carrot cake muffins

Muffins are one of my favourite things to make and when combined with carrot cake, make a wonderful treat. This recipe creates light, moist and irresistible muffins that you simply have to try!

ingredients (makes nine muffins):

for the muffins:

• 1 large carrot
• 150g of self-raising flour
• 150g of caster sugar
• 135ml of sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

for the frosting:

• 100g of cream cheese
• 100g of butter
• 10ml of orange juice
• Icing sugar

method:

1. Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/gas mark 5.
2. Place the paper cases into the tin.
3. Peel the carrot and grate finely.
4. Put oil and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute.
5. Add the eggs to the mixture little at a time, mixing well.
6. Stir in the carrot.
7. Pour the flour and spices into the mixture.
8. Gently fold.
9. Place mixture into cases.
10. Bake for around fifteen minutes.
11. Once cool, mix the frosting ingredients and pipe.

raspberry and almond muffins

I don’t know about you, but this weather is definitely making me feel like summer is on its way. Summer is the perfect time to do some baking and take advantage of all the wonderful seasonal fruit. Raspberries are one of my favourites especially because of how versatile they are. When baked, the raspberries ooze out of the muffins, creating a gorgeous texture inside.

ingredients:

• 250g of raspberries
• 200g of self-raising flour
• 200ml of milk
• 125ml of oil
• 100g of ground almonds
• 100g of golden caster sugar
• 75g of flaked almonds
• Three eggs

method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Line the muffin tin with twelve paper cases.
3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with the oil and milk.
4. Without the raspberries or almonds, add the dry ingredients into a separate bowl.
5. Mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together. Make sure not to overmix as the batter should be lumpy.
6. Stir in the raspberries.
7. Divide the batter between the paper cases and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.
8. Bake in the oven for twenty to twenty-five minutes or until golden brown.

[this recipe was inspired by the one on great british chefs. click here for the original recipe!]

a hectic weekend in my life

A few weeks ago, I was super busy over the weekend so what better to document it than to write a blog post?!

+ saturday

In the morning, I volunteered at one of the museums in my local area. I’ve been volunteering there since August and it’s been super interesting in gaining knowledge and expertise in the world of work. Two people from Aardman and Studio Canel were visiting to promote the new Shaun the Sheep film and the museum was extremely busy with families enjoying the free activities.

After lunch, I went home and tried to finish some homework that I needed to do.

In the evening, we went to Oxford to go to a concert! We were seeing The Divine Comedy with support from Man and the Echo. Both were amazing and it was so much fun.

+ sunday

Sunday was just full of work! My to-do list seemed endless but I kept pushing through.

From the museum, I managed to get two modeling kits which was quite exciting. However, they were more difficult than we thought and we only managed to make Shaun.

My twin brother and I also played Mario Kart on the Wii as we’ve both been loving the new Mario Kart Tour app.

lil’ life update

March was such a busy month: from school to days out to seeing friends, I’ve had such an amazing month. I feel so much happier being actively around friends and family and spending time with them makes my heart fill with joy.

+ upcoming trips

I’m so excited for the latter part of this year because in July I’m going to Paris, in August I’m going to New York and in October I’m going to China. I am so incredibly grateful to be in a situation where I can travel to different countries and cannot wait to document my experiences.

+ visits to london

I went to London three times, one for my twin brother’s audition for a theatre company, one to see Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre and one to see Shipwreck at the Almedia. London is one of my favourite cities to visit and there’s always something new to do!

+ birthdays and mother’s day

I celebrated two of my friends’ birthday at the start and the end of this month. The first I decided to surprise her with a cake and the other we went out for deserts which was so much fun! It was Mother’s Day as well so me and my twin brother decided to gift our mum to flowers and chocolate.

+ only the poets concert

I went to my first ever concert! I had such an amazing time and it was so cool seeing bands perform live.

+ school concert

My school had a spring concert which I always take part in. I’m in the school wind band but I also led a clarinet duet, took part in the jazz band and a clarinet quartet. I love playing the clarinet and have so many wonderful musical friends!

+ school work and exams

I was super busy with school work and exams this month. The pressure is definitely building even though I don’t have my GCSEs this year. I got a little overwhelmed with the number of exams but I’m really pleased with all my results.

+ skincare

My skin’s been worse than usual recently and I have no clue why. It’s starting to clear up but it does not help I have a really bad habit of picking my skin!

+ art journal

I’ve got back into using my art journal and I’m super excited about sharing some of the stuff I’ve been creating.

guide to going vegan/vegetarian

For the past few years, I’ve been a flexitarian, eating fish as well. However, one of my new year’s resolutions was to go fully vegetarian and here are my tips if you wanted to go either vegetarian or vegan!

+ meat-free meals

Now, this is such an obvious one, but what I’m saying is have designated times of the week where your meals can’t have meat in. I know a popular idea is to do “meat-free Mondays” but remember it does not have to be Monday!

+ discover alternatives

The world of alternatives! I personally don’t eat quorn, but it’s a great incentive to get started. Lentils, tofu, mushrooms and jackfruit are great swaps instead of meat.

+ make easy swaps

There are such easy swaps you can do without going out of your way to do so! For example, instead of having cow’s milk on my cereal, I have soya milk. Making these easy swaps means you do not have to necessarily change products or brands.

+ don’t stop eating certain foods

Just because you’re vegan or vegetarian, it doesn’t mean you have to stop eating certain foods or stop going to certain restaurants or cafes. The world of eating out is developing to include more vegetarian and vegan options. And if there isn’t one, just ask!

+ be open minded

If you’ve been eating meat all your life, it is not going to be a walk in the park going fully vegetarian or vegan. Remember to take little steps and develop your diet slowly.