Devastated!

So I have had a few people ask me about this now and I think it is about time I face the cold harsh reality that I never received a response from Downton Abbey with respect to my “team servant” cupcakes. Yes, I am devastated. Yes, I did tweet it to the correct Downton Abbey twitter account – twice (I was contemplating a third time, but let’s be honest, that would have just been weird and boarder line stalkerish. But this post is totally not!). Yes, I am almost certain there is a plausible reason as to why they have not responded. Yes, I am still madly obsessed with the series. And yes, I am devastated (I know I have already stated this, but I believe my devastation warrants a second mention). Pity me, woes me, FML (and I am not referring to Fluffy, Moist, Light cupcakes)!

The “team servant” cupcakes were not a complete waste of time though! The toppers are a great template design for me in preparation for my Downton Abbey party with my friend Sarah. We are even considering dressing up in costumes and all! Now I am faced with yet another Downton Abbey dilemma, who do I dress up as? It’s not like there is a token Asian character … sigh!

Star struck!

I would like to start this blog post with the following disclaimer:

I'm not a stalker ... just a fanatic fan!

As you can see from my two blog post below, I made a Downton Abbey cupcake in honour of my new beloved addiction. Hoping to get a response, I tweeted the photo to Downton Abbey (@DowntonAbbey) and Dan Stevens (@thatdanstevens). And although Dan Stevens did not respond (which I am absolutely devastated about), Downton Abbey did! OMG - I received a tweet from the official DOWNTON ABBEY twitter account! I am practically famous by association. Here is a photo of the tweet to prove it:

Naturally I said yes! But I was not entirely sure how I was going to make a #teamservants cupcake. This was the start of what I like to call "Project #teamservants Cupcake". So I put my cupcaking hat on and thought long and hard. I finally decided to make housemaid and footman uniform toppers to top the cupcakes. So I googled images of Downton Abbey housemaid and footman characters and created their uniforms out of fondant.

In light of my Downton Abbey tweet, my friend Rachael suggested I make a “sour lemon cupcake topped with an icing quiff of hair and call it Thomas”. And although I did not ultimately go with this idea, I did like the sound of it. So I decided to make lemon cupcakes for "Project #teamservants Cupcake".

In the past, I have not been entirely satisfied with the lemon cupcake recipes I have encountered, so I decided to vary my vanilla recipe with some lemon extract, zest and juice. And good news, it worked an absolute treat! I will definitely share this recipe with you in the near future. The sponge was FML (Fluffy, Moist and Light) and packed just the right amount of lemon flavour.

So here is the final product:

"Project #teamservants Cupcake" was a success. Now the waiting game begins … will I get another tweet in response? One could only hope! 

The only way is Downton!

My recent obsession is Downton Abbey. I just can’t seem to get enough of it (as with the rest of the world)! I am an absolute sucker for romance and the relationship dynamics of Lady Mary Crawley and Matthew Crawley is to die for! I watch every episode with bated breath wondering “will they or won’t they”. I am currently experiencing massive Downton Abbey withdrawals and season three is not due to air until September of this year (depending where in the world you are). What on earth will I do between now and September?! I guess I could rewatch season one and two for a fourth time …

Not surprisingly, I wanted to make a cupcake in the honour of Downton Abbey! Since Downton Abbey season one and two is based in the early 1900s (more specifically 1900-1918), I did some internet research to see what types of desserts were served in that era, so that I could replicate it in a form of a cupcake. From my extensive research, I discovered that sponge cake and butter cream frosting was already well invented by the 1900s (please keep in mind this was an American source based on the American food timeline not the English). So this made my cupcaking adventure quite easy … or that was at least what I had thought!

My cupcaking adventure yesterday was a disaster! My foolproof chocolate recipe proved not to be so foolproof afterall. I don’t know what went wrong. I measured all the ingredients out and followed the recipe with the utmost precision but got bland tasting, non-rising, below average cupcakes. The only thing I can think of which may have attributed to this is perhaps one of the ingredients passed its use by date. Nevertheless, as you can imagine this left me feeling quite devastated. So I reverted to my vanilla foolproof recipe (touch wood) and made chocolate butter cream frosting! And of course I topped the cupcake with my Downton Abbey cupcake toppers! Nothing new here, once again I just sketched the Downton Abbey imagery onto a piece of fondant. I also made a cheeky “The only way is Downton” topper at the expense of ‘The only way is Essex”.

So I am going to admit something that is going to make me look a little stalkerish! But I assure you, it sounds worse than it really is. So, Dan Stevens the amazing actor who portrays Matthew Crawley is very active on twitter. He constantly replies to fans’ tweets, to the extent where he is wishing specific fans “good luck” for their upcoming exams. And this made me like him so much more! I can’t believe he takes the time to reply to his fans – very swoon worthy! After discovering how active Dan Stevens is on twitter, I may or may not have joined the world of twitter to follow him (@topthecupcake). Awkward …

I will end this post with my favourite scene from season 2 - enjoy!