I feel pretty. Oh, so pretty...

I've had a facelift!
Okay, so before you start getting all flustered and worried... Let me get one thing straight.
I do not mean ME personally. Even the mere mention of human facelifting makes me feel a little queasy. I want to grow old gracefully.
A bit like Mary Berry I suppose you could say. ;)

No. It's not me who's gone through a little TLC, but my blog itself! (and if that hadn't clocked with you by now... then I'm slightly worried. Get a cup of tea. Relax. Sit. Good)

So, this is just a teeny weeny post (I'm not lying. I'm about to go off to bed. Just thought I'd get this cheeky one in before I travel to the land of nod and dream cupcakey dreams...        ahem.) to say that I'm still here! It's still me! Just a bit... y'know... rejuvenated! Plus, I was getting annoyed with the green.

Hope y'all like it!!

PLUS I've got some baking antics tucked up my little sleeve (pfft, that's a lie. I'm wearing a t-shirt.) for tomorrow evening, just to keep you on your toes - and to give me reason to put off doing some French Grammar.

Muchos love.
xxx  

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Chocolate and Vanilla Pinwheel Biscuits

Okay, so as you all know from my previous post, it's all going on down here in Somerset! The snow has arrived, and although it only fell for one day and has started to thaw today *sad face* everyone is still on a hype about it. And quite rightly so! We're desperately deprived of sledging antics in this part of the world...
However, although I love watching the snow fall and going for walks across the hills, I'm not really one for getting cold. Call me a scrooge if you like, I just have rubbish circulation in my hands and feet. :)
So, instead of trudging up the Knoll with a sledge that's inevitably going to break anyway, I did something MUCH more productive with my time yesterday.
Yep, you guessed it. I baked!
But I wasn't craving cake, or muffins, or anything like that... so instead I sifted through my Mary Berry's ultimate cake book and found these little gems!

PINWHEEL BISCUITS! Aren't they just the cutest?

And yes, I did go a bit crazy and run into the snow with my slippers on... just to get some nice pictures.

Being quite crumbly, they're surprisingly perfect for dunking!! Especially in a steaming hot mug of coffee. Sat inside while the snow falls. Watching a film... no prizes for guessing what I spent my day doing yesterday. ;)

Makes about 20 biscuits
Ingredients

Vanilla Biscuit Mixture
50g hard margarine - softened
25g caster sugar
25g cornflour
50g plain flour
a few drops of vanilla extract

Chocolate Biscuit Mixture
50g hard margarine - softened
25g caster sugar
25 cornflour
40g plain flour
15 cocoa

Method
Lightly grease 2 baking trays.
Measure all the ingredients for the Vanilla Biscuit Mixture into a bowl an mix until combined and it forms a dough.
Knead slightly.
Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30mins.
Make the Chocolate Biscuit Mixture in the same way, also wrap and chill the dough.
On a floured surface, roll out each piece of dough into 2 oblongs 25x18cm (10x7in).
Place the vanilla dough on top of the chocolate dough and roll the two together from the longer edge .
Wrap in cling film and chill for a further 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Cut the roll into 20 slices with a sharp knife and place on the baking trays.
Bake for 20 minutes until the vanilla biscuit is golden in colour.
Lift onto a wire rack. Leave to cool.
Then enjoy!!

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Snow Day!

It's arrived! It's arrived! I've been waiting for so long and finally, it's here! Yaaayy! :D
Okay, okay, so if you're in England right now, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you're in England and you still haven't clocked it yet, where have you been? Do you not have windows? Oh my.
YES, THE SNOW.
It's like magic, as soon as one teeny snowflake is spotted tumbling it's way to the ground, the country goes absolutely mad. Stop the planes! Stop the buses! It's that dastardly snow again!!
Of course, for those of us that LOVE snow, it's the best thing we could've asked for!
I woke up this morning to a completely white sheet covering the ground and it was like being a kid again... aah, just brilliant...

 So, I had the day off school too! Perrrrfeccttt.

Snow is falling, all round me... (I know it's a bit late for Christmas songs. Or is it too early...?)

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Coffee Victoria Sandwich - A quick kick of caffeine for those January weekends.

Good morning! Good evening! Good afternoon!
Golly, I'm shattered! What a week it's been... First week back at school (always a toughy) early mornings, healthy lunches, essays, gym, late nights. Yep! It's definitely January!
But hey-ho, it's not all doom and gloom I promise. :)
And although I'm trying to steer well clear of anything sweet, stodgy, chocolatey or just flavoursome in general (yeah... Ryvitas... they're not the same as real bread) I prooooomise I'll keep sticking stuff on here for all of you to enjoy, especially if you're not still feeling bloated from the holidays!
Last week, (last Thursday to be exact) it was my brother's 22 birthday and, of course, I was put on cake making duty!

Now, Joe's a bit of a coffee fiend (being a student I suppose it was a substitute for food most of the time) and so am I (I love a large cappuccino on a cold day) and I think it's the perfect pick-me-up for the January blues!

  

I picked this recipe out from a recipe book I got for Christmas Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book and of course, in true Mary style, it's gorgeous!

Ingredients

4 eggs, beaten

2 heaped tablespoons of instant coffee

225g soft margarine

225g caster sugar

225g self-raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

For Filling and Topping

50g soft margarine

175g icing sugar, sifted

1tbsp coffee essence

1tbsp milk, optional

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Grease and line 20cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.

Place the eggs in the bowl and stir in the coffee until dissolved.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat well until thoroughly blended.

Divide the mixture between the sandwich tins and level out.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes or until well risen and the tops of the cakes spring back when pressed.

Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

To make the butter cream...

Blend together margarine, icing sugar and coffee essence until smooth.

Add milk if necessary.

Use half the butter cream to sandwich the cakes together, spread the remaining on top.
Decorate!!!  

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

HELLO EVERYONE! :D
Oh goodness, I've got all behind... MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope this post finds everyone well and happy during the latter stages of the festive season, and the start of a new year!
How were your Christmases? Non-stop present opening and food eating? Yeah, me too. :)
And while I sit here, writing this post, watching Mary Poppins and munching on a bag of jelly tots, I'm still saying to myself, 'oh, this doesn't matter! It IS Christmas after all!'. Is that sad? I suppose it is. Seeing as right this minute my dad is staggering with the Christmas tree out of the lounge and through the front door. Oh well, only 357 days till we do it all again!

But, I have to say, I've had the loveliest Christmas and it's always better to go out on a high note.
And by courtesy of my lovely mum and dad, I've adopted a new piece of tech to my ever growing hoard of baking electrical equipment. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you...
MY NEW KNITCHENAID ELECTRIC MIXER! Isn't she a beauty?

And so, to ensure that my new mixer's début usage was a GLORIOUS one. I made a batch of possibly my favourite biscuits ever, from my favourite recipe ever, from my favourite blog ever! Thank you KatieCakes! These cookies are so wonderfully easy to make, and you can store them in your freezer, meaning you'll never be out of a homemade batch of cookies should the time arise. :)
This is definitely my 'most made' recipe and everyone loves it (especially my boyfriend Harry, who's always clamouring for some of these mega cookies!)

Ingredients
150g unsalted butter
125g soft light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
2tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, fridge cold
1 egg, yolk fridge cold
300g flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
350g pack of chocolate drops

Methods
Preheat the oven to 170 degree, line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
Melt the butter and let it cool a bit.
Put the brown and white sugars into a bowl, pour the slightly cooled melted butter on the top and beat together.
Beat in the vanilla extract, the egg an egg yolk until the mixture is light and creamy.
Slowly, mix in all the flour and the bicarb, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop tablespoons-full of the dough and plop them down on the baking tray.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges of your cookies are a light golden colour.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then transfer to a wire rack.

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