April Fool's Day Cupcakes

It's April Fool's Day on Sunday and what better way to trick your family and friends than with these imaginative and irresistible cupcakes!


Corn on the Cob 


What you'll need -

• White iced cupcakes
• Yellow and white jelly beans
• Yellow Starburst sweets
• White and black decorating sugar
• Corn holders

Place the jelly beans in rows along three iced cupcakes to mimic kernels. Line up the cupcakes and sprinkle the white and black decorating sugar across the tops. To make the butter, mould a yellow Starburst fruit sweet in your hands or place in the microwave for only a few seconds, then set it on top of the centre cupcake. Add a corn holder to each end of the cob and serve on a plate. 

Feeling creative? Why not try serving up these Spaghetti and Meatball cupcakes!

• White icing tinted with cocoa powder and yellow food colouring
• Hazelnut Chocolates e.g. Ferrero Rocher 
• Low Sugar Strawberry Preserve e.g. Balance No Added Sugar Strawberry Jam
• Shredded coconut

Arrange the cupcakes on a plate so that they are all touching. Place the icing in a sandwich bag and snip a hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe the icing all over the cupcakes to resemble spaghetti. Place the chocolate in the strawberry jam then position them on top of the cupcakes with some extra jam for sauce! Sprinkle with shredded coconut or grated white chocolate!  

These wonderful cupcake creations are from a book I have called 'Hello Cupcake' by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson.

Click here to visit the Hello Cupcake website!

They are guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face and get people talking! Not only do they look absolutely fantastic but they are delicious too! 

Let me know if you have a go at making them and send in your pictures! 

7 Sweet Easter Facts

Easter's not far away so I thought I'd share some fun chocolate Easter facts with you!

• The first chocolate eggs were made in Europe in the early 19th century and remain one of the most popular treats associated with Easter today.
• Over 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year.
• 76 % of people eat the ears on their chocolate Easter bunnies first. 5% said bunnies should be eaten feet first, whilst 4 % favoured eating the tail first. 
• Jelly beans began to be associated with Easter in the 1930s because of their egg like shape and bright colours. 
• Americans consume more than 16 billion jelly beans at Easter! 
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records the largest Easter egg ever made was just over 25ft high and made of chocolate and marshmallow. The egg weighed 4076kg and was supported by an internal steel frame. 
• The world's most expensive chocolate Easter egg has sold for £7,000 in London. 

There is a fantastic selection of Easter treats on our website, from eggs to bunnies, chicks to chocolate bees! All of our products are made with the finest chocolate, are extremely delicious and would make perfect presents! www.justforyouconfectionery.co.uk 

101 Things to do with Jelly Beans #4

101 Things to do with Jelly Beans - #4 Create a piece of jelly bean artwork

These amazing pieces of jelly bean artwork were the original concept of American artist Pete Rocha. Now many talented artists are giving jelly bean art a go and creating some incredible portraits.

Why not try creating your own piece of ‘eye candy’ using your favourite film star, singer or celebrity for inspiration? You could even attempt a self portrait!  

Well I never! Chocolate on the Catwalk

I don’t know how many of you watch ‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ on Channel 4, but week after week I find myself being drawn to watching it, sat in awe looking at the extraordinary and extravagant dresses. I therefore set out to find some more wonderful dress creations but made out of chocolate!

The annual Salon du Chocolat, held in Paris, is the world’s largest show dedicated to chocolate. Every year, fashion designers and chocolatiers from around the world collaborate to dress French models, TV presenters, actresses and singers in the much anticipated Chocolate Dress Fashion Show. All the creations are made of, or decorated with chocolate!

http://www.salon-du-chocolat.com/ 

101 Things to do with Jelly Beans #3

101 Things to do with Jelly Beans - #3  Create your own Jelly Bean Flower Arrangement


This is a unique, clever and simple way to add your own touch to a vase of flowers and create a fabulous table decoration this Easter!


What you'll need -

• Two clear glass vases of different sizes.
• Jelly Beans!
• A bunch of Spring flowers.
• Ribbon.

What to do –

• Place the smaller vase inside the larger one.
• Fill the gap between the two vases with jelly beans! You can use a mixture and pour them in or layer different colours on top of each other.
• Pour some water into the small vase and place your bunch of flowers inside.
• Tie the ribbon around the outer vase and finish with a beautiful bow!

  There you have it! A cheery and colourful display that will brighten up any home this Spring!

Catch Him if You Can!

I hope you all had a fabulous St Patrick’s Day and Mothering Sunday! Monday’s here again which can only mean one thing … competition time!

Everyday this week the Easter Bunny, one a bit like this...

will be hiding somewhere on the Just For You Confectionery website.

Your challenge is to find him!!

The first person to reveal his hiding place each day will be sent one of these luxurious large Butlers chocolate Easter Eggs with truffle and praline mini eggs. 

There may also be Easter treats for some lucky runner’s up too!

What you have to do - 

• It's simple, go to www.justforyouconfectionery.co.uk and start looking! Remember it's a challenge!  
• Once you've found him, let me know by emailing info@justforyouconfectionery.co.uk.

The rules -

• The competition will finish at noon GMT Friday 23rd March 2012.
• Only available to UK mainland addresses.
• Your details won’t be passed onto any third party or kept in any way.
• This promotion is no way sponsored, endorsed or administrated by, or associated with Facebook.
• Unless otherwise requested at the time of the post the winner’s name will be announced on the blog. 
• The lucky winner will be sent an email asking for their delivery address details. 

Whilst you’re there share the competition with your friends, ‘Like’ our Facebook page and follow the blog to be kept up to date with more fantastic weekly prize giveaways! 

Happy hunting!!


Tuesday 20/03/2012 - Congratulations to Amy Imeson who was the first person to spot our Easter Bunny today! Please contact me via email Amy, info@justforyouconfectionery.co.uk to arrange delivery of your prize! 


Tuesday 20/03/2012 (afternoon) - As no one spotted the Easter Bunny on Monday, I decided to give away an extra Easter egg yesterday afternoon. The lucky winner is Laura Elizabeth Brown who was the first person to reveal his secret hiding place! Congratulations! Laura if you'd like to contact me via email, info@justforyouconfectionery.co.uk I can arrange delivery of your prize! 


Wednesday 21/03/2012 - Well done Anne Mansey who was the first person to reveal the Easter Bunny's secret hiding place! Please contact me via email, info@justforyouconfectionery.co.uk to arrange delivery of your Easter Egg! 


Thursday 22/03/2012 - I decided to challenge you all and hide the Easter Bunny somewhere a bit more difficult! I know many of you struggled to find him and as it is the end of the week I will make it easier today. However, congratulations to Jen Bell who was the first person to email in with the bunny’s secret location!!


Friday 23/03/2012 - Congratulations to Leanne Lunn who spotted the Easter Bunny first!! Your Easter egg will be with you soon! 


A big thank you to everyone for getting involved with our Easter Bunny hunt!! Keep checking the blog, Facebook and Twitter pages for more chances to win delicious chocolates, sweets and treats! 


Have a fantastic weekend! 

101 Things to do with Jelly Beans - #2 Make a Music Video

Continuing with the 101 Things to do with Jelly Beans weekly feature ... 

#2 Make a Music Video

Singer-songwriter Kina Grannis’ video for her song ‘In Your Arms’ became an internet sensation in just a few days. Why? Her animated music video was created entirely from jelly beans … 288,000 to be precise!

The project took over 22 months to complete and hours of hard work and patience from the ‘jelly bean animation team’ which consisted of over 30 people!

The result, however, is this unique, creative, colourful and simply amazing music video!

Have a look at how it was made ...

Do you have any creative uses for jelly beans? I’d love to know what weird and wonderful things you can come up with, so get in touch with ideas and photos and I’ll feature them in the blog! 

Butlers Chocolate Box Competition!

Butlers Wrapped Chocolate Selection Box 370g

It’s Monday morning and what better way to start the week than with another fantastic giveaway.

As it is St Patrick’s Day this weekend, Saturday 17^th March, our competition has an Irish theme to it. One lucky winner will be sent this delicious hand picked assortment of milk, white and dark chocolate truffles and pralines. This lovely big box of chocolates is incredibly indulgent and will satisfy any chocoholic’s needs. It’s beautifully wrapped and made in Ireland by Butlers Chocolates.

How to enter –

• Write an original Limerick - a witty, humorous or nonsense rhyming poem that’s just five lines.
• Post it on my blog OR
• Post it to the Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/JustForYouConfectionery

The rules –

• The competition will finish at noon GMT Wednesday 14^th March 2012.
• I’ll pick the limerick I consider to be the best and both the winner’s name and limerick will be posted on the blog on Thursday 15^th March 2012.
• As the poems can be viewed publicly, please keep the content clean! I reserve the right to exclude entries that I feel are inappropriate or not in the spirit of the competition. 
• Only available to UK mainland addresses.
• Your details won’t be passed onto any third party or kept in any way.
• This promotion is no way sponsored, endorsed or administrated by, or associated with Facebook.
• The lucky winner will be sent an email asking for their delivery address details.
• Unless otherwise requested at the time of the post the winner’s name will be announced on the blog.
  
  

Whilst you’re there share the competition with your friends, ‘Like’ our Facebook page and follow the blog to keep up to date with more fantastic weekly prize give-aways! 

Good Luck!




15/03/2012 - I was unbelievably impressed by all of the limericks that were sent in! They were unique, creative and gave us all a good giggle, so well done to everyone who entered! After much deliberation the winner of this scrumptious box of chocolates from Butlers is ... 


Emily Fowler with this fantastic limerick,

There once was a lady called Fi,
Who went to her aunty's for tea,
She reached for a truffle,
Caused a bit of a scuffle,
Upon winning she shouted whoopee!

They'll be another competition on Monday so check the blog, Facebook and Twitter pages to find out what the prize will be and how you can win!

Something for the Weekend

BBC Food - Mississippi Mud Pie

It’s coming to the end of National Pie week, so I thought I’d set myself a challenge for the weekend. To make one of these ... a Mississippi Mud Pie! It looks incredibly indulgent and a dessert designed for chocolate lovers. If all goes well I may even attempt to bake it again for Mother’s Day.

If any of you have got any hints, tips or fail proof recipes please let me know!

Don’t forget, Mum’s the word! Sunday 18^th March will soon be upon us and Just For You want to help you make your Mum feel extra special. With every order you place with us between now and Friday 16^th March we will pop a delightful chocolate gift in with it for free! (See previous blog post or website for more information).

Remember there'll be another fantastic giveaway on Monday so make sure to check the blog, Facebook and Twitter pages for details on how to get your hands on some more free sweet treats!

101 Things to do with Jelly Beans

I am unbelievably impressed with the response to the Jelly Bean Machine Giveaway so far. Thank you all for your comments, posts, shares and likes! Remember to tell me your favourite Jelly Bean flavour from The Jelly Bean Factory range before noon tomorrow (Thursday 8^th March)! The lucky winner will be announced on Friday!

I've got jelly beans on the brain and for a bit of fun I’m going to start a weekly feature … 

101 Things to do with Jelly Beans! 

 

Here's a few someone made earlier!

#1 Make a Jelly Bean bracelet!

What you’ll need:

• Some jelly beans from The Jelly Bean Factory!
• A sewing needle
• Elastic thread

What to do:

• Tie a knot in one end of the elastic and carefully thread the jelly beans onto it using the needle.
• Once you have reached the desired size, tie the bracelet together.
• Use your favourite flavours, colours or a mixture of both!
• Voila! You’ve got your own eye catching and edible jelly bean jewellery! 

I’d love to know what weird and wonderful things you can come up with, so get in touch with ideas and photos and I’ll feature them in the blog!

Mum's the Word!

Mother’s Day is the one day of the year when mums are entitled to be spoilt rotten by the rest of their family. Sunday 18^th March will soon be upon us and Just For You want to help you make your Mum feel extra special.

With every order you place with us between now and Friday 16^th March we will pop one of these delightful chocolate gifts in with it for free! (Gosh The Powers That Be are feeling very generous at the moment!).

You can choose from a ‘Be Happy’ milk chocolate Heart, ‘Be Happy’ milk chocolate Mini Hearts, or ‘Be Happy’ milk chocolate Neapolitans.

When you go to check out your items, just state which one you’d like in the ‘Order and delivery comments’ box. 

'Be Happy' Neapolitans

'Be Happy' Mini Hearts

'Be Happy' Heart 

Jelly Bean Machine Giveaway!

To celebrate National Jelly Bean Day next month, Just For You Confectionery is going to launch a jellytastic competition for all you jelly bean devotees out there.

Whilst it’s under wraps I have been sworn to secrecy but I can tell you now you will not want to miss out!

So to feed your appetite until then we’ll be running weekly giveaways that are easy to enter and you could be in with the chance of winning some fantastic prizes!

Every Monday there will be a tempting treat to try and get your hands on. Today it’s the brilliant Bean Machine from The Jelly Bean Factory! This novel product comes filled with 600g of delicious jelly beans! 

Around 26cm tall, it'll happily fit on your desk at work and you'll be the envy of your colleagues! Or pop it on the kitchen counter for everyone to see and share.  


I can guarantee the beans won't last long but not to worry, this Bean Machine can be refilled and reused time after time!

How to enter –

·        It's really simple, just let me know your favourite jelly bean flavour from The Jelly Bean Factory range.

·        Leave a comment on my blog OR

·        Post a comment on the Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/JustForYouConfectionery

 

The rules –

• The competition will finish at noon GMT Thursday 8^th March 2012.
• • The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday 9^th March 2012.
• Only available to UK mainland addresses.
• Your details won’t be passed onto any third party or kept in any way.
• This promotion is no way sponsored, endorsed or administrated by, or associated with Facebook.
• The lucky winner will be sent an email asking for their delivery address details.

Whilst you’re there share the competition with your friends, ‘Like’ our Facebook page and follow the blog to keep up to date with more fantastic weekly prize give-aways! 

Good Luck!




09/03/2012 Drum roll please! The lucky winner of this brilliant Bean Machine from The Jelly Bean Factory is .... Jayne Kohli! Her favourite jelly bean flavour is Wild Cherry, which was by far the most popular choice amongst you all! 


Congratulations Jayne! Please contact me via email, info@justforyouconfectionery.co.uk to arrange delivery of your prize! 


A big thank you to everyone for entering and remember there will be another fantastic giveaway on Monday so make sure to check the blog, Facebook and Twitter pages for details on how to get your hands on some more free sweet treats!

Sweet Giveaways!

I have some exciting news! As of next week Just For You Confectionery will be running weekly prize giveaways and competitions!

They’ll be easy to enter and as we currently don’t have a huge following online there is quite a high chance of you winning!

I will tell all on here on Monday so make sure you check back to see how you could get your hands on some fantastic prizes! 

Enjoy your weekend! :)