Tuesday Vivienne

Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes

2013-10-21T21:13:00.003+01:00

Today is my Nanna's birthday and to celebrate I decided to bake her some cupcakes. I much prefer cooking to baking but I couldn't really give her some spaghetti in place of a birthday cake, so I decided to try and make cupcakes. I decided on vanilla cupcakes with butter cream icing as they suit all tastes and tend to always taste nice regardless of who bakes them. The cupcakes did taste delicious, and everyone at my Nanna's party, and at work today loved my cupcakes.

What you will need

*cupcake cases - these can be paper or silicone (I personally think paper looks cuter but also helps hold the butter cream in place)
*cupcake baking tray (something similar to this will do)
*electric whisk
*wooden spoon
*weighing scales
*cooling rack
*piping bags and nozzles
*various toppings (sprinkles, chocolate curls, edible glitter, popping candy, strawberry crunch)

*110g/4oz butter (softened at room temperature)
*110g/4oz caster sugar
*2 eggs
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you want to make different flavour cupcakes replace this with an extract of something else)
*110g/4oz self-raising flour
*1-2 tablespoons milk

For the buttercream:
*140g/5oz butter (softened at room temperature)
*280G/10oz icing sugar
*1-2 tablespoons milk
*a few drops of food colouring (optional)

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

2. Using an electric whisk cream the butter and sugar together until pale. Add the egg a bit at a time and beat together. Then mix in the vanilla flavouring

3. Fold in the flour a little bit at a time and add as much milk as necessary until it becomes runney enough to spoon into cases

4. Mix with an electric whisk for around 2/3 minutes or until the mixture is completely smooth

5. Put the mixture in cupcakes cases and put them on the tray. Then cover the cupcakes with a piece of tinfoil

6. After 10 minutes of baking, remove the tin foil and bake for a further 10 minutes

7. Once the cupcakes have been in for 15 minutes use a knife to see if they are cooked. You do this by poking the knife into the cupcake, if the blade has crumbs on then it is not cook. NOTE - the cakes will continue to cook outside the oven so do not leave them in the oven until they go hard

8. Leave the cupcakes on the tray to cool for 10 minutes and then place on a cooling rack (a metal oven tray works well for this if you do not have a cooling rack)

For the buttercream

1. For the buttercream icing, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft (with an electric whisk). Add half the icing sugar and beat until smooth

2. Then add the remaining icing sugar with one tablespoon of the milk, adding more milk if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and creamy

3. Add the food colouring until it is the colour you desire

4. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the icing using a spiraling motion onto the cup cakes in a large swirl

5. DECORATE WITH AS MANY AMAZING TOPPINGS AS YOU WANT

The piping of the icing takes a bit of practice, so I would recommend practicing on a plastic tray first and then reusing the icing on your cupcakes. Youtube have a lot of good tutorials.

This recipe is all done using an electric whisk, I assume you can use a manual whisk but the results will not be as good and it is a lot of hard work. You can get an electric whisk for under £6 at Argos which is the one I used.

These cupcakes are not perfect and compared to Lola's cupcakes they look out of control: but they tasted delicious and they are homemade which always makes things more special ❤

This is my favourite one // chocolate pieces and silver glitter

Throwing a line out to sea To see if I can catch a dream.

2013-10-13T21:39:00.005+01:00

Top // New Look

Shorts // Amazon

Shoes // New Look

Watch // DKNY

I have always loved the nautical look and the start of autumn means goodbye pastel colours and hello darker ones. I'm not ready to bring back the monochrome trend just yet and nautical colours are the perfect in between. The striped top is actually a body con dress and I love the secret bow at the back. These shoes are the current love of my life and have mended my broken heart after I missed out of the Jeffrey Campbell Coltranes. I did have on the cutest little anchor earrings but I couldn't work out the focusing and it all got too complicated!

Eclectic Eccentricity's I'LL HAVE A BEE PLEASE, BOB! HONEYCOMB NECKLACE

2013-10-11T22:58:00.000+01:00

The other day I was more than excited to find a little brown package in my letter box. After lusting after this brand for six years I finally own an Eclectic Eccentricity necklace. This brand has been on my wishlist since 2006 but I have never gotten around to buying a piece of jewelry from them. My boyfriend calls me his 'Bee' so when I was this necklace I knew it would be perfect. It really reminds me of autumn with the big amber stone and although it is a statement necklace it is small enough to wear to work. It also has a matching pair of bee earrings which I will have to invest in.

It arrived beautifully packaged in this little brown box, secretly concealed in mint green tissue paper. As soon as I opened it i put it on even though it did not really go with what I was wearing.

My only criticism is that the chain is a little short. I like to have long but adjustable chains so I can wear necklaces under my collar. But considering how much I love the necklace I can forgive this small flaw.

I cannot wait to style this with more autumnal clothes and I am pretty sure this will become my signature piece. I am also currently browsing Eclectic Eccentricity's website to find some more jewelry to add to my collection.

I received this via notonthehightstreet.com but it only has a few Eclectic Eccentricity pieces. For the full range visit their website here.

Birthday Wishlist

2013-09-30T23:00:00.000+01:00

Vivienne West Wood Jasmine Tote Bag, Alexander McQueen skull ring, YSL arty ring, Hendi Bendal narrow hinged enamel bracelet, Elie Saab perfume, Marc Jacobs Honey Perfume, Soap and Glory beauty products, Cath Kidston make up brushes, Ted Baker make up bag.

Of all the things that excite me, my birthday excites me the most. I love that a whole day is dedicated to me, I get to celebrate with all my favourite people and of course I love the presents. Each year I make various birthday wishlist's and distribute them to my friends and family. I tend to do this a couple of months in advance so people have time to find the right gift.

This year my birthday wishlist has a few luxury pieces rather than lots of little presents. However, I went shopping in Bicester over the weekend and accidentally brought the Ted Baker make up bag and the Cath Kidston brushes. Both were my favourite items on my wishlist so I am really happy I got them for less than retail price.

I am really loving statement gold jewellery at the moment and although the YSL Arty ring has been discontinued in store, there are lots floating around to purchase. I love how quirky they are and the huge gemstones in the middle really make them stand out. My fingers are one of my body hates so huge rings make me feel better. I always buy a new bag each couple of months and this Vivienne Westwood tote bag is the perfect accessory Pink is a key AW13 trend and with my birthday being right in the middle of winter it is the perfect present. My boyfriend has brought me a bottle of Elie Saab for my last two birthday's so I hope I will be getting one again. It is my signature scent and I am so sad my bottle is nearly running out. I have also fallen in love with Marc Jacob's new Honey perfume. It smells as gorgeous as it looks and will definitely help brighten up dull winter mornings.

Do you make birthday wishlists? I would love to see some of your own creations.

REVIEW: The Body Shop Honeymania

2013-09-25T22:09:00.000+01:00

I suffer from really dry and really sensitive skin. This has to be the worst combination, it is hard to moisturise when you are allergic to most lotions and creams. Whilst shopping in Covent Garden on Saturday I walked past the Body Shop and was surprised to see a new range of products featuring Honey and knew I had to try the range. I decided the body wash and the body butter.

Body Wash
Pros: It is really really foamy and a small drop is enough to wash my entire body. I actually substituted this for shaving cream and it worked really well. It also made my bathroom smell like honey.

Cons: The smell did not stay on my skin for very long (which I tend to love in a body wash). Also at £4 for 250ml it is quite pricey. However it is very concentrated so you only need a tiny amount.
Result: 8/10

Body Butter
Pros: This smells amazing! It is not as strong as other body butters and instead has a really nice subtle scent. It really made my body super soft and it absorbed quickly into my skin. It is also made for dry skin which was an added bonus.
Cons: Getting body body out of the tub with long nails is quite a hassle. It is also £12 for a 200ml tub which is quite expensive. But like the body wash it is really concentrated and should last you a long time. They also don't have them in the mini tubs, which I quite like to pop in my bag.
Result: 9/10

The one thing I didn't get (because it was sold out) as the Eua De Toilette. This smells really similar to the Marc Jacobs Honey perfume. And although the body is not as nice, it is a fraction of the price. Kim Kardashian has apparently created a Honey scented perfume so it seems like a good fragrance investment.

You can view the whole range of Honeymania here.