Smokin' Hot Muffins

There's been a couple of times in my life where I've stopped, waited a moment before breathing slowly, evaluating and wondering if that exact moment is the reason I was put on this planet. Today, on one of the more hungover Sunday's of my life, I had one of those moments as I unapologetically plunged my teeth into these delectable little cheesy, salty, carby muffin-shaped dreamboats.

Yesterday evening held a party to celebrate my brother's twenty second birthday and it's safe to say I entirely underestimated the coma-inducing powers of the heady combination of Champagne and Pimms. This subsequently led to me waking up today and really fancying a litre of orange juice (or perhaps more, it's often tricky to determine an amount to drink during a raging thirst) and that perfect comfort food. The sort of food I could eat all day long and feel no regret about, because hey…I'm just feeling that fragile.

These gorgeous savoury muffins, called smokin' hot for there attractive qualities/smoked ingredients rather than any spice, are just perfect for everything I needed today and I can imagine they would be just right for most other, less groggy, days too. With almost the same amount of Smoked Applewood cheese as there is muffin mix and a gorgeous lashing of buttery cooked onions and smoked ham…these are a meal, a treat or whatever you may need on any given day. They're mouldable, adaptable, footloose and fanciful.

I've always had a soft spot for savoury muffins, in amongst my various amorous feelings towards anything sweet, as they can be perfect with baked beans and cheese, or cold as an on the go snack or warm, as a savoury breakfast. Back when I was a student, they would feed me all week. A treat that's tough to beat.

This recipe makes twelve muffins and one way or another they should last you a week or even a little longer. Those figures are taking for granted that fact that no one else also begins tucking into them, which although seems improbable, I suppose may happen in some world, somewhere…someday.

The other nice thing about these muffins is that the ingredients are interchangeable. All you really need for life is a really, really good basic muffin recipe and you can experiment from there. Just ensure that if you do trade in or out, that it is for like-for-like ingredients, both in their texture or consistency.

So, if you too are suffering today then I hope I've talked you into making these relatively mess-free, simple and quick-to-make little muffins. I promise that they'll hug you from the inside, comfort you, listen to all your problems and make it all better, pretty quickly, on an intermittently overcast Sunday such as today.

Recipe


Ingredients:

• 50g butter
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 360g plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 250g Smoked Applewood cheese
• 250ml whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 80g smoked ham or smoked bacon

Method:

1. Firstly, preheat your oven to 170 degrees (based on a fan assisted oven) before heating the 50g of butter in a frying plan. Once entirely melted, cook off your onions. (I added a few splashes of Lea & Perrins, Tabasco Sauce and a pinch of pepper and salt to mine too, for a little added flavour. Lea & Perrins always makes most aspects of life a lot better.) Leave this to one side, off the heat, once cooked.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, whole milk, egg and cheese in a mixing bowl. This does form a peculiarly thick consistency, but don't be put off. Once baked, the muffins don't really expand, so this mixture is quite dense to start with so you can fill a muffin case with it, without fear of it spilling out over the edge as it cooks. 
3. Pour in to your mixing bowl, your prepared onions and thinly sliced smoked ham or bacon, dependant on your preference, and stir into your mixture using a wooden spoon, until fully combined. 
4. Spoon this mixture into your prepared muffin cases and bake, on a muffin tray, for approximately  25 minutes. 
5. Ensure that your muffins are cooked all the way through using a skewer (if any muffin mix comes out on the skewer, then you will need to cook them for a little longer. Try to do this in intervals of no longer than five minutes, as burning these muffins would be a total tragedy) and if they are completely cooked then leave to cool a little. Be sure not to leave them to cool entirely as these little muffins really are quite amazing when still warm. 
6. Sit down, eat, rehydrate, recuperate, be happy living in that one amazingly tasty moment. Repeat.

I hope you love these little muffins as much as I do, however should you happen to try any alternative ingredients then let me know how you get on and about anything that REALLY works. I'm always keen to try something savoury and wonderful.

Happy Sunday to you all!

Heaven on the Hill

Today I'm going to be waxing lyrical about my favourite use of commercial space in Frome...Herbs on the Hill. It's a little shop that packs a massive punch. When you first walk in you want to have a quick shower, fall asleep on the spot and go out for a night with your friends...which other shop in the world can offer than with just one pungent smell?

There's little more I love in life than a boiling hot bubble bath, it's the perfect end to any day: tricky, upsetting, happy, exciting...a moment of perfect, bubbly reflection and total content with nothing more than me, myself and I (and the occasional rubber duck, on those aforementioned happy days.) 

Herbs on the Hill seeks to make my already fabulous bath times even better and as a local equivalent of LUSH, it hugely succeeds in doing so with melts and fizzy or glittery offerings to catch my aquatically magpie-esque eye.

Having recently been in Frome on a casual visit, I came home with a box of five delectable bubbly offerings (sorry not sorry) and I wanted to share my fabulous bath time experiences with you, as a result of these showstoppers.

With a wide selection of bath creamers and bath bombs, I urge you to buy them both with the sole propose of using together. This combination means you have all the fun of a bath bomb, but spend the evening also feeling moisturised, due to those yummy melts. The best of both worlds for anyone who's ever bathed, or lived...whichever sounds more dramatic.

Herbs on the Hill's costings for the above items start from about £2.50 making it an affordable bit of luxury, for your every day. I suggest you visit the shop and, to save you some time, here's their address:

30 Catherine Hill,

Frome, 

Somerset,

BA11 1BY

Or failing that, they have a bath-porny website where you can spend a few minutes scrolling through, lusting after your next soak which you can find by clicking here.

Whatever you do, enjoy your bath. Don't ever let anyone hurry you or tell you your skin will be ruined by spending hours in there or deny you the wonder of having a book in one hand, a glass of wine in the other and hot water all around you.

It's one of life's simple pleasures and one to be thoroughly, diva-ly enjoyed. Uninterrupted and unapologetically.

Amuse l'eau

Hello diehard blog watchers, it's time for my daily rundown of something wonderful and today, I'm all about fruit infusing (or whatever wondrous infusions you wish to dilute into an otherwise boring, tiresome pint of water) water bottles. This seems to have become a big deal overnight, people I follow on Instagram are forever lusting after one or have just got one and numerous people I know just float fruit in normal water bottle, wishing they had one. Tip: this is not so desirable due to frequent mouthfuls of soggy, colourless fruit. Trust me, a strawberry isn't so fun when it's been floating for a while.

So, I've had this water bottle for about three weeks now, having waited four months for it to arrive from China (I paid a lot less for it but had to wait to scratch my water bottle itch, if you can do the same then eBay is a hub of wondrous water bottles) and I have since found some delectable ideas, which I will share with you now.

I was a little bit blind as I did think this would make sin-free naturally strong squash, it is not quite that strong of  a taste; rather it tastes like fruit, but only a bit. However, I am not a girl who really thinks about her water intake as some so vehemently do and this does take that edge off the boredom of guzzling gallons of water  and make me drink more of it, so it's clever whatever it's doing.

So, my top three picks for stacking up this little bottle are:

1.) Lime, cucumber and mint. It's water but it tastes a little like a mojito, go figure. That's my sort of water. Go heavy on the lime, you won't be disappointed, promise.

2.) Ginger and orange water. A perfect way to soothe your stomach and replenish your fluids and it tastes gorgeous. One of the most flavoursome ones I tried. Ginger gets surprisingly potent when it's left to its own devices in fresh water. You'll only need about an inch of ginger, cut up into smaller pieces and then stack it up with orange slices.

3.) Frozen raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. A hint of summer berries, it's delicious. It made me crave Eton Mess, but so long as you can stave off from hurriedly and guiltily eating  a handful of meringue, you'll be golden.

I hope you all love these recipes as much as I do and if you have any combinations to add to my repertoire, please comment below. I'm always keen for any new suggestions. I'm one of those girls who will try anything once…you know…so long as it's edible or I can take it off with a make-up wipe.

Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes

Now it's officially summer, or at least, the British version of it (only us Brits would dash outside, with an ice-cold Pimms in hand, ready for some hardcore sunbathing when in reality it's only a little bit sunny, with a surprising chill of those subzero temperatures offered in January still in the air. We will get rid of those faded vest top tan lines, we will…we will.) And that means that it's time to bake in accordance with these new (not to subtropical) climes, so this weekend I whipped up some heavenly Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes. Bake and enjoy them, I urge you.

These little cakes have plenty of fresh ingredients in them, so it's best to ensure they are kept chilled which, to be honest, adds to the various thrills these little cakes offer. They are a fresh, cakey milkshake of a treat and, if you're anything like me, then you will have often guzzled down a milkshake and thought, "What's the one thing that could make this more heavenly?" and left yourself with no other option or answer, other than, "if it was cakey. Yeh, that would be good."
Although to be honest, that's a relatively standard way to make things better in my world. Oh, the cakiness, the chilledness and oh, OH, the milkshakiness. All hail the almighty flavour-combining powers of the cupcake.

As you can see from my pictures, I topped mine with half a strawberry which looks adorable and more than a little bit British Summertime themed, however do be aware this may shorten the shelf life of your cakes. If you don't eat your cakes quickly once they're baked (I've never known or affiliated myself with someone who is like this, but I'm told that such people exist) then you may wish to replace this with something that's blessed with a little more longevity; there's a time and a place for a trusty sprinkle.

Phew, that's enough of my cake-loving/general ramblings. Here's the recipe for you, go forth and bake.

Ingredients (makes approx 12 cupcakes) :

For the sponge:

70g butter
250g caster sugar
2 large eggs
210g plain flour
100g strawberry milkshake powder (Nesquick is the money shot)
1 tbsp baking powder
220ml semi-skimmed milk

For the icing:

190g butter
600g icing sugar
70ml semi-skimmed milk
175g of strawberry milkshake powder
6 fresh strawberries, halved to decorate
(A couple of drops of red food colouring is optional at this point, don't go made with it though or you'll have a chemically tasting cake problem on your hands)

Method:

1.) Preheat your oven to 170 degrees (based on a fan assisted oven) and select some adorable cupcake cases (take your time choosing these, it's a moment of creative self-indulgence that I truly enjoy, and a little of it, I'm convinced, does you good.)

2.) Beat together all the sponge ingredients until smooth and light, before spooning into the cases and cooking for 20-25 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

3.) Remove and leave to cool completely. This should take approximately one hour, so go walk your dog, read that book you're enjoying or watch a short film but definitely don't fill this time with anything horrid. No ironing, eating salad or talking to boring people, please. Please promise me you won't.

4.) Beat together all the frosting ingredients and pipe onto your cakes before finishing off with half a fresh strawberry (or a failsafe sprinkle or two, as discussed.)

5.) Sit back, eat, get all nostalgic about how these cakes taste of your childhood summers and then go get another one. Blame me, I'm ok with it.

6.) Repeat

Biscuits Melt like Lemon Drops

I truly believe that if I do ever find that place 'somewhere over a rainbow', these lemon biscuits may well be what is at the end of it. Move over leprechauns and pots of gold, I no longer wish to find you waiting for me.

These suped-up-lemony little biscuits are just perfect with a cup (or Minnie Mouse cup and saucer, a la me) of steaming hot, sugary earl grey and are sure to set you up for the afternoon that lies ahead, whatever it may bring. Refreshing, but creamy and lemony but sweet; they are a bit Mary Poppins in spirit; practically perfect in every way.

The gorgeous tin I popped them in is from Figgins in Frome, a gorgeous little shop that offers all things old fashioned at a reasonable price. It's newly opened and a genuine treat just to walk around, so imagine my surprise when I saw the perfect cookie jar with 'Eat Me' brandished across it this afternoon, ready to be purchased and brought home.
This jar has made me learn something about myself…I like a pretty jar that tells me to eat the glorious contents inside it. Taking advice from inanimate objects, I'm not sure what that's the start of, but I like it.

This gorgeous little jar, just as a sideline note, seemed to be between £12.00 - £20.00 everywhere I saw it online and I paid an enjoyable £10.00 for it in Figgins. Make a trip when you can (that's not an if, it's a when) and be sure to have free hands/an empty boot. You're sure to come out with wonderful trinkets, kitchen utensils and yummy smelling candles.

So, onto these Lemon Drop Biscuits of mine, it's time for the recipe and expectedly simple method. Genuinely, 20 minutes after you start putting your ingredients in the bowl, you will be tasting these biscuits. I hate those people who say "these were so quick and easy to make" and you know they're lying and it took them hours and numerous uncharacteristic expletives to get to the pristine, finished article, but I promise, these are super simple, unbelievably tasty and relatively mess-free.
That's my sort of cooking.

Ingredients:

115g salted butter
Zest of 3 large lemons
275g caster sugar
1 large egg
60ml fresh lemon juice (this should work out to be the juice of those three lemons you've, so nothing is wasted. Or you can of course use a cheeky bit of Jif lemon, for those who are looking for even quicker comfort food)
270g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder

Method:

1.) Line three baking trays with greaseproof paper and heat your oven to 170 degrees.

2.) Simply beat together all the ingredients until they are somewhere between runny and thick. This mixture will not be a dough-like consistency like some cookies/biscuits are, so don't be afraid and hastily throw this mixture away if it seems a little thin - it makes for an amazingly light, fluffy biscuit when they get taken out of the oven.

3.) Spoon your mixture onto the baking trays. You will need to use about one dessert spoon of the mixture. Ensure you leave about 3cm between each heavenly splodge and cook for approximately 12 minutes (or a little more, until the biscuits look cooked to your taste.)

4.) Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. At this point, I cut mine into heart shapes which makes them look just as good as they taste, but you can leave them as they are or cut them into alternative shapes - it's all about what makes simple pleasures, pleasurable to you.

5.) Brew your earl grey, sit back and enjoy.

Happy four o'clocksies, everyone.

Sweet Strawberry Shake

Stop what you're doing, I've sussed it. Here is it, the ultimate, insanely perfect, impossibly wondrous (AND SPOOKILY HEALTHY) strawberry milkshake. That's by anyone standards. Beauty is in the eye of the mason jar holder.

Wherever you are look up your nearest supermarket, head to it and buy the following ingredients (if you are somewhere strange and horrid, such as in a forest or on holiday somewhere that doesn't offer WiFi or 3G then, I hate to break it to you, but you're going to have to use a map and compass and get walking. It's worth returning to the old-age methods of travel for.)

Ingredients:

1 cup of frozen strawberries
5 pitted dates
1 dessert spoon of manuka honey
Almond milk to the max line, if using a nutribullet (if not, it's approx 200ml)
2 Tsp of strawberry Nesquick (optional. A baddy, but a goody)

Whizz up, pop in a pretty glass, decorate how you wish (or don't bother if the anticipation becomes too strong. You can find what I did with mine below: the milkshake, old fashioned paper straw and a slice of strawberry on top, all served in a mason jar. Ladies love mason jars) and enjoy, preferably in your favourite sunny spot in the garden.

It's thick, sweet and with a heavenly natural taste of proper, Somerset-grown (depending on where you hail from) strawberries.

Hello, British Summertime. As always, we're angry you left us for so long but we must forgive you, as we have of course all missed you so much and we love you even more.

Frome Independent Haul

Yesterday, I ventured over to The Frome Independent Market, one of the simple pleasures of each of my complex months and came back with some wondrous new items which have lead me to introduce you to some superb new local brands.

One of these brands is Hive Originals, a Wiltshire based company who produce all things bees. I couldn't resist their gorgeous set honey which truly is one of the most pungent, rich, creamy set honeys I have ever tasted. I'm a huge advocate of set honey anyway, but this makes me fall in love with it all over again. On the back it states that it takes twelve bees a whole lifetime to produce one teaspoon of honey and so, to you bees, I say well done. Consider it a lifetime well-spent. 

From this company I also bought a mango flavoured beeswax lip balm. I'm often sceptical about lip balms with beeswax in them as they can often smell and taste a bit fusty and, as much as I love honey, I do not like the constant smell and taste of bee produce on my lips. However, this lip balm smells amazingly tropical and offers a sheen on your lips, as opposed to a matte, Chapstick type consistency. It's gorgeous. A daytime cocktail, with none of the embarrassing aftermath. 

The second company I found was Glover & Smith, a husband and wife team who create gorgeous, simple but iconic jewellery. I plumped for a pair of acorn drop earrings, being a lifelong fan of the quote, 'Mighty oaks from little acorns grow'. 

I always love a little bit of every day jewellery that means a little something extra to me.

These new brands I think will be regular features in my life and I thought I should probably introduce you to them too. I hope you love them as much as I do.

The Ultimate Builder's Brew

Having been a dedicated, loyal, lifelong tea drinker, I know what I like and I like the exact things I know.

 The only time I would stray is if I were to find something better and I always have at least half an eye open on upcoming, wannabe-brilliant teabags and vow to try it, in order to stay true on my course 

to finding the ultimate cup of builder's brew.

Granted, not the most attractive name I could have thought of, but it does what it says on the tin. I like my tea so strong that at first glance it could look like hot chocolate made with water (a vile concept, but this isn't the time for a watery/weak hot chocolate rant, 'tis after all a blog about tea) and if it can't live up to the brick colour I have come to love then it isn't worth the teabag it hangs in. However, teapigs world-famous silky pyramids back a real punch and are packed full of fresh tea leaves which, I must say, offer the most perfect cup of tea. 

You may be remarking on my casual use of the word perfect and be rest assured that I didn't just accidentally use the word perfect…it was all quite deliberate. I'm an official no-going-back, couldn't-drink-anything-else-even-if-I-wanted-to convert of teapigs everyday brew. No other brand or offering will do.

If you're a tea lover on a similar quest to find a wondrous cuppa, save yourself some time and look no further. It's here. I offer it to you. Freely.

Cheers or ching-ching or whatever us Brits are meant to say when we clink teacups, I hope you love it as much as I do.

True Grace Candles

On a slight tangent from the make-up aspect of my blog, I wanted to just post about these truly amazing candle I have just found. 

I went into a gorgeous shop in Milsom Place, Bath to find a shop made entirely of glass, which was selling locally sourced and produced candles, reed diffusers, room sprays and gorgeous, bespoke perfumes, which smelt different on each on of my group of friends due to the crafted, unusual ingredients that have gone into it. It's truly beautiful.

True Grace's tagline on their website is "Essence of England" and that truly what is what it is. I bought candle No 51, in the scent of Black Lily and have spent the past few days deeply upset that there isn't a matching perfume, so I can smell the same as this gorgeous candle. 

Occasionally while walking around I smell someone's perfume and think of how unusual it smells and how I would ask them what they were wearing, if I wouldn't be considered a strange sort of human in the process of doing so. This candle is like the ultimate one of those heavenly-smelling people. It's musky, it's sexy, while not being woody or overpowering - it's a sophisticated, girly, beautiful smell and the candle is quite effective in getting that scent in each and every corner of my house.

The True Grace range can be viewed via this link True Grace, Wiltshire and can offer you a scent to suit special days, rainy days and, of course, most importantly the every day.
It's simple, it's honest, it's gorgeous and I suggest you all get shopping.

If you wish to visit the store, simply head to this address and it is the first shop you will see when you get there:

Milsom Place,
Milsom Street
Bath,
Avon,
BA1 1BZ

Happy shopping, all (and you're welcome…you know…in advance.)

The Nutrigasm Group

Good afternoon all, I hope your Bank Holiday Monday is treating you well. Mine has led to me sitting on my iPad in the sunshine, blogging about yummy smoothies - so all's well from my end.

After a fair few weeks of hasty throwing-in-of-kale and overly keen amounts of spooky things like wheatgrass, aloe vera juice and matcha tea powder; I think I've finally cracked it. AKA, my smoothies are finally edible, healthy and making a real difference to the way I feel.

To save you all some time buying the Nutribullet, scrambling around for fresh ingredients that ultimately don't work together and holding your nose while you drink said smoothie, I thought I would provide you with four of my showstopping recipes. These four recipes have earnt themselves a place in the rather selective Nutrigasm Group, a group that only allows in smoothies that truly bring pleasure to the lives of their drinkers. As part of this group, the smoothie is entitled to add 'gasm' to the end of their titles, and forever shall be known as such.

Some of the following recipes offer comfort, some offer a strict purpose and some are for those of us looking for a little something different. Pick out the things you like, change what you don't and guzzle down whatever combination leaves you with. 

Let me know all your thoughts and, if any of you have any contenders for the Nutrigasm Group, please comment them below and I will happily blitz away and do various taste tests (it's a hard life, but someone's got to do it…)

The Super Greengasm

 Ingredients:

One whole red apple, peeled and chopped
One whole pear, peeled and chopped
10 slices of cucumber
1 hunk of ginger (you may also refer to this as your ginger hunk)
A handful of kale
A shot of aloe vera juice (optional, depending on whether or not you think you're hard enough)
Coconut water to the max line

The Ultimate Peanut Buttergasm

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp raw cacao powder

2 whole bananas, peeled and sliced

2 Tsp of Meridians organic peanut butter

Almond milk to the max line

Black Forest Gateaugasm

Ingredients:

Half a cup of frozen, sliced strawberries
Quarter cup of frozen raspberries
Quarter cup of sliced banana
1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
Almond milk to the max line

The Berry Rose Watergasm

Ingredients:

Half cup of raspberries
Quarter cup of blueberries
Quarter cup of bananas
2 Tsp of rose water
Water to the max line

These little cups of joy are sure to spice up your mornings - I always look forward to mine at around 10:00, just after the first manic working hour of my day has gone by - and please do let me know how you enjoy yours and how these concoctions go down in your world.

Until then, blast on and peace out Nutribulleters.

Benebabe Roller Lady

Never being one to pass up on adding a new mascara to my repertoire, I simply had to have a dalliance with Benefit's new offering, Roller Lash and I'm so glad I did.

Not that we should judge a mascara by it's cover but, as always, Benefit have triumphed with their packaging - the mascara lid, made to look like a hair roller has a rubbery texture and is quite adorable when teamed with the jet-black pot. 

The brush has little teeth on it and is slightly curved, which all my favourite mascaras are as this gives you the opportunity to do the "grab and roll", a make-upish take on the bend and snap given to us by the fantastically educational Legally Blonde. This manoeuvre means you can grab your lashes, before rolling them into the perfect curve - bambi eyes to die for.

This mascara is perfect and it will be my go-to and, truth be told, it should also be yours. It holds on without flaking (yes, I have been known to naughtily fall asleep with it on and hours later it's still hanging on in there) and lastly, it's perfectly black, no slight grey, no little bit of brown - straight forward, honest, does-what-it-says-on-the-attractive-box, black. 

Go forth and Roller Lash.

Frome Independent Market Bakes

On the first Sunday of every month, The Frome Independent Market takes place and it's fast become something I wait the remaining 28-30 days to come around again.

The whole of Frome becomes a sea of stalls selling a lot of locally produced foodie goodness, cute little trinkets, handmade candles and fantastic pictures, paintings and drawings created by local talent. It's an inspiring place to be for a few hours. 

When I went I came back with a haul that included a gorgeous hot air balloon notebook, a heart shaped brie (the one thing that could make brie any better is being heart shaped), a vanilla scented candle in an old milk bottle which, by happy coincidence, had my boyfriend's name on it, a homemade jar of 'slim jim' marmalade, a box of bath melts and bath bombs from Herbs on the Hill and lastly, the showstopper, a box of Earl Grey marshmallows, made by EatToastDunkMe.

These gorgeous marshmallows are cubes of white with a unique purple swirl throughout eat piece, making them as visually appealing as they are delicious. I simply had to bake with them, they near enough begged for me to.

I decided to make earl grey and lemon cupcakes, with an earl grey marshmallow chunk aloft and it resulted in one of the nicest moments of what I like to call 'afternoon-tea-me-time', I've ever had.

I'm going to share my recipe with you all now, but I must insist you invest in and use the EatToastDunkMe marshmallows for the top - nothing else will do. For my cupcakes I used two-tone icing (theres a post a few months back on my blog on how to do this!) this is of course optional, but it is wonderfully in keeping with the marshmallow on top.

Recipe

Ingredients for the Sponge:

• 4 Earl Grey Teabags
• 3 tbsp boiled water
• 80g butter
• 280g caster sugar
• 240g plain flour
• 1tbsp baking powder
• 200ml whole milk
• 2 large eggs

Ingredients for the Frosting:

• 80g of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 250g icing sugar
• The zest of five lemons
• A few drops of yellow food colouring (optional but pretty!)
• 25 ml of whole milk 

Method:

1. Firstly, pop four earl grey teabags into a mug, with three tbsp of boiling water and just leave to stew while you prepare the rest of the mixture. A lot of recipes will tell you to use less teabags or not leave them to stew for as long, but I don't think the flavour comes through strong enough otherwise, especially with the rather citrusy icing I have in created for the top (you're in for a treat with that, lemon lovers!)
2. Then choose your cupcake cases/any decorations you wish to use - for regular bakers this is arguably one of the loveliest parts of the baking process, so feel free to take your time with this - then place them into your cupcake baking tray and heat your oven to 170 degrees (based on a fan assisted oven.)
3. Lastly, beat together your sponge ingredients, until smooth, adding the earl grey brew last, before spooning into your cupcake cases. Only fill each cupcake case to about half full (of half empty, depending on your life viewpoint) otherwise the mixture will spill out while cooking and cupcakes simply must be beautiful, dahhhhhling.
4. Cook your cakes for around 30 minutes, until cooked through before leaving to cool completely. I usually allow about an hour for this - just enough time to take a bath or watch a couple of episodes of the Big Bang Theory or, on the right day, have a self-indulgent afternoon nap. Whatever you do with you time, enjoy.
5. Once completely cool, get zesting those lemons and beat together your frosting ingredients. If you do decided to go two-tone (and why wouldn't you) simply spoon half of the mixture into your piping bag and add purple food colouring to the remaining half, before spooning into the other half of the bag.
6. Then simply pipe onto the cakes, starting from the edge and working your way in or, if you like a little less icing then simply pipe straight onto the middle to create on 'iced gem' sort of shape. This looks beautiful too. Then decorate as you wish. Serve and enjoy.

Banana Bread with Naughty Chocolate Chunks

 Normally I'm an advocate of cupcakes, however last weekend I decided to try my hand at a loaf cake, a cake form which I've always found to be notoriously dry and therefore, a cake form I was determined to make moist (gah, I hate that word, but there's none better) and one which didn't need to be accompanied by a litre of water, just to make it manageable.

Upon the commencement of this bake up, I poured myself a glass of wine - relatively straight forward protocol for a Friday evening baking session - which led to me deciding to use up a 300g bar of Dairy Milk in my loaf, you know…just to make things more interesting.

I substituted out a few ingredients I found in online recipes, because I was pretty convinced things like light brown sugar would work far better than caster sugar and I was far more generous with the bananas than most recipes tell you to be.

I enjoyed mine with a steaming hot, sugary cup of Graze's Afternoon Infusion, which is ultimately a strong cup of earl grey, which was just perfect. Let me know how you enjoy yours!

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 270g soft light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 large bananas
• 280g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 140g unsalted butter, melted
• 300g Dairy Milk (or a chocolate of your choosing.)

Method (as we know, I like to keep it simple.)

• You will need a 23x13cm loaf tin which you will need to grease, there's no need to line it with greaseproof paper and then you will need to heat your oven (based on a fan assisted one) to 170 degrees.
• Then mix together all the ingredients listed above, aside from the peeled bananas and optional (well, optionalish, I can't force you but I can apply light pressure and that light pressure tells you it's a good idea to do so) Dairy Milk/other such milk chocolate. These ingredients will seem quite thick, but the addition of the banana adds just the right amount of fluidity. 
• Once you have beaten all these ingredients together, simply pop chunks of your banana into the mixture and beat in, until relatively smooth - if you have the occasional bit left in there, don't worry, these add to the fun once cooked!
• Finally, drop in those wondrous chocolatey cubes and mix well, before pouring into your pre-prepared tin and popping in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until firm. Just ensure that the mixture is cooked all the way through using a skewer or knife. If it comes out entirely clean then you're good to take the loaf out and allow to cool.

Once completely cool, brew yourself the perfect cup of your favourite tea, put on those dodgy slippers you own but never show to anyone, find your favourite spot and just sit and take time to enjoy. 

Bootealicious

 It's rare that I agree to try anything that centres around a poor play on words, but alas, I appreciate the premise that drinking tea could make me thin. Tea drinking is after all one of my favourite things and if it makes me Bootealicious, then that's all the better.

The daytime teatox has a citrus flavour and really isn't at all unpleasant (despite the moany reviews I read online prior to trying it)  however, I'm a lifelong fan of lemon green tea and it's  along a very similar line. The nighttime teatox is ultimately peppermint tea with some spooky laxative ingredients which don't taste of anything but certainly are present (don't be fooled by the pastel, girly packaging…you'll be in for a long night.)

I assigned a gorgeous little pink and cream Cath Kidston cup and saucer to the fortnight of teabags, which made it all the more enjoyable and, to my surprise, this stuff works. A little on the waste line and a lot to your sense of well-being.

I lost about five pounds while taking the teabags but the most noticeable changes were in how I felt - my skin was better, I felt 'cleaner' inside and the daytime teabags particularly make you feel rejuvenated and invigorated  throughout the day.

I will probably aim to re-order and stick to this teatox for a fortnightly period every six months, just for the way it makes me feel.

My body is probably never going to be too bootealicious for ya, babe but a little of what you fancy does, in this case, do you good.