Be Pink Not Blue
Gosh it’s been a while. I guess I’ve had some blogging blues. Actually, just blues. And I didn’t fancy blogging til I felt all pink and sweet again.
You know those days which seem heavy … you avoid mirrors and wish you could put your thoughts on pause. Well I’ve had a few of those days, in a row. And it’s only now, as I tap away at these keys, that I feel myself again.
I’ve done what “they” say you should do. When I say “they” I mean the people with all the solutions. Cakes have kept me wonderfully busy, thank goodness. And I’ve been exercising and eating fruit and drinking water. But I’ve still felt not quite right. And it just goes to show that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just need endless cuddles, a mugful of milky coffee and a side of self-love.
And I’ve developed a new muscle. It’s called the ‘letting go’ muscle. I have to work it very hard to see any sort of result. It’s not one I’ve used very much up til now. And it’s surely tiring. But in the end, it will help me let go of the things which make days blue. A dreary, cold shade of blue, not that dreamy blue skies colour.
My always ready, ever lovely pick me ups on down days are something like these:
A Paige Toon book. On this occasion, ‘Chasing Daisy.’
A small ‘something-else-to-focus-on’ project. For me, painting and shabby chicing my desk.
Doing even more than usual of what makes me happy. AKA cake making til there’s just no flour left.
Being around people whose ‘letting go’ muscle is bigger and stronger and works better than mine.
Walking. Everywhere. Often. Even if it’s raining. Fresh air - fresh mind.
Anyway, let’s make things lighter. And as they happen to be so light and fluffy, cake pops seem to be a good choice. I’m making little pops of lemon drizzle, coated in white chocolate, with some kind of touch of bourneville (the most glorious dark chocolate around, wrapped in red). Whenever you see ‘dark chocolate’ on my menu it’ll be Bournville. She’s a keeper.
I’ve taken step by step photos of my cake poppin’. They’re simple and satisfying, once you’ve had a little practice so go ahead and cake pop til you drop!
And may your days be ever so pink and not blue at all…
Bridie x
To start, crumble a hell of a lot of sponge. Today I've used some lemon drizzle leftovers. And add some buttercream. A little at a time. We want our cake pop crumbs to be together but not all sticky and sloppy.
Arrange them on a tray and pop in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Now melt a little chocolate to dip your straws into. Then insert them into the cake balls.
Once they've set in the fridge or freezer (depends how quickly you need to be working) they're ready to be coated in candy chocolate.
I melted some pink and yellow candy melts and added some edible confetti. I ended up with this fruit salad like colour. Perfect.
I grated some Bournville and sprinkled it on top. Make sure you do this quickly as candy melts set in no time at all!
And I added some freeze dried strawberries to the others, just to get another blast of fruity flavour.
Here are some pretties I made the other week.
And these were the ones I made for Little Mix ... be imaginative and colourful and coated in sprinkles, that's what cake pops are all about!
Happy Cake Making!
x