Vegan Banana Muffins

Ingredients - Makes 7 

• Plain Flour- 90g
• Dark Brown Sugar- 65g 
• Cinnamon Powder- 1/2 tsp 
• Baking Powder- 1tsp
• Baking Soda- 1/4tsp 
• Salt- A pinch 
• Ripe Bananas- 2
• Vanilla extract- 1tsp
• Vegetable Oil (coconut oil if you're feeling healthy)- 65ml

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4
2. Line the muffin tin with cupcake cases 
3. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a large bowl
4. Add the dark brown sugar and stir until well combined 
5. Stir the vanilla extract, oil and bananas into the dry ingredients
6. Spoon the mixture into the 7 cupcake cases
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown 
8. Leave to cool and enjoy with a cup of tea or on the go 

Love Charlotte 

xx

DIY Beauty Advent Calendar

From Benefit to M&S, It seems like everywhere you look shops are releasing advent calendars for grown ups. As much as I would love to buy one, they all come with pretty hefty price tags which are quite frankly out of my budget. Instead of giving into shopping desire and buying a calendar, I thought it would be a far safer idea to turn to the internet for DIY inspiration and make my own calendar at a fraction of the price. In addition to being cheap to make, the project was fun and also gave me the flexibility to fill the calendar with things that I will actually use. 

Thank you so much to Michaela from HEYLOOK for providing the template for this calendar. 

For your free template follow this link . 

Here is my version of the calendar with a few tweaks that I felt made the DIY a little easier. 

You Will Need:

• A3 Cork Board (Wilko £2) 
• 12 A4 Sheets of Card
• Super glue 
• Pritt Stick glue 
• Craft knife 
• Ruler 
• Scissors 
• Pencil 
• Cutting board

How to... 

1. Print box templates onto card
2. Draw two additional flaps onto the sides of the lid template (This will help when sealing the boxes later) 
3. Using a craft knife and ruler, lightly score along the template lines to create folds. This step will ensure that your finished boxes have straight and neat edges (Be careful not to cut all the way through the card) 
4. Using scissors, cut along all of the lines shown on the template. Your finished cut-out should look like picture 4.
5. Following the folds you created earlier, apply pritt stick glue to the card to secure the box shape. By the end of this stage your box should look like picture 6.
6. Once all of the boxes are assembled, arrange them onto the A3 cork board. 
7. Use the superglue to stick the boxes onto the board in your chosen layout  
8. Now for the fun part. Fill the boxes with christmas treats such as, chocolates, beauty products or jewellery. 
9. Use superglue, pritt stick or stickers to seal your box lids. (I used superglue to give a neat finish/ to keep myself from opening the boxes early) 
10. Give the calendar away to someone for an early christmas present or alternatively keep it for yourself to enjoy throughout December. 

Happy Christmas

Love Charlotte
xx

Angel Cake Recipe

Beautiful, light and impressive, Angel layer cake finished with deliciously light cream cheese icing. Perfect for any occasion, from a post revision treat or a birthday bash, this cake is sure to be the star of the event.

Equipment you will need:

• Electric whisk 
• Variety of measuring spoons 
• Spatula or wooden spoon 
• Large mixing bowl 
• Sieve 
• 3 Smaller bowls 
• 2 tea spoons
• 3 round 8"inch sponge tins 
• scales (I stole my housemates)
• Palette knife 
• A small bowl or cup

Ingredients you will need:

For the cake 

Softened butter- 170g (Little extra from tin prep)

Caster sugar - 170g

Large happy eggs- 3

Plain flour- 170g

Baking powder- 2 level tsp 

Table salt- 1/4 tsp 

Vanilla pod- 1 (Alternatively  1 tsp vanilla extract) 

Milk- 1 tbsp 

Pink/yellow food colouring gels- enough to make strong colour 

For the icing 

Softened butter- 50g 

Full fat cream cheese- 125g

Icing sugar - 300g 

Cake crumbs

Method 

For the cake

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180oc, gas mark 4 
2. Grease and line the 3 baking tins with butter, flour and grease proof paper rounds
3. In the large bowl, using the electric whisk, cream together the softened butter and sugar until pale and fluffy 
4. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to whisk 
5. Now sift in the flour, baking powder and salt 
6. Fold the mixture with the spatula until combined 
7. In a separate bowl or cup, mix together,  the pulp from the vanilla pods and the milk.
8. Fold this milk mixture into the cake batter
9. Now separate the mixture into 3 small bowls (you should have around 240g in each)
10. Add the food colouring gels to two of the bowls and mix until a strong pink and yellow colour appears 
11. Spoon each of the three batters into separate baking tins 
12. Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until golden 
13. Once cooked, remove the cakes from their tins and leave to cool on a wire rack 
14. Trim each layer so there are no visible discoloured edges and so that they are all level.
15. Keep these offcuts for later use

For the icing 

1. In a large mixing bowl , whisk the cream cheese and the butter together until pale and fluffy 
2. Sift in the icing sugar and whisk for a further 5 minutes.
3. Leave in the fridge for 10 minutes to set up
4. Using the off cuts from earlier, blend these in a food processor to produce colourful sprinkles to be used on the top of the cake. 
5. Now remove the icing from the fridge and begin to ice your cake
6. Start by stacking the layers with a thin coating of icing in between each
7. once stacked, cover the entire cake with a thin (crumb coat) layer and leave to set in the fridge
8. Now set, apply another layer of icing evenly over the entire cake
9. Sprinkle the colourful crumbs over the iced cake to form a ring around the cake.
10. Slice and enjoy 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post on how to make this simple but impressive cake, and hope you give it a go yourself.

Happy Baking

Love Charlotte x

Bath in Fashion 2015

The week 21st-29th March 2015 has seen the 6th Annual "Bath in Fashion", regional fashion week, within which a host of fashion related events have taken place, from fashion shows and felt workshops, to fashionista afternoon teas.  

Managed and funded by the "Bath Business Improvement District" alongside a vast range of local businesses from around the city, the events hope to raise awareness for local retailers and aim to help uphold the city's cultural and fashionable reputation.

Out of the vast variety of events taking place during the week, Katie, Bea (my flatmates) and I (shown in above selfie) decided on going to the Wednesday 7PM Runway fashion show which showcased an array of 2015 spring/summer styles, created out of top garments from 19 different Bath retailers, including Jolly's, Reiss and Instant Vintage. 

The show was styled by top fashion stylist and creative director Rebekah Roy, and produced by the leading event producer John Walford, their collaboration helped to produced a beautiful, fast paced and entertaining show suitable for all ages.
Not only was it an amazing show, it also came at an amazing price of £5 for students and £16 pre student discount; the price not only included the seat tickets, but also came with a free glass of red/white wine and snacks. 

The venue for the show, the 1771 historic and grade I listed Bath Assembly rooms Ballroom, was once at the heart of fashionable Georgian society and similarly for the show acted as a fashionable, elegant and classic backdrop for the catwalk, helping to create a truly special experience.

Below are photos from the show, I hope you enjoy...

Bea, Katie and I thought there to be no better way to finish the wonderful evening than to visit Slug and Lettuce Bar for a few tasty and very girly cocktails. 

We went for a, Cosmopolitan, Woowoo, Mojito and finally a Strawberry Daiquiri all helping us to feel a little bit merry just in time for heading home for easter holidays. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience at Bath in Fashion week, and I hope I have inspired you to explore the regional events that your area has to offer. 

Happy Exploring  

Make sure you stay tuned for more fashion related blogs. 

Love Charlotte 

xx

Kew Gardens In Photographs

For mothers day this year, me, my sister, Nan, and Mum went to London's Kew Gardens for a lovely day trip and a spot of lunch. The botanic gardens are beautiful and tranquil, yet varied with over 30,000 different plants making it one of the worlds most diverse gardens, and therefore a must visit attraction if you're ever in London.

The only downside to our visit was the typical cold and moody Great British weather, I would strongly recommend you wrap up warm if you're planning a visit at this time of year, to ensure that you avoid shivering all day like silly old me. 

To maximise your experience, I would also recommend having a full day at your disposal as there is a lot to see and the admission prices aren't the cheapest (£15.00 per person). 

Apart from wanting to see more and the cold weather, the trip was lovely and was a great way for me and the family to catch up and build some bridges.

Anyway enough from me...apparently a picture can tell a thousand words so here are a few of my favourites from the day... 

 

 

 

Henry Moore- Reclining Mother and Child 1975-76

Happy Post-Mothers day Mum!

Love Charlotte

xx