creme egg brownies...

the end of my 47 hour week went with a bang! managed to get out of work a little early but had been persuaded to go out my emma and lauren.
we started the evening at lauren's house and had a few drinks and then ventured into town.

i've got to say weston super mare this easter was a crock of...well...you get the idea.. the company was great but the atmosphere was lacking. i think the severe tiredness may of played a part in it but never mind.

i woke up today feeling refreshed and ready to do something with my day off.

so as promised here is the recipe for the Creme egg brownies i showed you last week.

you will need :

185g unsalted butter 
185g best dark chocolate 
85g plain flour 
40g cocoa powder 
3 large eggs 
275g golden caster sugar
6 Cadbury’s Crème eggs cut in half



start by preheating the oven to 160 and pop the kettle on.

firstly you need to melt your chocolate. there was 2 ways of doing this, one being the microwave and the other being over a pan of water. i went for the over a pan option.

the first time i made these i used green and blacks dark cooking chocolate but sadly i was unable to get it for the second batch as it was sold out so i went for bloc dark chocolate. sadly the packaging doesn't give a weight so i had to top it up to 185g with part of an easter egg.

next cut the butter up into small chunks and throw in with the chocolate.

place the bowl over the pan of hot water being careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. stir occasionally to help the butter melt as i found the chocolate melted almost instantly but the butter took a while longer.

once that is all melted and glossy i always think its required to stick your finger in and "check the temperature"...aka the dip and lick. allow that to cool whilst preparing the next bit.

place the sugar into a mixing bowl and add the 3 eggs. i always find it a good idea to spoon the mixture quickly just to stop the sugar from clumping at the bottom of the bowl.

beat the mixture until its all smooshed together, then continue to beat for 5 minutes or so until the mix has roughly doubled in size.

it should look a litte bit like a pancake mixture or a batter of some sort.

next pour the yummy chocolate into the egg mix and gently fold until its all come together and looks like chocolate soup... (dont laugh...i'd take a chunk of bread to that...)

once thats done place a sieve over the mixture and add the flour and cocoa powder...MORE CHOCOLATE!!!!

gently fold that together, once thats done you should have quite a thick chocolate mix.

to keep my brownies nice and even i used a mini victoria sandwich tin (kindly lent to me by Fran). with baked yummies i always find that keeping everything the same size keeps people happy!
rather than greasing the tin the old fashioned way i used a little cake release spray. its such a quick and easy way to get your baked goods out of the tin without having to spend forever greasing the old fashioned way. 

another tip to keep your brownies or cupcakes the save size is to use an ice cream scoop, it also saves having to mess around with 2 spoons!

once thats done pop them in the oven for 15 minutes, dont worry they go back in for a bit longer later on...

now i know that not everyone will be able to get their hands on creme eggs but lucky for me...i stock piled some! 

unwrap a pack of 6, making sure to remove all the foil and more importantly not to eat any...if you are going to do that buy a second or third box!

chop them in half and then wait for the oven to ding...seriously...dont eat them... 

after 15 minutes remove the brownies from the oven and press the creme egg halves gently into the brownie.
then pop them back into the oven for 5-10 minutes.

they come out looking like a bit of a gooey mess but trust me, they dont taste like it...they are SCRUMMY!

had to add this picture...look...its Ringo!

i decided to plate them up in a glass cake stand with a sheet of crumbled up grease proof paper, to give it that nest feel..

one thing i would like to try next time i make these is to add some roughly chopped nuts to the brownie mix just to give it more texture. 

i hope you enjoy this recipe! thank you to fran for sharing it with me via facebook, sadly i do not know the original creator but if i find out who they are i will add a link and thank them for creating these little pieces of heaven!

on a side note i have added a bloglovin' button and also a follow button for twitter! looking forward to hearing from you!

another trip to london...

came home from work today after a slightly enjoyable day. i say enjoyable..it wasn't enjoyable just different. it was nice to have a bit of backing for a change rather than being shot down for challenging what people are saying.

after such a good day mum and i decided to book a trip to london! when i went last time with emma i enjoyed VIVA so much that i knew mum would love it. so we are going up to london for a night in a hotel to see it. 

im going to try and put us down for a cooking class at jamie olivers once that weekend starts booking, which will be exciting.

one thing i will definitely be doing this time is to create a list of things i want to do whilst up there and plan things a bit better.

mum wants to go to portobello market, which would tie in well with going to recipease as there is one in notting hill...awesome!

lets hope this time i can get the shorts and sunglasses out rather than coats and scarfs..

why does time fly so quickly...

...when you aren't particularly having fun!

this week has flown by even though i have mostly been working. i finished at 6 yesterday and my parents had decided we would have a chinese. usually when this happens i get order happy and get everything, but i was good.

i had a text just before ordering asking what i was doing and if i wanted to go to a friends house for some drinks, after having last weekend in bed due to feeling crap i thought bugger it! lets have some fun.

got to theirs around 8.30 and had some wine...ok...a lot of wine... had a little dance around in the kitchen and then we decided to make a night of it and go into town.

its amazing how good a spur of the moment night can be, i had an amazing time and it was really nice to hang out with people i hadn't seen for ages.

i got home at about 2.30am and went to bed dreading waking up but lucky for me, the chinese seemed to have soaked up most of the wine...score! hang over free!

the one thing i hate about getting up on a sunday after a night of drinking is TV...always programs on about amazing food which really makes me hungry. todays culprit was jamie oliver...dam you jamie!

he's had me looking at tasty food and recipes all day and i even found out that he has cook schools in notting hill and brighton...did not know this! you can find out more here.

think the next time i visit the flat in portsmouth i may have to take a train ride over and get my cook on!

i really fancy trying the mexican street food and the taste of japan classes...literally just dribbled over the keyboard looking at it.


anyway, i need my beauty sleep. its going to be a lonnnnnnng week. doing over time as its easter week and this means working 47 hours... next day off is a week today.... Argghhhhhhhh!

£235

+£100

Total Saving

£335

Stop...cupcake time...

i started typing this post as a moan about how severely let down i feel, but i decided against it as that really is boring to everyone and in the long run more fool them...

so instead i am going to attempt to cheer myself up by talking about something i am passionate about and would really like to take up as more than just a hobbie and occasional money maker.


i have thought about going in to business with it before but have always been put off by the fact that i had heard people say that you need a separate kitchen to do it professionally and a food hygiene thingy from a college or whatever...


but actually thats not strictly true, you can do the food hygiene online to get the certificate required AND you can go through your local council and get them to do a visit to your home to check everything out in your kitchen.


this to me sounds a hell of a lot more appealing now, especially after all the positive comments on here from my previous post.

just going to look into starting off small, perhaps some charity events and small bake sales...maybe farmers markets? see how it all goes and then who knows!

may have to get myself one of these beauties...oh...and maybe Olegs costume!

an eggstreme comic relief...

so last week for comic relief i made some baked goods. this time i went for home made brownies...i call them "eggstreme brownies" for they not only had creme egg on them, they were also extremely tasty!

unfortunately as they were a last minute thing i didn't do a step by step guide but i will add it later in the week when i get a chance to make another batch!

These 12 beauties made just under £20 for comic relief. 

my baking creations..

over the last few months i have been baking more and more, it's becoming a tad addictive. not only do you get the enjoyment of making something but also the satisfaction of stuffing your face afterwards...can't go wrong with that can you really?

it all started back in june 2012 with the queens jubilee. work decided to have a kind of street buffet with all the colleagues one lunch time and people were asked to bring cakes. i had just purchased a magazine with a fruity little number on the front cover which just happened to be jubilee themed.

a lemony sponge with hidden raspberries and blueberries in the center, topped with a lemon buttercream frosting and finished off with more fruit. i really didn't expect the reaction i got from them...

suddenly people were asking me if i made cupcakes and cakes to order and if i did they would be interested in getting some.

my first order was from one of the managers at work, they asked for 36 red velvet cupcakes. at the time that was a MASSIVE task seeing as i had never before baked to order or on that scale. i didn't let nerves get the better of me though, i went for it and they went perfectly. the image about isn't from that batch instead its from valentines day 2013.

my second order was for 12 red velvets and 12 coca cola cupcakes. i had tried the coca cola ones out a few weeks before this order and surprisingly they went down a storm! i really only made them to test the flavours but people still say they are the best i have made.

shortly after those it was time for a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. there was quite a large group of us going on an overnight work trip so i took it upon myself to be the bringer of baked yumminess...i named them Wizarding cupcakes...its a chocolate sponge with a hidden peanut butter center topped with chocolate buttercream frosting and popping candy.

i was then asked to make a 50th birthday cake for a colleagues husband. they had heard by word of mouth that my red velvets were good so ordered a 2 tier cake without even trying it!
making this was more of a challenge as i had never frosted a layered cake before but i was really pleased with the result and she paid £10 more than i asked for so i think she may have liked it too!

you may have seen the cake a friend gave me for my birthday at the beginning of the month...well it was the return gesture of this bad boy. often we take baked goods to work on a wednesday night and have a little bake off. i made this salted caramel cake for her birthday and she returned the favour said cake. this has to be my favourite creation so far, it took a while to make but the finished product was well worth it! it was so big i didn't have a box big enough for it...

Emma then asked me to make her sister's 14th birthday cake. she was having a mad hatters tea party with some of her friends so obviously the theme was alice in wonderland.
this cake is made up of 2 red velvet tiers using topsy turvy pans. its then covered in cream cheese frosting coloured to match the absolem figure which my friend and colleague Fran made. She created all the figures on the cake bar the hat on the top, Emma's mum made that out of clay (something to keep once the cake was demolished).
this was a lot of fun to make even though it required trecking through the snow to deliver it!

i then rediscovered peanut butter after hummingbird released their latest book. these PB+J pinwheel cookies went down a storm, as did the peanut butter cheesecake...but sadly that didn't last long enough for me to get a picture. excuse to make another one? haha

i got to a point where i was baking purely for the enjoyment of it rather than baking for orders, its funny how it goes round in circles. i enjoy a cake every now and then but because of being diabetic i would probably make a batch and eat one to check the flavour and then give the rest away, i prefer the enjoyment of watching people enjoy them...gives a great confidence boost.

so i decided to do a charity bake sale in the staff canteen at work. every year we select a charity and all fund raising done goes to that charity. i made 3 different baked goods to sell. the first being the cherry cupcakes above. Cherry flavoured sponge with a hidden cherry in the center, cherry buttercream frosting and finished with chopped cherries and little hearts.

the second item was a clean version of Rosie's Slutty brownies, aptly named Single lady brownies as the bake sale was near to valentines day. Emma made these, but i'm taking partial credit as i helped stir and also she used my oven... *cough*

the third item i didn't get a picture of until i set it all up at work. cranberry and white chocolate cookies...

that table of goodies quickly sold out and raised a sum of £56.52 for the great western air ambulance.

feel free to comment and ask questions, if i take a while to reply its because i'm clearing up the drool thats all over my keyboard...

bucket list part one...

a bucket list in my eyes is somewhere to write down all the things you want to do before you kick it but its not something i'm going to spend so much time working on that i forget to do them.

i wanted to start with the easier things, places in the UK that i want to visit.

below is a map with just a few of the places i really want to go..

View Bucket list in a larger map


weston-super-mare is my home town so i will start with the things that are closest to me.

1. glastonbury. now dont jump straight to the conclusion that i want to go to the festival as i really dont! i'm sure that i would love it but i really cant think of anything worse than rolling around in mud... id just like to visit the town and its little shops and oddities.
2. stonehenge. this is something i think i have taken for granted over the years..it's a piece of history within driving distance.. i would also love to experience the summer solstice.
3. cornwall. now i know what your thinking, i live in somerset and have never been to cornwall...i know...i know...its always been on my to do list i have just never got round to it.

we then go up to the top of the country and into scotland...

1. edinburgh...now my dad always tells me i need to visit scotland as its in my blood...yet he has never taken me..i find this quite rude...i'd really like to go to the comedy festival one year as i have heard great things about it. maybe this year is the year?
2. kinloch laggan. now this is a strange one..does anyone remember monarch of the glen? well it was recorded here and i seriously loved that program back in the day. what a beautiful place.

exciting morning...

so this morning has been fun...
woke up bright and early feeling human which is nice. log into blogger and see that iv had 6 page views, cant complain seeing as i'm new at this. check the blogs i follow, one of which being 
the londoner. becoming overwhelming jealous of her sunshine adventure, i leave a comment telling her so...

i then went back downstairs and had breakfast along with far to many cups of coffee.

upon returning to my computer i see that i have a new comment on my blog...and its from Rosie! i get a bit over excited at this point and i'm really not sure why!

i revisit her blog and she has replied to my comment saying that she liked my blog and that it was nice to see a boy blogging! i get even more excited...

i then go back onto my blogger dashboard and this is where the excitement goes to its final stage....urination...

my page views for today have gone from 6 (half my usual daily views...) to 96 and counting!

so good morning to you all...please feel free to mooch around, comment and even follow my blog?

also a massive thank you to Rosie for her advice on the word verification setting..i didn't even know it was on!

time to think...

i've been off work poorly since saturday, full of cold, headache, sore throat...you get the idea.

i can already see the change in my mind set since starting this blog. i used to be quite happy sitting at home all day and doing nothing but now i'm so incredibly bored i'm on the verge of tears!


today i've been sat here thinking of all the things i wish i could do instead of the normal routine.
i know i'm doing my bit to change these things by saving money to do the stuff i want to do, but actually thinking about them is seriously depressing.

so what i've decided is this...

whilst saving for my biggest adventure, i'm going to create a bucket list of things i want to do on the cheap whilst waiting..

so keep checking back as its going to be a work in progress and also i would love some input... is there anything you can think of that i should add? it can literally be anything.

or even what is on your list?

let me know in the comment section below!

London part two

finally got round to typing up part two. have been off work poorly today, full of cold and feel like poo but anyway....onwards with the final part of my visit to london last weekend.




so we got up on saturday morning after the fun of the evening before and emma told me to get ready for the day as we were going somewhere...but she couldn't tell me where as it was a surprise.

now i HATE surprises with a passion as i always feel really on edge and my mind starts thinking over time as to what it could be.

we jumped on the tube and i just put my head down and followed her, feeling a bit sick.

eventually we jumped off the tube and made our way up to street level. turns out the surprise was Madame Tussauds.

the knot in my stomach disappeared and we joined the queue to get tickets.

now normally i go crazy for anything remotely gaga related as im a HUGE fan...but im sorry this looks nothing like her!

beyoncé's was slightly better but its still just weird!

next up we came across the marvel experience which included a 4D experience which was AMAZING! anything related to super heroes or marvel makes me very happy!

the hulk ripped a whole in the floor and climbed his way up to spend some time with his friends.

i literally just stood around with my mouth open at this point, everything looked awesome! check out the shield!!!!! THE SHIELD!!!!

oh stark....i didn't like the first 2 iron man films but you ROCKED in the avengers...and iron man 3 looks purely epic...

when i was younger i used to love the spider man cartoon, the first lot of films were ok but i never really liked the actor who played peter.

saying that though, the new film was amazing! Andrew Garfield really became peter parker!

after we finished mooching around in there we popped over to covent garden and grabbed some lunch in Jamies italian. as we waited at the door to be seated Leslie Jordan walked past me...im a MASSIVE will and grace fan and almost passed out...made the weekend! i had the crab risotto with crushed amaretti biscuits...it was lovely!  

that evening we saw viva forever, i never thought in a million years id enjoy it as much as i did. i mean i grew up with the spice girls so i know all the songs and love them but i was worried about the show making it cheesy. IT WAS AMAZING! the songs were performed in a unique way which gave a whole new element. the story was brilliant and funny. the cast we're lively and interacted with the crowd. 

it was actually so good im taking my mum to see it as a mothers day present (purely because i want to go again).

sunday was a hard day, we had to treck around london with our suitcases. we made do though and payed a visit to camden market. check out them donuts!

i made it my mission to go in to selfridges and buy the cheapest thing i could possibly find. i eventually found a keyring notebook for 99p and snapped up my yellow bag.

then i let my wallet talk and spent more money that i intended to on a bluetooth speaker and some stationary for work.

all in all an awesome weekend! need to visit the city more often!