Recipe: Summer Berries Sandwich Cake

Ingredients 
For The Sponges 
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 200g Stork
- 200g Self Raising Flour
- 4 Eggs
- 3 Tsps Vanilla Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 3 Tsps Vanilla Extract
- A Selection Of Summer Berries (Raspberries, Blackberries, Red Currants, Black Currants, Strawberries)

Method 
1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line two 19cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until they become pale and fluffy.
3- Add each egg and a tablespoon of flour next, beating well in between each one.
4- Fold in the rest of your flour and vanilla extract. Take your time folding the flour through as you don’t want to knock out all of the air you’ve just beat into the mixture. I always add my vanilla extract at this point as well so I don’t have to keep unnecessarily folding or beating the mixture.
5- Spoon your mixture evenly between your two prepared tins and bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
6- Leave to cool in the tins for five minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it’s onto the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour.
8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until fully combined. I’d recommend using a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this part so you don’t end up with cramp halfway through beating the icing sugar in.
9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated.  Make sure you scrape the edges of the bowl as you go so there are no pockets of icing sugar clinging to the sides.
10- Usually I add a splash of milk to get it to that perfect piping consistency but adding the vanilla extract will do exactly the same job, once beaten into the mix, your buttercream should be light, fluffy and ready to pipe onto your now cooled cakes.
11- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fit with a nozzle of your choice and decorate the first layer of your cake however you choose. I piped tiny icing kisses all the way around my cake, leaving just a small space in the centre where I spooned some of my fruit.
12- Place your next layer on top and continue to decorate. I again piped tiny icing kisses all the way around and in my cake, leaving only a small ring in the centre to spoon some more fruit on top. You can easily use the currants to create a pattern or slice the berries in half and place them sporadically around the cake.
13- Then all that’s left to is let the buttercream set and then slice and enjoy anyway you please. I know this is going to go down well with a nice cuppa.

What I Read: June

What a month June has been. I had a week off work, finally got to see my nana and I finally came out of my reading slump. What started off as a quick read to beat the boredom turned into a binge read of five books that have managed to ignite my love of reading once more. 

The book that kicked it all off is one I’ve been meaning to read since I got it last year but wanted to save until Halloween. However I couldn’t resist anymore and picked it up during my week off work. Comprising of thirteen retelling such of Edgar Allan Poe’s work as well as the original tales, this book was creepy, suspenseful and overall amazing. There were a few of the retellings that I would’ve have enjoyed as a full book of their own, that I was sad to reach the end of because I’d become so immersed in them. The original tales I wasn’t too fond but I think a lot of it was due to the fact that I had read the retellings first and then the original tales. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to start another once I’d finished this one. 

After His Hideous Heart, I picked up Wilder Girls, another book that I’d been meaning to read since I brought it at the beginning of the year. Following a school in quarantine whose’s numbers are dwindling, Wilder Girls is a gory, suspenseful tale centred around strong female friendships and what each girl will do in order to survive. I was hooked on what lay in store for the girls as their bodies transformed, friendships were tested and how they'd survive if they survived at all. However I did find the ending to be a tad disappointing. It was a very open ending which could have easily led to a sequel but from what I've read this is a standalone with no sequel in sight yet. The characters changed, their behaviour both fitting for how they were at the beginning but also very unlike them which put me off the ending. Overall though this book was a solid four star read and I can't wait to read Rory Power's next book.

One Of Us Is Next is a book that has been sat on my TBR pile for the last year and a half. I don't know why I hadn't read it by now but I've now happily ticked it off my TBR list. Following a group of four students who are suspected for killing their fellow student during a detention one afternoon, One Of Us Is Lying is a twisted young adult thriller that gives you shock at every turn. Some of the the shocks/secrets were obvious, somewhat overused tropes in YA books but still gave great shock value to the story overall. I absolutely adore the way Karen M. McManus writes, it keeps hooked on each word and you'll find yourself saying just one more chapter even though you should've been asleep hours ago.

And of course after I'd read One Of Us Is Lying I had to pick up the sequel, One Of Us Is Next. Set one year after the end of One Of Ous Is Lying, this picks up around four more students who were only witness to the events of the first book but are now thrown deep into their own darkest secrets and webs of tangled lies. I found it harder to lose myself in this book more than I did the first. I spent a couple of days picking it up and putting down before I found myself finally immersing myself fully into it. I loved how you could see everything slotting slowly into place, how there was more to the reveal than there was in the first book. I'd like to see a third book set in Bayview with the same recurring cast of characters but doubt it's likely to happen.

And the final book I read this month is the surprise favourite of the bunch and of the year. A Throne Of Swans by Katherine and Elizabeth Corr was one I only brought because I needed another book to complete an offer. I dreaded the day it would be the last book left in my eenie meenie mo (how I choose my books) but for some reason last week I decided to bite the bullet and pick it up. And I'm so glad I did. A mix between Game Of Thrones and Swan Princess, this book follows young Princess Aderyn who's suddenly thrust into the role of Protector of her dominion after her father dies. From there she travels to her uncle's court where treachery, treason and more lay waiting to just boil over. And whilst Aderyn is trying to learn the way of the court, she's also fighting to hide her own secret. In a world where nobles can transform into birds, she is flightless and destined to die if she can not transform before her cousin's wedding. I was hooked on this book, I didn't think I'd finish it in time to feature in this post but I just flew through it. It was everything I didn't think I needed in a book this month and I'm so glad to learn that there will be a sequel that's due to be released next year.

Recipe: Lemon And Lime Sandwich Cake

Since I was a kid I’ve always loved the flavours lemon and lime combined. From squash to marmalade I had it all in lemon and lime. And even now as I’ve “grown up” I still love the combination. Last year I shared my recipe for lemon and lime cupcakes which my friend Debs still talks about to this day but I was still on the lookout for adding another lemon and lime recipe to my repertoire. A loaf cake was out straight away as mine have a horrible tendency to sink in the middle and it wouldn’t suit a shortbread or cookie recipe. So I decided to take a classic and give it a slight twist. So today I bring you my Lemon And Lime Sandwich Cake which consists of two light lemon flavoured sponges, sandwiched together and decorated with lime buttercream, with lemon and lime zest sprinkled over top.

Ingredients
For The Sponges
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 200g Self Raising Flour
- 200g Stork
- 4 Eggs
- Zest Of 2 Lemons

For The Buttercream
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- Zest Of 2 Limes
- A Splash Of Milk
- 1Tsp Lime Juice (optional)
- Extra Zest To Decorate (Lemon & Lime)

Method
1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Grease and line two 19cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
2- Into your bowl place the stork and caster sugar. Cream together until pale and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined.
4- Repeat with your remaining eggs, adding a tablespoon of flour after each egg. Beat each time until every thing is incorporated, remembering to scrape the sides of the bowl as well.
5- Fold in the rest of your flour and lemon zest. Slow and steady is the best way at this part. You don’t want to beat the hell out of the mixture as it’ll knock out all the air you’ve already created and you’ll end up with a dense cake that is hard to chew and is more likely to sink when cooling.
6- Split the mixture evenly between your two prepared tins and cook for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tins for five minutes, then gently remove them from the tins and leave to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
7- Now it’s onto the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. A hand mixer or a stand mixer are the best for this as it takes a while and will give you horrific arm ache if you attempt it by hand.
8- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated.
9- Sieve in the remainder of your icing sugar and beat again until combined. Take your time to scrape the sides of your bowl down so there are no pockets of icing sugar or butter sat on the sides.
10- If your buttercream is a little stiff add your splash of milk and lime zest now. Beat until it’s a pipable consistency, adding a little more milk if necessary.
11- Now this next step is optional but I added a little bit of lime juice to my buttercream to give it more of a kick. You don’t have to add it if you don’t want to but it’s a good way of adding a bit of punch if you like that stronger flavour.
12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and decorate however you choose. I used my trusty 2D Nozzle to create this mini flower-esque pattern both to sandwich them together and to decorate the top. It’s a nice way to give the middle, sandwich section a prettier look, especially from the sides.
13- Once you’ve decorated your cake sprinkle over your remaining lemon and lime zest. Leave to one side to set or cut a nice big slice straight away. It smells heavenly, looks divine and tastes scrumptious so it’s guaranteed to be a hit with family, friends and work colleagues.

Recipe: Strawberry Cupcakes

As the weather has taken a warmer turn, I've been craving strawberries more and more. Then I decided to make my nan a surprise cake but then realised that a two layer Victoria Sponge cake would be too much for her to eat on her own. So I turned them into cupcakes and they surprisingly turned out better than I expected. A light vanilla sponge with freeze dried strawberry pieces folded through topped with vanilla buttercream and a sliced fresh strawberry.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 100g Stork
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 30g Freeze Dried Strawberries

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- A splash of milk
- A dozen strawberries sliced in half

Method
1- Pre heat oven to 180c. Line a twelve hole cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Using either a wooden spoon, spatula, hand mixer or stand mixer cream together until it's become soft, pale and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined.
4- Repeat with the second egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl so that nothing is left sat on the sides.
5- Fold in your vanilla extract alongside the remainder of your flour. Take care when folding everything together as you don't want to knock out any of the air that you've already added to the mixture.
6- Spoon into your prepared cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top bounces back when pressed gently. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it's time to start the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. I highly recommend using a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this part as it can take a while for it to reach the right consistency.
8- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until it's fully combined.
9- Sieve in the other half of your icing sugar and beat until combined. Once everything is combined you can add a splash of milk to your buttercream to loosen it slightly so it's at an easier piping consistency.
10- Beat in your vanilla extract and take your time to scrape around the edges and bottom of the bowl so that there are no pockets of butter or icing sugar sitting there.
11- Spoon into a prepared piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and pipe the buttercream onto your now cooled cupcakes. I used my trusty 2D Flower Nozzle that creates the perfect yet effortless swirl but you can use any piping tip you like.
12- When you've applied buttercream to all of your cupcakes, place your sliced strawberry half on top and leave to set. I highly advise putting these into either an airtight container or into the fridge what with having fresh fruit on top and all.
13- Then all that's left is to enjoy them. Mine went down a treat with my nan, family and work colleagues so I can guarantee all your friends and family will love them as well.

Recipe: Malteaser Cupcakes

Malteasers are some of my favourite chocolates and for the longest time I wanted nothing more than to devour a family box to myself. Yet I refrained from doing so and I chose to make easy Malteaser cupcakes that have a delicious malty kick to them. A light malt/chocolate sponge is topped with a malt and chocolate buttercream with Malteasers on top to decorate.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes 
- 100g Light Brown Sugar
- 100g Stork
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 15g Cocoa Powder
- 10g Malt Powder
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tsp Chocolate Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 15g Cocoa Powder
- 10g Malt Powder
- A splash of milk
- 1 Share Box/Bag Of Malteasers

Method 
1- Pre heat your oven to 180c. Line a twelve cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your light brown sugar and stork. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined.
4- Repeat with the other egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl.
5- Fold in your chocolate extract, cocoa powder and malt powder alongside the remainder of your flour. You can use any type of malt powder, I used Ovaltine as that's all I had but you can easily use Horlicks and if you want to add even more chocolate use the chocolate alternative to both of these.  6- Spoon your mixture into your waiting cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it's time to start your buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft.
8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until combined. If you're using a hand mixer to make your buttercream, start on a slow speed so your icing sugar doesn't fly everywhere because it coats everything and doesn't taste as good as it suggests.
9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges and bottom of the bowl so everything is fully incorporated.
10- Beat in your cocoa powder, malt powder and a small splash of milk to help loosen the mixture and take it to the perfect piping consistency.
11- Spoon your prepared buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice and pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. I used my 2D Flower nozzle to create these swirls as it always works wonders with my shaky, still somewhat amateur piping hands.
12- Once all of your cupcakes have been decorated, gently place your malteasers in the centre to create a small cluster. I went for two in the centre so that they didn't roll off or make the cupcake look overloaded but you can put as many malteasers on as you like.
13- Leave to set and then enjoy. I can guarantee these will be a hit with family, friends and work colleagues.

Recipe: Terry’s Chocolate Orange Egg Cupcakes

When I saw that Terry's were doing Chocolate Orange Eggs this year I may have done a dance of joy. Terry's Chocolate Orange is one of my favourite chocolates to eat and to have it now in mini egg form was even better than I expected. Yet it took me up until Easter to actually try one and damn they are tasty so I just had to incorporate them into a recipe. A moist chocolate orange sponge is topped with a light chocolate orange buttercream finished off with a small cluster of eggs in the middle.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes 
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 100g Stork
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 25g Cocoa Powder
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tsp Orange Extract 
- 2 Tsp Chocolate Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsp Orange Extract
- 10g Cocoa Powder 
- A splash of milk
- 1 Bag Of Terry's Chocolate Orange Eggs

Method 
1- Pre heat your oven to 180c. Line a twelve cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined.
4- Repeat with the other egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl.
5- Fold in your chocolate extract, cocoa powder and orange extract alongside the remainder of your flour. I always use two teaspoons of liquid chocolate extract when I make any kind of chocolate sponge. It helps to stop the cocoa powder catching as the cake cooks and gives it a delicious rich flavour whilst helping the cake stay moist even if you do accidentally leave it the oven a couple of minutes longer than you should.
6- Spoon your mixture into your waiting cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it's time to start your buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft.
8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until combined. If you're using a hand mixer to make your buttercream, start on a slow speed so your icing sugar doesn't fly everywhere because it coats everything and doesn't taste as good as it suggests.
9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges and bottom of the bowl so everything is fully incorporated.
10- Beat in your orange extract, cocoa powder and a small splash of milk to help loosen the mixture and take it to the perfect piping consistency.
11- Spoon your prepared buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice and pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. I used my 2D Flower nozzle to create these swirls as it always works wonders with my shaky, still somewhat amateur piping hands.
12- Once all of your cupcakes have been decorated, gently place your Terry's eggs in the centre to create a small cluster. You can use four or even five but I used only three to keep it looking cleaner and simpler but still ridiculously tasty.
13- Leave to set and then enjoy. I can guarantee these will be a hit with family, friends and work colleagues.

Recipe: Jelly Chick Cupcakes

When I said that I had a lot of recipes to post, I wasn't joking. Today I'm back with my third recipe which again I made back during the Easter period. Now these have Jelly Chicks on them but can easily be replaced by standard Jelly Babies. These went down a storm with my work colleagues when I took them in and I'm sure I'm going to be making these a lot more in the future.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes 
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 100g Stork
- 2 Eggs
- 2Tsps Vanilla Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsps Lemon Extract 
- 1 Pack Of Jelly Chicks/ Jelly Babies
- Dr Oetker Orange Gel Food Colouring 

Method
1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line a twelve hold cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale and fluffy using either a spatula or a stand mixer.
3- Add an egg and a tablespoon of flour and beat until combined.
4- Repeat with your second egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined, taking time to scrape the sides of the bowl so everything is fully incorporated.
5- Fold in the rest of your flour and vanilla extract, taking time to add more air into the mixture instead of knocking it out. The air you add in now will help to create a light, fluffy cupcake that almost melts in the mouth.
6- Spoon into your prepared cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed.
7- Once the cupcakes are cooked, leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
8- Now it's time to start on your buttercream. Place your softened butter into a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Your best bet is to use a hand mixer or a stand mixer as this can take a while to do and it's a lot easier on the arms.
9- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined, taking to scrape the edges of the bowl so no clumps of icing sugar are left sat on the side.
10- Sieve the other half of your icing sugar into the mixture and beat again.
11- Now I added a little bit of lemon extract and orange food colouring but you can use any flavouring/colour combination you like. These needed to be beaten into the mixture alongside a splash of milk to take it to that perfect piping consistency.
12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice. I went with a 2D Star Nozzle as it gives me a really nice swirl finish.
13- Once all of your cupcakes are iced, place your Jelly Chicks/Babies on top and leave to set so they don't fall off. Then all that's left is to enjoy them by yourself or shared with family or work colleagues.