Recipe: Sticky banana & salted caramel muffins

Good evening! 
As if I don't bake enough as it is, I evolve into an incessant dough-on-her-face monster around Christmas. Possibly because it's too cold to be outside, possibly because I love winter and when I'm happy I cook. 
So, I'm going to show you my latest creation: Sticky banana & salted caramel muffins, with a coconut and peanut glaze. 

Ingredients
90g melted butter (cooled)
270g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
130g demerara sugar
2 tsp salted caramel flavouring/vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas
2 large eggs
135ml milk

For Glaze and icing
2 tablespoons course coconut oil
1 table spoon peanut butter
Desiccated coconut sprinkle for garnish/decoration
Icing Sugar
Salted caramel flavouring

To prepare
So, preheat your oven to 200C and when it's time to put the dough in, lower it to 190C.
Sift the flour, baking powder, the spices and bicarbonate of soda in a big bowl and add the sugar. Stir it all well.
With a fork, beat the eggs with the flavouring, the melted butter and the milk. Mash the bananas really well and add those into the wet ingredients. 
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture. Stir it but don't overdo it or play with the mixture too thoroughly. 

Fill your muffin cases and put them in your baking tray.
Bake for 18-20 minutes at 190C, or until you can tell they are coming away from the sides.
Pull them out and rub the glaze over the tops, and return them into the oven for another 5 minutes.

With water icing, I just mix a certain amount of spoonfuls of icing sugar with cold water until I get the consistency I want. If you have salted caramel add that into the icing mix too, and when the muffins have cooled, brush the icing on the tops. Sprinkle your coconut, put them in the fridge or wait an hour for the icing to set, and you're ready to go!

I got a lot of people trying out the florentines, so please go ahead and try these out too, let me know how you get on and show me your photos!

E x

Festive Recipe: Cherry & Almond Florentines

It is a day in the week, which means it's time to bake food and eat it excessively!
I thought I'd show you a really easy recipe for florentines since we are nearing Christmas, and it's half of this blog's namesake.
The good thing about florentines is that they makeshift easily into what you want them to taste like. I've gone slightly traditional, but you can add pistachios, walnuts, cranberries or any other grown up sounding ingredient that twelve-year-old-you would've scowled at.

Ingredients:
60g butter
60g demerara sugar
60g golden syrup
50g plain flour
200g chocolate

For the flavour:
60g glace cherries
60g almonds

Yeah, I am not joking. The ingredients and measurements are that straightforward. As long as the flavour ingredients equate to 120g, you can include most anything. Flaked almonds are necessary, but you can chop any nuts or currants to go with them. It is also worth noting that dark chocolate tastes best on florentines. They are covered in caramel and unless your sweet tooth is colossal, white and milk chocolate will only cause a seizure. 

Method:
Preheat your oven to 180C and get three baking trays ready. DO NOT do a single thing without having baking paper in your house. 
Measure your sugar, syrup and butter and gently heat them in a pan til melted.
Remove pan from the heat, and add the flour, cherries and almonds. 
Stir until there is barely any caramel at the bottom of the bowl. 
Spoon sixteen teaspoons of the mixture onto your trays and bake them for 10 minutes. 
Once they're out let them harden and cool before putting them on a wire rack.
Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and spread it on the flat side of the florentines. If you're feeling particularly insane, mark out a pattern with a fork. 
Put them in the fridge for an hour to cool.

Try the recipe and let me know how it goes, or better yet, I'm happy to test them for you.

E x

Rainy Days on Instagram: 6 Fashion accounts to follow

Happy November! It is scarf, hat and runny nose weather, FINALLY. Winter is my absolute favourite time of year. On the occasion where I spend a rainy night at home with a cup of something deeply and dangerously caffeinated, one of my favourite new world vices is scouring through Instagram.  I’ve put a list of 6 accounts together for you to look through; there’s a mix of high end and high street international businesses, as well as good old inspiration accounts. Enjoy!

Third_form

A new start up, Third Form was founded by Merryn Kelly in 2014, who previously worked with Australian brands Zimmerman, Lee jeans and Shakuhachi. Third Form clothing is minimal with a distinct urban influence and pointedly high end. Running through the pictures will find you spending insane portions of your income on svelte monochrome dresses and unstructured midi skirts.

Runway96

Arguably, this account/brand is the most “on trend” of the group I have featured. Founded in England, they have curated a collection of designers and fashion houses just for their clientele to be inspired by. From big names Calvin Klein and Bjorn Borg to British born Finders Keepers and Lavish Alice, Runway96 have a wonderfully balanced combination between well established and fresh blooded brands for you to choose from, at fair prices.

DruzyDreams

This company is so cool. Also established in 2014, DruzyDreams specialise in bohemian alternative jewellery, beautiful stones and silver. Based in the UK but shipping worldwide, they are still grounded enough to be massively interested in their customer. Their Hunter’s Moon collection for this season is insanely beautiful. They name each and every piece of jewellery and you feel like a hippy witch wearing one. I have a rainbow moonstone ring on my wish list, check them out.

PhoLondon

Ahhhhh I am so excited about Pho London existing. This brand’s pieces are timeless, minimalistic, simple yet so freaking necessary in your life. As with Runway96, Pho London is a collection of handpicked, corn fed, organic and beautiful few brands, moulded together to sell a Cos and Whistle-like lifestyle to you. Brands such as Blake LDN, Charlie May, and Marina contribute artfully basic wardrobe pieces, while there are brands like Katie Leamon and Matthew N Butler for art and accessories. Pho London’s instagram feed is to blame for my poorness.

As an aside, I thought I’d reserve my final mention for two other favourites. I’ve always had an illogical penchant for bridal wear, couture, and massively elaborate eveningwear I wouldn’t be able to afford even if I sold all of you for parts. Amazing household name Steven Khalil’s account just makes me want to marry and divorce a couple of hundred times, just so I can wear his pieces. Lastly, LovingHauteCouture is pretty self explanatory. That instagram feed is the most inspirational mood board of stunning, embellished evening dresses, wedding dresses, runway dresses... dresses and more dresses. All of that, topped with a few curiously pristine bouquets of roses thrown in for good measure.

Enjoy your rainy nights in, enjoy your wasted time and if my suggestions are successful, enjoy your early onset poverty!

Emily x 

Links:

www.thirdform.au 

www.runway96.com

www.druzydreams.com

www.pholondon.com

www.stevenkhalil.com