To redeem the offer:

1. Simply print out the offer from Facebook or our blog

2. Take it into the Spitalfields branch

3. Buy one Chocolate Cupcake and get one Chocolate Cupcake free

4. Treat a friend!

Terms and conditions

1. This offer is limited to one free Chocolate Cupcake per person subject to purchase.
2. Promotion redeemable only at the participating branch. This offer does not extend to other branches of The Hummingbird Bakery.
3. Offer only available on the day of promotion during branch opening hours.
4. Product on offer is subject to availability.
5. ‘Made Without’ cupcakes and all other Hummingbird Bakery products are excluded from the offer.
6. Cannot be used with other promotions.
7. This offer is for collection only.
8. This voucher has no cash alternative.
9. The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time.

To redeem the offer:

1. Simply print out the offer from Facebook or our blog

2. Take it into the Soho branch

3. Buy one Vanilla Cupcake and get one Vanilla Cupcake free

4. Treat a friend!

Terms and conditions

1. This offer is limited to one free Vanilla Cupcake per person subject to purchase.
2. Promotion redeemable only at the participating branch. This offer does not extend to other branches of The Hummingbird Bakery.
3. Offer only available on the day of promotion during branch opening hours.
4. Product on offer is subject to availability.
5. ‘Made Without’ cupcakes and all other Hummingbird Bakery products are excluded from the offer.
6. Cannot be used with other promotions.
7. This offer is for collection only.
8. This voucher has no cash alternative.
9. The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time.

To redeem the offer:

1. Simply print out the offer from Facebook or our blog
2. Take it into the Islington branch
3. Buy one Carrot Cupcake and get one Carrot Cupcake free
4. Treat a friend!

Terms and conditions

1. This offer is limited to one free Carrot Cupcake per person subject to purchase.
2. Promotion redeemable only at the participating branch. This offer does not extend to other branches of The Hummingbird Bakery.
3. Offer only available on the day of promotion during branch opening hours.
4. Product on offer is subject to availability.
5. ‘Made Without’ cupcakes and all other Hummingbird Bakery products are excluded from the offer.
6. Cannot be used with other promotions.
7. This offer is for collection only.
8. This voucher has no cash alternative.
9. The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time.

New for Spring 2013, we have luxury handmade Flower Cupcake Gift Boxes featuring freshly baked cupcakes with pretty sugar fondant flowers that have been lovingly handcrafted by our expert bakers. Every flower is handmade and finished with a shimmer of edible lustre.

Dainty floral decorations are beautifully matched to our bestselling cupcake flavours. Each cupcake in the gift box has a specific matching decoration – Red Velvet has a red flower, Carrot has a yellow flower, Black Bottom has a dark purple flower and Vanilla with marbled chocolate frosting has a lilac flower.

Flower Cupcake Gift Box:

Large Flower Cupcake Gift Box:

Available in boxes of six or call 020 7851 1795.

Flower Cupcake Gift Boxes can be ordered online at:

www.hummingbirdbakery.com/order/gifts/

Twitter Competition

The prize:

A Large Flower Cupcake Gift Box for collection at any of the five London branches of The Hummingbird Bakery.

How to enter:

All you have to do is follow us @hummingbbakery and retweet our competition message telling us the number of cupcakes in our Large Cupcake Gift Box for a chance to win the prize.

An example entry would be:

[youranswer]RT@hummingbbakery RT Competition! Tell us how many cupcakes are in our Large Flower Cupcake Gift Box to win one: http://bit.ly/10afODK

Terms and conditions

1. Entries close on Friday 19^th April 2013 at 12 noon BST.

2. The Competition is open to UK residents over the age of 16 excluding employees and affiliates of The Hummingbird Bakery. Entrants must be 16 or over on Tuesday 16^th April 2013.

3. To enter, Twitter users should follow @hummingbbakery and retweet (RT) our original competition message on their own Twitter account along with the correct answer for the number of cupcakes in a Large Flower Cupcake Gift Box.

4. One winner will be selected at random from correct entries after the closing date of the competition.

5. The winner of the competition will be notified by direct message (DM) on Twitter within one week of the competition closing.

6. This prize is non-transferable and has no cash alternative. Gluten-free alternatives to the prize are not available.

7. Only one entry is permitted per Twitter username.

8. Only followers of The Hummingbird Bakery who answer correctly will be entered into the draw.

9. The prize for one winner is a Large Flower Cupcake Gift Box for collection only. Collection is available within opening hours at any of The Hummingbird Bakery’s five London branches. A minimum of 3 days notice must be given by the prize winner before collection is made. The prize must be redeemed within six months of the competition winner being announced.

10. Prize cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

11. The Twitter username of the winner may be shared on The Hummingbird Bakery Twitter feed and Facebook page.

12. The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to withdraw the competition at any time and for any reason.

13. By entering the competition, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.

In our new cookbook ‘Home Sweet Home’, we’ve shared our recipe for Strawberry Milkshake cupcakes which feature little edible drinking straws to decorate. We wanted our cupcakes to look just like the tall, frosty glasses filled to the brim and decorated with a stripy straw – pure Americana!

We think these adorable fondant straws add the perfect finishing touch. The good news is they are a doddle to make with a little practice.

Step one

Start with two balls of soft fondant icing in red and white. You can mix any colours you fancy, but we like the classic look of red and white straws. Ready-to-roll icing can be bought and coloured with edible food colouring. If you are colouring your own icing, we recommend using gel food colouring and adding this little by little until you achieve the desired depth of colour.

Step two

Using the palm of your hand, roll out a small amount of icing into a long, thin rope shape. Roll out both colours to an equal thickness. Be careful not to transfer any food colouring from the red icing to the white – wash and dry your hands and working surface as required.

Step three

Twist the two strands together.

Step four

Roll the twisted straws into thin strands so that the colours form a single straw. Use the palm of your hand and roll the icing slowly. It will get quite long as you add the two quantities, so it may be easier to cut this in half before starting to roll each one out.

Step five

Cut each straw into around 8cm pieces.

Step six

Carefully bend the top section to create your finished straw. Let the straws dry over night on a sheet of baking parchment.

Top tips

These red and white straws can easily be made into little candy canes if you’re making festive cupcakes.

As they are quite fragile, it’s worth making a few extra straws in case of breakages.

These sugar decorations will last for a few weeks if kept cool and dry in an airtight container.

If you want to purchase sugar straws, we recommend using candy sticks (sometimes called ‘old fashioned candy sticks’ or ‘candy cigarettes’) which can be found online and at specialist sweet shops.

It has been a month of drilling, hammering, fitting, fixing and polishing but we are delighted to announce that the Notting Hill bakery is finally reopened today following a complete makeover!

Full of character and located on the world-famous Portobello Road, the Notting Hill bakery has been serving cupcakes since 2004.

Although cupcake-loving customers can expect a stunning new-look store with dazzling new lights, a pretty new awning and a new outdoor street-food stand selling cupcakes on-the-go – they can still expect the same delicious bakes!

To mark the reopening of this beautiful London bakery, we are offering ten lucky visitors to our Notting Hill bakery the chance to win a Cupcake Baking Masterclass with The Hummingbird Bakery.

To enter:

1)    Follow us on Twitter @hummingbbakery

2)    Snap a photo of yourself in our Notting Hill branch (no purchase necessary – though we challenge you to resist!)

3)    Post it on Twitter mentioning @hummingbbakery between 7^th February and 13^th February with the hashtag #nottinghillrelaunch

Ten winners will be selected at random from the entries received. Winners will be notified by direct message.

Good luck!

Terms and conditions

• This competition can only be entered via Twitter.
• Entrants must Tweet a picture of themselves inside the newly refurbished Hummingbird Bakery Notting Hill branch during opening hours.
• Tweets must be posted between 7.2.13 and 13.2.13 to be eligible for entry into the competition.
• Tweets must mention @hummingbbakery and include the hashtag ‘nottinghillrelaunch’.
• Entrants must be 18 years or older and not be affiliated with The Hummingbird Bakery, its partners or suppliers in any way
• Only one entry per person is permitted.
• 10 winners will be selected at random and notified within 21 days of the competition closing.
• Winners will be notified via direct message on Twitter. The message will include instructions on claiming prize including contact details.
• Winners will have seven days to get in contact with The Hummingbird Bakery using the contact details provided to claim their prize. The Hummingbird Bakery cannot be held responsible for any unreliability in the functioning of Twitter or supporting communications networks that may result in the late or non-delivery of messages to or from competition winners. Proof of sending a message will not be accepted as proof of receipt of message.
• Winners will be invited to nominate a friend to join them in attending the Cupcake Baking Masterclass at one of The Hummingbird Bakery’s five London-based branches on 24^th April 2013 from 6.30pm.
• Travel and accommodation costs are not included within the prize.
• The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to change the date of the Cupcake Baking Masterclass at any time.
• No alternatives to prize available.
• The prize carries no cash value.
• The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to disqualify any entries it deems to be inappropriate for any reason.
• The Hummingbird Bakery Notting Hill reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone behaving in a disorderly fashion or causing undue disruption to staff or customers while in the process of entering this competition.
• The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to close this competition at any time.
• A complete list of winners can be obtained by sending a SAE to ‘Notting Hill Twitter Competition, The Hummingbird Bakery, First Floor, 20 Brewer Street, London, W1F 0SJ’.
• No purchase necessary to enter competition.

The Hummingbird Bakery Islington’s first birthday is coming up. And that means cake. To mark the day and say ‘thank you’ to our Islington customers we’ve a little birthday giveaway going on.

1)    Drop by our Islington bakery and make any purchase from Friday 25^th January to Sunday 27^th January (Sunday is our official birthday)

2)    Say ‘Happy Birthday’ to our cheery staff

3)    Receive a free classic cupcake to take away with you!

Classic cupcakes include the following scrumptious flavours: Red Velvet Cupcake (our bestseller), Black Bottom Cupcake, Carrot Cupcake, Vanilla Cupcake and our Chocolate Cupcake (vanilla or chocolate sponge varieties).

So don’t be a party pooper, come and wish us ‘Happy Birthday’ and have a birthday cupcake on us!

Terms and conditions:

Only one free cupcake per customer per day. Customers must make a purchase and say “Happy Birthday” to the member of staff serving them to be eligible for a free cupcake. Offer only available at The Hummingbird Bakery Islington on 25^th, 26^th and 27^th January 2013. Offer does not extend to other Hummingbird Bakery branches or to The Hummingbird Bakery’s online or delivery service. Cupcake varieties included in this offer are limited to Red Velvet, Black Bottom, Carrot Cake, Chocolate varieties and Vanilla varieties, subject to availability. ‘Made Without’ cupcakes and all other Hummingbird Bakery products are excluded from offer. The Hummingbird Bakery reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time.

Visit us

Directions:

The Angel Building,

405 St John Street,

Islington,

London,

EC1V 4AB.

Tel: 020 7851 1795

The Islington branch is a minute’s walk from Angel tube station (Northern Line) and major bus routes (including 4, 19, 38, 73 amongst others).

Opening Hours:

Friday 25^th January –  8.30am – 7.00pm

Saturday 26^th January –  10.00am – 7.00pm

Sunday 27^th January –  10.00am – 7.00pm

For the latest news

Follow us on Twitter @hummingbbakery

or

Facebook at facebook.com/HummingbirdBakery

Are you an aspiring baker who dreams of creating their own delicious recipes? The Cupcake Challenge, courtesy of Emerald Street, is offering one lucky winner the chance to see their own cupcake recipe sold in all five branches of The Hummingbird Bakery for two months.

The Cupcake Challenge is an unmissable opportunity for any baker who dreams of sharing their cupcake creations with the world. With bestselling bakes like the Red Velvet Cupcake, The Hummingbird Bakery is the leading authority on American baking and its expert bakers are the ultimate cake connoisseurs. If you think you can tempt them with your cupcake creation, read on for details on how you can enter!

TO ENTER:

Visit www.emeraldstreet.com/cupcakechallenge for details on how to enter the Cupcake Challenge and for terms and conditions.

Competition closes on 13^th February 2013.

To order your copy of ‘Home Sweet Home’:

‘Home Sweet Home’ is published by HarperCollins and is available to pre-order now (published on 14^th February 2013).

Order your copy from Amazon here: www.hummingbirdbakery.com/cookbooks/home-sweet-home/

Good luck!

Filled Cupcakes

Make your Valentine go all gooey with cupcakes that have a hidden centre. Filled cupcake sponges are a doddle to make and for the more adventurous baker they can allow the imagination to run wild with endless flavour combinations.

To fill a cupcake, you need to allow the sponge to cool before taking a sharp, small-ended knife to remove a small section of the sponge. With your chosen filling at the ready, fill the cupcake with a piping bag before replacing the small sponge lid.

You can use a paring knife, an apple corer or a specialist cupcake coring tool – whichever works best for you. Don’t throw this extra piece of sponge away – you can trim it down and use it as a lid once the filling has been piped in. Frost the top of the cupcakes to finish.

A few cupcake fillings to try:

Fruit jam, marmalade and curd

Compote

Custard

Chocolate sauce

Caramel

Ganache

Peanut butter

Hazelnut chocolate spread

Marshmallow Fluff

Heart-shaped cakes

Everything turns heart-shaped around Valentine’s Day – and cakes are no exception! If you have a heart-shaped baking tin you’d like to try out, you can adapt your recipes with a little practice to work in your new tin.

If you’re working from a recipe, it’s worth remembering that changing the dimensions of the tin will alter the cooking times and thus your sponge may need more or less time depending on the size you want the cake to be.

As a guideline, only fill your cake tin two-thirds full to leave rising room and test that the centre of the sponge is cooked through with a metal skewer – if it comes out cleanly it is ready. An oven thermometer will help you to check you are baking at the correct temperature.

Experiment with a few attempts to get the timing right, especially if the cake is for a special occasion. Even The Hummingbird Bakery’s recipe developers need a few goes to get their bakes right!

Write a message

Add a romantic finishing touch to your beautiful baking with a handwritten message. There’s a wide range of ready-to-use writing icings, but you can also use a piping bag with a thin nozzle filled with icing or coloured buttercream if you’d like to make your own.

Make sure you use a metal or plastic nozzle, rather than cutting the end off a piping bag, as this makes it much harder to achieve a neat line.

A sheet of baking parchment makes the perfect canvas for a few practise attempts, so give your message a few goes before icing your romantic note. It’s worth checking the spelling is right too!

If cake decorating isn’t your forte, roll out some fondant icing and use alphabet cutters to spell out your message – this looks especially good if you want to write a letter-by-letter message across individual cupcakes.

Happy baking and Happy Valentine’s Day! x

For Valentine’s Day cupcakes, mini cupcakes and cakes baked to pre-order from The Hummingbird Bakery visit our website here.

The joy of baking is not just about the finished treats – even though these are undeniable perks. It’s in the rituals of measuring, mixing and anticipating the first taste of a never-before-tried recipe. With over 100 tempting sweet and savoury bakes to try, we hope our third cookbook instalment will offer inspiration to get baking!

We’re also delighted to be given the opportunity to share what we know with a dedicated section offering baking tips and advice to help you achieve baking brilliance.

So what can readers look forward to? Red Velvet Roulade, Toffee Thumbprint Cookies, S’more Brownies, Cherry Pie, Maple and Walnut Streusel Cake, Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes, Olive Loaf and so much more. Homemade baking never tasted so good!

Get yours

Available from Thursday 14th February. Pre-order your copy via Amazon here.