Victoria Sponge

I am a really big fan of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' so I absolutely adore anything that relates to afternoon tea. I love all the various different aspects, from the china used to the food presented. One of the cakes I always associated with this is the classic Victoria Sponge.

I think there has recently been a revival in interest for this traditional cake as I seem to find variations wherever I go. With this in mind and the recent summery weather, I thought I'd have a go at making one for my Mum's birthday.

There is a recipe in 'The River Cottage Family Cookbook' by Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall and Fizz Carr which I have used a couple of times before. It really is a fantastic recipe and makes the most delicious sponge for your cake. I would highly recommend purchasing a copy of this book.

Polly's Pantry Cake Stand

As well as making a cake for my Mum, I also needed to get her a present. I wanted something to relate to the cake so I thought a cake stand would be a fabulous idea. She used to collect the Royal Albert English Roses china so I did have a look on their website, but this was a lot more expensive than I had thought. They also don't actually sell the big cake stands, just the tiered afternoon tea ones so I couldn't do it anyway.

After shopping around I came to the conclusion that cake stands were far far more expensive than i had originally anticipated. I eventually found some that were affordable in John Lewis. There was one particular design that really caught my eye. It was from the range Polly's pantry. It was really sweet and delicately decorated with little hearts and small blue chickens. I thought this would suit my mum as its endearing and not too serious. Priced at £24 it was perfect.

I really went for it on the cake as well. I embraced the messy and rustic look and lavished plenty of cream and jam to sandwich in the middle. After I sprinkled sifted icing sugar over the top to complete the look. In my opinion it was an incredibly successful cake!

Carluccio's

When I was younger, my mum and I used to have a tradition of visiting Windsor to go shopping at the start of each term holiday. My mum was always keen to get going as soon as possible which meant we would always stop for breakfast or cakes at Carluccio's. For the first time in ages I went back today. 

Carluccio's is a chain of restaurants that serves the most incredible Italian meals. It also has a lovely shop section of which I would highly recommend. The chocolate meringues and brownies you can buy are delicious!  True to nature we were at Windsor by 10.30 so we went to the restaurant for breakfast. There is a large array of options on the menu, including Italian takes on full English or my old favourite the Italian bread tin (a selection of breads and pastries). This restaurant serves the most delicious coffee as well. I normally have the drink 'bicerin' which is a cup with a shot of espresso and two accompanying jugs, one filled with cream and the other filled with the most luxurious melted chocolate. You then assemble it yourself to taste. However as I haven't been in such a long time, I completely forgot they served this so I chose a latte which was equally delightful. 

As I mentioned, they have a wonderful array of choices on their menu, it is slightly eggy if I must admit so probably not the best for anybody who doesn't like it. They had my favourite eggs Benedict but I was tempted by the Uova E Pancetta (In English that's eggs and pancetta on toast). So a little different but by not to much. 

The service was incredibly prompt and I quickly received my order. The presentation of the meal was outstanding and the eggs/pancetta were perfectly cooked (you are offered the standard choice of how you'd like them). The bread was also incredibly delicious, it tasted similar to ciabatta and rather than butter I think olive oil might have been used. Whatever the combination was, it was perfect! For £6.85 it could easily be the best 'value for money' meal I've ever had.

I couldn't recommend this wonderful restaurant enough, and would urge absolutely anybody to visit the website and see if there is a Carluccio's restaurant near them!

http://www.carluccios.com/uk

Summer Workout

Like every other girl or woman out there, a few months ago I joined the gym to tone up for the bikini season. Each time I re-join the gym I always use the same routine. It's the perfect mix of toning and calorie burning. 

So my usual routine which I try my absolute best to stick to is;
- 10 mins on the cross trainer to warm up on a cross country setting. 
-45 mins on the treadmill 
- 30 squats
- 30 lunges 
- 20 sit ups 
- then any muscle things that focus on the body part I'm not a fan of

Looking at this is probably quite over whelming so with the squats and other exercise build up in sets of ten. The 45 mins on the treadmill is actually a lot easier than it sounds. I first found this routine on pinterest and I've been using it since. It burns crazy amounts of calories and you really can last this long. It's a really good routine to follow for any ability. Ive attached the link, its brilliant because you can save the photograph of the routine straight to your phone and read straight of the routine as you do it. Couldn't recommend this enough!

http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2012/10/13/treadmill-shredmill-workout/

Red Velvet Cake

I'm one of those people who unfortunately suffers from exam stress and anxiety. So with my first exam looming, this has been an incredibly draining and tough week. To cheer me up and help me relax, my boyfriend took me to my favourite cafe which I've written about before, Fego. 

Although it was tempting to order a full lunch once we got there, we only wanted to stay for coffee. It's not really clear what they have on offer as there is no cake/pastry menu, everything is freshly baked. But after querying what was available with the friendly staff this problem was soon resolved. A lot of their pastries and cakes were nearly gone but I chose to have red velvet cake and a latte. Fego has an offer on which a slice of cake and a large coffee can cost you £4.95, so it's reasonable value for money. 

Having never tried red velvet cake, I was unsure of what was in it and what makes it red. I recently read online that it was Victoria sponge with red food colouring in the mix so I was slightly sceptical. Apparently it contains beetroot juice and a sweetened cream cheese filling. I think the waitress could tell I was unsure of these obscure ingredients as she assured me the taste was not overpowering, but I thought for the value i'd give it a go. 

The cake was very generously portioned and beautifully presented. The plate and cake was sprinkled with icing sugar and alongside was a plump strawberry and mint leaves to decorate. The cake itself was perfectly moist and incredibly luxurious. The beetroot juice couldn't be tasted at all, the waitress explained it's not so much for the flavour but for the delightfully vibrant red of the cake. The sweetened cream cheese also was exquisite and matched the filling of the cake perfectly. It was so enjoyable. For quite an odd mix of ingredients it really was lovely.

Not only would I urge you to visit Fego and indulge on this treat for yourself, but I will also be researching recipes to make this myself. It would be great to make for someone as an alternative twist on birthday cake. I absolutely could not recommend it highly enough.

Fairy Lights

My taste in style has always been slightly alternative and this is becoming increasingly reflective in the decoration of my bedroom. I really love anything that's slightly bohemian or has a memorable story behind it. To name a few aspects, I have lucky elephant charms from Camden market, varieties of candles and incense and beautifully coloured dream catchers hung above my bed. Most recently I decided to twist fairy lights around my bed.

I knew fairy lights were relatively expensive so it did take a bit of shopping around. I found these beautiful rose fairy lights in Cargo home shop for £6 a box (I bought two as i wanted them round all of my bed and not just the top). These were also ideal as they went perfectly with the colour of my walls and duvet. They make the room look really magical and add a perfect relaxing light if you're tucked up in bed watching films. I love them!

The Giggling Squid

I needed a restaurant to visit for a celebratory meal with my boyfriend. With this in mind we didn't want to go to our normal favourites, Pizza Express or Zizzi's. We wanted somewhere relatively fancy but a place that wouldn't break the bank. 'The Giggling Squid' had recently opened nearby but I hadn't had the opportunity to go, this was the perfect chance.

Upon arriving we were greeted by friendly staff and were seated very quickly, although the group in front of us seemed to have a problem with a large booking being forgotten. The ambiance of the restaurant was lovely; the cosy lighting, laughter and chatter filled the building but it wasn't crowded. You could be perfectly separate from everyone.

We spent a lot of time hovering over what to choose. I was really torn but eventually I selected 'Thai Duck Spring Rolls' to start and the 'Salt and Pepper Squid' with a portion of sticky rice as my main meal. I tend to stick to what I know at restaurants but these were two of my favourite dishes anyway! The drinks came very quickly, the service was very sharp and attentive but friendly. You're also constantly being provided with free refills of tap water which is great, particularly if you're being impressive and ordering something incredibly spicy. My starter was lovely, it was so flavoursome and delicious. The portion was very generous as well which made it incredible value for money. Now, for the main course. I've had this dish at several restaurants before and in the honest truth I can admit this was the best I'd ever had. This is listed as a starter on the menu but as I ordered it as my main course I think I was generously given a few more pieces than normal. The combination of the chilli's and spring onions gave a spicy but not overwhelming taste, the addition of this to the crispy texture of the fried squid gave the most exquisite meal possible. It was honestly one of the best Thai meals I've experienced.

The bill at the end of the night was reasonable. For two drinks, two starters and two main meals the price came to around £44, a service charge is also added on. But for the quality of the food, the delightful and welcoming atmosphere and the very friendly staff made it worth every penny. I will definitely return to 'The Giggling Squid' at some point, and maybe even try something I'm not familiar with! I couldn't recommend this restaurant enough.

Find the phone number and menus on the website:
http://www.gigglingsquid.com/