Jam Tarts

It had never crossed my mind to make these before someone asked me to. Jam tarts are something I love and will often pick up in the supermarket but I, for some reason, thought they were too difficult to make. I was completely wrong. I would love to make my own jam to put into the pastry cases but I am yet to venture into the world of jam making. I have dreams of one day having a big enough garden to grow up own fruits and vegetables, so I can make all the jams and soups that I would like. You can use whatever kind of jam you prefer, I used raspberry for one half and strawberry for the other. I didn't put any sugar into the pastry, I find the jam to be sweet enough to be able to exclude it. However, if you want to I will leave the instructions down below. The pastry was so much easier to make than I expected, although if you don't fancy getting it a try or you're stuck for time, you can buy ready made jam tart pastry and all you need to do is roll it out. I made these in a 12-hole cupcake tray and they turned out to be the perfect size. Happy baking! 

What you will need: 

250g plain flour
100g butter
30g sugar (optional)
3-4 tablespoons cold water
Your choice of jam

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and grease each hole of the cupcake tray really well.

2. Sieve the flour into a large bowl, chop the butter into small cubes, add them to the bowl and rub in with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. If you're adding sugar, put it in now and rub in.

4. Gradually add in the water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms together into a ball.

5. Flour your work surface, roll out the dough to be about half a centimeter thick then cut out a circle. Check to make sure your circle fits in your tin, push the pastry into the sides to make it fit perfectly. (I used a glass as a cutter because it was the perfect size, you can get creative.)

6. Fill the pastry cases with jam, I think it took about 2 teaspoons to fill mine but it will depend on the size of your tin.

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

8. Leave to cool on a wire rack for a couple of hours. (Seriously, don't touch them, I burnt my finger doing so). The jam should become slightly more solidified in this time so that if you were to touch it you wouldn't get a finger full'a jam.

My Top Picks // Daisy Prints

 I know nothing about fashion, zero, zilch, nada but I do love the daisy print craze that has come about this Spring/Summer. There are so many different pieces in this print but here are some of my favourites! A few of the items from New Look are in the sale at the moment, so I'd recommend snapping them up before they're gone! 

1. Daisy Printed Playsuit // Topshop, £39

2. Light Blue Belted Dress with Lace Detail // New Look, €29.99

3. Coral Cap Sleeve Swing Dress // New Look, €22.99

4. Black Daisy Print High Waisted Shorts // River Island, €40

5. Black High Waisted Mom Shorts // Topshop, £30

6. Daisy Print Chiffon Shorts // New Look, €9.20

7. Black Daisy Print Top with White Collar // New Look, €10.79

8. Navy Daisy Print Button Back Vest // New Look, €14.99

9. Daisy Print Leggings // Boohoo, €12

10. Daisy Chain Watch // ASOS, €25.30

11. Gold and White Daisy Necklace // New Look, €7.99

12. Daisy Garland // Topshop, £14

What are your favourite pieces? I love 2, 4, 5 and 10! 

Blueberry and Almond Muffins

Anyone fancy some scrumptious muffins that are quick and easy to prepare and make the perfect breakfast or snack? If you do, this recipe is for you! Before I go any further, I must confess that I don't actually like blueberries, or almonds. I did taste test them though before I passed them on to Brian's Mum and they were goooood (even though I picked out the blueberries). They probably certainly aren't the healthiest way to start your day but they do include some fruit and nuts so that makes it better, right? I'm sure you could adapt this recipe to make it a bit more healthy but I am definitely not the person you want to look to for healthy baking recipes. When I bake I go all out, completely unhealthy and full of sugar but it's just a treat, everything in moderation! However, if you would like to make healthy baked goodies, I highly recommend having a look at Chocolate Covered Katie. Her website has tonnes of amazing healthy alternative recipes that will have your mouth watering just reading them. 

Back to the muffins, this recipe makes 10 big muffins, or 18 cupcakes if you would prefer. This recipe does call for buttermilk but not to worry if you don't have any you can make some by mixing regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and leaving to stand for 10 minutes. You could use any kind of berries you would like, if I were to make them or myself  I think I would use strawberries. Happy baking! 

What you will need:

200g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

1tsp cinnamon

50g ground almonds

175g caster sugar

1 egg

300ml buttermilk

50g butter, melted

200g blueberries 

15g almonds, chopped 

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and line your muffin tin with cases. 

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon into a large bowl and then mix in your sugar and ground almonds. 

3. In a separate, beat together the butter, eggs and buttermilk.

4. Slowly add the second mixture into the dry ingredients then fold in the blueberries. 

5. Spoon the mixture into the cases, until they're three quarters full and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and they have turned a golden colour. 

7. Leave to cool on a wire rack. These muffins are best served warm! 

My Top Picks // Sandals

Sandals aren't something I would usually wear but I'm going to try this Summer so I have compiled a list of my favourites for Summer 2014, hopefully you guys see something you like! 

1. Leather-Look Sandals with Metal Detailing // H&M, €29.95 

2. Black Strappy Sandals // H&M, €14.95

3. Coral Leather-Look T-Bar Sandals // New Look, €9.99 

4. Tan Leather Asymmetric Strap Double Buckle Sandals // New Look, €24.99 

5. Tan Gold Metallic Gladiator Sandals // New Look, €22.99

6. Coral and Tan Ankle Strap Sandals // New Look, €19.99 

7. Tan Strappy Sandals with Gold Ring Embellishment and Buckle Fastening // Office, £15

8. Black Strappy Sandals with Gold Skull Detailing // Schuh, €26

I put the prices down in euro because I'm from Ireland (expect the Office shoes because they don't have an Irish website) but if you go to the stores website they should just change to whatever currency you use in your country. The only sandals that don't come in various colours are the first ones, I just picked my favourite colour to show you in this post!

My favourites are number one and number six, what are yours? 

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

I've been baking loads of yummy goodies the past two weeks, so I have a backlog of recipes for you guys. However, I made these beauties for the second time today and I just couldn't wait any longer to share it with you all! Terry's chocolate orange is my absolute all time favourite kind of chocolate, if you're anything like me you will love these cupcakes. This recipe is just a really simple twist on a normal chocolate cupcake and I've used a mixture of different recipes to make these, and the icing. I made this batch as a gift for someone so I haven't been able to try one but I'll let you guys know what they thought! This recipe makes 12 big cupcakes and I would think about 18 smaller ones. Happy baking!

What you will need:

125g butter

120g sugar 

2 eggs

50g plain chocolate, melted 

140g self raising flour

2tbsp cocoa powder

1tsp baking powder

1 orange, zest and juice 

For the icing:

100g butter
200g icing sugar
50g chocolate, melted

1 orange, zest and juice

1tbsp milk

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line your cupcake tin with cases.

2. Beat together the butter, sugar and eggs. Add in the melted chocolate and beat again until smooth.
 

3. Sieve in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix together with an electric mixer (the mixture may become stiff at this point, don't worry it'll loosen with the orange juice) and then add in the zest and juice of one orange.

4. To make large cupcakes like mine, fill your cases with 3 teaspoons of the mixture and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer/knife comes out clean

5. Meanwhile, make your icing by combining the butter, icing sugar and chocolate then add the zest and juice of one orange and the milk to loosen the mixture.

6. Let the cupcakes cool completely before you ice and decorate them as desired!