Recipe: Jaffa Cake Cupcakes

Who doesn't love a Jaffa Cake or two? I for one adore Jaffa Cakes and can easily devour a packet without realising. And even though they aren't Christmassy in the slightest, they were something I just had to bake this month. It's a pretty simple recipe and essentially doesn't take long to make. These are perfect for coffee mornings, afternoon teas or just as a treat for family and friends.

Ingredients
100g Caster Sugar
100g Self Raising Flour
100g Stork
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Packet Of Orange Jelly
1 Tub Of Betty Crocker Ready To Use Chocolate Icing

Method 
1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place the caster sugar and stork. Cream the two together until it's pale in colour and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg followed by a tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined and then repeat with the second egg.
4- Beat until everything is combined, taking time to scrape the sides of the bowl so nothing is left out.
5- Gently fold in the rest of the flour and the vanilla extract, taking care not to knock all the air out of your mixture. Spoon your mixture into the paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
6- Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Whilst they're cooling make your jelly. I just followed the instructions on the packet as I have absolutely no idea how to make jelly from scratch. I wanted it to only be a thin layer of jelly so I poured mine onto a thin cling filmed baking tray before letting set. Once your happy with your jelly, pop in the fridge and leave to set.
8- Once your jelly is set, cut out twelve circles of jelly and place on top of your now cooled cupcakes.
9- Now you could make your own buttercream but I didn't have time so I cheated and used a tub of the Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Buttercream. Place your icing into a piping bag and pipe as roughtly or as neatly as you'd like on top of the jelly.
10- Leave to set on the wire cooling, then enjoy. 

GRWM: 26th Birthday

 

Happy Tuesday! This Saturday just gone I turned a grand old 26. I spent the day doing a spot of Christmas shopping, a little bit of self indulgence followed by watching The Grinch with my mumma. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and thought I'd share with you the look, outfit and accessories I chose to celebrate my 26th birthday.

Primer 
I've gone a little insane with the amount of primers I use at the moment. I've kept my usual trio of the Barry M Hydro Fix Primer Water, Maybelline SuperStay Primer and Maybelline Master Prime Anti-Redness Primer. But I've also added a fourth primer to the mix and I can't say I'm angry about it. The MUA Pro Base Primer Oil gives me quite a few YSL vibes and helps to give skin a healthy glow whilst nourishing and keeping it hydrated under make up. I only use two small drops of this otherwise it quickly escalates from glowing goddess to sweaty mess but it's exactly what my skins been needing now that the colder weather has arrived and zapped the brightness out of my skin.

Base 
For base I went in with my holy grail foundation. The Revolution Conceal and Define Foundation is the only foundation I've reached for since it's release. It never lets me down and today was no different. When I'd finished dotting my face with it's giant doe foot applicator, I took my damp beauty blender and bopped it in. I love how full coverage this foundation is without being too heavy or cakey on the skin. And it's lasting power is ridiculous, just another of the long list of reasons I love it so much.

Concealer 
For concealer I went in with my trusty Maybelline The Eraser Eye. It never fails to cover my forever present dark circles. You don't necessarily need a lot but after a later night than planned on Friday, I needed a little more than normal. I mixed it in with a little of the Revolution Conceal and Define Concealer to neutralise some of the yellow tones of the Eraser Eye as well as giving a brighter, more awake look to my under eye area. I blended this out with my damp beauty blender, making sure to really blend it out so there was less chance of it creasing or fading over the day. Then I popped a little of the Conceal and Define Concealer on my forehead and down the centre of my face to just cover the areas my foundation always manages to give less coverage to. Again I blended it all in with a damp beauty blender, making sure to blend down my neck slightly so that everything meshed together nicely.

Brows 
I never used to fill in my brows but since I started using the E.L.F Brow Pencil, I've filled my brows in everyday. I start by brushing my brows out with a damp spoolie. It just helps to get rid of any stray brow hairs as well as removing any foundation that may be sitting in my brows. Then I gently filled in my brows with the E.L.F Brow Pencil, focusing mainly on the front of my brow where the hair is more sparse. Then with the spoolie on the end of the pencil, I brushed through them again to get rid of any excess product or loose hairs. I do usually go in with a brow gel to set them in place but I was slightly pushed for time so I opted to go without and they didn't go anywhere all day.

Lashes 
For my lashes I went in with my holy grail duo. After curling my lashes I liberally coated them in the Benefit They're Tinted Primer. This not only helps keep a curl after mascaras applied but also works to look after lashes both when you're wearing mascara and when you're not. I've tried a few lash primers but always find myself coming back to this one. Then I followed it up with a generous coating of the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. This has a nicely sized bristle brush that catches every single lash, even the tiny ones and lifts them to give a defined, volumised look that lasts all day.

Lips 
I love a bold lip and was originally planning on going for a bold lip when I was thinking out what I wanted to wear on my birthday but a couple days beforehand I wore a nude lip combo that I instantly wanted to wear as many times as possible before I got bored of it. I started off with the PS Love Lip Liner in Rosewood Mauve and gently outlined my lips, over drawing my upper lip slightly to give a more even appearence. Once I was happy with the shape, I went in with the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Patina. It always look more pink toned in the tube but when applied it has a almost greyish undertone that gives it a more wearable colour for my skin tone. I took care to only apply a thin layer so that it didn't become uncomfortable or irritating as the day wore on.

Setting
Once everything was done and I was happy with it all, I went in with my trusty Make Up Revolution Sports Fix Make Up Setting Spray. This has an ultra hold finish to it and gives skin a mattified appearence, something I enjoy when paired with the MUA primer. A quick sprtiz of this and my make up was complete.

Outfit 
For my outfit I wanted something that was cosy, cute yet comfortable and this round neck jumper from Primark has all of that and more. I paired it with some high waisted black skinny jeans and my Primark Chelsea style boots, which unfortunately killed my feet before the day was out. Then for my bag I went with my trusty Primark Chloe-esque backpack which may look small but can surprisngly hold quite a lot.

 Accessories 
I've never been a big jewellery girl. Sure I wear earrings on a daily basis but other that I never used to wear any other jewellery. But lately I've started wearing necklaces again and can't get enough of two or three similar styles layered together with a chunky knit or over a basic t-shirt. All of mine come from Primark, my favourite being the horn necklace which also comes in silver and looks great paired with a darker colours. Sure they get slightly tangled throughout the day but it's not hard to untangle them or to get the clasps back into their original place. I very nearly forgot to put them before I left the house and only remembered as I felt slightly naked without them. 

Recipe: Mini Egg Rocky Road

                        

We've been inundated with Mini Eggs everywhere since the beginning of the year and with Easter fast approaching, I thought I'd better pull my finger out and get sharing some Easter recipes I've been planning for a while. Now I'm not going to lie, they will consist mainly of Mini Eggs purely because I'm not a fan of a Cream Egg and don't want to mess with the perfection that is Cadbury's Caramel Eggs.

To kick everything off I'm starting with Rocky Road. I'd like to say this is simple and perfect for beginner bakers but it's taken me four attempts to get it perfect. Some of it was down to the wrong amount of chocolate but most of it was down to me burning the chocolate as I melted it over a bain marie. I being the impatient cow I am put the heat too high and essentially let it burn over each time. So let that be the biggest thing you take from this recipe, be patient, keep the temperature low and don't stop stirring the mixture.

Ingredients
- 400g Milk Chocolate
- 125g Unsalted Butter
- 125g Golden Syrup
- 100g Mini Marshmallows
- 200g Digestives, broken up
- 200g Mini Eggs, with a few left over for snacking on

Method

1. Line a baking tray with cling film or baking parchment. The tin can be as big or as deep as you like, it all depends on how you want your rocky road to turn out. And I'd advise lining your tin with a strip of cling film/baking parchment horizontally then another one vertically as it'll make it easy to remove it from the tin later on. 
2. In a bowl over a pan of water place the golden syrup, chocolate and butter. Melt on a low temperature, stirring the mix consistently to make sure everything melts evenly. It's best to make the butter and chocolate as small as possible as it means that's it more likely to melt quicker at a lower temperature. And whilst it may seem tempting to turn the temperature up, don't! It's only going to end in disaster and then you'll be annoyed with yourself, trust me I'm speaking from experience. 
3. Whilst the chocolate is melting, I'd advise putting the rest of the dry ingredients together into a large bowl so that you can just go straight in with the chocolate mix when it's ready. 
4. Once the chocolate mixture is completely melted and combined, pour over your dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon, making sure to cover everything liberally. 
5. Once you're happy with how it looks, pour into your prepared tin and smooth down with a spatula. Then just pop it into the fridge for a few hours to set. 
6. Once it's set all you've got to do then, is cut it and enjoy.

Review: Rosie For Autograph Rose Gold EDP

Back last month I was casually strolling through Marks and Spencers when I spotted a new release from the Rosie For Autograph Range. I immediately whipped out my debit card and brought it, even though my bank balance was crying at me to stop shopping. And I haven't been able to stop wearing this which is both good and bad. Good because it means that this perfume is divine but bad because it's only a limited edition fragrance and I don't want to use it all up and not be able to get another bottle.

The Rosie For Autograph Rose Gold EDP is a limited edition fragrance to celebrate five years of Rosie Huntington Whiteley's collaboration with Marks and Spencers. It's advertised as evoking the feeling of a cosy night in by the fire, a different take than that of her other fragrances. It's light, floral yet elegant and classic, something that can always be found in Huntington-Whiteley's releases.

Centered around the classic Rose Centifolia scent that can be found in all of her fragrances, Rose Gold also mixes notes of bergamot, vanilla, freesia and musk. It's light yet spicy and can be smelt on both the skin and clothes for hours after you've applied it. It's not ridiculously heady or overpowering and can be worn during both day and night. It's feminine, classic, elegant and even a little sexy, something every product in the Rosie For Autograph range makes you feel. It's one of my favourite things about the collaboration as a whole as well as the fact that everything she has released has never failed or disappointed me in the slightest.

As you saw in my October Favourites I haven't been able to get enough of this product. I really need to slow down or this is going to be empty quicker than I'd like it to be. It's perfect for during the day but can also be worn during the evening, it's warm amber notes giving it that little spice which takes it from day to night. I like layering it alongside her other fragrances, especially her Nuit EDP.as it's deeper musk notes really accentuates the spicier notes in Rose Gold. And it really lasts, I sprayed this on a jumper and could still smell it on their the next day when I went to put in the wash. If you get a chance to give this a smell then I really suggest you do, you may find yourself buying it before you realise what you're doing.