Book tour & Giveaway: Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

Posted by Laura October 20, 2014

Book tour & Giveaway: Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

Christmas at the Cupcake Café

Cupcake Café # 2

By: Jenny Colgan

Releasing October 14^th, 2014

William Morrow

Blurb

Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe, is in love and couldn’t be happier. Her new business is thriving and she is surrounded by close friends, even if her cupcake colleagues Pearl and Caroline don’t seem quite as upbeat about the upcoming season of snow and merriment. But when her boyfriend Austin is scouted for a possible move to New York, Issy is forced to face up to the prospect of a long-distance romance. And when the Christmas rush at the cafe - with its increased demand for her delectable creations - begins to take its toll, Issy has to decide what she holds most dear.

This December, Issy will have to rely on all her reserves of courage, good nature and cinnamon, to make sure everyone has a merry Christmas, one way or another. . .

Indulge yourself and your sweet-toothed friends with Jenny Colgan’s new novel, simply bursting with Christmas cupcake recipes and seasonal sugar-fuelled fun.

Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/09/christmas-at-cupcake-cafe-cupcake-cafe.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13596423-christmas-at-the-cupcake-caf?ac=1

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-at-Cupcake-Cafe-Novel-ebook/dp/B00K53EH56/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1410452461

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-at-the-cupcake-cafe-jenny-colgan/1113460040?ean=9780062371188

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/christmas-at-the-cupcake-cafe/id524415333?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/christmas-at-the-cupcake-cafe-1/zhaR2ygNd0ie4dITpEBkPA

The Classic Christmas Cake

By Delia Smith

This, with no apologies, is a Christmas cake thathas been in print since 1978, has been made and

loved by thousands and is, along with theTraditional Christmas Pudding, one of the mostpopular recipes I’ve produced. It is rich, dark andquite moist, so will not suit those who like acrumblier texture. Recently we took some of thesecakes along to book-signing sessions up and downthe country and were quite amazed to see so manypeople take a mouthful and then buy a book!

1lb (450g) currants

6oz (175g) sultanas

6oz (175g) raisins

2oz (50g) glacé cherries, rinsed, dried and finely

chopped

2oz (50g) mixed candied peel, finely chopped

3 tablespoons brandy, plus extra for ‘feeding’

8oz (225g) plain flour

1/2 level teaspoon salt

1/4 level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 level teaspoon ground mixed spice

8oz (225g) unsalted butter

8oz (225g) soft brown sugar

4 large eggs

2oz (50g) almonds, chopped (the skins can be left

on)

1 level dessertspoon black treacle

grated zest 1 lemon

grated zest 1 orange

4oz (110g) whole blanched almonds (only if you

don’t intend to ice the cake

You will also need an 8 inch (20cm) round caketin or a 7 inch (18cm) square tin, greased and lined

with silicone paper (baking parchment). Tie aband of brown paper round the outside of the tin

for extra protection.You need to begin this cake the night beforeyou want to bake it. All you do is weigh out thedried fruit and mixed peel, place it in a mixingbowl and mix in the brandy as evenly and

thoroughly as possible. Cover the bowl with a cleantea cloth and leave the fruit aside to absorb the

brandy for 12 hours.

Next day pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1,275°F (140°C). Then measure out all the rest of the

ingredients, ticking them off to make quite surethey’re all there. The treacle will be easier to

measure if you remove the lid and place the tin in asmall pan of barely simmering water. Now begin

the cake by sifting the flour, salt and spices into alarge mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give

the flour a good airing. Next, in a separate largemixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together

until it’s light, pale and fluffy. Now beat the eggsin a separate bowl and add them to the creamed

mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whiskrunning until all the egg is incorporated. If you

add the eggs slowly by degrees like this the mixturewon’t curdle. If it does, don’t worry, any cake full

of such beautiful things can’t fail to taste good!When all the egg has been added, fold in the

flour and spices, using gentle, folding movementsand not beating at all (this is to keep all that

precious air in). Now fold in the fruit, peel,chopped nuts and treacle and finally the grated

lemon and orange zests. Next, using a largekitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the

prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back ofa spoon and, if you don’t intend to ice the cake,

lightly drop the whole blanched almonds in circlesor squares all over the surface. Finally cover the

top of the cake with a double square of siliconepaper with a 50p-size hole in the centre (this gives

extra protection during the long slow cooking).Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven

for 41/2–43/4 hours. Sometimes it can take up to1/2–3/4 hour longer than this, but in any case don’t

look till at least 4 hours have passed. Cool the cakefor 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire

rack to finish cooling. When it’s cold, ‘feed’ it –make small holes in the top and base of the cake

with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoonover a few teaspoons of brandy, wrap it in double

silicone paper secured with an elastic band andeither wrap again in foil or store in an airtight

container. You can now feed it at odd intervalsuntil you need to ice or eat it.

Author Info

Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including Christmas at the Cupcake Café and The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, which are also published by Sphere. Meet Me at the Cupcake Café won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams, which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013. Jenny is married with three children and lives in London and France.

Author Links