The Great Pink Bake Off

 

Hey all!

A slightly different post today, talking about the Great Pink Bake Off. As you may know this month was Breast Cancer Awareness month, where people across the country help to raise funds for this amazing charity. After attending a Breakthrough event last month Jess and I couldn't wait to get fundraising and when we heard about the Nationwide Cake Sale we couldn't think of a better way to raise some cash (when someone mentions cake there is no stopping us!)

So last Friday, we organised a Great Pink Bake Off in our Sixth form, where our lovely friends baked cakes for us to sell at Break time. We raised over £100, and were absolutely thrilled. A huge thanks to all those who baked and brought for us, we love you!

There is still time to get involved, head over to http://pinkbakeoff.org/  for more information!

Loads of love, Paloma

The way to bake a delicious cake...

♫Way to Bake - Snow White♫

How to make the best coffee cake!!!

THE most desired coffee cake in our Sixth Form, I give all credit to the gorgeous Mary Berry!

(cheeky Instagram pic)

Ingredients:

For the sponge -

200g butter

200g self raising flour

200g sugar

4 tbsp coffee essence

4 eggs 

2tbsp vanilla essence

2tsp baking powder

For the icing - 

75g butter

250g icing sugar

1tbsp coffee essence

2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 160'C

 Put all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until well combined

I like to use an electric whisk for around 5 minutes 

 Line 2 8inch tins with greaseproof paper or baking parchment and separate mixture

 Place in the over for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

Mix the ingredients for the icing in a bowl and beat until well combined and of a good consistency

Once the sponge is cool, spread on icing with a palette knife for the filling and on top. Decorate with walnut halves and/or chocolate coffee beans

...et voila, tuck in :)

Oh, If you love the life you live then you'll get a lot more done

 ♫ Paolo Nutini- Simple Things  ♫

Hey all! 

Happy bank holiday to everyone, a barbeque is definitely on the cards today! Here is a little baking post as I felt we hadn't done one in a while- and today being a national holiday is the perfect excuse to get out your apron a make this tasty treat... you will not be disappointed!

Just a small note to say that me and Jess are having our AS exams in the coming weeks, we plan to schedule a few posts in because we really don't want to neglect the blog, so hopefully the blog won't have to be victim to our hetic and stressful exam schedules!! 

Loads of love, Paloma 

xxx

Cherry Bakewell Cake

                                          

200g golden caster sugar

200g butter, well softened                         

100g ground almonds

100g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp almond extract or essence

4 large eggs

1) Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4

2)Butter and line the bases of 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins with baking paper.

3) Beat together all the cake ingredients with a pinch of salt until smooth,

4)Spoon into the tins and level the tops.

5) Bake for 30 mins or until golden and springy.

6)Let the sponges cool

7) Then, spread with jam and sandwich on top

8)Being the chocoholic that I am, I decided to top my cake with melted chocolate rather than icing, its a great alternative if you are not an icing fanatic

9) Create a small 'piping bag' out of baking paper- basically a cone shape with a tiny bit of sellotape- and drizzle the chocolate according

10) Eat the remaining chocolate

11) Decorate with blanched or flaked almonds

12) Voila!! It makes a fab birthday cake as my little sister would happily tell you!

It's just something to talk about, a story to tell yeah....

♪♫ The Ritz to the Rubble ♪♫

Hey guys!

Wow, what a week i've had! Who knew a 17th birthday could go on for so long and bring so many experiences with it! As you all know, Paloma through me a surprise birthday party with was the surprise of my life (she is so sly!) and I am still in shock that she managed to pull it off, but to make it worse, my family have been planning a surprise for a while now...all i was told was "dress up Jess, look your best!" so without knowing where i was going, i slipped on my new dress (found by Paloma, she has an amazing eye) with little red pumps and a red lip, as i didn't want to look overdressed. Little did i know that i was being treated to tea and cake at The Ritz!

What can i say, it was amazing and little old me felt so out of place in such posh yet beautiful surroundings. Luckily, all of the staff were absolutely lovely and even sang me happy birthday with a live orchestra! You can imagine how red i went but how chuffed i was to receive a little birthday cake which i shared with Paloma at school the next day, which we Instagram'd and devoured as it was so delicious, as was the perfectly brewed tea and small-portioned yet rich flavoured cakes and scones :)

I definitely recommend it to any tourists or typical Londoners, it's such an amazing treat,

Loads of love, Jess :)

What i wore - Dress - TK Max, Pumps + Bag - Primark, Belt - Betsy Johnson

You torched a Saab like a pile of leaves, i'd gone to find some better wheels...

♪Diane Young - Vampire Weekend♪

 

Hey you spring chickens!

 

Here is a quick little post just to show the essence of what we did on the weekend :) Yet again...We had tea, it's becoming a bit of an obsession...at least 5 cups a day, Green tea, Detox tea, Camomile tea, English breakfast tea....The list goes on. Instead of heading out to a lovely tea room in the middle of no where, Paloma and I got out the my tea set which is frequently used, and drank tea till our hearts content. The whole purpose of the caffeine addiction was due to the lovely Maddie throwing a party the night before and Paloma and I being completely shattered, nevertheless, we had a great time.

 

For some reason, due to it being out English lit exam in May, we decided to do an English revision day... keeping in mind we were practically falling asleep in our homemade lemon drizzle cake. As you can imagine, it wasn't very productive...but we had a great time revising in the park in the very rare English sunshine!

 

Loads of love, Jess xxxx

 

 

 

Paloma's Outfit - Coat, Boots and Jeans, Scarf - Vintage

My Outfit- Jeans- Topshop MOTO Jamie, Shoes- Converse, Jumper - H&M

Shorts- 18 & East, Shirts - Topshop, Dress & Suit - ASOS

But your temperamental feelings can often leave you feeling like you need a dancing song

 

 

I am wearing: Top, Bag and Trousers- Primark, Boots- Topshop, Coat- Therapy
Jess is wearing: Shirt & Belt- New Look, Jacket & Shoes- H&M, Bag and hat- Topshop, Shorts- Vintage

 

 

Hey all,

On saturday me and Jess visited a gorgeous local vintage fair, and although we didn't come away with anything, we had such a great time and the stall owners were all super friendly and chatty. We then went for some tea and cake at the Maids of Honour in Kew, which was absolutely gorgeous, before spending the rest of the day revising for our English lit exam in May... although we only ended up spending a couple of hours doing proper work opps!


Hope everyone had a great Easter, and don't forget to bake our cupcakes, cos they are great all year round!

Lots of Love, Paloma xxx