Category Archives: recipes

DIY Porg Meringues

Its not May the 4th, and its not any time around a film being released, but I figured I actually didn’t need an excuse to share what I feel like is one of the cutest baking posts I’ve done in a long time. Well, it is actually the first time in ages that I’ve done a baking post, and its my first time baking in my new house, so ok, there’s the excuse!

Like them or loathe them (but seriously, who doesn’t like them?!), Porgs sorta stole the show in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Fun fact: the porgs were actually created as the island that the scenes were filmed on was populated with a whole load of puffins, and it was easier to CGI the porgs over all the puffins than it was to remove the puffins from the shots, so porgs are basically just space puffins. But I digress..

I’ve had the idea for these cute little sweet treats in my head for a little while now, and here they are – they’re a super simple bake and only 4 ingredients too! I always use the BBC Good Food Ultimate Meringue recipe for meringues, as below, but if you have your own go-to meringue recipe you can use that!

You will need:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 115g caster sugar
  • 115g icing sugar
  • 100g milk or dark chocolate

Preheat your oven to 100C, and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper. On the back of my greaseproof paper I drew a porg template ready for piping later, but you don’t have to do this.

Whisk your egg whites using a hand or stand mixer until they form stiff peaks, then up the speed a little and add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, waiting a few seconds between each spoonful. Once the caster sugar has all been added, your mix should look nice and shiny! Sift the icing sugar into the egg mix  one third at a time, and fold in gently using a metal spoon until smooth.

Now how you shape your porg is totally up to you, I used a piping bag but I imagine you could do it no problem using a spoon. Pipe/spoon your porg shapes onto the greaseproof paper leaving a little bit of space between each one – don’t worry about them being too peak-y or being all the same shape, it gives them character! Bake for 1 hour 30 mins, and then leave them to cool on a cooling rack.

To give yourself a nice flat canvas to work on, flip your meringues so that the flat side is the front of your porg, and now you’ve got yourself an army of little meringue porgs, you’re gonna want to melt down your chocolate. As you’re gonna be dipping, I suggest doing this in a fairly small bowl so that you’ve got some depth.

Take a porg, and working from wing to wing, dip and turn your meringue to create a chocolate border around your porg, then place them onto greaseproof paper to dry. You can then use either a piping bag or toothpick dipped in chocolate to add facial features. Pop your porgs in the fridge to allow the chocolate to harden, and you’re all done!

The meringues can be stored in a sealed container for about a week, if they last that long..

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Creme Egg Croissants

Happy Easter everyone!

Whether you celebrate today for religious reasons, celebrate it as a chocoholic or just use the 4 day weekend as a chance to catch up with life a little bit, this recipe is absolutely for you (sorry non-dairy folk, this isn’t for you!)

The best part about this recipe is that it is super quick and easy, and even if it comes out looking like a total mess, it definitely won’t taste like one, so you can’t really lose, and you don’t even have to make anything from scratch. You just need:

  • a roll of croissant dough – y’know, the kind that comes in a cardboard tube that makes that little *poof* noise when you open it
  • one Creme Egg (or Caramel Egg) per croissant – I don’t wanna tell you to suck eggs or anything, but remove all the foil..

Preheat your oven to 180C. Unroll your croissant dough, and if yours is the kind that has the ideal little perforations, just tear it into the marked pieces, and if not, cut triangles from your dough. Don’t worry if you rip the dough a little while tearing it up, it won’t show too much once its rolled!

Place your triangles onto a baking tray – either a non-stick tray or give it a little spray of cooking oil first – and at the wider end of your triangles, place your unwrapped egg.

The trickiest part is rolling the croissant, but this isn’t even that difficult, it just looks a little bulky. Start at the wider end where you placed the egg, and roll up the egg, squishing the dough down a little bit round each side, until you end up looking a bit like this:

You can coat your croissant in a bit of whisked egg or milk, but personally I prefer not to because I like my croissants super crumbly, then pop them in the oven for 10-12 mins. PS. This will feel like the longest 10-12 mins of your life.

Once they’re done, serve immediately while the gooeyness is at its best!

Oh, and here’s one I did with a Caramel Egg, which was super delicious too!

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My Ultimate Easter Rocky Road Recipe

I haven’t done a baking recipe in what feels like FOREVER (I will bombard you with them after we’ve moved into our new house so enjoy the relative rarity of them while it lasts) and with the Easter weekend upon us, I figured I’d throw as many Easter themed treats into one recipe, and that called for one of my favourite recipes: rocky road.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can add or remove anything you fancy once you’ve got the core mix, so you can totally make this your own and go a little crazy if you want, but here’s how mine turned out..

You will need:

  • 225g chocolate (I personally prefer to use milk, but if you want to do dark, go for it!)
  • 100g butter
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup
  • 100g mini marshmallows
  • 100g chocolate chip cookies or digestive biscuits, broken up
  • 100g maltesers (I used slightly less for this recipe because I added mini eggs)
  • 75g Mini Eggs plus extra for decorating
  • 4-5 Creme Eggs

Line an 8-inch square tin with greaseproof paper.

To start off, melt down the chocolate and butter – I do this in a pan over hot water, but you can microwave it if you prefer. Mix in the cocoa powder, caster sugar and cocoa powder until completely smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the marshmallows, cookies/biscuits, Maltesers and Mini Eggs, then pour in the chocolate mix and stir well until everything has a good coating of the chocolate mix, then pour into the tin and squish it down a little bit, but not too much.

Using a sharp knife, cut your Creme Eggs length-ways (along the little join). I then cut them in half again to make them go a little further, but that’s completely up to you! Press the Creme Egg pieces into the top of the mix so that they make their own little indentations to sit in, and chuck a couple of extra Mini Eggs on for good measure, then get this into the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Once set, chop into chunks and be prepared for it all to disappear a lot quicker than you expected..

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Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes

Happy Pancake Day everyone! I mean, its the most important day of the month today, right?

And I know that I know there are some people out there who aren’t totally pancake crazy (weirdos.. I joke) but if that’s the case or not, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share a recipe I’ve been sitting on for a little while now: my blueberry pancake cupcakes!

For the cupcakes, you’ll need 125g butter, 125g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 125g self raising flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional), plus a handful of blueberries – you can decide how blueberry crazy you want to be! Oh, and preheat your oven to 190C

  • Cream together the butter and sugar, then whisk in the egg.
  • Add the vanilla extract, then sift together the flour and cinnamon and mix well.
  • Line a cupcake tray with 12 cases, and drop a couple of blueberries into the bottom of each case, then add your remaining blueberries to the cake mix and whisk a little more so that they break up and release some of their yumminess into the mix.
  • Bake for 12-15 mins, then remove and allow to cool

While your cupcakes are baking, you can start on the fun task of making the (optional) tiny pancake toppers for the cupcakes, because these will also need a chance to cool before you compile your cupcakes at the end. This really calls for a classic American style pancake, and if you have your own favourite recipe then you can go ahead and whip that up, or this is the recipe that I use (you may want to make a half batch though!):

  • Sift together 135g plain flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tbsp caster sugar.
  • Separately whisk up 130ml milk with an egg and 2 tbsp melted butter, then pour into the flour mixture and whisk well until completely smooth.
  • Then you can go ahead and fry up your pancakes on a hob set at a medium heat – you can judge when its time to flip when little bubbles start to form on the top!

I tend to make a bunch of big pancakes, then use a cookie cutter to get them down to cupcake size, but if you have the patience to make a bunch of teeny tiny cupcakes then I’m all for that too! Pop these to one side, and make the buttercream:

  • Whisk together 175g caster sugar with 500g icing sugar until smooth
  • Optional: add 2 tbsp maple syrup and combine well – you may need to give your icing a chance to chill in the fridge before piping

Once everything is ready, get building! Pipe or spoon a good helping of buttercream onto each cupcake, top with a pancake and drizzle a little golden or maple syrup over the top and enjoy! If you’re making these in advance, don’t add the pancake until right before you serve, otherwise it can dry out a little bit, but the cupcakes themselves will store in a sealed container for up to a week!

You can thank me later!

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Quick and Easy Breakfast Puffs

For me, breakfast just doesn’t get enough attention. On weekdays its always rushed in the rat-race of getting ready for work, and on weekends its often brushed over by the plans of the day, when in reality it has the potential to be the best meal of the day.

Enter my breakfast puffs! These are my go-to when I’m craving something a little more special than a Belvita soft-bake or beans on toast, and they’re a real crowd-pleaser, while also being super easy to throw together.

You’ll need: ready roll puff pastry, eggs (1 per pastry), bacon (1-2 rashers per pastry), grated cheddar cheese, a sprinkling of your favourite herbs and a dash of salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 180C

To start off, roll out the pastry and cut into squares, then carefully fold over the edges to create a little rim. Take a fork and prick a few holes into the centre of the pastries, then pop into the oven for about 10 mins. Meanwhile, grill or fry your bacon.

When the 10 mins are up, remove your pastries from the oven, and if the centres have puffed up, press them back down using the back of a fork, so that the rim is still the highest part of the pastries.

Firstly, place your cooked bacon onto the puff, then crack an egg on top of each pastry. Sprinkle with cheese and herbs, and a dash of salt and pepper, and pop them back into the oven for another 5-8 mins, until the egg is fully cooked.

I normally like to sprinkle a little bit more cheese on top before serving, but that’s completely up to you! You can also mix these up by adding spinach or goats cheese, or whatever you fancy – that’s the beauty of them!

Enjoy!

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Hidden Pumpkin Cupcakes

The spookiest day of the year is now just around the corner, and while I’m not the biggest fan of Halloween, I love a good bit of baking, and I can’t believe I’ve never shared this recipe before!

With one of my cousins having her birthday on the 29th, I have been baking Halloween themed treats for her birthday parties for years now, and it was actually 5 years ago that I came up with these surprise centre cuties, and now you can make them too!

For 12-15 cupcakes, you will need:

  • 125g caster sugar
  • 125g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 105g self-raising flour
  • 20g cocoa powder
  • Plus..
  • 65g caster sugar
  • 65g butter
  • 1 egg
  • 65g self raising flour
  • Orange food colouring
  • Orange flavouring (optional)
  • Green candy melts
  • Your favourite chocolate frosting

You’ll also need a cupcake tray and either a cake pop machine or a cake pop baking mould!

Pre-heat your oven to 190C and start by making your little pumpkin balls! Cream the 65g butter and caster sugar together, then whisk in the egg and add the flour. Once the mixture is smooth, add the orange food colouring and flavouring. Bake for 10 mins, or as per your cake pop machine’s instructions – I think mine takes about 6 mins!

Let these cool, and use the remainder of the ingredients to make the chocolate cupcake mix using the same method. Line a cupcake tray with cupcake cases, and place one orange cake ball in the centre of the case, then using a teaspoon, add chocolate mix around the edge of the pumpkin – its ok if the top of the pumpkin isn’t covered because the cake will rise around it!

Bake for 12-15 mins, and while baking, chop the candy melt buttons into thin strips – it doesn’t matter if these aren’t perfect! Once the cupcakes are done, let them cool for about 5 mins, then carefully push each little green strip into the centre of the pumpkin, and then allow them to cool fully before icing. I personally like to keep the icing simple so it doesn’t give away the surprise inside, but you can find your own style!

Then sit back and watch the amazement when your unsuspecting consumers discover they’ve just bitten into a pumpkin!

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Cauliflower Crusted Chicken Nuggets

Do you ever have a real craving for something, decide to make it there and then, and then go to the kitchen and find your missing a vital ingredient? Well that was me last week. I have a homemade chicken nugget recipe that I’ve been using for years, and it was all I wanted to have for dinner.. Until I discovered I hate no breadcrumbs. Gutted.

I mooched over to the fridge to find alternative food options, and was greeted by the tub of cauliflower rice. Lightbulb. Twenty minutes later: happy Lottie with chicken nuggets.

Make them now, thank me later!

You’re gonna need:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1 cup cauliflower rice (I used the pre-made stuff you can get from most supermarkets now, but you can just blitz up your own in a food processer!)
  • 1 tbsp fine parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • A pinch of salt and pepper
  • Melted butter or a beaten egg yolk

Preheat your oven to 200C and cover a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

In a small bowl, mix together the cauliflower, cheese, rosemary, salt and pepper, and set to one side. Chop up your chicken breast into small nugget sized pieces, roughly 1 inch cubes!

If you’re using butter, now is the time to melt that, or beat up your egg yolk, then one piece at a time, dip the chicken into the butter/yolk, allow any excess to run off, then roll around in the cauliflower mixture.

Place each piece on the baking tray, leaving a little room between each nugget, and repeat until all of the chicken is covered. If you have any excess mix, you can use this to cover up any patches on any of the nuggets!

Bake in the oven for 12-15 mins, and be sure to check that the chicken is cooked through and juices are running clear.

Et voila – golden nuggets in less than 20 mins! Enjoy!

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Blueberry Lemonade

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over a few attempts at making my own, life’s gotta give you a whole load of lemons before you can make much lemonade!

This recipe, however, is well worth squeezing a few lemons, and I know I’m gonna be making it over and over through the summer months because I could drink this all day!

You will need:

  • 5-6 lemons
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cup granulated or caster sugar

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar with 250ml water and add the blueberries. Start to heat this over a medium heat.

While keeping an eye on the blueberry mixture, squeeze the lemons – preferably using a hand juicer to get the most juice out! You should be aiming for about 175-200ml.

After 3-4 mins of simmering, the blueberries in the pan should be broken down, and the liquid should be a nice purple colour. Remove the mixture from the heat, and drain using a fine sieve to ensure none of the skins or bitty bits get through. Let this cool down a little.

In a large jug, combine the lemon juice with 1.25 litres of cold water, then pour in the blueberry syrup and whisk to combine. Pop into the fridge to allow the mixture to fully cool, then serve over ice and enjoy!

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Baking Magic – Spinach Puffs

For the first time in forever, I’ve been in the kitchen creating a Disney inspired recipe.. Pull the lever, Kronk!

That’s right, its a little less well known recipe today, but any fans of Emperor’s New Groove will know of Kronk’s famous spinach puffs. Yzma may not be a fan, but having recreated these little beauties for myself, I most certainly am, and I’m pleased to say they’re super easy to do!

You’re gonna need:

  • A sheet of ready-roll puff pastry
  • 1 cup of finely chopped spinach – I used a food processor to save time!
  • 2 tbsp powdered parmesan cheese
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • A beaten egg, optional
  • A mini muffin tray sprayed with FryLight oil
This recipe makes 8-10 puffs!

Preheat an oven to 180C.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach, parmesan until evenly mixed. Crush the garlic clove into this mixture, add the oil and combine.

Unroll the pastry, and cut into 2×2 inch squares. Arrange the squares diagonally in the mini muffin holes, pressing them down into the dips, then fill with a teaspoon of the spinach mix.

Fold the corners in, and brush the top with the egg mix. Pop in the oven for 10-12 mins until golden brown.

If you’re feeling a little fancy, you can spread the mix onto the pastry sheet, roll it up like a Swiss roll and slice into spirals before baking!

These bites of deliciousness are best served warm, but will also keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

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Unicorn Poop Marshmallows

Unicorn food is taking of the world right now. Its all over Pinterest, its in ever cutesy indie cafe, and I’m loving it.

I’ve seen lots of recipes for unicorn hot chocolate recently, and while I think they’re all incredibly cute, I think they’re missing one finishing touch.. Unicorn marshmallows. Making marshmallows is one of my favourite things to do, and I personally think they taste a million times better homemade, so I took inspiration from one of my favourite Lush bubble bars to create these pastel perfect unicorn poops.

Making the marshmallows is fairly straightfoward, but does take a little bit of time and you’ll need a candy thermometer!

  • In a heavy based saucepan, mix together 200ml water, 450g caster sugar and 1 tbsp golden syrup. Pop in the candy thermometer, and start heating the mix, without stirring, until it reaches 127C.
  • While its heating, soak 9 gelatine leaves in 140ml water in a bowl and leave to one side.
  • In a large bowl, or stand mixer, whisk 2 egg whites until fluffy. If you’re using a stand mixer, just keep this running at a medium speed, or if you use an electric hand whisk, stop when soft peaks form and wait for the sugar mix.
  • Once the sugar boils up to temperature, remove the thermometer and pour in the gelatin/water mix and stir until fully dissolved, then slowly pour into the egg whites, mixing as you go. I cannot stress enough how hot this mix is, so please be careful and don’t have small children around while you’re doing this as it will hurt!
  • Whisk this mixture on a high speed for around 10 minutes, until it forms peaks.

While the marshmallow is whisking away, get three bowls ready with a few drops of gel food colouring in each. Pour 1/3 of the mix into each bowl and stir so the mallow is evenly coloured.

At this point, I used my Wilton colour swirl kit, but you can also use regular piping bags by filling each one with a colour, and then placing all three bags into another, fitting with a large open nozzle.

Prepare a large tray by covering it with greaseproof paper, and sprinkling a mixture of icing sugar and cornflour, then get piping away! If you don’t want to pipe, you could also use a square cake tin and layer the colours instead!

Let the marshmallows set for 1-2 hours, then sprinkle with more icing sugar/cornflour! These will keep in an airtight container for about a week or two – if you let them last that long!

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Ferrero Rocher Brownies

It has felt like FOREVER since I’ve done a baking post, or any recipe post at all to be honest, so I dedicated a whole day last week to baking yummy stuff so I can share a few of my favourites sweet treats over the coming weeks, yay!

Today, I’m gonna be sharing a variation on my famous brownie recipe (and when I say famous, I mean among the few people in my life who have eaten my brownies, haha), featuring my boyfriend’s favourite chocolates: Ferrero Rochers.

You will need:

  • 115g butter
  • 115g milk chocolate
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 115g plain flour
  • 8 Ferrero Rocher
  • 4 tbsp Nutella (optional)
  • 4 tbsp hazelnuts, finely chopped (optional)

Preheat your oven to 180C

First, melt together the chocolate and butter. I do this in a pan over boiling water, but you can also do this in the microwave! While this is melting down, line an 8 inch square pan with greaseproof paper, and chop the Ferrero Rochers in half.

Once the chocolate mix is fully melted (don’t worry if the butter and chocolate is a little bit separated!), pour it into a large mixing bowl, add the caster sugar and stir together, then beat in the eggs until smooth. Sift in the cocoa powder and flour, and mix together. You can add the hazelnuts now if you want!

Pour half of the brownie mix into the pan and let it settle evenly. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the Nutella in 10-20 second intervals until its runny enough to pour, and drizzle it over the first layer of brownie mix, then pour the remaining mix on top.

Arrange your Ferrero Rocher halfs on the top of the brownie, pushing them down into the mix slightly, then bake for 30-35 mins. Allow the brownie to cool in the pan for 5-10 mins, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Slice and enjoy!

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Meringue Roses for Mothers Day

In case you’d forgotten, its Mothers Day this Sunday!

If you do something a little different this year, why not forgo the regular flowers, and treat her to a sweeter treat.. Enter, meringue roses!

To make these, I used the BBC Good Food Ultimate Meringue recipe, which goes a little something like this:

  • Preheat your oven to 100C
  • Whisk 4 egg whites until fluffy and stiff peaks form – you can do this with a hand or stand mixer
  • Add 115g of caster sugar a spoonful at a time, up the speed and continue to whisk until thick and glossy!
  • Sift in 115g of icing sugar, 1/3 at a time, and fold into the mix with a metal spoon until smooth

Cover a baking tray with a non-slip mat, or greaseproof paper. Spoon the mix into a piping bag with a star nozzle, then starting in the middle, pipe spirals to make roses with a diameter of 2-3 inches, and bake for 1.5 hours. Once done, turn the oven off and let the meringues cool inside the oven for about half an hour, then take them out and transfer to a cooling rack.

You can serve these as they are, or sandwich two together with cream – or any other way you fancy! You don’t even have to make them for your mum if you don’t want to.. 😉

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Bathing Gingerbread Men

Its gingerbread time of year – THIS IS NOT A DRILL

I love making gingerbread, but something I really fail at is gingerbread houses – I don’t know whether its all the construction involved or what, but they just always fail or look rubbish and I find it all too stressful, so I tend to stick to regular cookie cutter shapes. Sounds kinda boring right? NOPE.

Dunking Gingerbread Men

My absolute favourite gingerbread creations are these little bathing dudes that hang out in your tea/coffee/hot chocolate; they’re a real crowd-pleaser!

All you need is a batch of your favourite gingerbread recipe (mine is here!), a rolling pin, large gingerbread man cookie cutter and a cupcake tray or two!

  • Preheat your oven to 180C (or whatever your recipe requires!)
  • Whip up your gingerbread, and roll out onto a floured surface and cut out your little gingerbread men
  • Dust your cupcake trays with a little bit of flour, or use non-stick spray over the tray
  • Place your gingerbread man onto the tray, with their bodies in the bottom of the dip, and their arms, legs and head over the edge – you may need to space them out quite a bit, and maybe bake in batches if you don’t have multiple trays!
  • Bake as per your recipe, then let them cool in the tray to make sure they retain their shape

Once cooled, make yourself a nice hot drink to celebrate, and let one of them go for a swim!

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Hidden Mickey Fudge

I don’t know about anyone else, but something I always have to to when I visit Disneyland Paris is stop off on Main Street and buy some fudge, and when I say some, I mean a lot. Its tradition.

So I decided to make some fudge, but if you know anything about me and my baking habits, I like to throw a little surprise into my creations, so I present to you.. Hidden Mickey fudge!

Hidden Mickey fudge

First up, make the chocolate fudge:

  • In a saucepan, mix together 400g chocolate (I used half dark and half milk, but either or any combo will do!), a tin of condensed milk (a standard one is 397g) and 25g butter.
  • Melt this all together over a low-medium heat, then sift in 100g icing sugar and stir in
  • Pour this mix into a lined 8 inch square tin, then pop in the fridge for at least an hour

Hidden Mickey fudge

Once the chocolate fudge is set, turn it out onto a fresh sheet of greaseproof paper, and using a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter, cut out as many mice as you can. Line a standard sized loaf tin with paper, and stack the cut-outs into a sort-of Mickey sausage from one end of the tin to the other.

Hidden Mickey fudge

Now, the vanilla fudge (this one takes a little longer!):

  • In a larger saucepan – the bigger, the better – combine another tin of condensed milk with 450g demerara sugar, 150ml milk and 115g butter.
  • Heat this until its all melted and combined, then ramp up the heat, and simmer for about 15 mins, stirring continuously. This will get super hot and bubbly, so keep children well away in case it spits out.
  • Boil until the temperature reaches 118C on a candy thermometer, or the mix starts to form a sort-of soft ball in the pan, then remove from the heat, and keep stirring quickly until the mixture thickens
  • Pour this mix over your Mickeys, then pop the pan in the fridge for at least 90 mins.

Hidden Mickey fudge

Ready, set, slice!

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Chocolate Orange and Baobab Dip with PandaVita*

If you think that Baobab is the weirdest part of this recipe, just you wait.. It is as yummy as it looks though, promise!

Chocolate orange baobab dip

Ok, so you’re wondering what baobab is though, right?

PandaVita Baobab Recipe

Baobab is a tree native to Africa, and the Disney fans among you would recognise it as the tree that Rafiki hangs out in during The Lion King, and its also what Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life is based on. Its an extraordinary looking tree, often describe as being upside-down, as when its not covered in leaves, the branches resemble roots, spanning out from the enormous trunk, so it looks like someone’s just flipped it in the ground!

Baobab is one of the latest superfoods, full of Vitamin C, fibre and anti-oxidants, and the guys at PandaVita challenged me to come up with a yummy recipe using their new organic baobab powder.

I wanted to make it healthy-ish, and the citrus taste of the powder lead me to a decision that it had to be chocolate orange, but the secret – and strange! – ingredient? Chickpeas.

Try it and see, its super easy!

  • In a food processor, blitz together 200g cooked chickpeas, 4 tbsp cocoa powder, 3 tbsp honey (or maple syrup), and 2 tbsp orange juice, with a teaspoon of baobab powder
  • You may need to add a little water, depending on the consistency, and you might also want to add a little more honey to sweeten it to your taste. Also, if you don’t want chocolate orange, you can substitute the orange juice for 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tbsp water!

Store it in the fridge, and you’ve got a yummy dip that’s perfect for rice cakes or apple slices!

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8 Quick, Easy and Healthy Breakfasts

PureChimp Matcha Green Tea Recipe

Think you’ve not got time for a healthy breakfast each morning? Think again! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so start your day right with these yummy ideas!

WARNING: This post contains no avocados or smoked salmon

1. Banana pancakes < 10 mins

  • Mash a banana, and whisk in two eggs. Pour the mix into a frying pan, and cook on both sides until golden brown. Ta-dah! You can even get fancy and add cocoa powder, or protein powder, or blueberries, or whatever you fancy!

2. Fluffy cloud eggs <15 mins

  • Preheat the oven to 220C. Separate two eggs, whisk the eggs whites until soft peaks form, then carefully stir in 1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese. On a lined baking tray, make two little piles of the egg white mix, leaving a little dimple in the middle, and bake for 4 mins. Take the whites out of the oven, and carefully tip the individual yolks into the centre of the mounds, and bake for another 2 mins. Voila!

3. Peach and raspberry yogurt drink < 10 mins

  • Blend together two chopped up peaches, a cup of raspberries and half a cup of natural or vanilla yogurt. Enjoy!

4. Ham and egg cups < 15 mins

  • Preheat the oven to 190C. Spray a cupcake or muffin tin with cooking oil spray, and line the holes with parma ham – one piece should do one hole! Crack and egg into the hole and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top, then bake for 12 mins. Job done! These are great to prep in advance, then you can store them in the fridge and microwave for 40 seconds to reheat!

5. Poached egg and smashed peas < 15 mins

  • Start some frozen peas boiling in a small saucepan. Get water simmering in a medium saucepan, add a splash of vinegar and poach your egg – whether you do it in the traditional method or using a poachie/poach pod! While the egg is cooking, drain the peas, and using a stick blender, mash up the peas with a chopped spring onion – I like to leave mine a little chunky! Fish your poached egg out of the pan with a slotted spoon, and dry with a paper towel, then serve on top of the pile of peas! Yum!

6. Banana nut protein smoothie < 5 mins

  • Blend a banana with a cup of hazelnut milk and a handful of walnuts. Add some vanilla protein powder and blend again. Slurp!

7. Golden bananas and Greek yogurt < 10 mins

  • Whisk together a tablespoon of honey with a tablespoon of water. Slice up a banana, arrange the pieces on some tin foil and brush with the honey mix, then place under the grill until golden and slightly caramelised. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, and a sprinkling of cinnamon or cocoa powder. Om nom nom!

8. Asparagus and egg fry up < 15 mins

  • Melt butter or coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 3-4 aspargus stems, ensure they’re nicely covered in the butter/oil, then cover and cook for 5 minutes. Once done, crack an egg over the asparagus and fry for 3-4 mins. Happy eating!

No time for breakfast? No excuses!

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Matcha Crepes with PureChimp*

PureChimp Matcha Green Tea Recipe

Its no secret that I’m a huge lover of matcha, but I will admit to the fact that I tend to be very boring with how I use it – normally its a scoop in my morning juice and that’s that, so when I got my packet of PureChimp last month, I was looking forward to having the opportunity to experiment for a change!

As matcha is normally part of my morning routine, I knew I wanted to come up with a yummy way of having an antioxidant filled breakfast, and what is more perfect on a Sunday morning than a stack of pancakes?

PureChimp Matcha Green Tea Recipe

Whether you call them pancakes or crepes, this light and delicious stack will get you feeling happy and ready to start any day, and they’re really easy to make:

  • Whisk together 300ml skimmed milk (or a dairy-free substitute!), 100g plain flour and 2 eggs
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon of Matcha Super Tea and whisk until smooth
  • In a frying pan, heat coconut oil (any other cooking oil will also work), ensure the pan is well oiled then pour any excess off
  • Pour the mix into the frying pan and tip it around to get a nice even spread, cook for a minute on a medium heat, until you can easily flip the pancake, then cook the other side!

This mix will also keep in the fridge for 3 days, so you can whip up a big batch and make just a few pancakes at a time – hello quick and easy breakfast! You can serve with lemon and sugar, chocolate sauce or even ice-cream, because you’re an adult and that’s ok.

Green is good, embrace the super tea!

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Pumpkin Macaroni Cheese

Before you read on and think ‘hang on, there’s no pumpkin here’, I’ll explain.

Butternut squash patch

I had every intention of doing this post using pumpkin, but this Cinderella has a butternut squash patch in her back garden, and I decided to pick one of them instead! The recipe works exactly the same, yay winter mac and cheese!

Pumpkin macaroni cheese

Pumpkin macaroni cheese

Pumpkin macaroni cheese

Pumpkin macaroni cheese

  • Cook 250g macaroni (or any pasta!), drain and set to one side
  • While the pasta is boiling, chop 400g pumpkin (or squash!) into chunks, and boil for 10-15 mins until soft.
  • Once drained, put the pumpkin back into the saucepan, add 3 tbsp butter and 150ml milk and using a stick blender, blitz until smooth. You can also do this in a food processor.
  • Add 100g cheddar and 1 tsp paprika and blend again, then stir in another 50g cheese.
  • Add the pasta to the sauce, and stir to combine

This can be stored in the fridge and reheated either in a saucepan or microwave, and is such a great winter warmer recipe! Its also a good way to get kids to eat veggies without noticing!

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Homemade Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Who doesn’t love a hash brown? As a child, it was all I’d ever eat from a McDonalds breakfast and I’d probably polish off 4 or 5 of them while my family chowed down on McMuffins.

What I don’t eat a lot of these days is regular potatoes, so when I had the brainwave that there must be a way of producing a healthier version of a fast food favourite, I couldn’t wait to give it a try! If you’re not so certain, how’s this:

5 hash browns = roughly 250 calories

Sweet potato hash browns

Better yet, they’re super easy to make! I used 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, which produced 5 good sized hash browns, but you can use as many or few as you like as its all done on proportions.

Sweet potato hash browns

Sweet potato hash browns

  • Take half of your SPs and chop them into chunks, then boil for 10 mins or until soft
  • While the chunks are boiling, grate the other half into a large bowl
  • Once soft, drain the chunks, add a tbsp of butter/margarine/whatever spread you like and mash until smooth
  • Add the mashed potato to the bowl of grated SP and using a fork, mix to combine, ensuring all the grated stuff is stuck together

Sweet potato hash browns

  • In a frying pan, heat coconut oil (you can use other oil if you like!) until its hot enough that it hisses a little
  • Using a spoon or your hands, take a lump of the potato mix and squash into a pattie, then drop into the oil
  • Fry for about 2 minutes on each size, or until golden brown – you can use more oil if you’d prefer a deep fried effect, or less if you don’t, but you’ll probably need to re-oil the pan between each batch.

Sweet potato hash browns

Ta-dah! I love serving them on a bed of spinach with a poached egg for a fancy-ish brunch, but how you eat them is entirely up to you!

You can also batch prepare these to freeze, then reheat under a grill or in the oven for about 10 mins!

Hello not-so-guilty pleasure!

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Jack Skellington Candy Apples

I think I must be fairly odd as Halloween doesn’t get me all that excited; I love carving pumpkins but other than that I’m always just way to pre-occupied with the thought of Christmas coming to really get into a spooky spirit. I do, however, love making Halloween-y themed food, so I thought it would be the perfect time to post my third candy apple post!

Jack Skellington Candy Apples

You’ll need 12-15 apples (I think green works best!), 5 cups of caster sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water, plus some black food colouring (gel or paste), lollipop sticks, and black and white chocolate or candy melts. You’ll also need a candy thermometer!

  • Start by mixing together the sugar and water in a saucepan, and get it boiling away. It needs to reach 150C, which will take a little while but you can use this time to get the apples cleaned and on their sticks.
  • Once the sugar hits temperature, stir in the black food colouring, dip the apples and swirl them around to cover in the candy, then place on a tray covered in greaseproof paper to set – which will happen quickly!

Now I can’t stress this enough: the sugar is HOT. We’re talking hotter than boiling water, so please please please be careful! This is definitely not an activity that children should be doing, even under supervision; its just not worth the risk of burning.

  • Once the candy has set hard, you can start melting the white chocolate, and either dip the apples into it or spoon it on, and pop these into the fridge to set.
  • When the white layer is hard, melt the black candy, and using a piping/ziploc bag with the corner cut off, pipe a spooky (or smiley!) face onto the apples and pop back in the fridge to let it set.

Jack Skellington Candy Apples

These can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week, so you can get them ready a few days before its time to get spooky! And if Jack doesn’t take your fancy, why not try my original Poison Candy Apples?

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Garlic and Rosemary Potato Spirals

You know those 30 second recipe videos you see on your Facebook news feed on a daily basis? Well this post is sorta inspired by one of those, and while I definitely didn’t find it as easy as those videos make it look, these were pretty straightforward and extremely delicious!

Garlic and Rosemary potatoes

You’ll need potatoes (large-ish ones work best!), butter, garlic and dried rosemary, a sharp knife and some kebab skewers.

Get your oven pre-heating at 180C, and stick each one of potatoes onto a skewer. Now this is the tricky bit.. Starting at one end of the potato, start to slice while turning the potato so you get one continuous cut all the way down the potato – don’t be afraid to cut all the way down to the skewer, this will make it easier to spread apart in a minute! Give the potato a little twist, and tug it so it stretches out down the skewer leaving the cuts open.

garlic and rosemary potatoes

In a separate bowl, crush a garlic clove, and mash it with some butter – about 2-3 tbsp butter and half a clove per potato – then using a butter knife, slather the butter over the potato, getting into all the nooks. Top with a generous sprinkle of rosemary, then pop onto a baking tray.

Garlic and rosemary potatoes

Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and crispy, then slide the potatoes off the skewers and enjoy!

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Homemade Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream

Marshmallows are life.

Ice-cream is also not just for summer, so now we’re heading into the autumn months its time for a few warmer flavours, and I think this is my new favourite. Move over Ben and Jerry, Lottie is on the scene right now.

Toasted Marshmallow Icecream

And d’you know what? This was so easy.

Are you ready?

1. Preheat an oven to 220C.

2. Whisk 500ml of whipping cream until its stiff enough to hold peaks, but not overwhipped.

3. Cover a baking tray with greaseproof paper, spread out 2 cups of mini marshmallows, and bake for 4 minutes

4. While the marshmallows are baking, pour a can of sweetened condensed milk (397ml is the standard size) into the cream, and fold in carefully with a metal spoon.

5. Once the marshmallows have baked, quickly scrape all the melted marshmallow goop into the cream mixture and stir through the mix. Don’t worry about larger lumps or more toasted bits, they add great texture!

6. Pour the mix into a large loaf tin or container, and freeze for 6-8 hours, then scoop and serve!

Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream

Toasted Marshmallow Icecream

You could turn this into a s’mores sundae by adding warm chocolate sauce and cookie crumbs and enjoy by a bonfire while toasting more marshmallows..

You are welcome.

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Homemade Turkey Burgers

Just because its September first doesn’t mean barbecue season has to be over just yet, especially as the weather has only just started picking up!

That being said, burgers aren’t just for BBQing, and these turkey burgers are a particular favourite of mine, and super easy to make!

Homemade turkey burgers

For about 6 burgers, you’ll need 500g turkey mince, 1 tsp oregano, 2 tbsp breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to season.

  • Tip your mince into a bowl, and using either your hands or a wooden spoon, break up the mince until even
  • Add the oregano and breadcrumbs to the mince and knead the mixture to ensure and even spread throughout. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and combine.
  • Using your hands, make the patties – the more you knead the mixture, the easier you’ll find this is to do, otherwise they can break up a little!
  • If you’re making these to eat another time, you can freeze the patties at this point, keeping them separate using greaseproof paper.
  • If not, these are good to go straight under the grill or onto the BBQ! Cook on each side for about 5 minutes, then pierce each side with a kebab skewer before continuing to cook. Just like chicken, you want the juices to be running clear!

Homemade turkey burgers

Now I’m a sucker for classic burger cheese, but if you’re feeling a little fancier then halloumi would also be great on these burgers, and I like to add a smear of green pesto for extra yumminess!

Homemade turkey burgers

Have I tempted you with this recipe, or are you a classic beef burger kinda person?

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Homemade Pastel Swirl Ice Cream

Did you read my Summer Bucket List? Well one of the things on there was making my own ice-cream, and while I could have made any old plain vanilla or chocolate, I went a little more colourful..

Pastel Ice Cream

It doesn’t involve a stand mixer, it doesn’t take hours of prep, and it looks and tastes amazing! You know, if I do say so myself..

1. Before you start on your ice cream mix, get yourself set up with 4-5 bowls, each containing a drop or two of gel/paste food colouring in your chosen colours – liquid colouring will not work with this recipe! Have spoons ready in each bowl, and a large loaf tin or 8 inch square tin ready too.

2. In a glass or metal bowl, whisk 500ml whipping cream until it holds peaks, but is still smooth.

3. Using a metal spoon, fold in 1 can of sweetened condensed milk – 14oz/397ml – until combined, then quickly split the mixture between the bowls with food colouring in.

4. Working fairly quickly – but without beating all the air out! – mix in the colouring until fully combined.

5. Scoop the different colours into the pan – you can layer them or dot them randomly, then use a skewer to swirl them together!

Pastel Ice Cream

6. Freeze the mixture for 6-8 hours, then scoop!

Pastel Ice Cream

You know that this would go great with? My Pastel Dreams Cheesecake!

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Baking Magic – Giant Mickey Cookie (gone wrong!)

It feels like ages since I’ve done a Disney baking post, and as the title suggests, I’m afraid to say this one went a little wrong, but its still delicious so I’m still sharing it!

‘Why did it go wrong?’ I hear you ask. Well, because while I love cookies, they seem to hate me, and I never seem to get them 100% right.

But seriously, this recipe is so good and so easy, and it makes SUCH A BIG COOKIE. Definitely sharing size. Or not.

1. Using a fork, soften 30g butter, then mix in 25g caster sugar and 25g soft brown sugar – light or dark are both fine!

2. Crack an egg into a small bowl and beat it, then add 2 tbsp of the beaten egg to the mix with 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

3. Mix together 35g plain flour, 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, then add to the cookie mix and beat in with the fork.

4. Add 50g chocolate chips (whatever combination of white/milk/dark you like!) and stir in.

Giant Cookie

At this point, I carefully scooped my mixture onto a baking tray covered in greaseproof paper in the shape of Mickey Mouse, added a few chocolate chips and it looked pretty cute:

Giant Mickey cookie

I then baked it at 170C for 14 minutes, and when the oven beeped, this is what came out..

Giant cookie

So I put it on a Mickey shaped plate and ate it anyway!

Giant Cookie on Mickey plate

And it was delicious.

What’s your favourite flavour of cookie?

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Baking Magic – Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

When it comes to snacks and desserts at Disney parks, everyone’s got their favourites, right?

Out of those favourites, we tend to have the favourites that you can get everywhere – popcorn, churros etc – and the ones that you savour in certain locations. Today’s recipe is one of the latter.

Sunshine Seasons inside The Land at Epcot ranks pretty high in my favourite quick service restaurants, and if its not the Mongolian beef that gets my taste buds excited (YUM), its the red velvet whoopie pies that keep me coming back again and again, so today I decided to make them!

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 oz dark chocolate and 1/2 oz milk chocolate together, and mix to combine the two.
  2. In a separate bowl, melt 3/4 cups butter, then whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 tsps white wine vinegar and a splash of vanilla extract. Add red gel or paste food colouring until the mix is a nice shade of reddy-pink.
  3. In another bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups plain flour, 1 cup caster sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Pour in the red mix bit by bit and whisk until smooth, then stir in the melted chocolate mix.
  4. Cover a baking tray in greaseproof paper, and spoon the mix into 2 inch round circles, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

  1. While the whoopies are cooling, make the cream cheese filling by whisking together 125g cream cheese and 50g butter, then sift in 300g icing sugar and mix until smooth, then refrigerate until ready for sandwiching.
  2. Once cooled, pair up the whoopies and stick them together with a good helping of the frosting, then roll the edges in chocolate chips to finish!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

What are your favourite park treats?

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Baking Magic – Churro Bites

Churros are a park snacking favourite, but they’re something I’ve only myself come around to in recent years – my favourite being these adorable Mickey shaped treats from Tokyo Disney:

Tokyo Disney churros

So I decided to give them a shot, and I’ll tell you something right now: those perfectly straight churros you get in the park are damn near impossible to make in a little pan, ha! Hence, I’m calling these churro bites, cos they’re a little bit smaller and a little bit more random looking!

Making the dough is pretty easy:

  • Sift 250g plain flour with 1 tsp baking powder
  • Melt 50g butter and pour into a jug of 350ml boiling water. This is gonna look a little weird, don’t worry about it though! Also add a splash of vanilla extract
  • Make a little hole in the middle of your flour mix, and pour in the water/butter mix, then stir quickly into a sticky dough.

Baking Magic Churro Bites

Let this sit for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the oil for frying.

Prepare a tray by covering with greaseproof paper, and sprinkling this with caster sugar and a light layer of cinnamon.

Fill a large saucepan with oil, at least 1 inch deep, but not less than 2 inches from the top of the pan. You may need up to about a litre! Start to heat the oil over a high flame; it’ll take a little while, but you’ll know its ready when lots of little bubbles start appearing.

Add a large star nozzle to a piping bag, and fill with the rested dough. I recommend doing this in batches as the dough is a tad runny so will leak out of the end if too full.

Squeeze strips of dough directly into the oil, and use a pair of scissors to cut it clean from the piping bag. The dough will probably curl up and make fun little shapes, but that’s ok!

Baking Magic Churro Bites

PLEASE BE REALLY CAREFUL HERE. The oil is so hot and will bubble quite violently once the mix is in, so please mind your hands, and keep any children well away while you’re doing this.

The bites will start off at the bottom of the pan and float to the top after a little while. Once they’re brown and crisping up nicely, flip them over using tongs to give them an even fry. Once cooked, lift out using a slotted spoon or tongs, let the excess oil drip off for a second or two then pop onto your tray of sugar. Repeat the cooking in small batches of two of three bites.

Baking Magic Churro Bites

The churros will actually cool pretty quickly, so you can serve them almost immediately, but if not then let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container, and enjoy for days, yay!

What’s your favourite park treat?

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#SummerofMatcha – Matcha Green Tea Mojito!

Sometimes blogging is hard work, and sometimes it involves drinking rum.

#SummerofMatcha Matcha Mojito

I’m all about the matcha; I drink it every day and its one of my favourite superfood products out there, so when I discovered EatCleanTea, and found that they offer a range of flavours as well as pure green, I was so excited to be a part of their #SummerofMatcha competition and I jumped at the chance to try their Mint + Matcha blend!

Why is matcha so great?

Matcha is a super concentrated pure green tea, that has health benefits from an increased metabolism to clearer skin, and can enhance concentration and calm the mind!

Now I don’t know about you, but when I think of summer and mint, I think beach, BBQs and mojitos, and thus, the Matcha Mojito was born!

#SummerOfMatcha Matcha Mojito

You will need:

  • Matcha + Mint
  • 1 lime, cut into two halves
  • A handful of mint leaves
  • White rum (you can substitute lemonade to make it a virgin!)
  • Soda water
  • Ice cubes
  • Sugar (optional)

Run around the rim of your glass with one of the lime halves, then dip into sugar to coat the top. Fill the glass with ice and mint leaves, and using a muddler of long spoon, mash them around a bit to release the mint flavours!

In a small glass or bowl, whisk together the juice of one lime half and a scoop of M+M; it’ll be lovely and green! Add a mint leave or two, and whisk a little more, then pour this into your prepared glass.

Add 1 measure of rum, squeeze the remaining lime half into the glass, and top the mix up with soda water. Give it a stir, chuck in a straw and enjoy!

#SummerofMatcha Matcha Mojito

That’s right, a cocktail with health benefits!

I was provided with a sample of Matcha + Mint by EatCleanTea for use in this recipe. All opinions are my own. Please drink responsibly.

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Baking Magic – Mickey Steamed Buns

With looking forward to my trips to Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneylands, it seems a little crazy that its almost been a year since I visited Tokyo!

Tokyo Disneyland was the most unique experience, and I would thoroughly recommend a trip if you get the chance – I’m dying to go back already! – and one of the many unique features of the parks was definitely the food. Forget corn dogs and fries, the cuisine is almost entirely suited to the Japanese culture, and we didn’t have a single bad meal there!

While you may not be in the Western parks, there are a couple of burger options for you, but before you go searching for a cheeseburger, even these have an adorable Japanese twist: steamed buns, and a touch of Disney magic! Today, I’m re-creating the most internet famous of these..


These buns are available at Tomorrowland Terrace in Tokyo Disneyland park, but other variations include a Donald equivalent in Toon Town, and a seashell bun in Calypso Kitchen in Tokyo DisneySea, and now I’m so excited that I can make my own!

Being totally clueless on where to even start, I stuck pretty close to the steamed bao bun recipe on BBC Good Food:

  • Mix 525g plain flour with 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl
  • Dissolve 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast and a pinch of salt in 1 tbsp warm water, then add to the dry mix with 50 ml milk, 200 ml water, 1 tbsp sunflower (I used olive) oil and 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar and mix into a dough, using either your hands or a dough hook attachment on a food mixer < so much easier than your hands! Knead for 10-15 minutes
  • Put the dough into a lightly oiled dough and cover with a damp cloth, then leave for 2 hours to rise. It should double in size, but don’t worry too much if it doesn’t!
  • Tip it out onto a floured work surface and flatten it out, then sprinkle 1 tsp baking powder over it and knead for 5 minutes.

This is where I deviated a little from the method of the recipe.

  • Roll out the dough until its about 1cm thick. I found this easier by cutting the dough in half and doing one half at a time!

Mickey steamed buns

  • Using a big flower shaped cutter, preferably a five petal design, cut out shapes from the dough. Using your hands, stretch these out slightly, dab with a bit of oil and fold them over a chopstick so that three of the petals are on top (see that Mickey hand shape?) and repeat with all the dough.
  • Cover the buns with a clean tea towel or oiled cling film, then leave somewhere warm to prove for 1 hr 30 mins.
  • The buns should double in size, but again, don’t worry about this too much – mine didn’t!

Mickey steamed buns

  • Before cooking, use black food colouring and a paintbrush or toothpick to add Mickey’s glove markings!
  • Cook the buns in a steamer for 8 minutes, then unfold, fill and close back up!

Mickey Steamed Buns

The buns are best served still warm, but still delicious once cooled! I personally recommend filling with pulled pork or teryaki chicken!

Love the look of these? Have a look at my favourite crazy Tokyo foods!

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Baking Magic – The Grey Stuff

If you’re in the know on Walt Disney World secrets, you’ll know that if you dine at Be Our Guest, you can order the infamous Grey Stuff from the song itself.

Photo courtesy of Amy from http://www.paintpotted.co.uk

You also might know that there’s already a whole bunch of copycat recipes for it on the internet, but if, like me, you’ve read them all, you’ll notice that a) they’re pretty much all exactly the same and b) they all involve ‘instant vanilla pudding mix’ which is prevalent in the US, but something that we don’t really have here in the UK, so this is where this recipe has come from today; a UK friendly, real ingredient version!

The Grey Stuff Recipe

1. Melt 175g white chocolate in a bowl over hot water, or in the microwave. While its melting, crush up 4-5 oreo cookies into a fine powdery crumb, then stir half of this into the melted chocolate. Pour this into a glass bowl and set aside.

The Grey Stuff Recipe

2. In another glass bowl, whisk 2 egg whites until they’re stiff, and fold this into the chocolate mix with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Be fairly gentle so as not to beat out all the air!

The Grey Stuff Recipe

3. Whisk 225ml double or whipping cream until fluffy and firm, then fold this into the mix and add the remaining oreo crumbs in. Looking pretty grey-t, right? (I’m hilarious)

The Grey Stuff Recipe

4. Put the mix into the fridge for about an hour to set, then scoop into a piping bag with a wide star nozzle, and pipe out onto your serving plates. Once you’re happy, get the plates back into the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

The Grey Stuff Recipe

Try it, it’s delicious!

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Treat Yourself – Pastel Dream Cheesecake

For a lover of bright and bold colours, I’m surprisingly obsessed with pastels right now.

So I’m scrolling through Pinterest, looking for pins for my new Pastel Dreams board, when I came across this ADORABLE cheesecake from SprinkleBakes, and I knew I had to give it a go – with my own twist, of course!

Pastel Cheesecake

You’ll need an 8 inch springform pan (I used a silicone one which made getting it out a little tricky!), an electric mixer – handheld or stand based – and plenty of bowls and spatulas at the ready!

To start off, I made my favourite cheesecake base: Oreos! Crush up 250g, and mix with 40g melted butter until its nice and sticky, then press into the base of your tin, making sure to get it nice and even. Pop this in the fridge for now.

Pastel Cheesecake

Next up, make the cheesecake mix. I stuck to the SprinkleBakes recipe:

  • Whip 1 3/4 cups of whipping cream in a glass bowl. Once it starts to thicken, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form
  • Give 10 oz. cream cheese a good stir to make sure its nice and soft, then beat this into the cream bit by bit, then add 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Sprinkle 1 tsp powdered gelation over 1 tbsp water, and let it absorb fully – about 2-3 minutes – before blitzing it in the microwave for 10 seconds, then folding it into your cheesecake mix
  • Divvy the mix up into three bowls, then using gel food colouring, tint the mixes into your favourite pastel shades. I really wouldn’t recommend using liquid colouring here!

Ok, this is where I deviated from SBs technique a little..

Inspired by another pastel favourite of mine, Flumps, I bought a load of the extra long ones and cut them up into 1.5 inch lengths, although if you can get shorter ones you’ll save yourself a job!

Pastel Cheesecake

Take the base out of the fridge, and very carefully stand the marshmallows around the edge of the base – don’t worry, they’ll hold up fine once you start filling it with cheesecake mix!

Pastel Cheesecake

Pile in your first colour, then smooth it out carefully with a palette knife, and repeat with all your other colours. Get this into the freezer now, and leave it for a good hour or two to set nice and solid.

I recommend taking it out of the freezer about 20-30 minutes before serving; it makes it a lot easier to remove from the tin, and cleaner to cut!

Pastel Cheesecake

Pastel Cheesecake

Dreamy, right? Another great reason to serve it semi-frozen is that it has the consistency of icecream and its just so yum!

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Baking Magic – Make it Pink! Make it Blue! Cupcakes

This post is coming to you today in honour of the fact that right now I’m in Disneyland Paris! Thank goodness for scheduled posting, eh?

To celebrate the fact that I’m probably twirling around in front of Sleeping Beauty’s gorgeous castle as you read this, I’m honouring the lovely Aurora and the classic debate among her many fans: pink or blue?

Make It Pink Make It Blue Cupcakes

Start off by preheating your oven to 190C, whip up a batch of your favourite vanilla cupcake mix, and separate it into two bowls.

SONY DSC

Using gel food colourings (I recommend Wilton or Sugaflair!), tint one bowl pink, and one bowl blue, like so!

Make It Pink Make It Blue Cupcakes

Line a cupcake tray with cases – pink and blue were my obvious choices, but its up to you! – and using a teaspoon, drop a little bit of one colour into each case. Keep on adding the two different colours bit by bit until the case is 3/4 full, then you can either leave it as is, or use a skewer to swirl them together a little more; gives it a bit more of a magical effect, I think!

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Bake for 15-17 minutes. If the cakes spring back nicely when you give them a little poke, or a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean, then you’re good to go! Get them out and onto a cooling rack.

Now its time to make some frosting; my go-to is always buttercream. Use at least 2 parts icing sugar to 1 part butter, and you might want to add a little more sugar as a firmer buttercream is better for this one! Again, tint half pink and half blue.

You’re going to need three piping bags for this next bit, but only one nozzle – I’m using a large closed star tip. Without cutting the ends off, fill one bag half full with pink, and another half full with blue, and try and squeeze the icing down a little.

Make It Pink Make It Blue Cupcakes

Cut the end off of the third bag and insert the nozzle, then you can snip the ends off of the pink and blue bags. Pop the two full bags into the empty one, and slowly squeeze until the icing appears at the end of the tip. You may find here that one colour comes out first before the second begins to show, I squeeze it out into another bowl until the colours are mixing nicely.

Make It Pink Make It Blue Cupcakes

Now pipe your cupcakes!

Make It Pink Make It Blue Cupcakes

I think the fairies would be proud, don’t you? Are you Team Pink or Team Blue?

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Friday Favourite Five – Recipe Books

I’m that person that lives in fear of the physical book industry dying out. I used my sister’s Kindle once and I wasn’t happy about it.

But I’m not just sad about the potential demise of my favourite fiction; I have a deep love for cookbooks, and while I do spend hours pinning recipes on Pinterest, there’s nothing like having to balance a book in the kitchen while you’re peeling and chopping and all sorts! Here are (just a few of) my favourites at the moment:

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Save with Jamie

Who doesn’t love a bit of Jamie Oliver though? This book is a godsend for making the most out of food you already have! Each section starts with a big ‘mother recipe’, if you will, and then all the following recipes show what you can do with the leftovers of said meal.

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Yo Sushi: The Japanese Cookbook

That’s right, all your favourite dishes from Yo in one book, eek! I was so excited when I saw this book, Yo Sushi boasts some of my favourite dishes – I’m looking at you, pumpkin korroke! It’s got everything from hand rolls to rice dishes to meat and seafood!

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Reader’s Digest 30-minute cookbook

Sometimes the glamorous, shiny covered, celebrity chef recipe books that you need. Sometimes you just need a book that’s full of quick, easy and hearty recipes, and lots of them! This book is packed with family favourites, healthy options and good old classics, and I’ve got quite a few post-its stuck around it.

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Marshmallow Madness

You can tell from the slight sticky stain on the spine of this book that its seen a fair amount of action! I love making marshmallows, and while I knew how to do it before I got this book, there are so many fun and fresh variations in here, and the cover is squishy too!

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Duff Bakes

Ok, so I’m yet to try any recipes from this book just yet, but from reading it I can already tell I’m going to love it. Duff has been an inspiration since I watched my first ever episode of Ace of Cakes, and I was so excited when I saw this book was coming out that it went straight on my Christmas list! Its full of everything from bread to blondies and it all looks so delicious!

What are your favourite recipe books?

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Baking Magic – Mac and Cheese Bread Cones

THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING BAKING MAGIC POST FOR ME

Bacon Mac and Cheese Cone

If you’re not lucky enough to have tasted the glory that is a bacon mac and cheese bread cone from Disneyland’s Cozy Cone Motel, then you’re in for a real treat today. If you have, then I bring you the amazing news that you can make them at home!

Ready?

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Ok, for the cones you’re gonna need the ready-roll croissant dough that you can get from most supermarkets (one roll will make 4-5 cones), and a load of tin foil. Roll out the dough onto greaseproof paper, and using a knife or pizza cutter, cut it into strips. Pre-heat your oven to 180C

Scrunch up your foil into a cone shape, then wrap it in another layer of foil to give a smooth outer finish, then spray it with cooking oil. Take your first strip of dough, and working from the bottom of the cone, start to wrap it round and round, with a slight overlap with each layer, and keep adding strips until you’re happy with the size.

Grease a baking tray, and pop the cones on their side on the tray. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the cone and bake for another five. Once nice and golden brown, place the cones onto a cooling rack and let them cool before removing the foil support from the middle.

Croissant cones

Ta-dah! You can make these a day in advance and keep them in a sealed container.

If you have a favourite mac and cheese recipe, whip up a batch, load your cone and sprinkle with some bacon chunks, and you’re all done! If not, here’s my favourite:

  • Cook 400g macaroni normally and drain.
  • Melt 50g butter in a saucepan, and gradually add in 50g flour until a thick paste forms.
  • Whisk in 250ml milk and be sure to beat out any lumps, then add 250g grated cheddar/mozzarella – if you’re gonna use mozzarella, mix it with cheddar otherwise its gonna be crazy stringy – and let it melt in.
  • Stir in 50g cream cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper, then add your drained pasta to your cheesy concoction.

Let your mac and cheese cool a little before loading up your cone, then top with bacon bits and devour in the sunshine!

Bacon Mac and Cheese cone

Have you visited the Cozy Cone?

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Treat Yourself – Leftover Easter Chocolate Brownies

I make the best brownies, if I do say so myself..

Its not just me, I’ve been told by a lot of people 😉

And after last weekend, I’m sure I can’t be the only person still swimming in chocolate, so I thought I’d share my brownie recipe, adapted to use up some of your Easter chocolate! What’s great about this is that you can use any chocolate: milk, dark, white, Lindt, Cadburys etc, and any mix of them to make unique brownies every time.

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1. Put 115g of your chocolate into a bowl with 115g butter and melt it down, either in a microwave or over hot water. At this point, try to use only ‘plain chocolate’; ones without biscuity bits or caramel or fillings etc – you can use them later! While this is melting, line an 8 inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper and heat your oven to 180C

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2. Pour your melted mix into a bowl with 300g caster sugar and mix together

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3. Beat in two eggs, followed by 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 115g plain flour. This is your basic brownie mix

4. Ok, all that other chocolate? Break/chop/mash it all up and add it to the mix. If you’ve got Creme Eggs, save them for the next step! Pour the chocolatey mix into your tray, and bake for 30 minutes, or 25 if you’ve got Creme Eggs.

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5. Creme Egg step: while the mix is baking, carefully chop your eggs in half. If you don’t have the patience for this, just smash them up a little bit! When the oven beeps, take the brownie out, arrange your eggs on the top and press them into the brownie before popping it back into the oven for another 5-6 minutes.

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6. Let the brownies cool on a cooling rack, then chop them up and devour!

You can thank me later..

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Baking Magic – Hunny Pot Candy Apples

I am always amazed with the candy apples you can buy in the Disney parks, and I love watching the cast members making them, so when I tried my hand at them at the beginning with last year with my Candy Poison Apples, I was so happy to find how easy they were, and decided to bring them back in this new series!

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Ok, so you’re gonna need: 12-15 medium sized green apples, 5 cups caster sugar, 1 cup water, white and yellow food colouring (optional), 300g milk chocolate and orange coloured chocolate or candy melts.

Equipment wise, you’ll need a candy thermometer, a saucepan and lollipop sticks

1. Mix together the sugar and water in a saucepan, and start to heat. Pop in the candy thermometer and let it bubble away – it’s got to reach 150C before its ready.

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2. While your sugar mix is cooking away, clean and de-stem the apples and push the lollipop sticks into the tops so they’re firmly in place.

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3. When you’re sugar is close to temperature, add the white food colouring to make the mix more opaque, then add yellow to give it a golden honey colour.

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4. Once it hits 150C, turn off the heat and remove the thermometer. Working quickly but carefully – this mix is HOT, please keep children away – dip the apples into the liquid sugar and swirl around to give it a good coating, then place them onto greaseproof paper. Its going to set hard pretty quickly, so if you’ve still got sugar left over once you’ve coated all your apples, pour it out into a little puddle on greaseproof paper and get your saucepan soaking in hot water to save yourself a tough cleaning job!

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5. Melt down the milk chocolate, then you can either dunk the apples or spoon the chocolate over them, and give them a little shake to get off the excess, then pop them in the fridge for a little while.

6. Once the chocolate has set, take them out of the fridge – otherwise the candy gets super sticky – and melt down the orange chocolate/candy melts. Pour this into a piping bag and get misspelling the word honey – otherwise Pooh might not know what it is!

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What’s your favourite candy apple design?

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Baking Magic – Butterfinger Cupcakes

I’m just gonna prefix this post by saying that this is definitely more of a lazy person’s guide to the butterfinger cupcake due to the fact that my kitchen currently has a giant hole in the ceiling, so I’ve had to make do with the ingredients and space that I had!

Disney park cupcakes are the best, right? Apart from the fact that they’re often too big to finish in one go, YES. Today I’m taking on a Disney World classic, the Butterfinger cupcake.

Now Butterfingers are an American candy bar, and although you can get them in some UK retailers, I’ve made these as totally butterfinger-free butterfinger cupcakes. I feel like I’m totally cheating today, but I’m gonna pretend that I’m just making this recipe accessible for novice bakers.. BUT LOOK AT THEM YUM

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Right, here we go!

1. Start off with a batch of your favourite chocolate cupcake recipe, and to get a proper WDW experience, fill the cases a little more than you normally would! If you don’t have one, cream 125g butter and 125g caster sugar, add a dash of vanilla extract and 2 eggs, then mix in 20g cocoa powder and 105g self-raising flour and bake at 190C for 15-17 minutes. Ta-dah!

2. Once cooled, take a sharp knife and cut a hole into the centre of the cake, like a classic butterfly cake, and pop this to one side for the time being. It doesn’t matter if they get mixed up and you can’t remember which centre belongs to which cake.

3. (Cheat 1, coming your way). Well now you’ve got a hole in the middle of your cupcake that needs filling, so find either your favourite chocolate and peanut butter spread, or just a regular chocolate spread or frosting, and fill that hole all the way up. I recommend spread or frosting for this because its a little gooier than buttercream!

4. Those little cake centres, sit those back onto the cakes on top of the pool of chocolatey goodness to make a little peak.

5. Now grab some vanilla buttercream, or make some using a 2:1 icing sugar to butter ratio and a splash of vanilla extract. To replicate WDW buttercream, thicken it up with a bit more icing sugar – this will help it hold better when we load it onto the cake in a minute. Pop it into the fridge for a minute while we get a few more things ready.

6. Has anyone else noticed that basically every recipe I share involves crushing something at some point? Yep, we’re doing it again.. If you’re one of my American readers, grab yourself a butterfinger and crush it up nicely. UK friends, find yourself a peanut butter KitKat and a few cookies and stick them in a food processor to crumb them down nicely.

7. Grab your buttercream from the fridge, and using a knife or metal spatula, pile it onto your cupcake, then smooth it around the little peak you created earlier. Now grab your cupcake by its case and roll the buttercream mountain around in those crumbs until you get a nice covering.

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Is anyone else drooling?

Headed to the parks? You can get the original Butterfinger Cupcake from Starring Roles Cafe in Hollywood Studios!

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Treat Yourself – Fluffernutter Bars

Chocolate, check! Peanut butter, check! Marshmallow fluff, check! This is such an easy recipe but I could eat these bars all day!

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Fluffernutters are an American thing, but I see absolutely no reason why the UK can’t enjoy peanut butter and marshmallow together and its my dream combination of sweet food!

You’ll need: 250g biscuits – I used chocolate chip cookies, 1/3 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, 2 tbsp icing sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 jar Marshmallow Fluff and 200g milk or dark chocolate. You’ll also need an 8 inch square tin.

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1. Start by lining your tin carefully with greaseproof paper. Crush up your biscuit of choice into fine crumbs, then melt the butter and combine with the crumbs, then press into the base of the tin. Pop this in the fridge to harden while you work on the peanut butter.

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2. Don’t worry about using a fresh bowl here, any remaining biscuit crumbs won’t hurt! Scoop out your peanut butter; I used smooth but you could absolutely use crunchy if you fancied it. Add the icing sugar and beat together. If your PB mix is really thick here, add the vanilla to make it more pliable. Scoop this nutty paste onto the biscuit base and spread evenly.

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3. I apologise for this next step; working with Marshmallow Fluff is like working with tar, good luck. Empty the contents of your jar onto the peanut butter layer and spread it out as best you can. I recommend scattering blobs of the stuff all over the place, then letting it settle in its own time – you’ll find the whole thing a lot less stressful than fighting it with a spatula.

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4. Once your fluff has settled and you’re happy with the coverage, melt your chocolate, and pour evenly over the marshmallow. I say pour evenly because if you dump it all in the middle, the gooey fluff is gonna melt away underneath, so work quickly to pour it out and spread it to cover the whole of the tray.

5. An hour or so in the fridge, and these babies are ready for chopping up. You may find the chocolate shatters as you slice, but who needs uniform edges on their bars, right? Store your bars in the fridge, otherwise your marshmallow is going to try and escape.

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*drools at screen, then goes back to fridge for another slice*

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Baking Magic – Mickey Cake Balls

I was gonna start off this post by saying its a great way to use up leftover cake, but seriously, who ever has leftover cake? Like, is that even a thing?

So you might need to bake a cake in preparation for this; I think its a pretty good excuse. Personally, whenever I make a cake and I need to cut it down so its level, my offcuts are always destined for cake pop mix, saves waste! As well as pop mix, all you need is candy melts in black and red, and you’re good to go!

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Now you will find making these cute little Mickeys SO much easier to make if you use traditional cake pop mix, rather than just baking cakes using a ‘cake pop’ mould. Never made it before? Its the easiest thing: crumble up cake into a fine crumb, then mix with buttercream until it combines into a semi-sticky, mouldable dough of deliciousness.

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Ok, so get rolling the dough into little balls, place onto greaseproof paper and get them into the fridge to chill nicely while you start melting down your Candy Melts, starting with black. I recommend melting the buttons down with a splash of oil (I use a lump of Trex) to give it a better consistency and shine.

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Once you’re happy with the consistency, take the balls out of the fridge, and dip the top of the balls into the candy so it covers about half. Place the half dipped balls, dipped side up, back onto your greaseproof paper, then use two more candy buttons to create Mickey ears – do this one at a time, otherwise the candy could harden before you get the ears in!

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Back into the fridge with the balls, and onto melting the red candy. I always melt my candy on a double boiler rather than a microwave so that I can keep the mix warm while I’m working with it, but its probably 5x quicker to microwave them – just preference I guess! Once melted, grab onto those nicely hardened Mickey ears and dip the remaining half of the cake ball into the red to create Mickey’s trousers. At this point, you could pop the balls onto sticks and let them cool standing up, but I like to smush them back onto the greaseproof paper to make little feet!

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You could even go the extra mile and use a bit of white or yellow to add buttons or shoe details if you were really trying to impress!

Who’s the leader of the pack who’s made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E

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Baking Magic – Marshmallow Pop Treats

Don’t you just hate it when you’ve spent so much time in the parks eating your favourite treats, only to come home and live without them? Yep, me too 😦

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BUT this series is about bringing some of your park favourites to life in your everyday kitchen, and today is a combination of two of my favourite things: marshmallows and caramel! Marshmallow pops are available in so many designs and flavours in a bunch of locations in the parks, and today I’m gonna share how easy they are to create!

Ingredients wise, you’ll need: regular sized marshmallows, classic toffee sweets, condensed milk, chocolate/candy melts and whatever kind of sprinkles and sweetie decorations you like.

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1. First up, you need to melt down your toffees. I seriously recommend you do this in a metal bowl over boiling water – it’ll take a while, but will save you a burnt disaster! It’ll basically become one huge toffee lump, which while delicious, would be a nightmare to work with, so I add condensed milk to smooth it down; about 3tbsp for every 20 toffee sweets.

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2. While your toffee is melting into a caramel goop, get sticking your marshmallows onto whatever you fancy: lollipop sticks, straws, etc.. Squeeze them nice and close together into a column of squishy goodness.

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3. Once you’re happy with the consistency of your caramel, using a rubber spatula, scoop and smooth it all over the marshmallows. You can try and dip them, but may find they get stuck.. Give each stick a twirl to cool it off a little – it’ll dry quite quickly – then place onto greaseproof paper or tin foil, and get them into the fridge for half an hour or so.

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4. While the pops cool down, you can start to prepare your decorations. If you want colourful pops, I recommend Wilton Candy Melts as they’re really easy to work with – just melt down and mix with a little bit of vegetable oil to give it a shine – and you can also get different flavours (peanut butter!!!). Now you can let your imagination go wild; recreating your favourite designs from the parks or imagineering your own spectacular creations – just be sure to have fun with it!

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5. Once you’re done decorating, get the pops back into the fridge to fully cool and set, and voila!

What’s your favourite Disney park treat?

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Treat Yourself – No Bake Smores Cheesecake!

Another new food series for 2016, yay! Treat Yourself is all about rewarding yourself with amazing food, and I’ll be posting something new and delicious on the first Saturday of each month, woo!

Cheesecake is something that I’m slowly coming around to; I used to be completely repulsed by the idea of it, but in the last few years I’m starting to change my mind.. What I do love forever and always though is smores. To me, its the epitome of dessert goodness. Hello combination idea..

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You will need: a 9 inch springform pan, 200g Oreo cookies, 50g butter, 550g cream cheese (full fat is much easier to work with!), 70g icing sugar, vanilla extract, 100g milk chocolate and 2 cups of mini marshmallows. I work in cups for marshmallows because its the volume that’s more important than the weight! You’re also gonna want an electric hand mixer!

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1. Break up your Oreos by whatever method floats your boat – food processor, chopper, beating with a rolling pin.. – so long as they’re in crumbs, its cool. Melt down the butter and mix with the cookie crumb, then press the mix into the bottom of your pan and put into the fridge to start setting.

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2. Get your cream cheese and icing sugar in a bowl together and get your hand mixer ready to go. Pop your marshmallows into a microwave safe bowl and blitz in 15-20 second intervals until they’re soft and they melt into a fluffy paste when you stir them.

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3. Working quickly, get that marshmallowy mix into the bowl with the cheese and sugar and get mixing – leave it too long and those marshmallows are gonna start to get super sticky and lumpy! Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and after a minute or two of good whipping, you’ll have a lovely creamy consistency.

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4. Pour this mixture onto your biscuit base, then pop back into the fridge while you melt your chocolate. You can do this however you like, microwave or double boiler are best, then pour the melted goodness onto the top of your cheesecake. This is where you can get fancy with squiggles or shapes; I like to dump it all on top, then use a skewer to swirl it into a sort of controlled chaos! Now get it back into the fridge for at least another 4 hours before serving.

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YUM YUM YUM

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Baking Magic – Lost Princess Loaf Cake

I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS SERIES!

Something I don’t talk about on my blog very much is that while I’m not busy blogging away, I have my own cake business, and there’s nothing I love more than baking and developing new recipes. Something I talk about almost every day on the blog is how much I love Disney, so this series is sharing my two great loves in order to create some food magic by recreating some Disney park favourites, and also sharing some fun Disney-inspired baking creations! Are you as excited as I am for this?!

Today I’m making one of my favourite basic-but-impressive cakes – the hidden centre loaf cake! You might have seen my Mickey Mouse one a while back, but today I’m taking inspiration from my favourite girl Punz as it seems so fitting!

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You’re gonna need: 250g butter (today I’m using dairy free!), 250g sugar, 5 eggs, 250g self-raising flour and vanilla extract, as well as some food colouring (I used yellow, its totally your choice though), a Swiss roll tin, a standard loaf tin, a crown cookie cutter and any icing or decoration of your choosing!

You’re also gonna want to preheat your oven to 180°C

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1. First up, mix together 150g of the butter and sugar, beat in 3 of the eggs and a splash of vanilla, then stir in the flour. Once you’re happy with it, add your food colouring – I would always recommend a professional gel or paste colouring, either Wilton or Sugarflair, because you get much better colours with minimal colourant added! Line your swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper, and spread this mix out across it – its gonna look pretty thin, but its gonna rise up nicely in the oven. Pop it in for 10 minutes, then let it cool on a cooling rack.

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2. Once cooled, take your cookie cutter and go to town, but be sure to get as many crowns out as you can.

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3. Mix together your remaining ingredients in the same way as Step 1, just no more food colouring this time! Its up to you whether you want to grease or line your loaf tin, or even use loaf liners, but do that now, then pour about half of this new cake mix into the bottom and spread it out evenly.

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4. Now take those pretty little crowns and line them up in the tin; squish them together nicely, but don’t overpack – if you’ve got some crowns leftover then lucky you!

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5. Pour your remaining mix over the top of the crown-sausage and spread it out – again, don’t worry if it looks thin or your crowns are poking up a little, it’ll be fine! Back in the oven with the cake, for about 20-25 minutes, then let it cool in the tin a little before turning it out onto a cooling rack.

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6. Now its time to get creative! Decorate your cake however you wish (you can use this as an opportunity to cover up any crowns that are peaking out), and then watch your friends faces as you slice to reveal the secret within..

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Who’s your favourite Disney princess?

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Sea Foam Marshmallows

One of my favourite sweet treats to make (and eat!) is marshmallows. Most people don’t believe you can make marshmallows yourself, let alone how easy they are, so I’m going to share, with a mermaidy twist!

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You’ll need: 450g caster sugar, 9 gelatine leaves, 2 eggs, water, 2 tbsp golden syrup or glucose syrup, and a candy thermometer as well.

First of all, get your gelatine soaking in 140ml water.

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Mix together the sugar and golden syrup with 200ml water in a saucepan, and start boiling, with the candy thermometer. You don’t need to stir the mix at all.

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Separate your eggs, you only need the whites. Whisk them until soft peaks form.

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Once the sugar mix hits 127°C, take it off the heat and add the gelatine, water and all.  Stir, and it’ll bubble up a lot at this point, and its really hot, so watch out!

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Slowly pour the sugar/gelatine mix into the egg whites, with the mixer running.

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Turn the speed up, and it’ll take about 9-10 minutes for your marshmallow to fluff up.

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This is when your imagination can take over! I coloured some of my mixture a pale blue/green, and some purple..

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In a square cake tin, I layered blue, then purple to create multicoloured cubes.

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I used a madeleine mould to create these cute shells..

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And piped the rest of the mix into shell shapes..

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Marshmallows take an hour or two to set, and you can dust them with icing sugar to prevent stickiness once you’re done.

They keep really well in sealed bags or jars, and make for a perfect hot chocolate topping!

°o°

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Pink Rice Krispie Bites

Taking more inspiration from the lovely Marie, I’ve made pink and white Rice Krispie treats!

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These are super easy to make, and make great snacks for lunch boxes.

You’ll need:

Rice Krispies, marshmallows, butter, pink food colouring, white chocolate chips, flavouring oil (optional).

1. Chuck your marshmallows into a pan, add a knob of butter and melt it all down into a nice sticky mush.

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2. Add the pink food colouring, and any flavouring if you choose. I wanted mine to me white chocolate and raspberry, so I added raspberry oil.

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3. Pour in your Rice Krispies; as many as you like really, personal preference! Stir in any additional goodies you might like: mini marshmallows, chocolate chips etc.

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4. Scoop the now very sticky mix into a tray lined with greaseproof paper, smooth it down and pop it into the fridge to set.

5. Slice up and enjoy!

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These bad boys can be stored in a sealed container (best kept in the fridge to avoid stickiness) or you can wrap them individually in greaseproof paper or foil ready to pop in lunch boxes!

°o°

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Pupcakes

Combining DIY and Foodie this week because this week’s recipe isn’t for humans..

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Pupcakes!

Yes, that’s right, in keeping with this week’s 101 Dalmatian theme, I’m sharing a recipe for homemade, all natural dog treats baked in cupcake cases.

You’ll need:

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey or pure maple syrup

1 cup grated carrot (about 2 carrots worth)

1 cup wholemeal flour

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The method couldn’t be easier: mix together the runny ingredients (egg, oil, honey/syrup), beat in the peanut butter and carrot and stir in the flour, voila!

Spoon the mix into cupcake cases in a tin and bake at 170°C for 20-25 minutes. If you have a smaller dog, or want more bitesize cakes, you could use a mini muffin tin and bake for 10-15 minutes.

°o°

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Rapunzel Pasta

Ok so I’m a few days late with this post but the last few days have been a bit busy!

Right so today’s foodie post is..

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Rapunzel pasta!

First of all, you’ll need some stelline pasta; its the one that looks like tiny flowers!

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Pour some into little bowls and cover in boiling water

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Drop some food colouring (preferably a good gel colouring, you’ll get stronger colours) into each bowl and give them a good stir

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As you’re not boiling these properly, they’ll need a little longer in the water to cook through and absorb the colouring; leave them for about 10 minutes before you start cooking the regular pasta.

To represent Rapunzel’s braid, I used fusili (the curly kind) but you could use spaghetti or any long/curly pasta. Cook that as per usual, drain it and tip it into a large bowl. Drain the flowers and chuck the in too, give it a stir and ta-da!

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Top with your favourite pasta sauce and serve to princesses!

°o°

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Sorcerer Mickey Cupcakes

Apologies for a lack of DIY Wednesday, my work shifts got jumbled up so I’ll be posting it tomorrow!

Today is Foodie Thursday though, and keeping on this week’s theme, I spent my day baking..

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Sorcerer Mickey cupcakes!

With the current deconstruction of the Mickey hat at Hollywood Studios, this is my little nod to a classic Disney World landmark.

Start of with your favourite cupcakes, preferably in some cute red cases (mine are from Paper Eskimo)

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And a nice thick buttercream in a bag with a large open nozzle, or a ziploc bag with a corner cut off, and pipe it high in small circles in the centre of the cake

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Then you can use black candy melts or chocolate buttons as Mickey ears

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Using white sugarpaste/fondant, cut out little stars and moons to decorate the hat, or just use white sprinkles!

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If I was doing these for a special event, I’d tie string or ribbon around the cupcake cases to give it more of a Mickey look!

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°o°

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Poison Candy Apples

I love Thursdays, they are, by far, the best day of my week.

That’s because Thursday is Disney day; the day I pick the girls up from school and we watch Disney movies until their mum picks them up after she finishes work, and we’ve been doing this every Thursday for over a year now. Thursday was also the day we left on our last Disney trip!

It’s also Foodie Thursday on LottieDoesDisney, yay!

As it’s Snow White week, for me there was really only one option to take on: the poison apple.

But I didn’t really fancy poisoning anyone, so I took inspiration from my trip to Disney World, where candy apples are available at most good snack places, and are total works of art! And cos I can’t pop across to the Magic Kingdom every time I fancy a sweet treat, I made my own:

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They were so quick and easy!

You’ll need:

12-15 medium sized apples (I prefer green for flavour and continuity with the film)

5 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp white food colouring (you can probably go without, the white just gives the candy its opaque quality)

Red food colouring – the amount depends entirely on the type of colouring you use

1tsp vanilla extract

White candy melts or white chocolate (a preference thing again, candy melts are less runny, but some people prefer the taste of white chocolate)

You’ll also need a candy thermometer, lollipop sticks and a piping bag (or ziploc bag with a corner cut off)

°o°

In a big saucepan, mix together the sugar and water, and start boiling. Once its mixed up, you don’t need to worry about stirring, just pop in the candy thermometer and keep an eye on it!

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The sugar needs to get to 150°C/302°F (hard crack stage), which will take some time, so meanwhile you can clean the apples, remove the stalk and insert the sticks; they’ll need a strong push!

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Once the sugar is bubbling away, add the food colouring until you get your desired colour

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I cannot stress enough here just how hot the mixture is, please be careful! While kids will love the end result, this recipe is not for them to do themselves. I work with hot sugar a lot as part of my day job, and I’m forever burning myself, and I would never want anyone else, especially children, to endure that.

Once its at temperature, turn off the heat and quickly add the vanilla. It will bubble up a bit, be warned! Then, working quite quickly, you can start dipping the apples.

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I like to tip up the saucepan with one hand, and dunk with the other, twirling the stick to make sure the apple gets a full coating. Then give it a few seconds for excess to drip off before placing on either greaseproof paper, or a well greased baking tray.

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The candy sets hard very quickly, so you can straight on to the next stage: melting the chocolate or candy melts. I like to do this in a pan above hot water, but you could use a microwave.

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Depending on the type of candy melts you use, you might need to add some vegetable or sunflower oil to make it a little runnier and give it more shine. I use Wilton melts, which are quite thick, so I have to do this.

Once melted, load up a piping bag, or ziploc with some of the melted candy, and pipe the outlines of the features of the poison skull onto the now set apple – it can look a little silly, once you’re done it’ll look better!

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Once set, spoon the remaining white melts over the apple, and let it run down over the edges and create its own drip pattern

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These will keep just fine as they are in a sealed container for 2-3 days (but not in the fridge, unless you want a sticky mess on your hands!). You can also wrap them in cellophane to make a perfect gift 🙂

Please note, the red candy is hard. You may need to lick it before you can really bite into it, but that’s how I like it!

Now these are the only type of poison apple to eat, so don’t go accepting any fruit from strange old ladies now!

°o°

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DIY Hidden Mickey Loaf Cake

Not everyone is aware of the hidden Mickey, which is part of the beauty of it really.

But the clever folks over at Disney HQ have managed to sneak thousands of the little guys into pretty much every aspect of Disney life; you can find them all over the Disney parks and snuck into the films in the strangest of places.

And while artsy stuff isn’t my strong point, cake is. So I made this:

 

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Hidden Mickey cake!

And you can do it to 🙂

You will need:

250g butter, 250g caster sugar, 5 eggs, 30g cocoa powder, 220g self raising flour, vanilla extract and your favourite frosting

a loaf tin and a swiss roll tin, both greased and lined with baking paper

a mickey mouse shaped cookie cutter

an oven preheated to 180C

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First things first, cream together 150g butter, 150g caster sugar, then beat in 3 eggs. Stir together the 30g cocoa powder and 120g self-raising flour and whisk into the mix. Boom, chocolate cake batter!

Pour this into your pre-prepared swiss roll tin, and spread to the edges using a spatula, making sure it is smooth all over.

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If you don’t own a swiss roll tin, you can always bake a chocolate cake in a regular cake tin, it just may need leveling off before the next step.

Bake for 10 mins until the cake springs back when lightly poked 🙂

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Once cooled, take your Mickey cutter and go to town on it!

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Depending on the thickness of your cake, you may find you get enough Mickeys out of it for a second loaf.

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Now for the slightly trickier bit.. Line up your Mickeys in the centre of your prepared loaf tin so that they are tightly packed and less likely to slip out of place.

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You’re aiming for a sort of Mickey sausage!

Then cream together the remaining 100g butter, 100g sugar, a tsp or so of vanilla extract and 2 eggs, and mix in the 100g self-raising flour to make the surrounding batter.

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Slowly pour the mix over the Mickeys and spread evenly across the tin. You’ll probably find the Mickey ears are a little taller than the rest, but this will be fine once the cake has risen!

Bake for approx. 20 mins, until the cake springs bake when touched or a skewer inserted down the sides comes out clean.

Once cooled decorate as you wish 🙂 I always like to decorate my hidden surprise cakes so they hint at the centre, but don’t give it away just yet!

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When the time comes.. Slice!

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And ta-da!

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A Mickey for everyone 🙂

Stay tuned for the matching cupcakes!

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