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Monday Muses | Rebecca Keegan

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

(PLEASE NOTE: Pictures that I share as part of Monday Muses will be a direct link to the original posted by said Muse for which of course, they are fully credited for.)

For this week’s Monday Muses, I thought I would bring it a little closer to home and introduce you to someone I have known since my school days (in other words, a LONG time ago!).

This is Rebecca Keegan – a Textile Design Graduate, self-confessed illustration enthusiast and lover of tea and cake (well who isn’t!)

https://www.instagram.com/p/yPgimgDuDz/

This amazingly talented gal is inspired by all things nature – especially if it involves bears and forests!  Most of her work takes on Scandinavian/Nordic themes, which I just love and thinks it adds to her nature themes.  Rebecca uses a mixture of printing by hand and digital drawing to create her prints as well as the odd bit of laser-cut wood designs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/v_DN-_juKv/

Here are a couple of my favourites:

Rebecca Keegan - Stack O Mugs - Monday Muses

Photo & Artistic Credit – Rebecca Keegan

Rebecca Keegan - Lost in the Woods

Photo & Artistic Credit – Rebecca Keegan

She also designed her own personal hair accessories for herself and her bridesmaids for her wedding day – fitting in with her woodland theme.  SO CUTE.

Rebecca Keegan - Laser Cut Wedding Hair Piece

Photo Credit – Rebecca Keegan

She sells her pieces online under the Hey There Bear name but she often gets involved in various craft fairs as well.  You can check out her Etsy Shop and her Society6 page if you want to check out and buy her cute, whimsical wares.

And if that wasn’t enough, she has also licenced some of her designs to be made into iPhone cases as well via Keka Cases!

Other Links for Rebecca Keegan

Don’t forget to check out my previous Monday Muses where we took a look at Miranda Yeo and Zoe Sees in case you missed them.

If you have enjoyed this week’s edition of Monday Muses then don’t forget to like this post and leave me a comment below (and give me a follow too using the links if you haven’t already!) 🙂

Until next time! x

Food | Health: Whipped Coconut Body Butter

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

Today’s post is a slightly different one – it’s another Pinspiration, but this time it involves using food for other health benefits (you know, other than eating).  I recently bought some coconut oil (you can find it at Holland & Barrett) to use for my hair and the odd bit of cooking.  My hair lately has not been in the best of conditions, so I wanted to give it a bit of a helping hand and condition the hell out of it.  I usually put it on all over my hair the night before, tie it all up and then the next day, wash it all out.  I have been leaving my hair to dry naturally 99% of the time, but I have noticed a difference into how much more tamed my frizziness is as well as how much more glossy and healthy my locks look and feel.

I love browsing through Pinterest to get some more ideas on how to utilise my coconut oil more and stumbled upon a few posts of making my own whipped coconut oil body butter (sounds yummy enough to eat!) – so I thought I would give it a go, and it couldn’t have been more simple!

Ingredients

Coconut oil

Vitamin E oil

A few drops of your favourite essential oil for fragrance (optional)

Coconut Oil and Vitamin E Oil

I actually skipped out adding the essential oil bit because I really love the smell of coconut oil, as its wonderfully tropical, but you only need a few drops if you do.  The Vitamin E oil I bought was a slightly cheaper one, as it’s not one you can consume (but if you want to go for a more expensive one that’s cool too!) and I wasn’t planning on eating my body butter (even if it sounds LUSH).  The added bonus is, that the Dr Organic range is against testing on animals – yay!

*Before you start, you need to make sure your coconut oil is in a solid state and NOT melted otherwise you won’t be able to whip it!

  • I started by scooping two tablespoons worth of coconut oil into a clean bowl.

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  • I then added a teaspoon of Vitamin E oil to the bowl.

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  • Then, I used my electric hand whisk (a free-standing one is also fine) to whip up the ingredients, until it was soft and creamy.

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  • I then scooped out my body butter and put it into a clean glass jam jar (you can use whatever you want, but I think glass jars are pretty and a great way to recycle).

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And TA-DA!  There’s your own homemade body butter!  I absolutely love applying this all over my body after I’ve showered, and really working it into the skin.  And with the added benefits of Vitamin E oil, which helps with dry, uneven skin and helps reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks; I am noticing a huge difference in my skin!  I also apply it to my face in the night as well.  I think this would be a perfect gift idea to give to someone as it’s so quick and easy to make.IMG_6498

*Please be sure to do a patch test of all the ingredients first, in case you are sensitive to any of it – but so far I haven’t had any issues.

I also used some of my coconut oil to make these delicious flourless pancakes – a healthier alternative packed full of yummy goodness!

Have you tried to make your own homemade health and beauty products before?  Do share your ideas in the comments below!  And if you liked this post then don’t forget to give it a like and a follow using the links 🙂

Until next time! x

Monday Muses | Miranda Yeo

/ Sam Siddique / 1 Comment

(PLEASE NOTE: Pictures that I share as part of Monday Muses will be a direct link to the original posted by said Muse for which of course, they are fully credited for.)

For Today’s edition of Monday Muses, we’re going to take a look at the talented Miranda Yeo (who also goes by the nickname ‘Snarkies’) who is a freelance character designer and a recent animation graduate.

Her Instagram holds a whole host of her character designs, which almost all of them follow a particular artistic style (think old school Disney – big eyes and dainty features).

Being a HUGE fan of The Lord of the Rings, some of my favourite work of hers to date are her recent drawings of the characters:

Animated dresses from the 2015 Oscars:

Some gorgeous ink-work:

And alongside those, she does a lot of cute mermaid sketches (which she posts using #MondayMerms):

I think because I grew up on all things Disney, I can really relate to Miranda’s art style – she has a way of turning simple, delicate drawings into something that really has a great impact.  No two drawings are ever the same, characters always have something unique about the way they look and the way they are posed.  You can check out her Tumblr for more links to her social media profiles, Etsy as well as her portfolio.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about another wicked artist in this edition of Monday Muses, and please don’t forget to give it a like (and a follow if you’re not already)!  Don’t forget to give Miranda Yeo a follow on her Instagram and Tumblr if her passion has put a smile on your face!

If there are any other creatives out there that I should check out – be it an artist, musician, writer…then comment about them below with a link to their work – I love discovering new people all the time!

Until next time! x

Food | Baking: Flourless Pancakes

/ Sam Siddique / 1 Comment

Today is a bit of an easy one, and it’s something that I saw plastered all over Pinterest and I thought I would give it shot! There is no specific “owner” of this recipe (not that I know of) and it is a healthier alternative to normal pancake recipes because it doesn’t use any refined sugar or flour – so if you go gluten free, this is something for you to try!  I also recently purchased some (fair trade) extra virgin coconut oil from Holland & Barrett, so was excited to use this to cook with!

Ingredients

1 banana, mashed

2 eggs

pinch of cinnamon (optional)

1 tbsp coconut oil, for frying

To Serve

Whatever you want!

  • In a bowl, mash the banana as well as you can before adding the eggs and then whisk together until everything is incorporated. (You can use a processor/blender if you want to make the mix as smooth as possible).
  • As there is no sugar in the recipe, I added a pinch of cinnamon.
  • In a frying pan, I heated the coconut oil and then added the pancake mix a little at a time to make smallish pancakes so that I could make a stack. (You can make them any size you want!)
  • After frying each pancake on both sides until golden brown, I stacked them up on a plate and served with some blueberries and a sneaky serving of maple syrup (not totally healthy after all, but shhhhh!)

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This is SO easy and quick to do, so it’s great for the morning to give you a boost of much needed energy and protein with the combination of banana and eggs, top with some yummy fruit and you’re good to go! (Goes great with a spread of Nutella too!) This is also a great recipe to try for Mother’s Day today and even the little un’s can help out!

I have pinned a lot of food ideas on Pinterest and I am only slowly starting to give the recipes a try!  Have you ever tried out an idea you have seen on Pinterest or Instagram?  Let me know in the comments below, and if you enjoyed reading then please like this post (and give me a follow using the links if you already haven’t!).

Until next time! x

Monday Muses | Zoe Sees

/ Sam Siddique / 1 Comment

Hello!  It’s me again – that person that blogs for a bit and then randomly disappears because something else takes over their life for a while.  Yeah, sorry about that.  All I am going to say is that there are two weddings and an engagement coming up (pretty much one weekend after another) at the end of this month and into April, so it’s been a little hectic.  If you don’t already know, Desi clothes shopping – especially for weddings, is an extremely difficult palaver.  It involved two days in Birmingham and one in London trawling every single shop for outfits that 1) were preferably ready-made, 2) didn’t need alterations and 3) weren’t freaking hideous.  Suffice to say, we managed to get it done.  Ugh.

Moving on!  As you may have noticed from the title, I am doing another little addition which I have been wanting to do for a while.  I am one of those people that will spend a lot of time on Instagram simply admiring people’s artwork that they have been sharing – and I find it so nice to see so much creativity filling up my feed, that I thought I would dedicate a spotlight post on someone different every Monday that has caught my eye that I feel I should share with more people.

(PLEASE NOTE: Pictures that I share as part of Monday Muses will be a direct link to the original posted by said Muse for which of course, they are fully credited for.)

Today’s edition features Zoe Sees who is a cartoonist, illustrator AND a lawyer (talented or what!).  On her personal website she says “I believe that wherever words fail, a mildly disparaging cartoon can usually succeed.”

Her Instagram has a combination of different artistic styles including ‘Slice of Life’ comics featuring a very cute version of herself and her partner:

Cartoon sketches of people she observes

Life-like sketches

And among her artistic posts, there are some of her cooking and baking feats and the odd selfie post, and if you’re lucky – the odd little video of a jam session (she has the sweetest voice).  She is one of those people that I feel are constantly brimming with such creative potential, and I always find myself looking through my feed for one of her posts – mainly because they are usually filled with such real life humour, that they genuinely make me chuckle.

You are also able to buy her work from her Etsy shop which features some seriously cute prints!

I hope you have enjoyed the first edition of Monday Muses, please don’t forget to give it a like (and a follow if you’re not already!) and hopefully I have introduced you to someone who was previously unknown to you!  Don’t forget to give Zoe Sees a follow on her Instagram and Website if her passion has put a smile on your face!

If there are any other creatives out there that I should check out – be it an artist, musician, writer…then comment about them below with a link to their work – I love discovering new people all the time!

Until next time! x

Food | Baking: Raspberry and Almond Traybake

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

Hello everyone, I am back after a long *ahem* break!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas (or just enjoyed a few days off if you don’t celebrate) and had a fabulous New Years!  I did stuff myself silly with plenty of roast chicken, yorkshire puds and plenty of potatoes – so I was in a bit of a food coma for about three days.  Then it came to New Years.  And I had the flu.  Not only did I have the flu, I also managed to develop a lovely chest infection and tonsillitis along the way, so my New Year’s Eve consisted of being slumped over the doctor’s desk getting my germs everywhere as she prescribed me a lot of medication to take.  So not a great start to the new year I must admit!

I visited my sister a few weeks back and she usually insists that I bake something (and I usually insist on not being forced to bake brownies for the umpteenth time) so we came to an agreement on a recipe she found on BBC Good Food for a raspberry and almond traybake.

Recipe

250g self-raising flour

50g ground almonds

200g butter, diced

280g golden granulated sugar

50g desiccated coconut

2 medium eggs

350-450g/12oz-1lb fresh or frozen raspberries

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  • I preheated my fan oven to 160°C (180°C/gas 4 for other ovens) and then greased an oblong cake tin with a little butter and then set that aside.  I then added the flour, ground almonds, butter and sugar into the food processor and then blitzed until the butter was evenly distributed.  (If you don’t have a food processor you can just rub the ingredients together with your hands).

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  • I took out 85g/3oz of the mixture and put it in a bowl and then stirred in the coconut.  (I had to actually use my hands for this part as the mixture was quite tough to be able to stir in the coconut.  I just simply rubs the ingredients together until they resembled breadcrumbs).

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  • I added the eggs to the remaining mixture in the food processor and gave it a quick whizz (again, if you don’t have a food processor you can just use a good ol’ wooden spoon to give it a mix).

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  • I took out the mixture from the food processor and then spread this in the base of the tin as evenly as possible before scattering half the raspberries on top, followed by the coconut mixture.  I then baked it for about 45 minutes.

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  • I then added the remaining raspberries over the surface and sprinkled some golden granulated sugar for extra crunch and then baked for a further 15 minutes until they were firm to the touch and golden.

IMG_5252Once the traybake cooled, I cut it into small slices and served with tea and coffee after dinner – it was so nice that everyone had seconds (and thirds!).  This is such a quick and simple recipe to try with really yummy results – so if you are ever stuck for quick dessert ideas you should give this one a go.  I might try it again but using different fruits – I’m sure it will be equally delicious.

Until next time! x

Food | Baking: Chocolate and Ginger Cake

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

Hello again!  So I have decided to do another recipe from the YOU Magazine extra full of Mary Berry recipes as the last one went down well.  This one is a scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate and ginger cake – perfect for this sort of weather with just a hint of spice mixed with indulgent chocolate.  You can also find this recipe online if you search the recipe name (again, here it is on the Sainsbury’s website).

Recipe

Cake

220g/7oz butter (room temperature and at least 70% fat) plus extra for greasing

50g/1¾ oz cocoa powder

4 tbsp full-fat or semi-skimmed milk

3 eggs

175g/6oz self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground ginger

250g/9oz caster sugar

2 pieces of stem ginger (finely chopped)

Filling and Topping

225g/8oz icing sugar

115g/4oz butter (room temperature)

2 tbsp stem ginger syrup

1 tbsp full-fat or semi-skimmed milk

2 pieces of stem ginger (finely shredded)

*For this recipe make sure you have 2 loose-bottomed, round sandwich tins which are 20cm (8in) diameter and 4.5cm (1¾ in) deep*

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  • I started by lightly greasing the sandwich tins with a little butter and then lined the bottom of each with greaseproof paper.
  • I prepared my ingredients by weighing them out and setting aside until I needed them.  I made sure to pre-sift the flour and baking powder together.  I also made sure to chop the ginger as finely as I possibly could, but you could also use a small food processor to do it quickly.

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  • I preheated the oven to 160°C for my fan oven (180°C/Gas4 for other ovens).
  • In a large heatproof bowl, I sifted in the cocoa powder and then added 6 tbsp of boiling water and stirred until there were no lumps.  I then added the milk and stirred until it became a smooth paste.

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  • I added the remaining cake ingredients and with my electric hand whisk, I mixed the ingredients for 1 -2 minutes (be careful not to over-mix the ingredients as the cake might not rise properly).

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(You can see that I chopped the butter into small cubes – just to make life easier!)

  • I divided the cake mixture between the cake tins and made sure to even out the tops before placing them in the oven and baked them for about 25 – 30 minutes.

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(As you’re making a chocolate cake it can be a little harder to tell if the cake is cooked by just looking at it, so you can always check pressing your finger on the sponge gently to see if it feels firm and springs back or by inserting a skewer and see if it comes out clean.)

  • I took the cakes out when they were done and left them to cool a little in their tins before turning them out gently and peeling off the paper and then turning them the right way round on a cooling rack.

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(I actually should have left them in the tins a little longer as some of cake came off because it was still so warm and moist – but I picked up the runaway cake bits and set them aside.)

  • I then started to make the filling and topping by sifting the icing sugar into a bowl and adding the butter, syrup and milk.

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  • I usually just mix using a wooden spoon, as using an electric whisk means that I end up covering the kitchen in icing sugar.  It does involve a little more graft but I usually sit the bowl in my lap and watch TV while I mix – makes it easier!

  • I transferred one of the cakes onto a serving dish and put half of the icing on top and smoothed it over evenly with a palette knife.  Then I placed the second cake on top and added the the rest of the icing, and using the palette knife, I gave it a little texture.

  • I then got the runaway cake bits from earlier and turned them into crumbs and sprinkled them around the edge of top of the cake before placing my shredded ginger on top for extra effect.

Look how purdy it looks!

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I LOVE Mary Berry recipes, I think she has some great ones to try so you should give one of them a go!  The other thing I love about her recipes is that she normally includes some great baking tips that make your life a little easier and that you can apply to other recipes.  A slice of this cake goes great with a cup of tea after a hard day’s work and makes for a yummy treat this time of year as the ginger adds such a nice kick of spice and sweet in one.

What are you favourite chocolate and ginger recipes – are there any others that I should try?  Leave your comments below and don’t forget to like if you enjoyed this post (and follow me via the links on the right as well).

Until next time! x

Food | Baking: Spiced Dorset Apple Traybake

/ Sam Siddique / 2 Comments

I have been meaning to do this post for a little while but I was a bit over-run with seeing my two little munchkin nephews.  They are adorable little troublemakers!

               Processed with Moldiv Processed with Moldiv

My mum is a huge lover of apple-desserts so I thought I would go ahead and make this for her.  The recipe is from a special YOU Magazine extra full of Mary Berry recipes, so I thought I would give it a go!  You can also find this recipe online if you search the recipe name (here it is on the Sainsbury’s website).

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Recipe

225g/8oz butter (room temperature) plus extra for greasing

550g/1¼ lb cooking apples (such as Bramley)

Juice of ½ lemon

225g/8oz light muscovado sugar

300g/10oz self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1 tbsp milk (full-fat or semi-skimmed)

icing sugar, to dust

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  • As my older sister, Farah was here I thought I would get her to help a little bit by asking her to start by greasing the tin with a little butter and to then line it with some greaseproof paper.  After greasing the tin a little too much, I think she finally got there – doesn’t it look pretty.

(She told me I had to show a picture of her beautiful lining of the tin otherwise she would beat me up.)

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  • I started by coring the apples and chopping them into quarters and then slicing them finely.  I then added them to a tub and added the lemon and made sure all the slices were covered.

(You may have noticed that I didn’t peel the apples first – I did actually forget to do this step, but in my defence I was distracted by small children running around everywhere…ahem.)

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  • I added the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, ½ a teaspoon of the cinnamon, the eggs and milk into a bowl and then whisked until all the ingredients were incorporated and the mixture was smooth.

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  • At this point, I preheated the oven to 160°C (as stated in the recipe for fan ovens).

  • I spooned half of the mixture into the tin and using a spatula, I made sure to spread the mixture evenly.  I then added half of the apple slices on top and then sprinkled over the remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.

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  • I then added the rest of the mixture to the tin, and very carefully levelled it out without disturbing the apples underneath.  Finally I added the other half of the apple slices on top and made sure to gently press them into the surface.

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  • I put the tray into the heated oven and cooked it for about 25 – 35 minutes, or until it turns golden brown and the cake is firm but spongy to touch and the apples are soft.  And as a last minute touch, I sprinkled some brown demerara sugar over the top, concentrating over the apple slices and put it back in the oven to caramelise a little.
  • IMG_4788 I left it in the tin for about 20 minutes until the cake had cooled down enough for me to take it out of the tin and place on a cooling rack.

This was a wonderfully easy and delicious recipe to make (compared to my usual recipes anyway) and it went down well with my family.  It was only until I had cut the traybake into squares to serve, that Farah pointed out I hadn’t peeled the apples… OOPS!  By the time we got to the dessert it had completely cooled down, so we warmed them a little in the microwave and served them with some Madagascan vanilla custard, ice cream or a little double cream depending on preference.

Have you ever tried some to bake any Mary Berry desserts, and if so, which ones have you tried?  Don’t forget to comment below!

Until next time! x

Exploring Britain | Wales: Ogmore-by-Sea

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

If you live in South Wales, then chances are you have been to Ogmore-by-Sea at least once.  I used to come here with my family when I was a little girl, and my siblings and I would have hours of fun playing in the little rock pools and building sandcastles.  Ogmore-by-Sea is a wonderful place to explore, and as you can see, I had quite a bit of fun fiddling around with the settings on the DSLR to try and capture some of the dramatic scenery that day.  As beaches and sea fronts tend to go, it was a little more chilly than it was in Cardiff, even in summer, so make sure to wear an extra layer or two!  If you have never been to Ogmore before, there are quite a few craggy rocks about before you reach the sand so sensible footwear is also a good idea (and not flip flops like I was wearing!).

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 If you couldn’t already tell, it was a VERY windy day at Ogmore.

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Although the pictures I took that day concentrate on the beach, there are actually quite a few different activities you could do in the area such as trails and walks, pony trekking (check out Ride on the Beach) and if you’re brave enough – swimming!  There are also two castles in the area to explore, Ogmore Castle and Candleston Castle.  There are also a few places to eat, namely a lovely little country pub called The Pelican in her Piety which offers up hearty home cooked food – just what you need after a long day exploring.  However, nothing beats watching the sun slowly sinking in the horizon whilst you’re wrapped up in warm layers a few blankets and a little picnic.  A great day out for all the family (and the dogs!).

More information can be found on the following websites:

Have you ever been to Ogmore-by-Sea?  What are your favourite beaches/sea fronts that you like to visit around Britain and why?  Do let me know in the comments below 🙂

Until next time! x

Food | Baking: Schichttorte

/ Sam Siddique / 2 Comments

So, I was actually deliberating on whether I was going to share my latest bit of baking with you lot because I was actually very disappointed by the results (as I am a bit of a perfectionist) but hey ho, here is my attempt at trying out a schichttorte (yes, that 20-layered German cake from The Great British Bake Off).

This recipe is from Paul Hollywood and can be found on the BBC – Food Website.

Recipe

Cake

10 large eggs, separated

100g/3½oz unsalted butter

150g/5½oz caster sugar

1 large lemon, zest only

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

150g/5½oz plain flour, sifted

65g/2¼oz cornflour, sifted

oil, for greasing

6 tbsp apricot jam

Chocolate Glaze

50g/1¾oz unsalted butter

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp rum

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

75g/2½oz plain chocolate (36% cocoa solids), finely chopped

Vanilla Glaze

250g/9oz icing sugar

1 tbsp rum

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

1-2 tbsp milk

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  • After I managed to separate all 10 eggs after a little bit of difficulty, I then whisked the egg yolks using a hand-held whisk on high speed until the mixture became pale, thick and creamy.

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  • In another bowl, I creamed together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.  I then added the zest of one lemon and 1 tsp of vanilla extract (but you can use vanilla bean paste if you have it) and mixed well.

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  • I added the whisked egg yolks and mixed well.  I then added the flour and cornflour (which I sifted together beforehand) in installments to make it a little easier to mix.

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  • In yet another bowl, I whisked the egg whites until soft peaks formed.

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  • I stirred one-third of the egg whites into the batter to loosen it a little and then I gently folded the rest of the egg whites into the batter.

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(I do have to apologise for the poor lighting in most of these pictures, it started to get dark outside when I started this and so struggled to get enough natural light in order to take nicer photos!)

  • I preheated the grill to high and then greased a 20cm/8in round springform tin with a little oil and lined the base with greaseproof paper.  I then spooned a little bit of the batter into the tin and spread it across the bottom evenly.

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  • I then placed the tin under the grill and kept a watchful eye over it for a couple of minutes until it was a light brown colour.  (As you can see, it went slightly darker than I wanted it to as my high grill setting was just TOO high so I had to turn it down).

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  • I kept this up over the next couple of hours and noting down which layer I was grilling by marking 1L, 2D, 3L, 4D etc. (L = Light; D = Dark of course!)
(At this point, I was knackered and boiling hot from standing in front of the grill 99% of the time and some of my timings started to slip a little – I will say however, that I had enough batter for 20 layers, HURRAH!).
  • After I finished grilling all my layers, I absolutely started to hate this cake but I left it for a little while to cool down before turning it out on to a wire rack.

(At this point I was wondering what the heck happened to my 20 layers).

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  • Nevertheless, I continued!  I melted the apricot jam in a pan and then pushed it through a sieve (I actually think 6tbsp seemed a bit much so I lessened the amount).  Using a pastry brush, I brushed the jam all over the top and sides of the cake.

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  • For the chocolate glaze, I began by melting the butter, golden syrup and vanilla extract in a pan (didn’t use any rum of course!).
  • IMG_4437After the mixture incorporated together, I finely chopped the chocolate (I couldn’t find chocolate that was 36% cocoa solids and so went with 70%, but in hindsight, maybe I should have used milk chocolate!) and after the syrup mixture cooled a little I added the chocolate and stirred until it had melted.  I then left the glaze to cool to a coating consistency.
  • I made sure to place some parchment underneath the wire rack holding the cake before pouring the glaze over the cake.

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  • For the vanilla glaze, I started by sifting the icing sugar into the bowl to which I added the vanilla extract and milk (no rum) and began stirring until smooth.  (For some reason I couldn’t get the glaze to thicken enough and in the end I was so hot, bothered and tired that I gave up and just used it.)

  • I then went a bit nuts with the drizzle, and because it hadn’t thickened enough, it sort of spread a bit too much…

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So, all in all I was quite disappointed by the end result, especially when I finally tasted it.  IT WAS SO DRY.  Oh, I wanted to cry, all that effort!  No need to eat your heart out just yet Paul Hollywood!  I think next time, I’ll stick to something a little less ambitious!

Have you ever tried something as ambitious as this cake and how did it turn out?  Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time! x