How to | Jaffa Cake - Cake!

Hello everyone! I really am BEYOND sorry that I haven't posted in almost a month, everything just gets so hectic. I have been meaning to post again for what feels like forever, but it's hard to get back into a routine when you are out of it, you know? It's like going on holiday, so essentially I just took a blog holiday and now I am back wahey! so lets get on with the post...

Have you ever wondered if you could make a cake that is a giant jaffa-cake? 

(a Jaffa cake is like a biscuit, that has sponge, with orange jelly on tip, and then covered in chocolate)

For the sponge cake:

♡ 100g caster sugar

♡ 100g softened butter

♡ 2 eggs, beaten

♡ 100g self-raising flour

♡ 1 tsp baking powder

♡ 1 tbsp milk

For the jelly:

♡ 135g of Hartleys Orange Jelly

For the topping:

♡ 500g of dark chocolate (or any chocolate of your choice, but dark chocolate would be appropriate as the cake shall be sweet anyway)

Method:

1. Prepare the jelly by following the instructions on the jelly pack, and then leave for the required time (I suggest you make the jelly make about 2 hours in advance or longer, so the jelly is definitely set when it comes to making the cake.)

2. Heat oven to 190C (or fan 170C/gas mark 5 for gas cookers). Afterwards, then butter one 20 cm sandwich tin and line with non-stick baking paper. Then, In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, fluffy batter (the ingredients can go in any particular order)

3. The mixture needs to be transferred into your sandwich tin, and then smooth the surface of the cake mixture with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely, this is very important.

4. Whilst the cake is cooling, melt the chocolate using a water bath (out the chocolate in a glass bowl, and let it float in boiling water) or use a microwave. Also, get the jelly out ready to use.

5. When the cake has completely cooled, placed the jelly on top on the sponge cake, ideally as close to the middle as you can get it. Then, pour the chocolate evenly all over the cake, so that it roughly covers all the sides and the top. If you have some spare chocolate, drizzle some over the top for a little extra detail. 

6. Leave the cake in the fridge until the chocolate has set, and then dig in! ♡

That's the method we used anyway! I really hope this works for you, and if not, then I am extremely sorry!

If you give this a go, please email me photos or tweet them to me, only if you want to! :)

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~Thank you for reading!~

♡

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New Year Resolutions | 2014

I wouldn't feel right starting this post without saying happy new year, so happy new year!

2014 sounds so futuristic...like back in 2009, I would have imagined machines that could record dreams or flying cars by now! c'oh, 2014 is already a disappointment.

But on a serious note, New Years is a time for change. Many people see it as a way to set a target, known as a 'new years resolution'.

With that smooth transition in hand, 'New Years Resolutions' are actually what I'm going to talk about (well.. type about) today. So grab a biscuit, a cup of tea and settle down.

My New Years Resolutions:

My news resolutions are actually really average...

♥ Drink at least two liters a day of water:

It is a well known fact that drinking more water can clear up your skin and can ensure you a healthy glow. Also, drinking two liters of water a day can decrease the frequency of headaches (which I have been getting a lot lately) since the majority of headaches are caused by not drinking enough water. Another little fact is that being dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired, and I could do with not being as tired as often. 

♥Don't eat as much after school:

Over the past 11 years of education, I have got into this rather bad habit of eating A LOT as soon as I walk through the door after school. However, since I really love food this is going to be a hard habit to kick, so I have compromised with myself: if I really need food and I just can't wait until dinner, I am allowed to eat something as long as it's healthy. Baby steps, right?

♥ Exercise more often:

Note how I said 'more often' instead of 'regularly' - I don't want to aim for something I won't achieve haha. The dilemma is that I want to exercise but there are so many better things to do like go on the internet and what not. But I will try my hardest to exercise more often (I bet you I will only exercise like twice this year)

...and that's about it I think?! That's the major goals for this year, and I think I should be able to achieve a least one of them, but who knows!

What are your new year resolutions?

~Thanks for reading~

Fun Fact: Today is my ONE YEAR blog anniversary! I'm not very comminted to anything, so running this blog for one year is a massive achievement for me! Thank you to anyone who reads or follows my blog or does both!! I love you ♥

A Year Review | 2013

First of all,  I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and even if you didn't, I hope you are looking forward to 2014!

My Christmas was eventful to say the least. You see, I live in Southern England where the day before Christmas eve (or Christmas eve eve as I call it) we had an abnormally big storm. I know places like America get massive storms regularly but England is a boring little country, so when a storm comes along, It's one of the most exciting things to happen that month. 

But this storm knocked out all the power on christmas eve, and made a ginormous tree tilt towards my house! With no power and a possibility of death,  me and my family camped out in the living room, whilst playing headbandz (which is a game where someone writes something on a piece of paper and then puts it on your head, and with yes or no answer questions you have to guess what they wrote.) Luckily, we got our power back for christmas and I can say that christmas 2013 was one of the nicest I have ever had. 

I really hope you all had an equally as nice christmas, and that you were all safe x 

Now that's all of the way, can I just say wow - 2013 is almost over! How did that happen?! I swear it was only January like two months ago?

  2014 will be the year I leave school, the year I go to college and I suspect I will be a lot happier in college. But, 2013 wasn't that bad of a year. Obviously, I have had my up's and down's but so many good things have happened this year, and I really hope it has been a good year for all of you too. 

The Great & Wonderful year of 2013:

     ♥ I went to 5 concerts: The Script, The Midnight Beast, Bastille twice, and Imagine Dragons. I                             really love concerts, they make me so happy.
     ♥ I met Stefan Abingdon from The Midnight Beast!
     ♥ I also met Dan & Phil at BBC Radio One (here is the blog post) 
     ♥ I started this blog on the 6th of January!! I don't regret a thing, and almost a year, 11,000 views and          38 followers later, I am still writing useless things that nobody really cares about, but it's  fun. 
     ♥ I went to Harry Potter World In London! (It is expensive but 100% worth it if you are a                      potterhead)
     ♥ I had a lovely birthday out in London!
     ♥ Me and my family had a lovely day out in Arundel Castle.
     ♥ Me and my friends had a lovely day out in Brighton.
     ♥ Me, Holly , Lauren A, Lauren Tye & Alicia completed our Duke of Edinburgh expedition, which            involved walking 23km TWICE. It was horrible and I wouldn't do it again, but I had good company which made the struggle of walking with 10kg on your back a hell of a lot better. 

Overall, 2013 has definitely been one of THE best years of my life and I hope 2014 is equally as great!

This has been my first year of blogging, and I am so excited to continue it through the years. I can't wait to see what it will be like in 2 years time, whether it will grow or die. I can't wait to write more useless blog posts, and I really hope you will accompany me on this journey!

I didn't write this blog post to boast, I simply wanted to talk about my year and I am just as interested in yours! What did you achieve? where did you go? Let me know If you want :) 

Happy New Year!

~Thank you for reading~