11 sleeps till Christmas!

I can't believe it's nearly Christmas, where has the time gone? This time last year I was finishing up uni before the holidays, frantically trying to hunt down books I needed for revision/assignments, and trying to grab lecturers for last minute questions I needed answering.
I met up with a couple of friends from Keele today, and it was really nice to see them.  I indulged in a cupcake from a really cute bakery in Solihull, where they serve tea in multicoloured tea-pots.  I chose an oreo cupcake which was very tasty, though the frosting was possibly a little too sweet (something I don't say often) and I had to leave some of it.  I was sorely tempted by scones with clotted cream and job, but was convinced by my friend I should have a cupcake. Oh well, I will just have to drag my mother there for a spot of afternoon tea next time we get the chance ;)

I haven't baked in a while, something I feel I need to rectify, I intend to do some before Christmas, and will post the results! Hopefully I shall remember to do this! Life is a little hectic in the run-up to Christmas with work and trying to see everyone taking up most of my time!

That's all for now,
Peace and Love!

Whilst in London I went to Paul A. Young's shop in Wardour Street. I'd read about good things about his chocolate on various blogs I follow and decided to buy the sea-salted caramel.
The presentation was simple yet elegant, come in a clear wrapping with a purple ribbon, which looked nice against the dark chocolate.



As you can see, the bar came in 4 chunks, and as it was a small bar, I took the executive decision not to share :) I ate a piece at a time over about 4 nights so I could savour the bar.  The pieces were a bit too big to eat in one go, so I broke them in half.   The chocolate snapped well and had a rich chocolate and caramelly smell.

 The chocolate was smooth and tasty but not bit bitter.  The sea-salt caramel was something I'd never tasted before, and had a very different taste to 'normal' caramel.  It reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what.  I should have written this closer to the time as I could have given a better review.  However, it was very tasty and I'd give it an 8/10 :)

On a side note I finally finished reading Lord of the Rings.  It was my second attempt at reading the books, and I found them much easier going this time round and I really enjoyed them, and I did shed a tear or two at the end when Froddo leaves for the grey havens...
Brilliantly written books and wonderful stories.  I'd always thought the films were better, but after completing the books I think I'd have to rate them on par with each other.

On to reading Double Cross by Malorie Blackman now.

Hope everyone's having a good week :)

Hummingbird Bakery

I haven't blogged since my first post really, been rather busy with work.
A few weeks ago I visited the Hummingbird Bakery in London...

From the Hummingbird Bakery I bought a Black Bottom cupcake, the picture is from their facebook page, as I forgot to take one myself.  The choice was a hard one though, as there were so many different options available :).

The cupcake came in a very cute box, and the cake looked exactly like it does on their website, so presentation was perfect.
The cupcake is described as a 'decadent, dark and dense chocolate sponge, baked with a cheesecake centre and frosted with cream cheese frosting'.  The frosting was wonderful and had a lovely smooth texture and wasn't overly sickly.  The sponge was delicious and soft and contrasted with with the denseness of the cheesecake part.  Overall this cake was simply immense, when I go again, I'd be very tempted to buy it again...if I didn't feel an obligation to try the whole range.


Inspired by this visit I downloaded the 'Cake Days' app on my iPhone and decided to give the Red Velvet Cupcakes a go.  I'd never made them before and was quite excited to try baking something new!
The recipe on the app was very easy to follow, and there was a video recipe to go with it.  The cakes turned out wonderfully (if I do say so myself) and tasted delicious!

 The only thing letting down was perhaps the frosting. It tasted sweet and creamy, but I don't think it was thick enough.  The Cake Days app provides a video on how to frost a cupcake and how to get the Hummingbird's 'signature swirl', however, I didn't quite get the hang of it and think I need a bit more practise before I'll get it right.

However I have to say they were a definite success and everyone who tried them thought they were lovely.  I can't wait to try baking another recipe when I have the time, the only problem will be deciding what to bake!

I'd recommend the Cake Days app if you enjoy baking yummy treats...download it...now!

Happy Baking :)

Food Hangover.

So on Saturday I went up to Cannock to the Barn's hotel and restaurant to celebrate my Uncle Barry's 70th birthday.  All I can say is I hope I look that good at 70, and I still have a sneaky suspicion he is lying about his age and is actually 20 years younger than he claims.

It was a lovely evening, and I wore a blue and white striped shirt dress and heels, I've owned it since my 18th, and am pretty sure this was the first time I'd worn it!

But on to the meal, I've been to the Barns a couple of times before and have always had lovely food, and came home feeling very full! On Saturday I originally ordered brie, pesto and sub-dried tomato filo parcels, but they had none left, so had vegetable lasagne instead.

The lasagne itself was delicious, with chunky vegetables, just how I like it.  It was very filling and not overly cheesy, which I can sometimes find a problem when dining out, and I hate when the cheese is overdone because it ends up being too rich and sickly, but this was just right.

The waiters/waitresses brought round a huge plate of vegetables, carrots, green beans and cauliflower, all of which tasted fresh and were cooked very well, for me anyway, my Mum likes her vegetables as practically mush, but I prefer mine a little bite.

The chips as you can see from the picture were huge and there were loads to eat between us and I helped myself to a fair few.  They were delicious, crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.  I could have eaten a bowl to myself (and the were BIG bowls), but I wanted to save room for pudding.

Before going I had told myself I wouldn't order a desert, but others were having one, so I gave in...peer pressure eh?  I had a homemade lemon and ginger biscuit cheesecake:

As you can see it was a fairly big piece of cheesecake, and I must confess I only managed about half of it, the rest was finished off by someone else.  The base of the cheesecake was lovely, crunchy and not overly buttery, which can be off putting and taste a little too greasy.  I've heard before that using ginger biscuits makes for a better base and this is the first time I've had a cheesecake which has, and it was delicious.  The crunchy texture mixed with the creaminess of the topping was divine.  The topping itself was smooth and not overly lemony, but still tangy enough and not overly sweet.  I would definitely have this again, but perhaps just skip the main course and go straight to desert!

I think I slightly over did it on the food as I woke up Sunday morning still feeling extremely full and slightly dizzy and sick, almost like a hangover, though I'd only had two glasses of wine, so I think it was a food hangover...as with any good night out though, it was worth it :)

Harry Potter!

Yesterday I was to see the final Harry Potter film and all I can say is it was EPIC.  Really, it was.  It gave me goosebumps, made me laugh and yes, I'm not ashamed to admit it, it made me cry.
By love for Harry Potter has existing for over 10 years now, I've read the books, listened to the tapes and watched the films, all more than once.  Going to the final film felt somewhat like the end of an era, and saying goodbye to a friend.  A few of the Harry Potter films have disappointed a little, not quite living up to my expectations, or the books, but this one really did.
The special effects were brilliant (at least to my untrained eye).  The battle scenes were exciting with explosions and fire.  Even the ending '19 years later' part wasn't as bad as people had lead me to believe (I had been told by more than one person to leave before the epilogue'.
I'm very glad they included the story of Snape and Lily, as that part of the book really breaks my heart. I feel for Snape, and it really does upset me, you really feel for this man who has been a person you love to hate for the rest of the books, and at the moment I find myself actually loving him.
Anyway this film was simply wonderful and whoever hasn't seen it should go whether you've seen the others or not.

Before the film, me and Michelle went for a meal at pizza express, and I had the Melanzane Parmigiana, without the Grana Padana for the veggie option.  I was dithering between this and a Verdure Leggara pizza with extra caramelised onions and think I made the wrong choice.  But I hadn't had the Melanzane Parmigiana before, and I do like trying different things.  However, whilst it was tasty enough, I found there was too much sauce in relation to the aubergine, and could have done with some garlic bread to soak up the rest of the cheesy tomatoy-ness.  But I had a 50% of voucher so was worth the money.  Which is more than I can say for cinema food.  But I decided to splash out because I hadn't been to the cinema for ages, and as it was a special occasion (yes, the final Harry Potter film does count as a special occasion) I decided to treat myself to a bag of sweet popcorn, managing to munch my way through a medium bag of popcorn, consuming a fair amount before the film had even started.  So all my hard work on the exercise bike yesterday- 60 minutes to be exact!- was wasted.  Aside from the cranberry and white chocolate cookie I had for breakfast (healthy yes?) I've been better today, so hopefully diet should get back on track!

Also, I forgot to say, I'd left my 3D glasses at home meaning I had to pay for a new pair, HOWEVER I am super glad I did, as it meant I could buy these Harry Potter themed ones, which to me are just expressly cool, and I shall be using them for every film in the future.

Peace and love :)

New Blog

So I've just finished my first degree at uni and am about to embark on a new stage in my life, so why not start a new blog to go with this? I do not expect many people to read this, but it shall be useful to me, to write down thoughts and events that I may want to look back on some day.