Microwave Chocolate Orange Cake

Have you ever made a cake in a microwave? I knew of a girl at university who made them a few times as we didn't have ovens in our student halls, but I had never tried it myself. Until recently when my boyfriend wanted dessert after dinner, I hadn't made anything and didn't particularly want to spend long making a pudding, but I didn't want him to just get a bar of chocolate from the cupboard. So I had a look online for some microwave chocolate...

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Purple and Pink Butterfly Birthday Card

I found some cute stickers in Paperchase recently that had butterflies and a few sequins inside a clear rigid square so the butterflies move around if you shake the card. I decided to make them the focus of this card and covered a white square blank with patterned paper then placed three butterfly stickers along the top third line of the card (if you imagine the card divided into three with a line across each third). I used several round shiny...

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Carrot Cake with Walnut and Pineapple and Fondant Rabbit decoration

It wouldn't be Easter without the Easter bunny! This is a carrot cake I actually made last year but hadn't gotten around to blogging about yet. It is decorated with a fondant rabbit and carrots, which I will explain how to make below. You need:2 cups soft brown sugar1 cup vegetable oil3 eggs1 tsp vanilla flavouring2.5 cups plain flour2 tsp baking powder2 tsp ground cinnamon1 cup walnuts, chopped1 pound of carrots, grated1/2 cup pineapple, choppedFor...

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Roast Chicken with Zesty Chickpea Stuffing

This is a variation on a roast chicken recipe that you could try over Easter. The recipe comes from Franglais Kitchen, though she says to use a whole can of chickpeas and I could only get half a tin into the cavity. So once you have the chicken that you plan to roast, you need:half a can of chickpeashalf a lemon1/4 tsp cumin1/4 tsp garam masalapinch of chilli flakessalt and pepperMix the chickpeas with the seasoning in a bowl Spoon inside the...

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Slimming World-style Apple Creme Brulee

This dessert was inspired by one from the Slimming World Love Desserts recipe book but adapted to fit the ingredients I had in the house. I made it for a food tasting at my Slimming World group and was meant to use sliced mango for the base. I thought I had a tin of mango in the cupboard but the night before found it was mango puree, and I didn't have time to go shopping again, so I decided to use apples instead! It worked fine and while it isn't...

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Restaurant Review - the Grapes, Sutton

Restaurant name: The GrapesLocation: High Street, SuttonDescription: Wetherspoons pub with a modern, brightly lit bar but the seating areas with the patterned carpets and heavy curtains looks a bit dark and old fashioned.Reason for visit: Lunch with my parents while we were shopping in SuttonI ate: Jacket potato with BBQ pulled pork which came with a small side salad My companions ate: My mum had the cheese and tomato toastie as she only wanted...

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Meal Planning Monday 2014 week 15

Back to a more normal week but as we will be moving house at some point (just waiting for the completion date) I need to start using up the food in the freezer. I'm actually a bit in the dark about how far in advance you have to switch the freezer off before you move, and how long you wait before you turn it back in again. It doesn't help that I have a combined fridge freezer so could be without a fridge for several days as well! I've gone through...

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Psychedelic Swirls Birthday Card

This birthday card was made for a male friend who is very stylish and a snazzy dresser; I thought he would like the pattern and the colours. I simply used stickers from a pack I bought in Paperchase, which had circles of different sizes and different colours and a few swirls, and arranged them on the card in what I thought was a nice design. I then added a 'happy birthday' silver outline sticker at the bott...

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Baked Egg and Sausage Buns

This recipe was inspired by one in a Weightwatchers cookery book though now that they've changed the way the Points are calculated I couldn't tell you how many it works out as.... but it's not specifically intended as 'diet food'. Instead, this is a quick and filling brunch recipe that is easy to make but just a little bit different. You need one crusty bread roll per person- you could make your own, but I bought these fresh from the local bakery....

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