James' nephew, Finlay turned 1 on 10 July and he is cuter than ever! His proud parents had organised a picnic at the Chorleywood common to celebrate this special day with family and friends. I always jumped at any opportunities to go to events where there will be children around so I can take endless pictures of the cute tiny wee persons.
It was also the Chorleywood Village Fete so there were plenty of stalls, displays, funfairs and food. Isabelle was very pleased with her new tattoo that she got from a stall and posing like a pro in front of the camera.
The picnic was set up under a tree but it was still a very hot day with no breeze. That's probably why Fin's big sister, Evie jumped at the chance to put on her new swimming cossie that we got her. It looked so cute on her! She was so occupied in playing hide and seek with our dog, Princess that I was able to snap a few pictures of her.
I always like to bake when there is a family birthday. This time I used the vanilla cupcake recipe from the Hummingbird bakery cookbook. Here's the recipe if you are interested in making some yourself.
+ 1 cup all-purpose flour
+ ¾ cup sugar
+ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
+ a pinch of salt
+ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
+ ½ cup whole milk
+ 1 egg
+ ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
+ a 12-hole cupcake pan lined with paper cases
Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl and beat on slow speed until everything is combined. Slowly pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is incorporated. Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl, then pour into the flour mixture. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the paper cases until two thirds full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden and the cake bounces back when touched. I used a 24 mini cupcake pan and it was ready in under 20 minutes.
