Banana and Nutella Swirl Muffins

What better to do on a Sunday, than lounge around in your PJ's and bake numerous amounts of muffins?! Well nothing really...

After a long week at work, sometimes you just need that little distraction of utterly self-indulgent baking.

To whip up 10 little bundles of joy you will need: 

200 grams of self raising flour
2 tsp of Salt 
125 grams of white caster sugar
2 free range lightly Whisked eggs 
Nutella at room temp
A dash of vanilla extract
100g melted butter (i used stork) 
and for the magic ingredient: 3 extremely ripe mashed banana's 

Pre - heat your oven to 200C or 392F. Line your baking tray with muffin cases and set them to one side. (I always grease proof the muffin cases just to make them easier to get out)
Then in a bowl mix your flour, salt, sugar together until even. Then in a separate bowl mix your butter, eggs, banana's and vanilla extract in to one mixture. Once mixed, gently fold into the first bowl until you have a smooth(ish) mixture - allow some bumps and lumps as this will give some texture to the muffins. 
Once all that's done. Start filling up your cases with the mixture until they are about 1/2 - 3/4 full and get a tsp of the nutella and place on the top of each muffin then mix this in to the mixture, with a cocktail stick. 

Once your muffins are ready, place them into the oven for around 20-25 mins. Take out and leave by the window to cool and enjoy them when still warm. 

Black and Blue

Just thought i would share a little temptation for you all of my meal i had last weekend. 

Me and a few friends went to one of my all time favourite restaurants in London, called Black and Blue. We happened to go to the one in Borough Market but they are also located in Nottinghill Gate, Waterloo, Mortimer Street, Wigmore Street and also The Archduke. 

I ordered the beef burger (medium rare) with extra bacon and cheese, with a very needed large glass of white white and it was as always extremely scrummy. 

 

Now, if you feel like being very naughty and cheating on your diet i highly recommend this is the place to go. However, if you just fancy a drink its equally quite a trendy spot for a few cocktails. 

Let me know what you think! 

A little London Hide Away

You know those days where you just feel like being fabulously British? 

I had one of those today....so what better to do than hiding away in a little London bakery, reading the Times and catching up with emails and instagram posts. So i popped over to the Primrose Bakery in Covent Garden for a cupcake (or two) and a seriously good cappuccino. 

If you haven't tried red velvet cupcakes before, you should. They are quite frankly heavenly! 

 

 

This violet one was also equally delish! (Delicious...i really need to stop abbreviating words huh?) 

There are so many yummy flavours to try! I just had to buy the cook book so i could experiment at home. I think i'm going to try baking the earl grey ones, fingers crossed they turn out ok! 

A good tip for all you city girls, if you have a special event or birthday coming up and you don't have enough time to bake a cake then here is your answer. The Primrose Bakery also bake larger cakes and giant cupcakes for you and all of your friends to devour, hope this helps!

This was one from my 18th birthday and it served 10 with left overs!

Well worth a trip. 

'The Don'

There was only one thing i was massively craving this week, a burger. 

So on wednesday mummy and i payed a little visit to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Covent Garden. GBK is great if you want friendly service, laid back atmosphere and great understated food. 

We started with grilled Haloumi Bites served with a kiwi and jalapeno dip, which was simply delicious! 

I then ordered 'The Don' burger and oh my was it good. 

Lots of crispy rocket, bacon aioli, tender beef (i always have mine medium rare), blue cheese, american cheese, onion jam wedged between a fluffy brioche bun. 

This went down very well indeed. 

Doesn't it just look terribly naughty!

We had this with a helpful side of skinny cut chips and Oreo milkshakes. 

This is a great place to go on a lazy London afternoon/evening, if you fancy yourself a seriously good meal and you are in the mood for something yummy & easy going. You even go up and order your own food and pay the bill there and then....hassle free! 

GBK's are dotted around the country, so head down to your nearest one to check out this bad boy of a burger!  

Or even if your in it for the free peanuts....

Pep Talk

Just stumbled across this video on you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o

So cute! Worth a watch....

Honey Asparagus and Poached Eggs

Yesterday lunch time i cooked the most loveliest lunch. 

This is one of my all time favourite things to whip up on a spring afternoon. When i'm lounging around the house, after a trip to the gym or a jog around Hyde Park, i find my self almost craving carbs. Now i love carbs...and that is an understatement i mean i really love carbs. So by adding two slices of toast totally helps make you feel that little bit more human! 

This recipe is quick, easy, sweet, seasonal, healthy and just straight up yummy. I serve mine with a tall frosty glass of elderflower cordial, which slips down a treat!  

To make enough for one person, you'll need:

2 slices of bread (i always have 'Burgens' soya and linseed)

4 spears of asparagus

2 farm house organic eggs

1 tsp of honey

Coconut oil,

Olive oil,

Sea salt flakes,

Pepper,

Butter

Start by melting a dash of olive oil and a tsp of coconut oil in a pan for around 2-3 minutes, then add the asparagus and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Next, lightly drizzle an oozy amount of honey over the asparagus and leave to sizzle and glaze for 7-8 minuets. Then boil up water in a pan until bubbling and crack your eggs into the water and leave for around 4-6 minuets, depending on how gooey you like your poached eggs. Then put the slices of bread in the toaster until glowingly golden brown, take them out and butter. Lift the eggs from the water and place on the toast and add the asparagus and season with black pepper. And hey presto! Its complete! Pretty simple chicka's.

Don't you just love a good poached egg?

Cheers! xx

A New Blog. A New Beginning.

That 'fresh start feeling' always comes around spring time, the birds are starting to chirp, bikini and maxi dress shopping commences, the summer evenings are creeping in and you bravely wear just jeans and a t-shirt outside (even though, lets face it, we all know you really need a coat...or at least a jumper eh?). This year, i have never felt it so much thus i have started a New Blog, for a New Beginning. A place to document my days and share my thoughts. 

Enjoy! Holly x

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Mini Egg Gooey Brownies

Around Easter time every year, i always get the itch to bake up a seriously good batch of brownies! So this year i popped over to my friends house for a bit of seasonal baking, to conjure up some little small squares of gooey goodness. These brownies are exceptionally squidgy and seriously tasty ... so yummy mummy's watch out! 

You will need: 

200g of dark chocolate

175g of unsalted butter

1 tsp of baking powder

50g coco powder 

100ml Milk

70g of splenda (less calories for all you calorie counters!)

120g flour

2 eggs

A tiny weeny pinch of salt

2 bags of mini eggs

Ok, so time to get down to business. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C & grease a small baking tray (or in our case 2...we are greedy like that) put the chocolate, butter and splenda in a pan and slowly melt until you get a velvety texture and pour into a bowl. 

Next, stir the eggs in one by one to the mixture. Then with a bit of TCL sieve bit by bit the flour, coco powder, baking powder & salt into the chocolaty heaven. Also adding the milk when stirring where it gets a bit tough! 

WAIT! Don't forget to measure it ..........

Once all that is done, add in crushed or whole mini eggs.

Now all you have to do is bung it in the baking tray, smooth over and ever so carefully put the soon to be mini egg brownies into the oven (or AGA as we had ... oh aren't we so British!) for around 20 minuets. 

After a good cuppa and natter about the recent events in your work/love life take out the brownies, scatter some more mini eggs on top and leave to cool. As soon as the brownies are cool, slice up and enjoy! 

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter! Love Holly x

The Jo Malone Home Candles

As I’m sure that for all of you who know me, i am really into candles at the moment. Well the most recent ones i have been burning are the Pomegranate Noir candle which i bought for my self and the Nectarine Blossom and Honey Home Candle which i purchased for my mother for christmas. Jo Malone says, that the Home candle’s are meant to ‘suffuse the air with mood-lifting fragrances’ and that they are a touch of luxury for everyday. So these candle’s are perfect for daily use as they totally lift your mood, make you feel happy and smell so amazing! 

The Pomegranate Noir candle (which is burning in my bedroom) has the most lovely rich, fresh and fruity scent, that automatically fills the room as soon as its lit. Even as you take it out of the packaging - which is so pretty - the candle, makes you feel simply uplifted! The candle’s that i have, are the Home Range, therefore they are quite large and last up to 45 hours so they are good value for money however quite expensive (at £38). But compared to other high end candles, they feel slightly more special. 

I have loved, having this candle at home to burn (especially in the evenings) and will defiantly buy another one once it has run out. I think i will try the, Vanilla & Anise as the PN reminds me slightly of christmas. 

Click Here to find where to purchase: http://www.jomalone.co.uk/products/3560/For-The-Home/Home-Candles/index.tmpl