Recipe: Mince pie cupcakes with Lindt

I'm well and truly emerged in the Christmas spirit now so decided to bake up a storm in the kitchen. Enter Mince Pie Cupcakes with Lindt chocolate teddy bear toppers* because we all need a little bit more indulgence in the festive period. I had a feeling these would spectacularly fail or be positively amazing! Thank god it was the latter. The recipe is adapted from my new favourite baking book Lola's Forever.

Makes 6 muffins or 10 smaller cupcakes

Ingredients:
140g self raising flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
150g soft baking spread
75g soft light brown sugar
75g soft dark brown sugar
3 eggs
175g mince meat

Cream cheese icing:
60g butter
1 tsp of vanilla flavouring
1/2 ground cinnamon
175g icing sugar
400g cheese cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Shift the flour, baking powder and spices into a bowl before setting aside.

3. Put the butter and sugars into a bowl and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy.

4. Continue mixing and add the eggs one at a time. Add the mincemeat and mix until fully combined.

5. Slowly add the shifted dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.

6. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases - filling them 3/4 full.

7. Bake in the pre-heated for around 20-25 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on them. pop a sewer in them to see if they're baked, it should come out completely clean if they're ready.

Cream cheese icing:

1. Beat the butter until smooth then add the cinnamon and vanilla.

2. Shift in the icing sugar and then add the cream cheese and beat until it's smooth and glossy. be careful not to overmix!

3. Decorate the cupcakes once cooled and add a little teddy bear on top. Then tuck in!

Eat alongside plenty of chocolate. The Lindt chocolate reindeer* and Father Christmas* went down a treat. What's Christmas without a little indulgence?

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Review: Minster Court Gin Tasting, City of London

Back in October I was invited along to Minster Court to try my hand at gin tasting with Sipsmith. Deep in the heart of the city, Minster Court is a short walk away from Monument station and tucked away downstairs. Despite being downstairs, it didn't feel claustrophobic and there was plenty of room to wander around. I find city bars can sometimes make me feel like a sardine!

As we settled down to hear from the gin connoisseur, we were presented with cocktails and a plate of delicious nibbles. Spicy potato wedges, battered prawns, crispy spring rolls, moreish chicken goujons and sticky cocktail sausages. Just the ticket to line our stomaches before some serious tasting!

Sipsmith is a small independent distillery based in West London - who knew! They launched the first copper still, Prudence, in London for nearly 200 years. She is one of a kind and you won't find her anywhere else in the world.

As someone who has only recently gotten into the wonders of gin, I'm no expert on the matter but I know what I like. I happened to like Sipsmith very much. The sloe gin was absolutely amazing - the perfect Christmas drink in my opinion. The alcohol went down smoothly and made me feel all warm inside - no scrunched up faces needed when this was drunk neat. Surely the sign of a very good gin?

Thanks so much for a lovely evening Minster Court and Sipsmith!

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Why London is the greatest city in the world

I've always had such a deep love and fascination with the bright lights of London. At the tender age of four I insisted I wanted to go to London and see the dinosaurs for my birthday. At the age of 11, I was adamant that all I wanted to do was work in the city. At the age of 21, I interned at various publications soaking up everything the big smoke had to offer. Finally at the age of 23 I got a job in central London. After a little blip I'm back commuting every day from Essex and I honestly couldn't be happier. London is where I'm meant to be. It's the city that captured my imagination and nothing has ever quite lived up to it.

I've been lucky enough to travel and see so many cities. New York, Barcelona, Berlin and Chicago have all left a footprint on my heart. But nothing has fully captured it hook, line and sinker quite like London.

This city chews you up and spits you back out with a vengeance. The city is all-comsuming, exhausting, aggressive, unapologetic and fierce. The people are rude, the streets can be dirty, the weather is truly awful, the tube makes me want to bang my head against the wall repeatedly and tourists insist on not walking down the left side of the escalator. But it's also the most magical place in the world. I still feel awestruck as I wander through the winding streets, pride when I see the city put on a show, goosebumps as I soak up the the history of yesteryear and emotional looking out at the thames after a bottle of wine. It's got such a colourful past in every corner and such thirst for life. It's a place where you can be anyone you want to be and no one ever bats an eyelid. The world is your oyster. Communities from all over the world have come together and made it their own. The melting pot of cultures that bubbles on every street helps to make it wonderful. It's a city that always feel so alive, so eager and so vibrant.

There's nowhere else quite like it. London is quite simply the greatest city in the world.

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