pipeline with a totally new look, and some cool brochures on the way.

And we have a totally new line in the development stage............it's not even technically a cupcake but you are going to love it!!!!

Watch this space, and thanks to all our customers who are making this possible.

Wedding Season

2010-02-26T13:43:00.003Z

Everyone is luvved up! First Valentines Day and now everyone and his wife (to-be ha ha) is looking for cupcakes for weddings. We have many bookings for the weekends in summer but still have capacity to take more as our (wo)man-power is set to increase by another 20 hours a week.

We hope to do some local wedding fairs and there is a wedding leaflet on its way!

Watch this space.

Raspberry Rendez-Vous (New Flavour)

2010-02-23T07:07:00.005Z

So time is ticking along and slowly but surely the store is gaining in popularity. I feel Rawtenstall, generally speaking, takes time to warm to new ideas, but even in the extreme winter we have had (not good for business) I feel locals may be warming to cupcakes.

Cake sales at the store are certainly increasing with plenty of repeat business. I would almost say we have 'regulars' now. We also are still gaining business from passing cupcake fans who say things like "ooh its like being in New York" or "Ooooh look its like Hummingbird". Both of which make me glow gently inside!

People have been very complimentary about they cakes generally. Only the odd few say things like "don't you think £1.25 is a bit expensive for one little cake?" or "are they £1.25 EACH?" - which as they are on trays of 12 I am guessing they expect them to be just over 10p each at £1.25 for a whole tray. We are all entitled to our opinions! But honestly if people don't like cake, buttercream, think they are too expensive or are on diets - I don't mind! Just be honest and move along. Cool.

But this aside, its the additional orders that the general awareness has created that warms my cockles! The order book has never been so full - with weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, hen night cakes, Mothers Day cakes etc. So thanks to all my customers - I really value your custom.

On the title subject I have introduced a new flavour in a bid to put the cold weather behind us as look towards the happy lazy days of summer - the Raspberry Rendez-Vous. It's a vanilla, fresh raspberry and white chocolate chunk sponge topped with a white chocolate ganache swirl and finished with a fresh raspberry. Early reports suggest it might be a permanent fixture to our range on the store.

Happy cupcake eating!!!!

"What a Naughty Shop"

2010-01-23T17:48:00.004Z

Whilst selling cupcakes today a lady walked past and said "What a naughty shop".

I love this and will strive to make my cakes as decadent and naughty as possible.

Thankyou mystery lady for making my day.

The shop is doing well by the way - working at becoming established and already starting to get regular customers which is awesome. I am really chuffed with the feedback about the cakes - especially about the fact they taste homemade and are made with basic natural ingredients the way cakes have been made for centuries.

We are keeping baking real!!!!!

Snowflake Wedding...and A Happy New Year.

2010-01-05T14:56:00.004Z

Winter weddings are lovely and this one had the added bonus of a snowy setting as we had a lovely white Christmas.

I was very pleased with the results of the tower and I hope the bride was too. She knew what she wanted from early on and I hope it was as she visualised the tower.

The final tower was of 100 cupcakes (34 vanilla, 33 Carrot and 33 lemon) all in dark purple cases - half with purple snowflakes and half silver spangle. The topcake was madeira with ivory sugarpaste - a nice tall cake at 6" x 6" and finished with a purple ribbon. The wired decoration on top of the cake was made with sugarpaste matching snowflakes. Thanks to Kay at Celebration Cakes for the topcake.

This tower completes 2009's wedding cupcake triumphs - roll on 2010's creations!!!!

Happy New Year to all friends and customers of Fantasy Cupcakes xxxx

Fantasy Cupcakes Officially Open for Business

2009-12-14T13:41:00.002Z

So Saturday 12th December saw the successful opening of our stall on Rawtenstall Indoor Market Hall. I must say I was very touched by the positive comments the stall, the display, and more importantly the cakes got on the day.

Thanks to everyone who came over to support the opening day and I am glad to say it was a sell-out which is very heartening for the future. Now I am on a learning curve of knowing which flavours are the most popular now - and for repeat business. The Choco Cherry Boom Boom is hot favourite at the moment but the Rocky Chocky Road and the Lemon Meringue Doufler came a close second. Vanilla the least popular! Intoroducing Red Velvet and Cappuccino next Saturday (19th December) so will report back!!!!

A Merry Cupcake Christmas to all.

Market Flavours 1: Choco Cherry Boom Boom

2009-12-02T16:40:00.003Z

The first of my new market cupcake flavours has gone through the rigorous taste testing process and the final cake is born: The Choco Cherry Boom Boom

Its a moist chocolate sponge cupcake with a juicy luscious black cherry filling topped with a creamy vanilla and chocolate swirl, finished with a cherry and a dusting of Green and Blacks cocoa.

Taste the Choco Cherry Boom Boom and other flavours at Rawtenstall Indoor Market every Thursday and Saturday from 12th December.

Market Update

2009-11-30T13:27:00.002Z

Just an update on the opening of our market stall. The stall will be opening a week later on Saturday 12th December......

In time for you to buy your Christmas cupcakes!

To Market, to market to buy.....a cupcake!!!!!

2009-11-17T13:49:00.008Z

Since the competition win in June, Fantasy Cupcakes have been busy bakers making lots of cupcakes for all kind of events. But we have also been planning how we can get our cupcakes to a wider audience.

The answer.......a mini cupcakery within our local market! Its how many of the successful cupcakeries started out, and also many still have their market stalls as well as their shops. We believe in the importance of shopping locally, we believe in supporting local businesses, we believe market foods minimise food miles and often bring fresher better quality produce. Hurrah for markets.

We have no idea how successful the venture will be but as Doug Larson said "some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible". Ha ha. Well I don't know about that but all I know is I'm not going to think too deply about it. I am going to make my cakes and see if the people of Rawtenstall like them!!!

So the grand opening should be Saturday 5th December if everything goes to plan and our little corner of cupcake cuteness is next to the cafe in Rawtenstall's indoor market hall.

Come see us!!!!

Cheers Sharing Memories Scrapbooking

2009-11-02T23:19:00.004Z

Awwwwww........its always nice to get recognition and its funny when you are looking through google only to find one of your pics of cupcakes comes up on other people's sites. I always have to have a look at what is being said about my cuppers.

So I came across this post on the Sharing Memories Scrapbooking blog site and appreciate the kind comments about my garden party cupcakes. And they put a link to my Flickr page too which is always fun. Cheers and happy cupcake scrapbooking!!!

Birth and Beyond Exhibition

2009-10-16T16:15:00.003+01:00

We were kindly invited by the organisers to exhibit our cakes at the Birth and Beyond exhibition at The Sanctuary in Langho on 15th October. We hadn't done an exhibition before so it was good practice. We created a display of a wide variety of the cakes we make - focussing on pretty saleable cakes that we could sell on the evening. We also made a display of chocolate cupcakes with the letters of our name in gold on them. This looked lovely but as you can see it didnt photograph that well which is a shame.

We got lots of poitive feedback about the cakes and most people bought at least one - some bought some to take away - for their kids, husbands, babysitters.

It was a great experience and has given me the taste for more. Bring on the country shows next summer....Raaaaaarrrrrr!

Disco Neon Dazzleberry

2009-10-06T13:30:00.003+01:00

I am always excited when we get new orders - it doesnt matter what the occasion is. Each order is unique. Thats the joy of making bespoke cupcakes rather than 'off the shelf' cupcakes. And we wouldnt have it any other way

People want different quantities and obviously for weddings people want large numbers of cakes. But on Saturday we did a large cupcake tower for 170 which we were rather proud of. I also realised when setting them up at Mitton Hall near Whalley in Lancashire that their small square cake table holds exactly 170 cakes and not a single cake more. Phew!

The theme was African violet and ivory and we went with pretty flowers and double hearted cupcakes with pearls. Very pretty!

We are the 5 to 9ers!

2009-10-01T14:31:00.003+01:00

Late as always in posting, but yes my quote was in the Independent. I am not sure I said 'dark and depressing' but I suppose it fits with the quote!!!

Check out the article below which was an interesting observation the amount of people opening their own cupcakeries - some from home, and some like me juggling other commitments!!!

Treat Yourself Have a Cupcake

Having his cake and eating it....

2009-09-17T22:31:00.002+01:00

Just thought I would randomly blog my hunky munky having his cake and eating it at Chester Races. Yummy .......and I dont mean the cake!

The Independent on Sunday

2009-09-11T15:09:00.003+01:00

I got a call today from The Independent.......yes I know things just get more exciting here at Fantasy Cupcakes!!!

They said they are doing an article on cupcakes in the Independent this Sunday (13th September) - probably prompted by the start of National Cupcake Week.

The journalist wanted to ask me my thoughts on the upsurge in the popularity of cupcakes and about the recent trend in home bakeries springing up all over the place.

Its great news that cupcakes continue to make the national press and continue to captivate people's interest. I will of course be buying The Independent on Sunday because I have saved many cuttings about cupcakes from the press for the past year in my cupcake life - but this one will be extra special if Fantasy Cupcakes does get a mention because I have always gained inspiration from the cupcake companies featured in publications such as The Mail, The Times and The Independent..........believing that I could stand along side them and compete in the cupcake market place. I guess the competition win has proved that and a mention in one of those articles to add to my scrap book would be an awesome part of this whole crazy trip.

The White Rabbit on TV.....Cupcake Week

2009-09-11T14:51:00.006+01:00

So.......things get more bonkers. Of course as all you Cup Cake crazies know already it is National Cupcake Week next week (14th - 19th September), and today I got a call from the team at The Wright Stuff - the Channel 5 programme - saying they are doing a feature every day next week on cupcakes.

Thankfully they were interested in the cakes not me and they asked me to send them 6 of our award-winning 'White Rabbits' to the studio so Matthew (above) and the panel can sample them on 'Whipped-Up Wednesday (16th September). So I will be taking those cakes down I hope on Tuesday to London for their eating pleasure.

Exciting times in the Fantasy Cupcakes kitchen!!!

Media Interest in Fantasy Cupcakes!!!

2009-09-08T14:13:00.004+01:00

I am a bit late posting this but the last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind! A couple of newspapers reported on Fantasy Cupcakes' success in the National Cupcake Week.

One was the Lancashire Telegraph who did a nice article on the story - though they did put the above silly picture of me pretending to devour one my cakes! Ha ha. Never mind!

If you want to check out the article follow the link below.

lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/business/4546773.Rossendale_baker_s_in_a_cup_cake_wonderland/

Fantasy Cupcakes on the BBC

2009-09-08T13:53:00.012+01:00

Fame at last! Well not quite but we were sure excited to have our fifteen minutes of fame on BBC Radio Lancashire last week (26th August 2009).

Alison from the Ted Robbins show called and left a message to say she thought our cupcake success story would be a nice story for Ted. When I spoke to her she felt it would be a nice item for their weekly 'mystery guest' slot. This is a feature in which Ted must guess the occupation of his guest.

I prepared my clues such as the fact that my speciality in my area of work is 'The White Rabbit', the largest was made earlier this year in London etc.

Ted was pretty hot to trot on guessing and nearly got it on the first clue - but just got as far as me being a cake maker! We must have gone through every kind of cake possible until eventually he screamed 'CUPCAKES'.

And he was of course very excited as Alison brought through the box of six 'White Rabbits' I took with me. I am guessing Ted enjoyed his because he said "The White Rabbit has officially gone down its hole!". Ha ha which I thought was very witty.

Long and short is me and my fella Paul has a great time in the Blackburn BBC studios and I would like to thank Ted and the team for making it so - and giving not only Fantasy Cupcakes some media attention but cupcakes in general!

Bring on National Cupcake week next week.......Yay!

WE WON!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-14T08:04:00.008+01:00

Well who would have thought it - FANTASY CUPCAKES will be representing 'Whipped-Up Wednesday' as part of National Cupcake Week (14th - 19th September).

We found out two fridays ago that our White Rabbit cupcake had been shortlisted to the final 12, but didn't know until teatime on Monday that we had won.........and we werent allowed to say anything until today (Friday).

We have had some local press interest which should be good for business, but these haven't been printed yet. So I am going to modify the website this morning to have a section for press cuttings! Wow I still can't believe it!

And I guess we may have some interest around National Cupcake Week itself in September.

AWESOME.............

New York City Cupcakes

2009-08-13T18:00:00.005+01:00

So Jane told me her friend is going on a trip to New York for a 'special' birthday and it would be awesome if she could give her a giftbox of New York themed cupcakes to wish her bon voyage!!!!

And so I dawgone gone and whipped some up!

National UK Cupcake Week Cupcake-Off Shortlister

2009-08-01T18:02:00.005+01:00

Well an exciting week here at Fantasy Cupcakes. We entered our 'White Rabbit' cupcake into UK Baker's Cupcake-Off competition last month which seeks to locate the country's best cupcake and cupcake maker. The winners will be used to promote cupcakes in National Cupcake Week which is 14th to 19th September. The overall winner also gets to go the National Bakery Awards.

Anyway................long and short I got a call Friday afternoon to say Fantasy Cupcakes entry have been shortlisted as finalists. Our cake must be created and taken to Baking HQ wednesday 5th August for judging by an expert panel!!!!

Yeeee Haaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way - the 'White Rabbit' is a carrot cupcake with a vanilla buttercream swirl decorated with small golden hearts....... Alice in Wonderland stylee......

In Love

2009-07-11T20:22:00.003+01:00

Short and sweet. People order cupcakes for all kinds of occasions but mainly because they want to make someone feel special. And for once - someone very unique made the cupcake maker feel very very special!

The Best Photos in the World?????

2009-06-26T21:50:00.006+01:00

Well goodness me. Its been a while since I blogged. I don't know where the time has gone. Yes I do! It's wedding/party season and the Fantasy Cupcakes galley has been alive with mixing, piping, moulding, spreading, tweaking, sprinkling............

Indeed it has been a busy time and the business is going from strength to strength thanks to I suppose our own hard work and also the great ideas and support from our customers.

We have some large events - wedding and anniversaries under our belts and more to come. We have also done some corporate work for a company in Wimbledon - I'll post a seperate note on that one! And we have also been approached by a local food outlet to supply regular orders of cupcakes to them.

And all this in a month when cupcakes appeared in the ten 'worst' foods list!

The popularity of cupcakes speaks for itself guys!

Oh I nearly forgot....the reason for this post was to say I loved making Jungle cupcakes for a little boy's birthday this week and I posted the above monkey pick on Flickr and they asked me if they could put it in the group "Best Photos in the World". Ha ha.........its a funny old life sometimes!

Vegan Raspberry Cupcakes Family Picnic Soiree

2009-04-27T00:04:00.014+01:00

So......the weather has been lovely for more than a week now. Amazing for the UK. So my little bro rung me up and said "how about a family picnic Sunday?". Why not I thought? And of course there's always an expectation I will take cupcakes and a desire to do so. Today was no exception.

There was my sister Abbi and her husband Darko and children Rosie and Ben (Vegetarians), my brother Ben and his girlfriend Lisa (Vegans), my brother Tom and his wife Sam (Vegans and expecting their first child - congratulations guys - cute scan pic!!!!) and me, Molly and Sam (diet not to be discussed!).

So, cupcake wise.....do I make different sorts or do I go one for all and do all vegan? Why not. And it's a sunny springtime picnic so lets go raspberry crazy! So I chose the classic 'Golden Vanilla Cupcake' from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and a faux buttercream raspberry topping with fresh rasps. Then of course the obligatory raspberry on top and peach melba glitter - plus I gave some the queen of hearts treatment!

The day was a roaring success and here are the pictures to prove it!

In the Night Garden - Peppa Pig was There Too!

2009-04-17T07:47:00.008+01:00

Well I love it when interesting and different orders come in and these were no exception. A request for In the Night Garden cupcakes - specifically Macca Pacca, Upsy Daisy and Iggle Piggle with the addition of some Peppa Pig cupcakes for good measure.

They were a challenge - my children being in double figures nearly I am unfamiliar with the characters. If it has been Lala, Dipsy, Po and Tinky Winky it might have been a different matter!

Anyway I had a try and I was pretty pleased with the results - see what you think!

Botswana/No ! Ladies Detective Agency Cupcakes coming soon - Peg yet again testing my creative abilities to the max!

Easter Cupcake Eggcitement (sorry!!!)

2009-04-05T13:40:00.011+01:00

Well it's springtime for sure here at Fantasy Cupcakes and we are rejoicing at the light nights and turning our faces to the sun like we are little flowers.

It's been a busy weekend with pre-Easter cake order and preparation of cupcake toppers ready for Easter. The first Easter cakes went out yesterday and they were cute as heck. The hatching chick especially and the bunny with the little carrots and easter eggs were fun to make......and hopefully tasty to eat.

Also good ole Peg has requested Pagan Easter cupcakes - so in traditional Peg style I can leave the cutesy little bees and chicks and lambs and bunnies behind and start researching something a little more hardcore!

I'll be sure to post the result and in the meantime....................a happy Easter to all!!!!

Crumbs and Doilies go VW stylee

2009-03-15T13:17:00.005Z

Well.............Crumbs and Doilies Cupcakes in London beat me to this. Being the owner of a blue VW camper van myself then I have been planning to make some camper van tribute cupcakes - but as usual I spend all my spare waking hours making cupcakes for other people so never got round to it.

Smashing job chaps. Crumbs and Doilies are so creative. What I love about them is that so many people strive for the perfectly crafted cake which end up looking like something made by a machine. I believe that hand-baked cupcakes should look like they are individually crafted with tender loving care. Crumbs and Doilies create these such cakes! Keep up the good work.

Cute Cupcake animation

2009-03-15T12:58:00.004Z

Check this out - it's an animation by Kirsten Lepore featuring - yeah you guessed it - a cupcake in the starring role. I mean the message I think of the tale is vegetables are the future rather than sugary foods - but hey what the heck.

If you can over the idea that it's just not right seeing a shaved cupcake having intimate relations with a squash, then you'll like it I am sure.

Red Nose Cupcakes

2009-03-11T22:57:00.004Z

Well we recognise that it is Comic Relief this week in the Fantasy Cupcakes kitchen. Young baker Sam (aged 9) decided it would be a great idea to raise money by selling cupcakes to his buddys in the playground at school during Red Nose week.

So the budding artistic director of Fantasy Cupcakes set to and designed his own brand of red nose cakes - some with jelly noses and some with cherry noses (for the more health conscious - though I don't think glace cherries count as one of your 5 a day).

He decorated them all his self and will make about £25 for the charity. I think that's worth a round of applause. Or shall we just all celebrate with tea and cakes!

The New Fantasy Cupcakes Logo

2009-03-06T18:14:00.017Z

Hey - check out the new Fantasy Cupcakes logo. Developed for Fantasy Cupcakes by Jenny Woodworth Designs - a lady with a flair for design and a passion for cupcakes!

Thanks Jenny I love it. The remit was piratty, but not so alternative that it scares off the brides to be and the ladies that lunch!!!! So after going around the houses we eventually came up with the final design entitled "The slightly less hardcore pirate cupcake" design!

Watch this space for the "slightly less hardcore knitted zombie company" logo. Sorry private joke - it's a whole other tale.

Princess Rosie Longin's 4th Birthday

2009-03-02T22:25:00.004Z

So my niece Rosie was 4 this week. My how time flies. So of course, there must be cupcakes for her birthday celebration. And she is a princess through and through. So what other choice but to make princess cupcakes. I made them in blue, pink and gold. There was a castle in the middle with a candle for a flag, a golden slipper with a pom pom, a golden crown, and Sam made a vase of flowers! Perfect.

And we sang happy birthday to Rosie, then she chose the first cupcake. Well, you are 4, you are a princess.........which one would you go for? Yep the castle in the middle. She managed to work her way through the giant sugar castle, and even ate half the sponge......but then had to give up.

Well done Rosie and HAPPY BITHDAY!

Molly's logo

2009-02-22T14:27:00.005Z

True to the family spirit, Molly got on board with logo making and she came up with her own brand of logo which was of course pink and fabulous.

Not that I don't think these logos are awesome - because they are - but I was contacted by Jenny Woodworth who is a local designer who wants to re-design the Fantasy Cupcakes website to more reflect the character of the business and the people who work here. Unfortunately funds dont permit this right now, but a logo is what we do need. So Jenny set to and got on the logo design bandwaggon along with Molly and Sam and came up with a fabby design.................watch this space for the new Fantasy Cupcakes logo!!!!!!!!!

Quest for a logo

2009-02-20T15:39:00.006Z

In my quest for a logo we have been brainstorming ideas here at Fantasy Cupcakes. When we came up with a design idea my 9 year old son Sam was ear wigging and he went away and created this picture on the computer which I think is awesome. Jeez kids are clever these days. I think he has a future in design!

The Precious!

2009-02-18T21:35:00.005Z

Well the day arrived yesterday.......after many months of mixing cake with the little Kenwood hand mixer which had a habbit of jumping off its stand if the butter wasn't absolutely at room temperature, hence spraying the kitchen with greasy debris.........THE HEAVY DUTY K5 COMMERCIAL GRADE KITCHEN AID arrived in the Fantasy Cupcakes kitchen.

Call me a baking geek, but who couldn't be excited at this fine specimen of kitchen equipment. It's sturdy and strong - takes two strong tattooed sailors to lift it. It has 10 speeds and an awesome giant stainless steel bowl which is so easy to clean. It's simplicity beyond belief, but does an amazing job at mixing the cake mix and the frosting. I am sure it wasn't my imagination that the buttercream was the creamiest ever!

At last the Kenwood is relegated to the subs bench, and my tennis elbow stands a chance of getting better now.

Cupcakes Away!!!!!!!!

Lucky Oranges and Tangerines

2009-01-25T15:33:00.003Z

Well a short post following on from my previous one about Chinese New Year cupcakes. The time has arrived and tomorrow is Chinese New Year so HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone celebrating. My cupcakes are not going out until next weekend, but I have been working on the decorations for them and made the oranges and tangerines for the orange ones yesterday and I am really rather pleased with them and wanted to share them. My camera skills are also developing too I feel!

Going to make lucky chinese coins strung together with raspberry laces (meant to be ribbon but has to be edible too), one with the chinese symbols for happy new year, and somehow I have to put the ox on one set - mind working overtime on that one.

Will post the results when complete. Happy cupcake making/eating.

Chinese New Year Cupcakes - Gong Xi Fa Cai

2009-01-06T20:14:00.005Z

Well I suppose after all the excitement of Christmas........... with gas explosions and live TV appearances, and of course many sparkly and festive delicious wonderful cupcakes to boot..........it's time to focus on 2009!

The western world's new year celebrations have been and gone and my opportunity to make special cupcakes for it has gone too as my only order close to new year wasn't new year in theme - just boozy and party in theme.

So what's a cupcake-lover to do...........well thanks to a friend's request I have the perfect New Year project - Chinese New Year cupcakes!! Yippee.

I am in the throes of researching my project - always an exciting part of any cupcake project. I am going with red icing as this is a lucky colour in Chinese with some gold decorations. I am going to try and colour some fondant icing gold and pipe it onto the cakes. I am at the moment looking for one of those cutesy paper dragons on sticks - but a mini version perhaps to stick in a couple of the cakes on either side of the box - yay I love the idea of that! Of course it's the year of the Ox, so there may be some bovine action in there too. Looking forward to experimenting with them and watch this space ..............coming to the cupcake gallery soon!!!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all

Gas Explosion disrupts cupcake making - but not for long!

2008-12-27T16:15:00.005Z

Well, what a week it has been........it started very well with lots of orders for cupcakes and me working very hard to get them all done, but managing.

Then came monday 22nd December. Delivered my cupcake orders for the day then got back home about 10am and called my sister at which point there was a massive gas explosion next to the house and we were evacuated by the police. We were sent to an evacuation station and then put up in a hotel by the council overnight. Major disruption to cupcake making, but could still make up time.

Got back Tuesday 23rd when the cordon was lifted, and all well with the house, but no gas!!! AAAAAHHHHHH I cook cupcakes solely on gas. What to do? Called my friend to see if she has an electric cooker and she does. Go over there - she is at work. Have the kids with me and they are on an all-time Christmas hyper and can't find how to operate the TV (problem 1) then find out the sink is blocked in the kitchen( major problem 2) so just decide to bow out and tell my customers due to difficult circumstances I can't give them their orders. So disappointed.

Then GMTV (breakfast TV) calls in the afternoon - can we come and talk to you in the morning about having no gas. Can't believe I agreed but I did. We were freezing all night and I went to bed early because the TV crews were coming here at 5am!!!! Ahhhh.

Then at 12 midnight, there's a knock on the door - it's the gas board come to switch the gas back on - coincidence or not, I don't know as the TV crews were coming next day and the spokeswoman from the national grid, but hey ho we were back on.

So what's a cupcake maker to do? Can't call my customers and ask if they still want their cakes as it's midight so thought I know - I'll take a chance and make the orders anyway. Truth is I couldn't sleep at the thought of being on live TV in a few hours!

So I baked through the night with the help and support of my darling Robbie and we got the cupcakes made. GMTV turned up and we did the live show - the crew ate all the spare cupcakes and they went down a treat!

And I did my deliveries as planned Christmas Eve and all cupcakes gratefully received! A triumph for cupcake making.

Here's to 2009 being the year of Fantasy Cupcakes!!!!!

Ten Best Cupcakes - The Independent

2008-12-18T06:36:00.002Z

Check this out - it's the Independent's opionion obviously but I love 10 best cupcakes articles. It's interesting as a cupcake maker how people value different aspects of the cupcake - i.e. taste, decoration etc....

Check it out http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-ten-best-cupcakes-933937.html?action=Popup&ino=1

Christmas rush

2008-12-13T07:17:00.003Z

Well, it's getting close to Christmas now - my first Christmas as Fantasy Cupcakes and I must say I am surprised how popular my cakes have been. At the moment the core of the business is coming from people at work and I am not trying at all to attract business, but the cakes themselves seem to do it for me.

Business is a mixture of party cakes, gift boxes (seem to be popular) and people just buying cakes for the family over Christmas. Not particularly with a christmas theme as the gift boxes have been for birthdays, anniversaries etc. I did an anniversary box with a winter theme which I absolutely loved - my favourite yet. Baby blues and whites with glitter (my find of the CENTURY!!!!!) and white glimmer sugar, delicate baby blue roses and four of the 16 cakes piped with the couples names. I was very very pleased with the cakes, and hope that the recipients will be too. I didn't get chance to photograph them unfortunately because I finished them in the dark and left for work in the dark next day. In the false light of light bulbs the glitter comes out as black dust - it needs sunshine to make the most of them so there was no point setting up the equipment. But I will definitely be making more of them.

One thing I find frustrating is that you never really get to know whether people liked them, and you dont get to see their faces when they open the box. I guess that's the name of the game, but it would be nice. I have a feedback page on my website, but I guess it's not something people do. One day maybe. Anyway MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome

2008-12-06T20:00:00.000Z

Hi there, welcome to my blog. As you can probably tell, this blog is for the love of CUPCAKES.

I adore cupcakes. I have enjoyed baking since I was a girl - baking with my Mum and my Nana. I enjoyed baking at school, and have enjoyed baking with my kids - so it was natural that I would want to branch out into baking as an adult.

I have started a cupcake business in my local area in Rossendale, East Lancashire in the UK. I am starting small for now, and hope to build up to having a cupcakery of my own sometime soon.

In the meantime, I wanted somewhere I could share my findings from the world of cupcakes because I have discovered some fantastic cupcake blogs on the net and it's time I was part of it.

I would loove to hear from people interested in cupcakes, people starting a cupcakes business, people who already have a cupcake business people interested in home baking in general.

Nice to meet you all......................................Mindy xxxx