To make these chocolate cupcakes I use my favourite chocolate cake recipe found here and divide mixture into muffin cases. I usually get 12 large ones and around 20 mini ones from this recipe. Reduce baking time to approx 15 minutes at 180 degrees (fan oven) Once baked place them on cooling tray and make ganache. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate buttercream icing so I make a simple ganache with just two ingredients. I also don’t go by…
When Kitchenaid sent me out one of their Kitchenaid Mini mixers in the most gorgeous shade of pink I was beyond thrilled as I love to bake and had borrowed my daughter’s Kitchenaid mixer a few times and was so impressed with it. I particularly loved it for making cupcakes, sponges, cheesecakes and French macarons which are all in the recipe section of my blog. The Kitchenaid Mini is fabulous as it is 25% lighter and 20% smaller but with…
Mindy Brownes is an Irish based Interiors company based in the heart of the Lake District in Co. Westmeath, Ireland. Their interiors collection consists of occasional furniture, lighting, mirrors, clocks, accessories and tableware. Inspiration comes not only from current interior trends studied across the globe but by having far-reaching experience in designing, manufacturing and retailing. I was first introduced to Mindy Brownes Interiors around ten years ago when I worked in a lovely little interiors shop doing window displays…
I’m a huge fan of Cable & Cotton lights and they were top of my Christmas wish list last year so I was delighted to receive a set of them in my favourite pastel pink & blue colours from my daughter. Here’s a couple of pics of them featuring in my living room last Christmas & New Year. After the festive season I kept them on my mantelpiece for a few months as these lights are definitely not just for…
Now everyone knows how much I love Laura Ashley as a brand and I’m also partial to a luxury hotel mini break so when I got the chance to go and stay in the beautiful Laura Ashley hotel The Belsfield I quite literally jumped at it! My husband had a week off work when the hotel had availability so we booked flights to Liverpool from Belfast and hired a car to drive to the gorgeous Lake District. The Belsfield is…
Scottish Tablet has a long history, first noted in The Household Book of Lady Grisell Baillie in the early 18th century. It’s a very sweet & sugary melt in the mouth type of sweet treat and is often served in Scotland after a meal with the tea & coffee. I made a huge batch of it the day before my daughter Rebecca’s wedding to be served after the meal and it was a huge hit with all the guests. Growing…
I’ve painted many items of furniture over the years and used lots of different types of paint. Originally when I started painting furniture I always used satinwood paint and then I went through a stage of using chalk paint for everything but found it seemed to mark easily on pieces of furniture that were being handled a lot. I prefer using it for smaller projects like mirrors and frames but mainly use satinwood for larger pieces of furniture. In saying…
Powerscourt Hotel is situated in the truly stunning Powerscourt Estate in Co Wicklow with the Sugar Loaf mountain providing a spectacular backdrop to this beautiful and imposing building. Everything about this place is impressive and the minute you step through the front doors into the beautifully opulent foyer you get a sense of luxury and relaxation with the large fireplaces, beautiful floral displays and seating areas with jazz music softly playing in the background. We had previously stayed in one…
I was invited down to the beautiful Harvey Norman store on the Boucher Road in Belfast to meet their lovely PR manager Jenny and have a look round all their collections. I had been previously for a look at their Voyage range of soft furnishings but didn’t have a lot of time to look around on that occasion so this was a real pleasure to spend time with Jenny and meet some other staff members whilst looking at all the…
When Sophie Allport very kindly sent me out a selection of their Rose & Butterfly china and asked me to style up a little afternoon tea party with it I was delighted as this beautiful china is right up my street with its dainty little rose and butterfly designs in my favourite pastel colours of pink and blue. The teacups are a perfect size and I love how the designs feature inside the cup too with a tiny little rosebud…