Autumn Baking ~ Chocolate and Caramel Cupcakes

Hello lovelies and Happy Autumn!

I have already seen conkers laying under trees, yellow coloured leaves falling, the weather is very blustery and the evenings are getting darker a lot sooner. Who else loves this time of year?

This inspired me to make some cupcakes that are fitting for the start of the season, so I opted for a soft chocolate sponge, with a delicious caramel buttercream swirled onto the chocolate sponge, topped with a piece of Cadbury's Caramel bar.

I feel like the flavours of caramel and chocolate swirled together create such an autumnal taste!

Here's what you'll need to create your own version of them ~  

For the cupcakes ~

Your choice of cupcake cases

🧁 175g Unsalted butter/Stork (softened)

🧁 165g Caster sugar

🧁 3 Large Free range eggs

🧁 1 tsp Baking Powder

🧁 115g Self Raising Flour

🧁 40g Cocoa Powder

🧁 4 tbsp (Boiling) Hot water

For the buttercream ~

🧁 140g Unsalted butter/stork (softened)

🧁 280g Icing sugar

🧁 1-2 tbsp Milk

🧁 1/2 tsp Caramel flavouring

🧁 1 Bar of Dairy Milk Caramel

Cupcake Method ~

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 (200c) and line your tin with the cupcake cases

2. Mix together your softened butter and caster sugar to create a soft whipped yellow mix, then combine your eggs and sift in your flour and baking powder.

3. Mix your cocoa powder with the hot water in a mug and create a runny paste, then add to your mixture and combine into a delicious chocolate mix.

4. Spoon an even amount of mixture into each case, with enough room for them to rise.

5. Pop them in the oven for 20-25 minutes

6. Whilst they're baking I always like to start making my buttercream, that gives the buttercream more time to harden in the fridge.

Buttercream Method ~

1. Mix the butter with the icing sugar, adding the icing sugar gradually, or you'll feel like you're in a sugar snow storm.

2. Once these are combined add your milk 1 tbsp at a time to get the preferred texture and then add caramel, I use 2 tsp, but have a little taste to decide if you'd like more.

3. I leave it to harden slightly in the fridge for around an hour, this helps the piping.

4. I love to swirl the buttercream onto the chocolate cupcake and pop a piece of Cadbury's caramel bar on top!

This was honestly super delicious and my family loved them!!

What are you planning on baking this season? Let me know in the comments below..

Kellie x

Girly Wishlist ~ Summer 2020

Hello lovelies,
I hope you're all keeping well in this strange and uncertain time.
I wanted to do a bit more of a happy post, just to give you a moment to take a step back from everything going on currently.

I have put together my 'Girly Wishlist' for Summer 2020, since a lot of us are at home a lot more and  online shopping is even more popular than before. I follow a lot of beautiful Instagram's which are full of pink positivity and inspiration, which leads to my wishlist getting even longer!!

The first thing I saw was on Thania's Instagram, this Canon pink printer ~ Being in lockdown has made me realise how much I rely on using my printer at work, which I'm very lucky they don't mind us using for personal use too! I saw this pink one and loved it, it's really fun and matches with my pink theme of life perfectly. It's so handy to have a printer at home, it really helps make life a little easier.

This is a really fun one ~ A foot spa! Sometimes it's not always possible to get a salon done pedicure, so this is such a good idea for a home one! To go with this you could use some scented salts to pop in there and some nice foot cream ~ My favourite one is Lush's 'Pink Peppermint'.

Louis Vuitton have released a collection of pastel dreams this season! Pale pink, lilac and lemon shades cover these pieces with the LV monogram in white to join it. It's absolutely beautiful!
My favourite piece from the collection is this Neverfull MM bag.

I think this has to be top of my wishlist, a baby pink Kitchen Aid! Having more time at home I've been cooking and baking a lot more (I would've baking more cakes if I could get hold of some self raising flour), but it's really shown how much of a passion I have for it. I think this would be a great addition to my ever growing baking tools. Especially as I'm hoping to dedicate more time to learning more ideas and techniques!

When lockdown started here in the UK I decided to place an online order to try some Elemis skincare, as I had heard so many good things about the brand. I have combo skin/oily and it's also very sensitive, so trying to find skincare to cater to all this can be quite tricky. I was really impressed with how it's been working, so one of the next products I'd like to purchase from them is the 'Elemis Pro Collagen Rose Cleaning Balm', I really am enjoying the original one (on the very few days I am wearing make up) and think the rose one sounds delightful!

Just before Christmas I had quite a lot cut off my hair, (6 inches to be exact), my hair was down to my waist and it was getting too unmanageable, it was forever in a plait that resembled Elsa! I've been loving different styles with it and I'm still contemplating whether to have some sort of long fringe. I saw a video from 'Freddy My Love' and how she styled her hair ~ One of her recommendations was heated rollers and her hair always looks so perfect and not a strand out of place, so I'd love to try them and see if I can recreate her look!

Lastly, I've been loving coffee a lot more, a caramel latte to be precise (iced or hot) and over lockdown I found sachets of iced coffee to do at home, so I have been loving them! I used to be a barista for my first job, so I'd love to have a coffee machine at home to still try making pretty lattes with seasonal flavours. The pink would look perfect with the KitchenAid too!

I hope you all are staying safe, well and please look after yourselves.

Kellie xxx

Self Care Sundays ~ My pamper routine and tips to relax

Hello lovelies!

Over the past few months I've seen a lot of people using Sunday's as 'Self Care Sunday's' and I absolutely love the idea!!
I think it's really beneficial to dedicate some time your yourself at least once a week, to reflect and look after your mental health, this way you can also organise and prepare for a productive week ahead.
I find if I'm not organised, I lose track of all the things I need to do and that causes me to be anxious.

My number one 'Self Care Sunday' tip is probably the most popular choice... A pamper morning or evening!
Taking some time to make yourself feel better should always be a priority! I personally love to start with hair care, washing my hair, using a nourishing hair mask and some macadamia oil to leave it feeling silky smooth, I also use a heat protectant spray which is very important for your hair care if you're using heat. Next up is a warm bubble bath, lately I have been changing products to cater to my sensitive skin, I've found the brands Aveeno, Oilatum and The Body Shop 'Shea' have been an absolute dream for my skin, has lessened irritation to my skin and it's becoming clear and glowy ~ Even through the winter months. Whilst in the bath I love to also pamper my face with a face mask, the best I’ve found for my skin so far is Lush’s ‘Mask of Magnaminty’, but for Christmas I was gifted these two different masks to try, The Body Shop’s ‘Aloe’ sheet mask and Superdrug’s ‘Fruit Sorbet’ peel mask, which I’m excited to see if they help improve my skin!

Next is nail care, I have recently made the choice to stop damaging my nails with false and gel nails. I have very tiny nails that aren’t very strong, they break a lot and struggle to stay long naturally, so I’m hoping by using strengthening nail polishes and taking different precautions I can improve them. I am loving the ‘Sally Hansen’ nail strengthening polish and Essie’s range of ‘Treat and Colour’ nail polishes, combining having nail colour and protection!

After I put on a cosy pair of pjs, I like to light a candle, usually a Yankee Candle tealight, around this time of year something like 'Soft Cotton', it's a light and fresh scent pre-springtime. I like to have a hot cup of tea and a large glass of water. I have put together a list of things you could do to relax over the day or evening...

~ Read some of your current book, or start reading one! I have a little pile of books I need to start reading, including some Megan Hess and 'A Little Princess'. I also have a 'GoodReads' account which I love, it's a reading progress app and it can introduce you to a whole new world of books. My username is 'KellieSaunders1'.

 ~ Yoga and stretching. I have learnt how much my body benefits from making sure my muscles are stretched and it helps strengthen them, I feel much better within myself from this. Not just physically, but mentally too, some time to do something good for your body.

~ Write in your planner and make lists - This is something I love to do everyday, but especially ready for the new week ahead. I love writing my to do list down and ticking it off feels like I've accomplished more and it's a visual thing, I also forget all the little things otherwise, so it's feels me not become overwhelmed.

I'd love to know in the comments what you love to do on your 'Self Care Sunday's' and I hope you've had a restful Sunday!

Have a wonderful week :)

Kellie Jo xxx