As I type this, we are on the road to a little weekend away. It’s been such a long time since we went away just us, and it’s the first time we’ve ever taken William so I’m hoping for a truly special weekend of making memories with my favourite people. I mentioned on Instagram that we are having a bit of a Julia Donaldson themed summer as Florence’s imagination has suddenly been captured by her stories and one of the things on our Summer bucket list was to meet the Gruffalo. Well, after a day of exploring and visiting family today, we are heading to Chessington to do just that! So so excited.

So what better road trip snacks to take than these homemade Gruffalo Cupcakes! I quickly rustled them up this morning ready to pack up in the picnic basket and I was so pleased with how they turned out (usually I’m a bit of a baking disaster!) I thought I’d share how I made them with you guys.

I’ve also packed ‘Scrambled Snake’ pasta, ‘Little brown Mouse’ Cheeses sticks & ‘Roasted Fox’ snack size pies. I might share the recipes to all of these too in the next week or so.

I’ll warn you now, I’m a bit of a convenience baker. As a busy Mama with very little baking skill I am not ashamed to admit to using some shop bought packet ingredients so if you’re anything like me, you’ll love this recipe.

The recipe

Ingredients

125g self raising flour

125g caster sugar

125g softened butter / margarine

2 large eggs

Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Ready made orange modelling icing

Chocolate sprinkles & balls

White chocolate sprinkles

Mini marshmallows (12, chopped in half diagonally)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180• Combine the flour, caster sugar, butter & eggs in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until you have a smooth mixture.

Place 12 cupcake cases into a muffin tin and spoon equal amounts of the mixture into each one and pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until they’re risen and golden brown. I always do the knife test to check there’s no raw mixture inside.

Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Once cooled it’s time to decorate! Using a spatula or straight side of a dinner knife spread chocolate frosting across the top of each cake. For these I scooped about a teaspoon of frosting onto each and then spread it in circular motions. Remember, it doesn’t have to be neat as you’re making a furry monster!

Next, make 24 pea sized balls from the orange icing by rolling small amounts in the palms of your hands. Add a chocolate ball sprinkle to make the pupil and then put the eyes in place on top of each cake.

Cut 12 mini marshmallows diagonally in half and place them on either side at the top of the cakes to make the Gruffalo’s horns.

Squeeze a dot of green writing icing in the middle to represent the ‘poisonous wart on the end of his nose followed by a handful of white chocolate sprinkles to make his terrible teeth in his terrible jaws!

Finally shake some chocolate sprinkles all over each cake for his fur.

These Gruffalo inspired cupcakes make the perfect snack for a day out at one of the many gruffalo trails & forests across the UK as well as fab party treats! They’re super tasty and bound to be a hit with any Gruffalo fans!

Back when I ordered those first three newborn nappies from Baba + Boo I had all the best intentions but if I’m being totally honest, I didn’t think I’d stick with the whole reusable nappy idea. The constant need for washing and reported long drying times just seemed too much for a busy mum of two demanding small children. Little did I realise what a kick I’d get out of reaching for a cloth nappy over a ‘disposable’ each time William needed changing. I had no idea the satisfaction I would feel every time I filled our washing line up with pretty patterned pockets and freshly cleaned inserts knowing that simply using those the day before meant that I’d saved a bunch of nappies ending up in landfill and clogging up our planet.

I am now the proud owner of 12 BTP (Birth to Potty) nappies from a combination of brands – Baba + Boo, Bambino Mio & Cloth Baby Bums (Gifted). Most I’ve had brand new, but I’ve also got a couple of second hand ones too. While it means washing a bunch every day until I complete my stash, William is more or less in cloth full time with the occasional disposable saving the day when we run out. Over the next few months I’m hoping to build my stash to around 25 nappies which will mean I can get down to washing every 2nd / 3rd day but all the time the sun is shining I don’t mind washing over night and drying during the day. And because I can pop them in with a normal wash load I’m not really increasing my workload – just keeping more on top of the laundry than I ever did before!

We seem to have the current fit sussed now so we have very few leaks etc and they just seem so much comfier than single use ones and I’ve been teaming them with just a T-shirt in this hot weather to keep William cool. Even Sean – who was such a sceptic! – has come around to the idea now he’s seen that even the poop really isn’t a big deal.

I’ve had so many people comment on William’s nappies and how lovely they are. They’ve opened up so many conversations about the impact single use nappies have on our planet, not to mention our bank balances in the long run! A couple of friends have even asked if they could borrow one to try out before they make the commitment to buying their own which I’m always happy to help with. After all, every wear of a reusable nappy means one less ‘disposable’ being chucked out and impacting our environment!

The whole switch from single use nappies (which by the way are made from about 50% plastic!) to cloth has been way easier and rewarding than I imagined it would be and I’m so glad I made the change.

Are you using cloth nappies with your little one? Or are you just not sure?