THE BAKES OF CHRISTMAS PAST

Hello everyone! In previous years by now i would already got at least two or three Christmas themed baking posts ready to go, oh how times have changed. Since changing the way i eat/lifestyle at the start of the year (which i have touched on in previous posts), i have obviously cut down the amount of unhealthier options by a lot. That being said i do plan on squeezing an all new baking post before the big day later on in the month, until then i am trying to hold off. Keeping in mind that not every one likes to resist the urge to indulge at this time of year, i thought i would share with you a round up of some of my personal favourite festive bakes...

carrot and gingerbread cupcakes | click to bake |

First up is a twist on a cake that Nigella Lawson did last year, but rather than one large cake i made the recipe into cupcake form. Personally for me carrot cake is hands down one of my favourite, along side gingerbread so combine the two together and you are in for a treat. Cupcakes are such an easy thing to make, as you basically have a classic base then all you can do to switch things up is add in any flavouring and decorate how you choose.

mincemeat, pecan and cinnamon crumble bars | click to bake |

Just looking back and remembering how yummy these crumble bars were, just makes me want to either lick the screen or cave and make them right now. I am such a mince pie fan when it comes to Christmas desserts and this is the perfect twist on a classic, which is just a little more modern with the added flavours and textures from the pecans and cinnamon. 

chocolate holly cupcakes | click to bake |

Next up is definitely one for any chocolate lovers out there and even more so if you love both cupcake and anything chocolatey. Yet again this is another cupcake recipe that you can use and decorate as you choose to do, but i personally love how with the added holly shaped icing on top makes the cupcakes look more like Christmas puddings. Another great decoration topping idea is to add some different coloured M&M's placed around and on-top of some black pen icing, for the appearance of fairy lights.

Want another Christmas themed read? Catch up on my previous post for more:

winter scents: the christmas candle edit

xo.

CHRISTMAS BAKING #1: CHOCOLATE HOLLY CUPCAKES

Hello everyone and welcome to the first baking instalment of December! I wanted to kick Christmas baking off with something simple, yet obviously yummy and chocolate cupcakes tick both of those boxes. This recipe could of course be used at any time of year, all you would have to do is switch up the decoration on top and you would be good to go. Also this particular chocolate "frosting" topping is a new recipe and it is literally heavenly.

to make the cupcakes you will need:

| 12 cupcake cases | 125g self raising flour | 50g cocoa powder | 175g softened unsalted butter | 

| 175g caster sugar | 3 eggs | 1tsp baking powder |

method:

First things first, you are going to want to pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4/180c/350f and then line your baking trays with the cupcake cases. Then you are going to want to start on your cupcake mixture, take the sugar, butter and eggs and place them all in your mixer or bowl whichever way you prefer to make your mixture up. Then you are going to want to start mixing the ingredients on a low speed and gradually add the sifted flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, then slowly start to speed up the mixer. Mix all together until combined and smooth. Next you are going to want to take your mixture and spoon them into your cupcake cases and place in your pre-heated oven for 22-25 minutes, once out of the oven leave to cool completely.

to make the frosting you will need:

| 75g dark chocolate | 35g unsalted butter | 100g mascarpone | 165g icing sugar |

method:

First things first you are going to want to melt the dark chocolate in a bowl, over simmering water and leave to cool. Then to make the frosting/topping you are going to want to beat the butter and the mascarpone together before adding half of the sifted icing sugar, then beat until well combined before adding in the other half of the sifted icing sugar. Add in the cooled melted dark chocolate and mix again until well combined, by adding the dark chocolate it makes the frosting this beautiful moose-like topping that honestly tastes so delicious. All that is left to do then is decorate using some red and green ready roll icing cut into holly shapes and dust with a light sprinkling of icing sugar for a Christmas-y/Snowy effect.

See you tomorrow for an all new post at 5PM GMT...

xo.

PINTEREST HALLOWEEN TREATS INSPIRATION

Hello everyone! So for today's post i am back with another Pinterest inspiration/recipes i want to try post, but this time things are getting a little spooky *inserts evil laugh here*. Halloween is just a couple of weeks away now and i always like to do some form of treat making, so i like any other time i took to Pinterest to look for inspiration and i just couldn't not share with you all some of the amazing creations/recipes that are on there.

halloween OREO candy bark

So i love love love candy bark/rocky road when it comes to a no-bake dessert and when i saw this Halloween themed OREO candy bark come up on my Pinterest feed, my eyes immediately lit up. The great thing about candy bark or a rocky road, is you can completely customise it however you want, whether you want it to look super scary/glory or light hearted and fun looking if you are catering to younger children.  

pumpkin cheesecake truffle mummies

For me these cheesecake truffle mummies look like the perfect treat for a Halloween party, whether that be for adults or children and the recipe also seems super simple. What i love about this recipe is not only the finished product is Halloween themed, but also the taste/flavour is also as it is pumpkin infused.

halloween OREO pops

When i saw these OREO pops i thought to myself, why have i never thought about doing this? Using OREOS on a stick and dipping/decorating them is literally as simple yet effective, as if it would be when you opt for a huge marshmallow. Personally i know i would prefer to eat an OREO pop and i will definitely be giving these a try out during or on Halloween itself.

halloween pumpkin/autumnal cake

This cake is another dessert that as soon as i saw it it, i was practically dribbling, i mean how amazing and moist does this cake look? Yes i just used the word moist, but it does! I actually did something a little similar last year, but in the form of cupcakes and they tasted amazing. You can check out that blog post, if you didn't catch it the first time here. 

frosted vegan pumpkin cookies

Sometimes i like to opt for the more healthy choice in the dessert area, which always ends up being a vegan/dairy or gluten free option. This pumpkin cookie recipe really caught my eye, as they look seriously indulgent without being and yet again it is pumpkin flavoured, which i love. If vegan/gluten-free desserts are more your thing, then i also did a blog post on amazing pumpkin brownies, which you can catch up on here.

halloween cauldron cupcakes

Finally we have a more on the fun/technical bake in the form of a cauldron designed cupcake, which looks amazing. This recipe is another one from a blog called apumpkinandaprincess.com and honestly there are so many amazing baking/dessert recipes on there as well as DIY's for Halloween, which i will be looking for more personally in the future. It will not be Halloween if there isn't some form of cupcake created in my house, so definitely stay tuned to find out what theme/design i decide to go for soon!

Catch up on my previous post HERE...

xo.

BLOGMAS DAY TWENTYONE: FESTIVE GINGERBREAD SHAPES

Hey guys, i hope you are all having an amazing day and welcome to blogmas day twenty-one! For today's post i thought i would share with you these super cute and easy to make "gingerbread shapes". You can get a hold of a wide variety of festive shaped cutters pretty much anywhere, i have seen so many and they are all adorable! If you want to recreate these fun festive gingerbread shapes then please keep reading...

For the gingerbread you will need:

(Makes 20-25 shapes all depending on the size of your cutters).

450g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

2tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground mixed spice

2tsp bicarbonate of soda

115g butter (plus extra for greasing)

100g golden syrup

115g light muscovado sugar

1 beaten egg

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160c/325f/gas mark 3, then grease three large baking trays. 

Sift the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Place the butter, golden syrup and muscovado sugar in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until melted. Pour onto the dry ingredients and add the egg. Mix together to make a dough. The dough will be sticky to start with but will become firmer as it begins to cool down. 

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to about 3mm's thick and then stamp out the shapes with the cutters of your choice and place onto the prepared baking trays. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Once cooked remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling wrack to cool completely. Once completely cooled all that is left to do is decorate them how ever you want.

You could also place the cookies in cute wrapping and give to someone as a gift!

♥

   

BLOGMAS DAY EIGHTEEN: GIFT WRAPPING

Hey guys, i hope you are all having an amazing day and welcome to blogmas day eighteen! So what naturally comes after finishing all of your Christmas shopping? Yep, you guessed it... wrapping! I am actually one of those people that enjoys wrapping presents and putting an effort into making them look all nice. This year i decided to go for a very "Tumblr/Pinterest" meets Kirstie Allsopp theme using parcel paper and different festive ribbon bows and gift tags. I also got some cute little cube present boxes from Asda which were a bargain at £2 for 4 boxes, they are so adorable...

♥

BLOGMAS DAY SEVENTEEN: "CRISPY"PUDDING CAKES

Hey guys, i hope you are all having an amazing day and welcome to blogmas day seventeen! For today's post i thought i would share with you these super quick and easy cakes, which don't even require using an oven.. as long as you've got a hob and a fridge you are good to go ha ha. These are a perfect christmassy treat which could easily be whipped up and given out to any guests you might have over the holiday's or even just for yourself...

To make the "crispy"pudding cakes you will need:

Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (or ordinary cornflakes)

Milk Chocolate

Ready Roll Icing (red and green for holly decoration)

Icing Sugar (for decoration)

Cupcake Cases

Holly Shaped Cutters (or you can print one from online)

(This recipe is great as you can pretty much guess who much or little ingredients you need, all depending on how many you are wanting to make).

Method:

Take a saucepan of shallow boiled water and place it on the hob with a low heat. Place a heat proof bowl on top of the saucepan and add the chocolate broken into small pieces. Leave the chocolate to melt completely but make sure you don't allow the water to touch the bowl otherwise the chocolate will be ruined. Once the chocolate is completely melted take the bowl off the heat and on to a work surface, place the cornflakes crushed up into the melted chocolate and stir in (add as many hand fulls of cornflakes as you feel you need). Once all combined place into your cupcake cases and pop into the fridge for around 30 minutes to set.

Meanwhile...

Roll out your green icing making sure you place some icing sugar down first so that it doesn't stick. Once you have rolled the icing out, cut your holly leaved shapes using your stencil and a knife or your cutter. Then taking small pieces of your red icing, roll into tiny ball shapes to make the berries.

To make the gloopy icing topping, take some icing sugar in a bowl and adding some water, mix the two together until it becomes a paste. 

All that is left to do is once the cakes are set is to spoon some of the gloopy icing into the center of the cakes and arrange the holly leaves and berries on top.

♥

BLOGMAS DAY THIRTEEN: HOMEMADE NUTTY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Hey guys, i hope you are all having an amazing day whatever you are up to and welcome to day thirteen of blogmas! A great way of giving a gift to someone at Christmas is to give them something homemade which can not only cost left but be a more thoughtful gift and who doesn't love chocolate? I have a great yet simple recipe to create homemade truffles, which would be perfect gift wrapped as a small present for someone. If you want to find out how to make these nutty chocolate truffles then please keep reading...

To make the truffles you will need:

120ml double cream

200g chocolate 

(whatever your preference is either milk or dark)

200g chocolate for the chocolate covering broken up

1 tbsp of butter

5-6 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

Method:

Put the cream in a small pan and heat it until it is almost at a boil, then switch off the heat and add the chocolate and butter. Take the pan off the heat and leave it to stand for around 6-8 mins without stirring it. After the time is up begin to stir the ingredients until it is all combined, the mixture will be shiny and smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and then gently stir in the peanut butter, leave the mixture to cool down a little and then place it in the fridge for a few hours (over night is even better).

Take the firm mixture out of the fridge and line a large tray with grease-proof paper. Using a melon baller or your clean hands take 1 tbsp or 2 tsp's of the chocolate and quickly roll into a ball and place on the tray and then repeat with all the chocolate and then they are good to eat. You can add a finishing touch to the chocolates by dipping them into more chocolate. 

Melt the remanding 200g of chocolate either for 20 seconds in the microwave in sections stirring in between or melt in a bowl over a pan of boiled water. All that is left to do then is dip the chocolates into the melted chocolate and then place back on the tray. To add a finishing decorative touch you can sprinkle some ground almonds or flaked almonds on top. If you are placing the chocolates in a gift wrapped package or box make sure the chocolate is completely set before you do so.

I hope you have found this homemade gift idea useful in some way and even if you don't want them for a gift, make them away as they are so good!

♥