The weeks have flown!  Work has been busy, home life has been busy and the weather - that is debatable!! The half term holidays have been so relaxing and we even managed a visit to Choccywoccydoodah in Brighton!!  It was a dream of our 8 year old son, to go there, so during a visit to see our older son, who is at Uni in Brighton, it seemed only fitting to visit, the famous cake place!!

 The cake displays were amazing in the shop, the interior decoration in the Bar Du Chocolat was brilliant, and a slice of Tiffin decorated with melted Belgian chocolate was so huge, our boys had to have half of their slice in a takeaway box.  My hubby and I shared a slice of the Choccywoccy chocolate cake - it was huge, great chocolate taste but slightly dry, not sweet, served with lots of melted Belgian chocolate, berry sauce and a huge dollop of vanilla ice-cream made it so delicious.   (Could have gone for another shot of this on the second day......oh but the calories).  I will keep it on my tick list for a visit again.....it isn't a place, you should do just once!!  The coffees and the hot chocolates are served in the biggest cups, I have seen.....and they take some finishing!!

Baking is my down time.....my time to relax and to escape into a little world of my own.....it saves me from the stresses of life!!  These fresh strawberry and coconut cupcakes, with vanilla swiss meringue, a dollop of cream and summer berries were delicious!  They were perfect for the warm day that I made them and they disappeared quickly too!

Fresh Strawberry and Coconut cupcake with Swiss meringue and summer berries

Makes 12

Topping - 150g frozen summer berries defrosted.

 Cake

6oz self raising flour

6 oz caster sugar

6 oz butter or margarine

3 eggs

100g fresh strawberries – washed and chopped into small pieces

1 tsp vanilla

1oz dessicated coconut

3 tablespoons milk

Mix the eggs, flour, sugar, margarine and vanilla together until the mixture is thick and pale and creamy.  Stir in the fresh strawberries, coconut and milk, then divide between 12 large cupcake cases.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius until well risen, golden and springy to the touch

Swiss meringue buttercream

2 egg whites

100g caster sugar

175g softened butter

Whisk the egg whites at high speed in a clean bowl over a pan of simmering water until soft peaks form.  Gradually whisk in the sugar, until the sugar is dissolved.  Carefully remove the bowl from the simmering water and whisk for approximately 10 minutes.  Allow the meringue mixture to cool completely.  When cooled, whisk in the softened butter, whisking until the meringue is of a consistency suitable for piping.

To Assemble.

Pipe the swiss meringue butter cream onto the cakes.  Spoon over a tablespoon of defrosted summer berries and serve immediately.

Jubilee Cupcakes  (For the Local Hairdressing Salon)