o´happy new year!!!

I wish you all a really blessed, Happy New Year!!!
I had the joy of making 60 sparkling New Years cupcakes for Maria & Marcus´wedding on new years eve. I loved making theese cupcakes, and I´m really pleased with how they turned out. The couple celeberated their wedding at beautiful Operakällaren

and their wedding photographer was Brigitte Grenfeldt

, so I´m sure they will have some amazing photos! If I get some of the cupcakes I promise I´ll post them. Unfortunatley I forgot my camera so I snapped some pics of the boxed cupcakes with my iPhone, before delivery. Bad quality, but better than nothing...

lemon cupcakes with lemon curd filling and swiss meringue buttercream frosting.

And here´s some close ups of the decorations...

peach flowers, pink blossoms, white chocolate pearls and really sparkly white butterflies

o´happy birthday viveka!

I made theese lemon poppy seed cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting for viveka´s surprise birthday party! Her birthday is December 21st and since it is so close to christmas she doesn´t want it to feel all "christmasy"... that´s why I made summery lemon cupcakes for her birthday, not christmasy at all.

We had a really good time! Thank you Viveka!

I didn´t have the time to make decorations out of gum paste, so I took a shortcut and decorated the cupcakes with cute fabric flowers again ;)

lemon poppy seed cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting. Sprinkled with poppy seed and topped with fabric flowers

o´gingerbread cookies!

No christmas without gingerbread cookies! The top ones are chaped as ornaments/baubles for a christmas tree... cute, cute! And since theese weren´t made to be eaten, I added some unedible bling to them. What doesn´t show on the pic is that the snowflakes are all glittery.

Gingerbread Cookies (recipe from joyofbaking.com)

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour (vetemjöl)
1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (bikarbonat)
2 teaspoons ground ginger (malen ingerfära)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (malen kanel)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (malen muskotnöt)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (malen kryddnejlika)
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar (strösocker)
1 large egg
2/3 cup (160 ml) unsulphured molassesRead more (mörk sirap går bra)

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.
Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart. If you are hanging the cookies or using as gift tags, make a hole at the top of the cookies with a straw or end of a wooden skewer.
Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.
Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
If desired, you can press raisins, currants, or candies into the dough for eyes and buttons while the cookies are still warm. Otherwise, confectioners frosting can be used to decorate the cookies. You can also use the icing as a glue to attach candies, raisins, and sprinkles.
Confectioners Frosting: In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk if too dry. Place the frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip and decorate the gingerbread men as desired.
Tint portions of frosting with desired food color (I use the paste food coloring that is available at cake decorating stores and party stores).
Makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used.
Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!