green tea, apple and walnut cupcakes

This week's cupcake is delicate and fruity and basically a fluffy pillow of comfort for your taste buds. Like with the green tea cupcakes I made for Mother's Day (You can find them here), I poured a tiny (but strong) amount of tea-infused water into the mixture although this time I used to cranberry instead of mango and lychee. Small chopped up pieces of apple are hidden in the sponge and walnuts were sprinkled on top before baking :-)

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER

Rhubarb crumble cupcakes

Wishing all my UK readers a lovely bank holiday! A three day weekend, more than any other weekend, is perfect for consuming the above. 

Homemade coconut scones anyone? (served with a cup of tea, naturally).
I have discovered that adding coconut milk to a smoothie makes it even more flavorsome, which is what I did with the avocado, banana and almond milk one photographed here. It's a great way to kick start the day! As is a boiled egg in an egg cup that comes prepared with its own hammer. (eaten with soldiers, of course)
Or, if brunch is more your thing, my new favourite crumpet topping is avocado and walnuts. So delicious.

Finally, today's recipe (which you may have gathered by the title) is for rhubarb crumble cupcakes. Made from freshly picked rhubarb from my back garden, these make the tastiest dessert.

To make them, you will need...

• About 140g rhubarb
• 60g butter
• 60g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 60g wholemeal flour
• 25g oats

What to do...

• Cook the rhubarb beforehand. This takes about 20 minutes
• and then mix together the butter and sugar
• Beat in the egg and then combine half of your rhubarb.
• Add the flour and then the rest of the rhubarb. 
• Mix in the oats.
• Now you can spoon your cupcake mixture into its cases. Once you've filled them up, sprinkle some more oats on top to give it more of a crumble effect.
• Cook for about 15 minutes.

Best served with vanilla ice cream and a scatter of almonds. Enjoy :-)

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER

Lindor cupcakes

I am a lover of chocolate. I mean, who isn't? and I do believe that Lindor chocolate is by far one of  the tastiest of them all. Thankfully, my friend Katharine agrees and as it's her birthday tomorrow I thought it would only be right to treat her...but in a slightly different way by combining two of my favourite things! You too can have a go if you want to experience the wonders of a chocolaty foodgasm. The recipe below is for two people- so, perfect for you and somebody special :-)

You will need...

• 60g butter
• 1 egg
• 60g brown sugar
• 75g wholemeal flour
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 3 Lindor chocolates
• 75g butter
• 175g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

What to do...

• Preheat the oven to 180 
• Mix together your butter and sugar, then add the egg followed by the flour and cocoa powder for your typical cupcake mixture
• Put 1 to 2 tablespoons into the cases and even out
• Then cut your Lindor chocolates in half and scoop out the incredibly delicious soft bit that's found inside. Put those bits to one side (these will be used for decorating the cakes later) and then cut the outer part of the chocolate balls up and sprinkle some inside your cases
• Layer with another few tablespoons of mixture and add the remainder of the chopped up Lindors. (They will melt on top and make it extra gooey. yum)
• Place in the oven for about fifteen- twenty minutes and then take out and leave to cool
• For decorating, make your buttercream by combining the butter and sugar and then the cocoa powder.
• Next form a mountain on top of your cakes and finish by placing those incredibly delicious soft bits amongst it. (Saving a bigger piece for the top)
  
  
  I really hope this makes sense because I am so bad at explaining, sorry!!

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER

weekend mode

nectarine, pear, banana, yoghurt and almond milk smoothie

breakfast cupcakes (see below)

hot chocolate with cream and cinnamon

homemade mini pizzas with cheese, spinach and avocado

Mmm aren't weekends satisfying? This week's recipe fully embraces Saturday mornings, which are made for lounging about in your pjs and indulging in your favourite things. But don't be mislead by the connotations of cupcakes because (like many of the recipes I post on here) these won't leave you feeling guilty about what you've consumed. Instead, you'll be all set for the feelgood day ahead :-)

You will need...

• 60g butter
• 60g brown sugar
• 75g wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1 egg
• an orange
• dried fruit
• nuts
• oats

What to do...

• As always, start by creaming the butter and sugar together
• Combine the egg and fold in the flour
• Squeeze out some juice from your orange and add to the ingredients for extra flavour
• Grab a few handfuls of nuts (I used cashew and brazil nuts) and chop them into small pieces before mixing them into your bowl
• Do the same with the dried fruit
• Spoon into your cake cases and then sprinkle a layer of oats on top
• Bake for about 15 minutes

Simple!  Happy baking :-)

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER 

green tea cupcakes

Wishing a happy mother's day to all the wonderful mum's out there! I decided to bake my mum some treats with a selection of all her favourite flavours. It's incredibly simple, takes hardly any time and the results are delicious. So if you feel like your mum's missing an extra little something today, why not have a go at one of these? :-)

The pictures above are for the green tea cupcakes, which definitely went down the best, and their delicate taste is well suited for today's occasion. Please bare in mind that my recipe is for 12 mini ones and I divided the mixture up into three different flavours (coconut and lemon were also included) so you can always modify yours.

You will need...

• 60g butter
• 60g sugar 
• 75g self-raising flour
• 1 egg
• 1 green tea teabag
• pistachio nuts
• (dessicated coconut)
• (lemon food colouring)
• (walnuts)

What to do....

• Boil the kettle, as you would when making a cup of tea, and pour a small amount of water into a jug, cup, whatever. Then pop in your teabag (to be precise, the one I used was a mango and lychee green tea because that's my mummy's favourite) and leave it resting in the water

• Next, cream your butter and sugar then combine the egg and fold in the flour.

• Take out the teabag and then pour the tea into your mixture and give it a nice mix so it's all soaked in.

• Chop up some pistachio nuts (if you had some) as these make a pleasing topping :-D

• Spoon the mixture into cake cases and then sprinkle some of nuts on top of each.

• Bake for about 15 minutes

• If doing any of the other flavours, simply follow the same steps but for the lemon I sprinkled chopped up walnuts on top and for the coconut I used dessicated coconut.

As you can see below, I did not stop there. Nu-uh. I also make some tarts for dessert. Again this could not be easier to make. I added dessicated coconut to the (homemade, of course) pastry and baked for 15 minutes. Then, once cooled, I added a fine layer of jam to the middle and topped with blackberries and pistachio nuts. We are not sure how it tastes yet as we're saving them for after dinner but for the sake of this post and selling these recipes to you... IT WAS FANTASTIC.

Hope you have a good day/ had a good weekend. I'm off to do coursework now. Fun, fun, fun.

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER 

blueberry and avocado cupcakes

This week's recipe is a cupcake- a cupcake with a hidden surprise. BLUEBERRIES. (and avocado in the topping) So if you like to satiate your appetite with sweet fruitiness, this one's for you.

(My recipe makes 6 mini ones so you can always modify yours. The recipe for the buttercream was taken from How Sweet It Is )

You will need...

• 80g butter
• 80g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 90g wholemeal self-raising flour
• small handful of blueberries

• 1 avocado
• 2 cups (I think that's about 350g icing sugar)
• 1 tablespoon butter

What to do...

• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Beat in the egg and then fold in the flour
• scoop a spoonful of mixture into the cake case and then place a blueberry or two in the center. Cover with more mixture
• Repeat with the rest of the cases and then bake for about 15 minutes.

• For the topping, cream the butter and avocado in a mixer until smooth then pour in the sugar and mix again.
• fill a piping bag (or whatever you use) with the butter cream and squeeze on to the top of the cakes. 
• Save until the morning or eat and enjoy straight away :-)

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER 

hooray for the weekend

RECIPE OF THE WEEK. I've thought maybe this could be a new feature for my blog as it is becoming part of my weekend routine to bake up some mini treats (partly due to the cupcake maker I unexpectedly received for Christmas) and I like to share them with you because, well, everyone likes cakes and stuff, right?

I understand that many hate bananas and if you are one of those many then I am sorry but this one's heavily banana based. It's an ideal breakfast cupcake as it's packed with healthy energy to hopefully help keep you feeling awake and active throughout the morning. It's also incredibly simple and quick to make! To do so, you will need...

• 2 bananas
• 1 egg
• 50g butter
• 50g brown sugar
• 65g wholemeal self raising flour

what to do...

• Preheat the oven to 180
• Mash one banana and the egg together. (I did this in a mixer and then poured it into a bowl)
• In a larger bowl, beat together the butter and sugar
• Add the banana mixture and then fold in your flour
• Finally, divide into cases and bake for 15-20 minutes. I placed a slice of banana on top of mine, as you can see 

As it's the weekend, I'd like to leave you with this thought: wouldn't it be wonderful to spend the week as a princess, living in these dresses from the Valentino spring 2013 couture collection? luxuriant, exquisite, dainty... wouldn't it be a dream?

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER

snow inspo

The sight of snowflakes descending from the sky is like that of fairy dust trailing from Tinkerbell's wand. A thick covering of snow has the ability to turn an everyday view into a magical scene and, when fresh and untouched, it's delicate and beauteous. As I type this, I am sat by a blazing fire in my living room while outside there's nothing but snow. Snow, snow, snow that's all the UK can talk about right now and it would be an understatement to say it doesn't fill me with excitement. I mean if it's going to be frrreeeeezing, it might as well snow or what is the point?

Feeling inspired, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to embrace all things white and whip out the coconut, making a moreish treat that will warm up your taste buds and leave you feeling deeply satisfied.

BLOGLOVIN' ♥ INSTAGRAM ♥ TWITTER

post-Christmas cupcakes

OK, hands up: who's feeling the consequences of Christmas with stodgy, bloated stomachs and the desire to detox for the new year? It's natural, it's common, it's understandable yet why deprive yourself of yummy food when you know, deep down, that's the last thing you want to do. Well these poppy seed and lemon cupcakes are a healthy alternative that still have the appearance of being indulging but are filled with fresh lemons- a successful component in detox dieting because of the ability to break down the build up of toxins in the body while contributing to short term weight loss. Result ;-)

You will need...

1 lemon
50g wholemeal flour,
2 table spoons of poppy seeds,
50g butter,

1 egg,
50g sultanas

What to do...

• mix the butter with the sugar in a bowl and then beat in the egg. 
• Squeeze the juice out of a lemon and pour into the bowl of ingredients
• combine the poppy seeds and then fold in the flour
• mix in the sultanas and then spoon the mixture into cake cases.
• bake for approximately twenty minutes at 180 degrees.
• I then juiced a second lemon and lightly spread it on top for extra flavour and a shinier finish but this is entirely optional.

Let's bake! Fruit cake cupcakes

It's the most wonderful time of the year sang Andy Williams and he couldn't have been more correct. Festive food is just one of the pleasures of December and I'm not talking about Turkey and all things meaty (hi, Veggies!) It's only around now that I can snack away on a whole chocolate orange and feel guilt-free, or munch on Ferrero Rochers (especially the coconut ones. yum) because my mother refuses to buy chocolates like that any other time of the year. And, of course, fruit cake! My grandma always used to make the best fruit cake but that was a while ago and since then Lakeland's have always been a pleasant alternative. Right now though I decided to combine the delight of both Christmas cake and cupcakes with these simple-to-bake lovelies. The photos above were taken during the process of making them so I hope you have find the final result (placed next to home-made mince pies) more appetising to the eye. Scroll down for the recipe. Enjoy!! ♥

63g butter,

50g brown sugar,

1tsp grated orange,

1 egg,

250g dried mixed fruit,

50ml orange juice,

38g plain flour,

38g self-raising flour,

1/2 tsp mixed spice,

decoration: regal icing, glace cherries, dried apricot, raisins, green food colouring

• preheat the oven to 170 then begin by beating the butter, sugar and orange peel together in a bowl
• once creamy, add the egg and beat in
• pour in the dried fruit, walnuts and orange juice and then, once mixed, stir in the flour and mixed spice
• divide into cupcake cases and place in the oven for 30 minutes
• When ready and your kitchen is smelling delicious, leave to cool and begin with the decorations.
• Roll out the icing (I brought some ready made) and then cut out circles to place on top
  You can then do whatever you fancy but I attempted holly (using a cherry cut in half and food-coloured icing) and Rudolph (using a cherry cut in half, raisins and dried apricot)
• Then finally and most importantly, take a bite and enjoy the taste of Christmas

CUPCAKES

Hola! This afternoon I baked up these for my friend Heather (that's her next to Elmo) as it's her eighteenth birthday on Sunday and sadly I cannot make it to her party. I hope she likes them and my commendable artistic skills (har har) The sponge is coco with chocolate chips and the decorations are made from butter icing.