Salted caramel, chocolate and Christmas what more could you possibly want in December? Inspired by Pinterest and a wonderful post I saw on Liv's blog I've created this delicious salted caramel Christmas tree brownies recipe. At my work we're each bringing in Christmas snacks every other day, so this would be perfect if you're doing something like that or if you have your're having your very own friendmas. They're super naughty and definitely very bad for you but I do think that this is what Christmas is all about. I think we should embrace being a little more like Nigella Lawson having a midnight snack at Christmas, I really hope you get the reference (if not watch this)!
You Will Need:
- 100g Dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa solids)
- 125g Unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 150g Granulated sugar
- 100g of brown sugar
- 2 Large eggs
- 1 Tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tsp sea salt
- 100g Plain flour
- 12 Squares of caramel chocolate
- Sprinkles
- 3 single twix bars
- 200g icing sugar
- Green food colouring
How to make your Christmas tree brownies:
Heat your oven to 170 degrees. Line a square baking tin, with grease proof paper.Place the dark chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water) and leave until just melted.
Take off the heat and use a whisk to add in the sugar, then the eggs, then the vanilla extract and half the salt. Slowly sift in the flour and then stir together using the whisk.
Pour the mixture into the tin, spreading it out so that it is even as it can be and then press a piece of caramel chocolate into the mix. Then sprinkle over the remaining salt.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in an area with no caramel comes out clean. The brownies should also be starting to come away from the edges, and gently cracking on top and leave to cool.
Whilst they are cooling make your green icing. Add half a tea spoon of water to your sugar and add a little bit of food colouring (I use gels) and mix together. If the icing is too runny add more icing sugar until it has a consistency a bit like cream. As my green food colouring I used some black colouring to darken the colour.
Cut your brownies into triangles and place then on a baking tray. Add your green icing into a piping bag (or you could use a spoon) and drizzle the icing over your brownies. Whilst the icing is still wet sprinkle over some decorations, these will be the baubles on your Christmas trees.
Finally shop up your bars of twix and push these into the bottom of the brownies, these will the trunks of the tree.
I have to be honest, I had a total nightmare whilst putting this blog post together. To begin with I put the oven on the wrong setting, then I realised I had the wrong chocolate, once the brownies were ready it was too dark to take photos inside but then when I popped outside it started to rain. So please do not think blogging is effortless or quick, because it totally isn't! Anyway, they tasted absolutely amazing and I was thrilled about the end results, it's just a shamed the photography didn't turn out the way I wanted it to!
Brownie recipe adapted from What Olivia Did and Jackson & Levine's book Round To Ours
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Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock, Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Yipee! Christmas is nearly here, so to make sure you're feeling extremely festive I've put together a list of the top 25 things to do in London this Christmas and at home. As it is Christmas after all I've tried to keep most of these fairly budget friendly so you can make sure you can treat yourself over the festive period too. Let me know your favourite things to do in the comments as I think it could be really fun to keep on adding to the list!
The Best Christmas activities!
- Make a gingerbread house with your family
- Go ice skating at Hampton Court Palace or Somerset House
- Host your own Christmas Day with your friends
- Make your own mince pies! This one by Nigella is my favourite
- Throw a girly sleepover, watch Love Actually or The Holiday and complete the evening with a big box of Quality Street
- Make a hot chocolate bar for your friends a family with all of the trimmings - marshmallows, candy canes, oranges and mint leaves!
- Go to Oxford Street, Carnaby Street and Regents Street to see the Christmas lights!
- Make your own Christmas wreath
- Visit Biscuiteers and do a Christmassy icing class
- Hop on the Eurostar and go to a Christmas market
- Go shopping for the perfect Christmas Day outfit
- Bake Christmas tree brownies, recipe coming soon...
- Donate to charity and make sure to donate food to your local foodbank!
- Make some homemade paper chains
- Bake some Christmas cupcakes for your work colleagues
- Sing Christmas carols
- Make your own snow globe
- Have a Christmas film marathon
- Throw a Christmas cookie decoration party
- Have a mince pie tasting evening (we did this at work last year and it was so much fun)
- Write a letter Santa
- Make a popcorn garland to hang in your living room or to put on the tree
- Write out Christmas cards to everyone who has made your year so special!
- Book tickets to see a ballet, The Nutcracker is the most festive and traditional. However I try to see a new one every year! On this years list is Cinderella by Matthew Bourne
- Do the lights trail at Kew Gardens
I absolutely adore fashion, but I rarely often follow the trends as in all honesty I find a lot of them to be very unflattering on my body shape. So I describe my style as a toddler going to a party. I love sparkly things, I love to be comfortable and I love to dress up in a party dress... If you know me IRL and are ever stuck for a birthday present, just go to Monsoon Kids as I'd happily have them all all of the accessories in there. This ASOS number is the ultimate party dress, my friend spotted it in the ASOS 'new in', section showed it to me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. However I was trying to be good and not buy any more clothes as I knew Christmas was coming up, but once I had seen it'd gone out of stock a few days later I was honestly gutted. I thought I'd never be able to wear it but then one lunchtime I noticed my size was back in stock and I bought it within seconds. Now this dress is finally mine and it's the perfect dress for Christmas work parties, Christmas day or my annual 'friendmas', and we lived happily ever after...
Shop the festive look:
It just wouldn't be Christmas without a festive baking post would it? This year, I've upped my game a created the ultimate chocolate Christmas cake, although last year red bow cupcakes were pretty good! The inspiration behind this post? Well a few weeks ago I attended a Christmas cake masterclass with Dr. Oetker and the amazing Juliet Sear as part of their new We Bake community, with is basically a social media/forum for those of us who love to bake, which is basically everyone. Plus they're running a competition with me to win a Dr. Oetker product hamper, which is FULL of amazing stuff so all you need to do is sign up and just post the link to your first We Bake post in the comments below! If you need some inspiration an example of a We Bake post is one like this. I really hope you enter, it's super easy and don't forget to share your post in the comments below, you have until the 3rd January 2017. Now time for the moment we've all been waiting for, the ultimate chocolate Christmas cake recipe...
To make the chocolate cake you'll need:
335g plain flour
525g soft brown sugar
125g cocoa poweder
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 eggs
185ml vegetable oil or coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
375ml whole milk
2tsp instant espresso coffee
375ml boiling water
For the chocolate ganache covering/filling you'll need:
600g cooks milk chocolate
300ml double cream
For the drip topping you'll need:
150g of any 'cooks' chocolate bar - I used white chocolate
The chocolate cake recipe:
- Put the cream in a saucepan and heat gently over a low heat until the cream is bubbling, keep stirring whilst the cream is heating.
- Once bubbly and hot remove the cream from the heat and break the milk chocolate into squares. Add the chocolate into the cream and story until melted.
- Chill in the fridge for two hours until set and thickened. (If you don't want to make a ganache you can always make a chocolate buttercream!)
- Preheat the oven to 175c or gas mark 4. Grease and line 4x7 inch round cake tins.
- Put all of the ingredients for the cake except the hot water into a bowl and fold carefully until all of the ingredients are mixed.
- Add the the boiling water and with a hand whisk, mix until you have a smooth consistency.
- The cake batter will have a very runny consistency. So pour the mixture into a jug and divide evenly between the cake tins.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean. Then leave to cool.
- Once the cake has cooled use a small amount of the ganache (or buttercream) to stick to the base tier of the cake to the cake board.
- Spread the ganache on each layer of the cake using a palette knife and the cake together. Then spread a think amount of ganache on the outside of your cake, starting from the base and working up the cake.
- Chill for around 30 mins in the fridge to let it set. Then add another layer around the whole cake.
- Melt your chocolate for the drip, you can either do this in a microwave or using a bain-marie. Then leave to cool slightly for around 5 minutes.
- Pour the melted chocolate on top of your cake and using a palette knife spread over the top of the cake and push to the edges so it started to drip down your cake.
- Now it's time to decorate. If you're using making chocolate shards like I did add these now! You can decorate with anything you like, chocolate hearts or stars, sweets, sprinkles, berries, edible glitter, macarons, or even biscuits! I used the Dr.Oetker gold shimmer spray on my berries and I thought it added such a festive effect.
- Finally, share with friends and family on Christmas day.
So it would seem that Christmas really is over, it's one of my absolute favourite times of the year and I'm already getting excited about the next one! The combination of being with your family, eating all of the best food, the time you spend with friends in the lead up and playing board games is just something I'll always absolutely love to do. So to try and drag out the festivities for as long as I possibly can I thought I'd share two hot drink recipes inspired by the talented community of Pinterest to warm up your dreary winter days. I splashed my drinks into these mugs by Cornishware and even personalised them with my parents names and a post Christmas thank you present. They make a really nice alternative thank you gift instead of sending flowers, chocolates or wine especially as there is the option to personalise.
Spiced apple tea:
For this recipe you'll need; 1 cup of apple juice, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp of mixed spices, and a 1 tea bag. Simply let the apple juice, cinnamon stick and spices simmer in a small pan over a medium heat for a few minutes. Pop the hot apple juice into your mug, discard the cinnamon stick and add in your tea bag to give it a tea flavour, remove your tea bag after your desired time. Lots of shops also sell apple and cinnanon flavoured tea, I'd recommend the Teapigs one if your a bit rushed off your feet to create this one. To finish slice an apple so you have a disc shape and use a star cutter to cut out your shape, and then add to your tea to give a festive finish and some extra flavour!
Peppermint hot chocolate:
This chocolately recipe is made for one, so for this treat you'll need 1 mug of milk, 3 tablespoons of a good quality cocoa powder and a pinch of flaked sea salt. In a small pan mix the milk, cocoa powder and salt together. However if you want to be extra fancy you can melt some dark hot chocolate over an bain-marie and add this to your hot milk. To get the peppermint flavour add a candy cane to the mug and this will slowly release the minty flavour into your drink. If you want to create a bit more of a grown up drink you could always swap the candy cane for a shot of Bailey's or Jack Daniel's, the perfect indulgent drink to have whilst wrapped up in a blanket and watching your favourite film!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in London and so I decided to join in with the festivities and have afternoon tea with one of my best friends at The Orangery in Kensington Palace. I was kindly invited to try out the festive afternoon tea here and I thought it would be the perfect thing to do a few weeks before Christmas. During the festive season I love to pack my weekends full of fun things to do just so I have something to look forward to throughout the whole of the month!
So I slurped my way through a lovely pot of winter berry tea whilst my friend sipped on Christmas tea, which smelt just like Christmas cake! My friend and I are both veggies, so we treated to a fully vegetarian afternoon tea complete with cucumber and mint, hummus and vegetable and egg mayonnaise sandwiches. My favourite part of the tea were the scones, jam and cream, described on the website as Orange-scented and currant scones served with Cornish clotted cream and English strawberry jam - I could of quite happily had a stand full of these! Other sweet treats included an mini orange mouse, Christmas cake, cherry and almond tart, mini chocolate mouse and a slice of the British classic, battenburg. My friend and I had a wonderful afternoon catching up over tea and cake,whilst making exciting plans for the next year. The festive afternoon tea is £26 pp, and £36 pp for a glass of champagne each.
* I was kindly invited to review the afternoon tea, however all tea & cake related views are my own!
So I slurped my way through a lovely pot of winter berry tea whilst my friend sipped on Christmas tea, which smelt just like Christmas cake! My friend and I are both veggies, so we treated to a fully vegetarian afternoon tea complete with cucumber and mint, hummus and vegetable and egg mayonnaise sandwiches. My favourite part of the tea were the scones, jam and cream, described on the website as Orange-scented and currant scones served with Cornish clotted cream and English strawberry jam - I could of quite happily had a stand full of these! Other sweet treats included an mini orange mouse, Christmas cake, cherry and almond tart, mini chocolate mouse and a slice of the British classic, battenburg. My friend and I had a wonderful afternoon catching up over tea and cake,whilst making exciting plans for the next year. The festive afternoon tea is £26 pp, and £36 pp for a glass of champagne each.
* I was kindly invited to review the afternoon tea, however all tea & cake related views are my own!
I'm rather excited about this weeks blog post as it contains Christmas cupcakes! I feel like in the last week the blogging world has gone a little gift guide crazy so hopefully this post breaks them up! Now these aren't just any cupcakes, these are chocolate flavour with bows on the top, so they look just like a little Christmas present. I think these would be the perfect thing to bring to a Christmas dinner as a special treat for afters, and I'm sure all of your friends and family would be pretty impressed if you brought these out. Now, I have a little confession, I didn't make these as I cannot make a cupcake as pretty as this, I collaborated with my friend and self taught baker Bryony who has the most wonderful baking Instagram (which you can check out here!) I wanted to have truly amazing Christmas recipe to share with you and I'm just so happy with how they turned out! It's only 25 sleeps until the big day so you have plenty of time to practice!
For the cakes:
200g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
280g caster sugar
3 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt 80g
unsalted butter (room temp)
240ml whole milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the icing:
130g unsalted butter
400g sifted icing sugar
50g sifted cocoa powder
50ml whole milk
Equipment:
12 cupcake cases
A Muffin tin
Red gel food colouring/paste (I use Wilton's)
White fondant icing
Piping bag
Round piping nozzle
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius/ gas mark 3.
How to make your Christmas cupcakes:
Put flour, cocoa, sugar baking powder, salt, butter in a mixing bowl. Mix together with an electric mixer until sand-like in texture. In a jug, whisk the egg, vanilla and milk until combined. Pour half of the liquid mixture into the dry mix. Whisk on a high speed until combined. Put your mixer onto a slower speed and pour in the remaining liquid. Mix on a low speed until completely combined.
Put flour, cocoa, sugar baking powder, salt, butter in a mixing bowl. Mix together with an electric mixer until sand-like in texture. In a jug, whisk the egg, vanilla and milk until combined. Pour half of the liquid mixture into the dry mix. Whisk on a high speed until combined. Put your mixer onto a slower speed and pour in the remaining liquid. Mix on a low speed until completely combined.
Spoon the mixture into the twelve cases about 3/4 full. Now pop in the oven on the middle shelf for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven. You can check they are perfect by using a cocktail stick - it should come out clean.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the butter cream. To do this, first beat the butter with your mixer in a bowl for around 5 minutes. You want a light and super smooth texture! Then add the icing sugar and cocoa powder, roughly one third at a time, mixing well each time and ensuring the sides of the bowl are scraped as you go. Add a drop of the milk on each mix to get a light and fluffy consistency. Now add a generous teaspoon of red food colouring - you're looking for a deep red so keep on adding food colouring until you achieve the colour you're after.
When you're happy with your icing, spoon it into your piping bag that has your round nozzle in (top tip: use a pint glass to hold your piping bag while you fill it, folding the sides over the rim of the glass). Snip off the end of the piping bag. Pipe directly onto the cupcakes, starting on the outer edge of the cupcake working your way in, using a smooth, continuous circular motion.
Once all the cupcakes are iced, it's time to make your fondant bows. Roll your fondant out on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, until around half a centimetre thick. Trim the edges of the fondant to make a rectangle, Then cut into 1cm width strips. Use these strips to create the cross on top of the cupcakes, trimming the edges once in position on top of the cupcake. Now repeat steps above to make another identical fondant rectangle. This time cut the fondant to 2cm by 8cm strips. Lay the fondant with the longer edge facing you. Take the left hand of the strip and fold into the middle. Repeat with the right hand side so the two edges meet in the centre. Now pinch the centre and use a small strip of fondant, to lay over the join and pinch behind the bow to seal. If the fondant isn't sealing together, use some water on your fingertip to seal. Place the bow in the centre of the cupcake.
As some of you may or not may not know, I'm a little make-up obsessed. During my recent trip to New York I spent a lot of time (and money) in the holy grail, Sephora. Whilst drooling over everything in the shop I saw this from the corner of my eye and made a bee line for it. It was like no make up palette I'd seen before. The set is inspired by the romantic view of Paris from a cosy hotel-room window. The Too Faced Le Grand Palais gift set includes a beautiful glittering makeup palette with a whimsical staircase and a few of the brand's most popular products. I've been itching to use the eye shadows ever since I bought them but I've been good and refrained until I'd photographed them for this blog post. The set contains, 18 eye shadows, two blushes, a bronzer, a highlighter and samples of their 'better than sex' mascara, melted lipstick in peony and their shadow insurance primer. One of the things I love the most about the palette is not just the glittery eye shadows but the names of the shades, including: Yule Log, Wish List, Midnight in Paris, City Lights and Party Dress. How cute and festive?!
This year Too Faced have become one of my most lusted after beauty brands, after constantly seeing them pop up in blog posts or videos I just knew I had to get my hands on a few of their products during my trip. What's even better about the brand is that they're cruelty free and a large amount of their products are also vegan, which is just amazing and has made me love the brand even more. This palette was made without Parabens, Sulphates and Phthalates which is pretty incredible when you think about how many chemicals are put into your make up by other brands. They're a little tricky to get hold of in the UK and this palette was sadly a Sephora exclusive, however you can pick up some of their products in Debenhams.
I've had this dress sitting in my wardrobe for a while and have wanted to do an outfit post with it for ages as it is just so pretty. What better time to show you all this number then now, right before the Christmas party season. I've teamed this with two of my all time favourites; an old pair of heels from Topshop bought a few years ago and of course my pride and joy the Rebecca Minkoff's mini affair bag which had to be included. I got this bag whilst I was in New York and I think it's a really great piece to have in your collection as it's so versatile and is such nice quality you can tell this bag will last you a lifetime. I've decided to wear tights with the look but of course if you were feeling particularly brave and ready to brace the cold winter wind you could wear this without!
Unfortunately due to heels being a few years old my Topshop shoes are no longer available so I've put a few good alternatives at the end of the post.
I thought I'd do another quick post of what I've been up to over this Christmas period, I hope you enjoy it and I'll be back with a new post soon. I can't believe this will be my last post of 2012! See you in January and have a happy new year!
1. Millie's Cookie cupcake, 2. My new star lampshade which I bought from the Birmingham German market, 3 & 4, Me and & Amy - enjoying a night out or two, 5. Secret Santa presents, 6. My new favourite hot drink - Hazelnut hot chocolate, 7. Me before going to work in the freezing cold, 8. Candles, & 9. One Direction Love Hearts, best thing ever!
1. I've been ill and my sister gave me these amazing tissues to make me feel better, 2. I finally got my hair cut after two years, I'm so pleased with it, 3.I got round to making Josephine's for a christmas treat and they were so amazing and easy to do (the recipe is here), 4 & 5. Christmas eve traditon, going to our local pub, 6. A gingerbread decoration I got my mum for Christmas, 7. Graveney & Meadow (post here) 8. Warming up with some hot chocolate, & 9. My work friends & I on our Christmas night out.
What’s your favourite thing about Christmas?
I love the Christmassy feeling and everyone I love being
together, since I don't live at home anymore it's a nice time to spend time
with my family. Also in my friendship group we always go to the pub on
Christmas Eve so it's a great time to catch up with everyone, as we're all at
uni!
What’s your favourite makeup look for the festive season?
I don't have a particular festive make up look but I do
really love a bronze smokey eye using my Urban Decay naked palette and M.A.C eyeliner in
teddy!
Real tree or fake tree?
I've grown up always having a real tree, so I’d have to go
to with a real tree!
Giving presents or receiving presents?
I love giving presents, I start buying presents in early November
I get so excited about what I should get people and I always want to give them
their gift right away.
Do you open your
presents Christmas morning or evening?
The morning, I and my sister always open our stocking
presents as soon as we realise Santa has been, which we have always done since
we were young. Now we're all a bit older we tend to give our parents a bit of a
later wake up call.
Handmade Christmas cards or bought?
I like both! I wouldn't complain if I received either.
What’s your favourite Christmas film?
The Holiday is one of my favourite films of all time so I’d
have to say that, but also the Harry Potter films make me feel very Christmassy
especially the first one when they have the feast!
What’s your favourite Christmas food and drink?
I recently discovered hazelnut hot chocolate thanks to
"Miss Glamorazzi”which is amazing and you can make it at home with Nutella!
Just a quick post to get you in the festive mood! What are your christmas traditions?
Just a quick post to get you in the festive mood! What are your christmas traditions?
For my secret Santa gift guide I've tried to choose items which aren't too pricey and I feel I've done pretty well, the cheapest is £3.50 and the most expensive item £22.50. These are all presents that I would love to receive myself so hopefully you do too!
1. - Rob Ryan - This is for you (14.99) I think that this would make such a gorgeous gift, I don't know any girl who doesn't love his illustrations. This book is an amazing price and would be such a perfect girly gift to give someone this Christmas!
2. - Gingerbread socks (£3.50) As you get older it seems slightly unacceptable to go walking around with big pictures of rabbits on you skirts (which seems very unfair.) So I think having lots of silly socks like these are a nice way to show your young side without anyone having to know.
3. - House Necklace (£15) This necklace from Joy is so cute with its tiny chimney and heart shaped windows but it has a secret Once you open up the locket it shows you all the rooms (with sofas and wall art) inside which is such a nice detail to have. I love this necklace so much and I think the length is perfect.
4. - I love Mel - Ryan Gosling colouring book (£7.50) It's a Ryan Gosling colouring book! Do I need to say anymore?
5. - Cath Kidston - Deer & Spot stocking (£12) This stocking is so adorable with its kitsch deer and spotty patterns, the baby blue also makes a nice change from the usual festive colours. I was lucky enough to be bought this by my boyfriend and I am in love with it! It's much bigger in real life than you would think but I'm very much looking forward to putting this at the end of my bed on Christmas Eve.
6. - Sausage Dog cosy cushion (£15) I've recently become quite obsessed with sausage dogs and it would appear that many shops have too as there are sausage dog goodies everywhere, but this may have to be one of the best things I've seen. It's a cosy cushion with a sausage dog applique, but it smells like orange and cinnamon which is a perfect scent for this time of the year, and it will keep you nice and toasty.
7. - Kitten vanity case (£22.50) Paul and Joe seem to be able to do no wrong in my eyes, I first came across them when they released their cat lipsticks, (mine is still in pristine condition, I don't want to ruin it!) So when I came across this I knew I had to include it. I'm not usually a fan of yellow but this seems to work perfectly with the vintage kitten print, the shape is great, making it not only look great but it's very practical too! I'll definitely be putting this one on my Christmas list.
I had so much fun making this post and I hope you enjoyed it too!
After reading about the Harrods Disney Princess shop windows all over fashion blogs and websites, I knew I had to go and see these windows for myself and I was not disappointed! Without sounding too cheesy the displays were so magical, they summed up each princess perfectly. A range of different designers have come together to re-create some of the famous dresses worn by the princesses for this display. My favourite easily is the Aurora dress by Ellie Saab, it is absolutely stunning! Other designers include Roberto Cavallai - Pocahontas, Ralph & Russo - Tiana from Princess and the Frog and Jenny Packham - Rapunzel.
Obviously since I was in the area I had to pay the shop itself a visit, although Harrods at times can be a little bit over the top, I love its food court! Everything looks amazing, I could spend hours looking inside the glass counters reading about what's inside and what I could try out. One of my favourite sections in the court is the bakery, which for Harrods is supisingly affordable and they have their Christmas treats out now too, I quite like the look of orange and chocolate scone!
And from fictional princesses to a real life one! I loved this Barbie Kate and Wills wedding day Carriage set, which you can buy here, it did make me giggle. I hope you enjoyed this slightly festive post and I would seriously recommend taking a trip Harrods to see the shop windows, its even better in real life.
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