What I Want To Make that's "on Pinterest"!

I've had this post saved in my drafts for nearly two months now! And I figured if I am going to start blogging regularly again I may as well start with this baby.

I don't know about you, but I am forever pinning recipes on Pinterest, in the hopes that one day the stars will align and I will actually get around to making them.

I want to begin the new year as I mean to go on and that means making more meals from scratch. That means freshly brought ingredients and since I want to do some saving at the beginning of the year that also means on a budget. Something which I neglected in 2013!

Let's get this show on the road! Oh and admittedly some pins aren't the healthiest of meals/snacks/deserts. But I figured its all about balance...

1. I present to you Nutella Cheesecake.
2.  The Pizzadilla. This is something that I have been wanting to try for ages now. It is just such a good idea, and an easy, quick meal.
3. Gluten-Free and Vegan Coffee Cake, yes please. Anything Coffee and Cake and I am all about it!
4.  Banana Coconut Pecan Protein Baked Doughnuts. If that doesn't sound good, I don't know what does.
5. Time for something savoury and I've got just the thing. A Hearty Curry Lentil Soup 
6. Vegetable Chickpea Stew  This looks like something you could batch cook in the Winter months and be completely content.
7. Cauliflower Pizza 

I have been hearing magical things about cauliflower pizza's in the blogging world and can't wait to experience it for myself.

     8. Over the next few cold months I want to test out some one-pot wonders, and this one is definitely on my list! I'd add in some veggies, whatever was going spare, maybe some red onion and bob's your uncle.

Taco Pasta Bake

     9. 

Who knew Healthy Cauliflower Cheese existed. But it has definitely made my "to make real soon list"!

    10. I thought that I may as well end this off with something sweet, and have you ever heard anything as good as Butterscotch Mascarpone Cream Layer Cake in your life! I have had a love affair with butterscotch all my life, and when I was little every Saturday afternoon my nan would treat me to a butterscotch ice cream...hmmm....oh so good.



And that's it folks. It already feels good to be back :-D

xoThanks for Readingxo

Recipe Testing - Birthday Wishes Edition

This week two of my housemates turn 22, and so we decided to make them cakes to celebrate and test out our baking or in this case non-baking skills. Abby was up first on the 23rd and so this is the cake/desert we decided to make for her.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Get your thickened cream at the ready.

And your Plain Chocolate Biscuits.

Weigh-Out your biccy's.

Our Set-Up.

Melt Your Chocolate (All 400 grams of Plain/Dark Chocolate).

Break-Up your biscuits and toss them in the blender. The smaller you break them up, the easier it is to blend into a crumb base.

Once your Chocolate has completely melted, remove from boiling water to reduce the temperature.

You may have to get messy for this part, and get your hands right in there. Making for a smooth base.

Pour Melted Butter into the blended biscuits and blend it up some more.

I promise you the finished base isn't as gross looking.

Pour mixture into base, and put into fridge for 30 minutes.

(Insert Image of Whisked Cream Here!)

*Sorry there isn't a photo of this part. We didn't have our electric whisk and so we had to take it in turns hand whisking the cream. Nightmare by the way and painful, we now all have one arm bigger than the other!

*Basically, put your cream into a bowl, and the recipe says whisk until soft peaks before you fold the same/similar temp chocolate into the the cream. Honestly we whisked it for over half an hour and it thickened but we didn't get as much air into the mixture as we probably should have. But when you fold the chocolate and the cream together you can get air into it that way.

*Finally once it is properly mixed together pour onto base that you have left to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Put it in the fridge for 3 hours and then go check.

And then light the candles (, and start singing).

Then ask the birthday girl to blow them out, whilst you poorly sing happy birthday at her (NOT -ADVISED).

Oh and pick the wax off!

Cut up a slice, spoon some ice cream out and enjoy...

Ingredients

*400 grams Dark Chocolate.

*600 ml of Thickened Cream.

*179 grams Plain Chocolate Biscuits.

*85 grams of Butter (to melt).

Original Recipe.

I would like to try this recipe once again, but make it lighter and healthier (if that's even possible!). Well you get lighter chocolate mousse's in the store.

Have you got any classic birthday cake recipes you like to whip out and make for people?

xoThanks for Readingxo