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!!

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creme egg surprise

I remember the days when the first cream egg of the year generated nearly the same excitement as the first mince pie of the year. It was a treasured experience having that foodgasmic taste take over my taste buds, producing the excessive levels of satisfaction that I had been waiting for for about 10/11 months. But now that's never the case because creme eggs are constantly available. Being on show twelve months a year means, to me, they have lost that Easter magic. I mean, I don't have have to buy them. I don't. Apart from on this occasion as these creme egg cupcakes were first made at the end of January. I just couldn't resist the temptation OK?! It was a one off though and I have now waited until now to make them again. As it's Easter a week on Sunday, I thought it would be only fitting to have these as my 'recipe of the week'. They are pretty darn delicious if not incredibly sickly.

To make two you will need...

• 60g butter
• 60g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 75g wholemeal flour
• cocoa powder 
• 2 creme eggs

What to do...

• Pre-heat the oven to 180
• Mix all the ingredients together- starting with butter and sugar, then egg, flour...you get the idea.
• once your chocolaty mixture is complete, put approximately two table spoons of it into the bottom of a cake case and then place your creme egg on top. It is perhaps easier if you cut one of the ends off the egg just so it's a little bit smaller, therefore making the cakes less bulky when in the oven.
• Cover the egg with more mixture and then repeat for the next cake.
• Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
• When done and taken out, you have two options. You can either decorate the tops (like above) with buttercream and maybe grated chocolate or, if you're feeling extra indulgent, whilst still warm you can cut it in half (so all the gooiness begins to stream out), add some whipped cream and eat it like some kind of yummy dessert. 

Happy baking!

On the playlist: Vampire Weekend Diane Young; Vampire Weekend Step

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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 :-)

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kick start your weekend with a SMOOTHIE.

Those who follow me on Instagram (or have looked at the photos at the side of my blog) would have noticed the seemingly copious amount of homemade smoothies captured this week. The reason for that is last Saturday, after what felt like forever, I decided to blend up a refreshing accompaniment for my breakfast and have since become somewhat addicted. I then thought it was only appropriate to use this for my recipe(s) of the week feature so if you're fighting a winter cold, looking for new healthy alternatives to begin your day, want a flavoursome (but not annoyingly fatty) dessert, or just genuinely love a smoothie, why not treat yourself to one of the easy-to-make, unoriginal recipes I have been loving the past seven days :-)

(from left to right): 1. This one was taken from the awesome women at Tone It Up and includes orange, banana, spinach, kale, and almond milk.
2. avocado, orange, banana and almond milk served with my Sunday morning crumpets ;-)
3. banana, plain yogurt and fruit juice served with a peanut butter and yogurt dip ;-)
4. peanut butter, cocoa powder, banana and almond milk.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, whatever you've got coming up. I'm just going to pretend I'm at New York fashion week when in actual fact I'm in a totally boring city in England doing coursework. YAY for good times.

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cheese and sun-dried tomato biscuits

Sometimes (always) it's nice to indulge in Italian-style flavours midday when your tummy's calling for yummy food. These biscuits are ideal for a Saturday lunch, which is why I'm presenting them to you on this Friday evening :-) I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

You will need...

• 100g wholemeal flour
• 50g butter
• 50g cheese
• 50g sun-dried tomatoes
• dried basil
• dried oregano 

What to do...

• In a large bowl, simply rub the butter and flour together until breadcrumbs are formed
• Then put in the rest of the ingredients by grating the cheese, chopping up the tomatoes into small pieces (perhaps smaller than I did), and adding a dash of basil and oregano for extra flavouring
• pour in a bit of water to form a dough-like mixture and then flatten on a lightly-floured surface using your hands. 
• cut out the shapes, pop onto a a tray and then place into a preheated oven at 160 for 10-15 minutes.

It really is nothing complicated at all.

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