Great British Bake Off Week 10 | Nutella Cookies

I was unsure what to bake this week, so I thought I'd go for something including Nutella. I'd never tried it until now, so I thought the right time to try it was in a cookie. I found this recipe here, the photos in the post look incredible! I'm so sad that Bake Off as we know it is over now, but I've enjoyed watching it and baking every week.
You will need: 220g Unsalted Butter, Softened 165g Soft Brown Sugar 220g Golden Caster Sugar 2 Large Eggs, Beaten 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 525g Plain Flour, Sifted 1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda 285g Chocolate Chips 1 Jar of Nutella, Refrigerated (You'll use about half)
1. Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/350F. 2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 3. Add the egg mixture in two halves until fully incorporated. 4. Mix in the vanilla. 5. Stir in the flour and bicarb until gently combined. 6. Stir in the chocolate chips. 7. Spoon out the dough into balls. Flatten each one in the palm of your hand and place a teaspoon of Nutella in the middle. Fold the edges of the cookie dough around the Nutella and pinch it together to seal it. Roll it gently between the palm of your hands to form doughballs. 8. Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden around the edges. Leave to firm up on the baking tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Eat these cold or enjoy them hot. 
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Great British Bake Off Week 9 | Chocolate Macarons

On Bake Off this week, it was Patisserie week so I decided to make macarons. I've never made (or eaten) them before, so I hope they look okay and taste good! I went for chocolate ones before I try out those pretty pastel ones. I found the recipe for them here.
You will need: 125g Icing Sugar 1 tbsp Cocoa 100g Ground Almonds 2 Medium Egg Whites 50g Milk/Dark Chocolate, Chopped 2 tsp Skimmed Milk, Warmed a little
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/160C Fan. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, then stir in the ground almonds. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then fold them into the dry ingredients. 2. Fill an icing bag fitted with a plain nozzle with the mixture. Pipe 24 small blobs, about 3cm across onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each. Smooth the surface with a wet finger and then leave for 15 minutes to dry out. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the macarons feel firm to the touch and peel easily off the paper. Cool on the paper, then peel off. 3. To make the filling, put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt. Stir in the warm milk until smooth. Leave to cool and thicken a little, then use to sandwich the macarons together.
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Great British Bake Off Week 8 | Apple Crumble Cupcakes

This week on the Bake Off it was Tudor week. I didn't think anyone would really fancy eating anything they made on there and I'd read the Tudors liked the eat a lot of spice and fruit, so I went for these autumnal Apple Crumble cupcakes that Zoe made in one of her recent videos, which looks perfectly autumnal! The blog post for them is also here. They look really good so I thought they would be enjoyed!
You will need: 2 Eggs
230g Plain Flour
155g Sugar
125g Unsalted Butter at Room Temperature
2 tsps Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Salt
Apples
75g Golden Caster Sugar
100g Salted Chilled Butter
140g Self-Raising Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Vanilla Extract
110g Soft Brown Sugar
250g Unsalted Butter at Room Temperature
400g Icing Sugar
2 tspb Whole Milk
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3/170C. 2. Peel the apples, core them and chop them into little squares. Put into a large saucepan, cover them in water and simmer for 5-7 until softer. Leave them to cool. I used three Golden Delicious apples, but I found I didn't need all of the squares. 3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 4. Add the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. 5. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and mix until combined. 6. Add the apple (as much as you need) to the mixture and stir in with a wooden spoon. 7. Put cupcake cases in a bun tin and fill. Bake them in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and they are lightly golden. 8. Put the flour, cinnamon, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl. Use your hands to make a breadcrumb consistency. 9. Pour in sugar and mix in with a spoon. Pop on a baking tray lined with paper and put in the oven for 5-10 minutes until light golden. 10. Beat the butter and brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla together for 5-7 minutes, until light and fluffy. 11. Add icing sugar to the butter mixture a little at a time. Add milk until the buttercream has reached the right consistency. 12. Put a small amount of buttercream on top, then add some crumble. Pipe the buttercream on top with a star nozzle. 
Have you tried making these?
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Great British Bake Off Week 7 | Chocolate Éclairs

This week on Bake Off it was Dessert week. I wasn't keen on making any of the bakes from this week and it was suggested at work that I make éclairs, so that's what I did! I've never made them before, so it was a bit of a challenge but I think they worked out quite well.
You Will Need: 65g Plain Flour, Sifted Pinch of Salt 50g Diced Unsalted Butter, Extra for Greasing 2 Free-Range Eggs, Beaten
200ml Whipping Cream 5 tsp Icing Sugar, Sifted 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
100g Chopped Milk Chocolate
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200C/400F. Generously grease a baking tray with butter. 2. Sift the flour onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. 3. Put 120ml of water into a medium-sized pan with the salt and butter and heat gently until the butter has completely melted - don't let the water boil and begin to evaporate. Quickly bring the mixture to the boil and tip in all the flour in one go. Remove the pan from the heat and beat furiously with a wooden spoon - don't worry, the mixture will look messy at first but will soon come together to make a smooth heavy dough. 4. Put the pan back on a low heat and beat the dough for about a minute to slightly cook the dough - it should come away from the side of the pan to make a smooth, glossy ball. Tip the dough into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool until tepid.  5. Beat the eggs in a bowl until combined, then gradually beat them into the dough with an electric whisk or mixer or wooden spoon, beating well after each addition. (You may not need all the egg.) The dough should be very shiny and paste-like, and fall from a spoon when lightly shaken. 6. Spoon the pastry into a piping bag fitted with a 1.25cm plain nozzle and pipe 12 10cm/4" lengths onto the greased baking tray. 7. Sprinkle the tray, not the pastry, with a few drops of water, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Then, without opening the door, reduce the oven temperature to Gas Mark 3/170C/325F and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. 8. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully make a small hole in the side of each éclair to allow steam to escape. Return to the oven and bake for a further five minutes, or until the pastry is completely crisp. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. 9. For the filling, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl until just stiff. 10. Once the éclairs have cooled, cut down the length of one side of each éclair and pipe in the whipped cream. 11. Melt the chocolate and allow it to cool slightly. Dip the tops of the éclairs in the chocolate and let the chocolate set before serving. Have you ever made éclairs?
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Great British Bake Off Week 6 | St. Clements Butterfly Cakes

This week on the Bake Off was Botanical Week, which included flowers, citrus fruits and herbs. I decided to make these St. Clements cupcakes as I haven't made cupcakes for ages and also everyone seems to love a citrus flavoured cake. I found the recipe for the cupcakes here.

You will need:

55g Unsalted Butter, Softened

175g Golden Caster Sugar

2 Large Free-Range Eggs, Beaten

200g Self-Raising Flour

Grated Zest from 1 Orange

Grated Zest from 1 Lemon

150ml Whole Milk

100g Unsalted Butter, Softened

100g Golden Icing Sugar

Grated Zest from 1/2 an Orange

Grated Zest from 1/2 a Lemon

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180c. Line a cupcake tin with 12 baking cases.

2. Beat the softened butter and caster sugar together with an electric whisk or a wooden spoon, until well combined.

3. Whilst still beating, gradually pour in the beaten egg until thoroughly mixed. Gently fold in the flour, orange and lemon zest until just combined.

4. Stir in the milk. Spoon the mixture into the cases, and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes or until golden and risen. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack.

5. For the buttercream, beat together the butter, golden icing sugar and zest of the orange and lemon using an electric whisk until smooth and creamy. For a smoother buttercream, you can replace the zest with a few drops of lemon and orange extract.

6. When the cakes are completely cool, use a small knife to carefully slice little rounds from the top of each cake, then slice the removed sponge in half. Spoon a little of the buttercream on top of the cake and place the halved rounds on top in a butterfly winged position.

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Great British Bake Off Week 5 | Lemon Meringue Pie

On Bake Off this week, it was pastry week. I will admit I cheated a bit on this bake - I made it before GBBO aired Wednesday night and I didn't make my own pastry. In my defence, I normally bake on a Thursday evening but this week I went to see McFly instead. I also therefore didn't realise that they're actually making Lemon Meringue Pie on Bake Off next week! It didn't go amazingly though, my pastry shrunk and didn't taste great, so I'd definitely recommend you making your own.
You will need: A Jus-Rol Pastry Block 5 Eggs, Separate 3 of the Eggs 300g Caster Sugar (Split in half) 3 Lemons, Juice and Rind 125g Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200. 2. Roll out pastry block and use to line flan tin. Cover with baking paper and baking beans and bake for 10-15 minutes. 3. Beat together the 3 egg yolks with the 2 whole eggs, 150g caster sugar, lemon juice and rind. Place in pan and heat gently stirring continuously. When warm but not boiled, gradually add the butter, stirring throughout. Allow the mixture to just start to thicken then remove from the heat. 4. Once the pastry is baked, remove from the oven and pour the lemon mixture into the case. Reduce the oven temperature to Gas Mark 5/190 and return to the oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. (When you shake the tin, the filling will be a little wobbly but will set up on cooling). 5. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy, then gradually whisk in the remaining caster sugar a little at a time, until it is all incorporated and the egg whites are glossy and stiff. 6. Place tablespoonfuls of the meringue on top of the lemon filling - starting at the outer edge and working inwards until all of the filling is covered. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the meringue is golden brown and crisp. 7. Serve warm or cold.
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Great British Bake Off Week 4 | Churros

This week on the Great British Bake Off, they made Yorkshire puddings, lace pancakes and churros. The churros appealed to me the most this week, as I've never actually tried them due to all the street vendors covering them in cinnamon sugar. It's always risky making something you've never made before and as you can see my churros are not 'uniform' in the slightest and actually some were raw in the middle (which unfortunately I found out by biting into one). I didn't make the chocolate dipping sauce in the recipe or add the cinnamon to the sugar, I just melted a bar of Dairy Milk to dip them in haha. You can find the recipe here.

You will need: 50g Butter, Melted 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 250g Plain Flour 1 tsp Baking Powder About 1 litre Sunflower Oil A few chunks of bread
200g bar of Dark Chocolate 100ml Double Cream 100ml Whole Milk 3 tbsp Golden Syrup 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
100g Caster Sugar 2 tsp Cinnamon
1. Boil the kettle, then measure 350ml boiling water into a jug and add the melted butter and vanilla extract. Sift the flour and baking powder into a big mixing bowl with a big pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the contents of the jug and very quickly beat into the flour with a wooden spoon until lump-free. Rest for 10-15 mins while you make the sauce. 2. Put all the sauce ingredients into a pan and gently melt together, stirring occasionally until you have a smooth shiny sauce. Keep warm on a low heat. 3. Fill a large deep saucepan one-third full of oil. Heat until a cube of bread browns in 45 seconds – 1 min. Cover a tray with kitchen paper and mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together. 4. Fit a star nozzle to a piping bag, 1.5-2cm wide is a good size. Fill with the rested dough, then pipe 2-3 strips directly into the pan, snipping off each dough strip with a pair of kitchen scissors. Fry until golden brown and crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the kitchen paper-lined tray. Carry on cooking the rest of the dough in batches, sprinkling the cooked churros with some cinnamon sugar as you go. Once you’ve cooked all the churros, toss with any remaining cinnamon sugar and serve with the chocolate sauce, for dipping.
Do you like Churros? Have you ever tried to make them?
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Great British Bake Off Week 3 | Bloomer Loaf

This week on the Great British Bake Off they made different types of bread and I decided to stick to a simple bread for my post, as I didn't really have much time to go and get loads of fancy ingredients. I used the one and only Paul Hollywood's recipe, which you can find here. It's safe to say it didn't turn out looking how I wanted it to - I had a few issues with the proving and it burnt slightly even though I baked it for the right amount of time.
You will need: 500g Strong White Flour, plus extra for kneading 10g Salt 1 x 7g Sachet of Instant Yeast 320ml Cold Water 40ml Olive Oil, plus extra for kneading
1. Place the dry ingredients in a bowl, taking care not to have the salt and yeast touching. Add the oil and 240ml of the cold water. 2. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together. Gradually add the remaining water (you may not need it all), until all the flour leaves the side of the bowl and you have a soft, rough dough. 3. Pour a little oil onto a clean work surface. Sit the dough on the oil and begin to knead. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and silky. Once the correct consistency is achieved, place the dough into a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place until tripled in size. 4. Once risen, place the dough onto a floured surface. Knock the dough back by folding it in on itself repeatedly. Do this until all the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth. 5. To shape into the bloomer, flatten the dough into a rectangle. With the long side facing you, fold each end into the middle then roll like a swiss roll so that you have a smooth top with a seam along the base. Very gently roll with the heel of your hands. 6. Place on a tray lined with parchment paper, cover and leave to prove for 1-2 hours at room temperature or until doubled in size. 7. Lightly spray with water and dust with a little flour. Make four diagonal slashes using a sharp knife across the top. 8. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7/220/425 and place a baking tray filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven - this will create steam when the loaf is baking. Place the loaf on the middle shelf and bake for 25 minutes. After this time, lower the heat to Gas Mark 6/200/400 and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
What is your favourite type of bread?
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Great British Bake Off Week 2 | Viennese Whirls

My second GBBO bake of the year is Viennese Whirls. I chose to make these because I've never made them before and I quite like a challenge. This time I didn't have a family recipe to follow, so I am making them from a BBC Good Food recipe, you can find the original here. This is a few days late as I wasn't at home last week to make them.
You will need: 200g Slightly Salted Butter, Very Soft (I used Lurpak) 50g Icing Sugar 2 tsp Vanilla Extract 200g Plain Flour 2 tsp Cornflour 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
100g Softened Butter 170g Icing Sugar 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 50g Raspberry or Strawberry Jam
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/160C fan and line two baking trays with baking paper.  2. Put the butter and icing sugar into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk for approx. 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again until completely combined. 3. Sift in the flour, cornflour and baking powder. Fold into the mixture until combined, the dough should have a tacky consistency. Spoon the dough into a piping bag, fitted with a large star-shaped nozzle. If all the mixture doesn't fit, do it in two batches. 4. Pipe swirly circles 5cm in diameter onto 2 baking sheets. Make sure there are 3cm spaces between each circle. 5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, swapping the two trays over halfway through the cooking time so the biscuits are evenly baked. When done they will be pale golden and cooked through. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. 6. While the biscuits are cooling, make the filling. Put the softened butter in a large mixing bowl and add the icing sugar. Stir together with a wooden spoon at first and then with an electric whisk to get the buttercream fluffy and smooth. Add the vanilla extract and beat once more to combine. Put the buttercream in a piping bag and snip off the end. 7. Put the biscuits flat side facing up. Pipe buttercream onto half of the biscuits and spread jam on the other half. Sandwich the jam biscuits with the buttercream biscuits and there you have your Viennese Whirls!
Have you ever made Viennese Whirls? Tweet me if you make these!
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Great British Bake Off Week 1 | Lemon Drizzle Cake

As everyone in the UK and probably now the world is well aware, the Great British Bake Off returned to our screens on Wednesday night for it's seventh series. Last year, although I didn't document it on here, I made something every week from the series and this year is no different. The first week was Cake Week and the first bake was a Drizzle Cake. I decided to make my Grandad's recipe for a Lemon Drizzle Cake given to me by my Mom. 
You will need: 4oz/113g Soft Margarine 6oz/170g Self-Raising Flour 1 tsp Baking Powder 6oz/170g Caster Sugar 2 Eggs 4 tbsp Milk Zest of 1 Lemon
Lemon Juice of 1 Lemon 4oz/113g Caster Sugar Extra Caster Sugar for sprinkling on top
1. Mix the margarine, flour, baking powder, caster sugar, eggs, milk and lemon zest together well, until completely combined. 2. Put the mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin in the middle of the oven, on Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes. 3. When you have taken the cake out of the oven, melt together the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. 4. Poke holes into the cake with a skewer and pour the syrup into the cake whilst it is still hot. 5. Sprinkle some sugar on top to finish.
I hope you enjoy this cake! Please tweet me if you make it. 
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Cocoa Brown Instant Tan Bronzing Gels

The lovely people at Cocoa Brown sent me over some goodies before Christmas and now I've finally got around to trying them I thought I'd let you know what I think. Cocoa Brown is an amazing budget tanning brand, all of their tans are under £10 yet they are the same or even better quality than tans that cost £20/30! I have tried out a few different products by Cocoa Brown and they are one of my favourite tanning brands.
These Instant Tan Bronzing gels are perfect for last minute tanning and also in winter when you don't want to have to keep tanning. Let's face it, it's too cold to stand naked in your bathroom tanning every week in the winter! The velvety mitt makes the application of the tan easy and as someone with an unusual name, it's great to finally have something with my name on it! It's streak free and applies so easily, it also washes off quite easily when you exfoliate it off.
The shimmery tan is great for parties, especially for the festive season and the matte tan is great for all year round. I will definitely be coming back to these all year round for when I'm too lazy to sleep in my tan or wait for tan to develop.
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Lavish Alice AW2014 Wishlist

Floral Print Structured Playsuit - Platform Sandals - Stone Detailed Ring - Winged Clutch Bag - Tiger Earrings - Box Clutch - Sleeveless Mini Dress - Suede Court Heels When I heard about the Lavish Alice Style Off competition, I immediately headed back over to their website to make a wishlist out of what I'd seen on there that had my eye on. My favourite thing in this wishlist is hands down the Red Sleeveless Mini Dress, I love red clothing and the dress style looks absolutely beautiful. I think the items I've put on the left of my wishlist would be a lovely smart casual daytime outfit, whilst the items on the right would make the perfect evening outfit. The winged clutch bag and tiger studs would go perfectly with the red dress, whilst the box clutch and stone detailed ring would look lovely with the floral print playsuit.  Fancy giving it a go too? You can enter from the 1st October! Here's how:

Step 1: Create a wish list blog post with at least three Lavish Alice products, use the Style Off competition image displayed here to illustrate your post

Step 2: Email your submission to press@lavishalice.com by 17th October

Step 3: Share to Twitter and Instagram using #LASTYLEOFF

Step 4: LAHQ will pick their favourite 5 wish lists and send them a mystery item to style

Step 5: The 5 finalists will publish their blogpost with the mystery item

Step 6: LAHQ will pick the winning entry who will receive a £100 voucher and two runners up with receive a £25 voucher

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