Trying to submit this entry to Fanny’s SHF event, before the deadline, was like running desperately towards the closing doors of a train. Just made it, phew! I know it’s months away til Christmas, but seeing as Christmas for us falls in the Summer, it never seems to make sense to be eating heavy, traditional Christmas fare in the middle of a heatwave.

I have been meaning to make Christmas themed cupcakes for ages now; ever since the cold June winds prompted the outpouring of scarves and jumpers from the depths of my wardrobe. Like most things however, there never seemed to be enough time in any given week to get started on it, and now I feel I’ve almost missed the train on celebrating Christmas while it is still fairly cool. I even have a huge jar of homemade fruit mince sitting in my fridge, waiting to be turned into my favourite Christmas treat, mince tarts (and fruit mince cupcakes)!

The mince cupcakes have yet to be made, but I finally managed to make the ones pictured above, that are meant to resemble Christmas trees. Why cupcakes, you might ask. Well, to me, they are “neat, sweet, petite”. Just like the Addams family. And like the Addams family, not everyone likes them, but those who do, absolutely love them!

For the base, I used this recipe. Throw in some heart-warming spices and a thatch of green tinted ultra-smooth buttercream, and what you’ve got is Christmas, any time of the year 🙂

This month I will be celebrating a birthday. I suppose at some stage I will probably have to stop counting, but as I still am, I can safely say that I will be turning 32 this year. People, especially those at work, are always surprised to hear how old I am. The youngest member of our kitchen team is half my age, and most of the others are in their twenties. Some say I look 17, although I recall a particularly exhausting and stressful day when Jodi, a manager, said that I looked at least 18.

To anyone who is wondering what the view from this portion of the hill is like, I can also safely say that I’m enjoying being in my thirties. Sure, it’s a little scary being older (and not quite so much wiser), but I hated being a teenager and my twenties were a time of great frustration, and a resounding lack of direction and autonomy. Now when I look back, I’m able to realise how much less manic and more grounded I have become. So, the view? It’s of blue skies, cool breezes, fields of lavender and poppy, and the tall green tree that is B, shading me.

I don’t usually celebrate my birthday in any big style. Before I turned thirty, I thought I would be ringing in a new decade with a special purchase – like a pair of Marc Jacobs or an appliance I’ve always wanted (Kitchenaid, ice-cream machine/pacojet..). However, when the day actually swung round, the idea of accumulating more stuff suddenly didn’t appeal to me. I already have many pairs of shockingly expensive shoes, which sadly, I hardly ever wear because of a rather wanting social life and also due to me being in possession of one pair of chef’s (and jogger’s) feet that rarely get along with six inch heels. These days all I want is a fish dinner and the night off to spend with B.

I do love celebrating other people’s birthdays though. A few friends as well as my big sister will also be extinguishing the candles on their respective cakes this month. These cupcakes are for them, and for anyone else who is an August baby. They are chocolate and lavender flavoured macaron cupcakes, inspired by a picture I saw recently of a collection of buttons of various sizes. I wanted to recreate that button look, using differently sized macarons. The first two flavours I made were a bit on the large side, so there wasn’t room to fit a third macaron on the cupcake, but if there had been, I probably would’ve made it vanilla or blackberry.

In any case, I hope you’re all having a great month, and a very Happy Birthday to all the August babies out there! 🙂