Recipe // Fruity Tea Loaf

As today is Mother's Day I decided that rather than buying the usual flowers and chocolates for my mum, I would make her a cake. I chose this recipe as it's deliciously moist, and packed with all my favourite fruits. I used this BBC Good Food recipe, deviating slightly from the recipe by omitting the orange peel (as I'm not a fan), and adding a wider selection of fruits (semi-dried apple chunks, cranberries and dates). I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and my mum has asked me to bake another for her Bring and Buy sale next weekend.

Ingredients

300g mixture sultanas, raisins, dried cranberries, dried dates and sweetened apple
225ml hot tea
juice 1 orange
50g butter
100g light brown sugar
1 egg
225g self-raising flour
4 tbsp demerara sugar

Method (in words)

1. Place the dried fruits in a bowl and pour over the hot tea, orange juice and zest. Cover with cling film, then leave for at least 4 hrs or better still overnight.
2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 2lb loaf tin. Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg followed by the flour. Carefully stir through the fruit mixture. Spoon the mixture into the tin, then smooth over the surface with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle all over with a thick layer of demerara sugar.
3. Bake for 1 hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out, cut into slices and serve.

Method (in pictures)

Have your ingredients to hand. I chose to use a wider variety of fruits in this cake than the recipe called for. You could also add nuts such as walnuts or pecans to give it a crunch. Preheat your oven the 160 degrees.

Pour the freshly squeezed orange juice and hot tea over the fruits, using a spoon to ensure all the fruit is covered.

Cover with clingfilm and leave to soak overnight. I left mine to soak for about 16 hours to make sure they were very moist.

Cream the butter and sugar. This will take a long time with an electric hand whisk, and you may find the mixture clumps together. If this happens, use a metal spoon to soften the butter a little by hand. Once the sugar and butter are well mixed and softened, whisk in the egg, followed by the flour. You will be left with a heavy dough-like consistency.

Add the fruit mixture to the dough mixture a little at a time. Make sure you add all the liquid from the bowl, as this will cake the cake its moist texture.

 Place in the centre of the oven and cook for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Once it has cooled, carefully lift the loaf out, remove the grease proof paper and place onto a cake rake to allow the bottom to dry out a little.

If stored in a sealed and dry container, it will keep for a week. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea! 

WEEKSTAGRAM // 19th March - 25th March

I had my hair cut and dyed for the first time since August 2013. I had an ombre colour put through, using 7 different colours from root to tip // Bought some lovely treats for my new hair do. The Garnier Ultimate Blends shampoo is amazing. It's a blend of Argan Oil and Camellia Oil which leaves hair feeling really smooth and glossy // This week was all about the 'no make-up selfies' to raise money for Cancer Research. This was my contribution // Had a lovely meal at my favourite Indian restaurant, Spice Island, for Lisa's birthday // Celebrated Soph's Hen Party at Minsky's Showbar, complete with drag queens, strippers and buff waiters! // Celebrated Jem joining the 30 Club, during her fabulous Alice in Wonderland themed party at 10 Feet Tall // Enjoyed a yummy mango and falafel wrap from Coffee a GoGo // Cheryl, Hayley, Claire, Elen and I signed up for the Pretty Muddy Race for Life 5k race in July. Best start training!

WEEKSTAGRAM // 11th March - 18th March

I realised just how many books I'd started, but hadn't yet finished. Making a concerted effort to get through these in the next few months // I got very excited about mine and Cheryl's forthcoming trip to Dubai in September - our Pinterest board is packed with ideas! // My work orchid started to flower, but it fell off the following day // Cheryl and I paid a visit to the National Museum to view some art. Some was better than others // Daffodils to brighten up the office // Found a new geek programming obsession on Netflix - Grimm. Somewhat in love with David Giuntoli now // Took and walk around Cathays Park and got snap happy with Cheryl's fancy SLR camera. Saving up for my own now! // Went to see Wicked with Karen and Zoe at the Wales Millennium Centre. Amazing show. I enthusiastically blogged about it! // Cal and I went to see the 6 Nations Wales v Scotland match at the Millennium Stadium, which resulted in an astounding 51 - 3 victory for Wales. We then watched the nail biting final showdown between Ireland and France, which resulted in a superb tournament victory for Ireland // I was tweeted back by Giles Coren, TV presenter, Times Columnist, Foodie, and (most importantly) friend of my girl crush Sue Perkins. Felt very close to fame that day (even despite knowing that he tweets pretty much everyone back!)

Not pictured: Cheryl, Kath, Cal, Zoe and I came 3rd in The Heath's weekly pub quiz. Not really sure how we fared worse than last week, considering we had more people // Did two consecutive days of exercise classes. Feeling the burn // Cheryl and I planned an Easter trip to Tenby (photo ops abound!) // Considering entering the Pretty Muddy Race for Life 5k in July. Any excuse to mud wrestle, really.

Wicked - A review of the UK touring production

For one short night, in the Wales Millennium Centre, I witnessed musical theatre magic. I'm still catching my breath a day later.

For those uninitiated readers, Wicked (based upon the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name) is the untold story of the witches of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (The Good Witch of the North), preceding the events of The Wizard of Oz. We learn how despite their vast differences in opinion and personality, Elphaba and Glinda become friends whilst studying at Shiz University. The story follows the two young women as they are molded and forged by the trials and challenges they face; including a love rivalry, battle against the Wizard's corrupt regime, and Elphaba's eventual downfall. The musical plays with our perceived understanding of the original story, and challenges the audience to rethink their own preconceptions and prejudices. It's about looking at things another way. It challenges our understanding of good vs evil, beauty vs ugliness, and right vs wrong.

I've seen Wicked twice before, in London, with the exceptional Kerry Ellis playing the lead role of Elphaba, Helen Dallimore as Glinda, and the drop dead gorgeous Adam Garcia as Fiyero. I thought I would be hard pressed to find another company as perfect as that. Oh boy, was I proven wrong! I was electrified the entire way through!

The costumes, props, and sets are better than I remember. Obviously some changes have been made to allow for the show to tour, but none of the wonder and spectacle is lost. I dream of one day owning one of the Ozian costumes - they are a glorious confection in emerald! The flying monkeys, which haunted my childhood nightmares, writhe and clamor across the stage in a terrifying chaos of noise. There are several scenes which younger audience members might find a little scary, particularly the visceral No Good Deed, which moved me to tears. Elphaba's pain and feeling of futility oozes from every intonation and gesture.


Emily Tierney opens the show as the wonderfully blonde, beautiful and beloved Glinda. She skillfully balances Glinda innocent self-absorption with an undeniably good heart. Her hilariously breathy rendition of Popular had me in stitches, and her seemingly boundless energy was infectious. I especially loved her nod to Evita during Thank Goodness! Keep an eye out for it. You gotta love musical in-jokes!

Liam Doyle was superb as the handsome prince Fiyero; exuding a charm worthy Zac Efron's star turn as Link Larkin in Hairspray. Madam Morrible is played to perfection by Marilyn Cutts, of Fascinating Aida fame. And a special shout out to Carina Gillespie and George Ure as Nessarose and Boq. Their stories are truly heartbreaking, and are played with a great deal of heart and sensitivity.

However, it's Nikki Davis Jones as the eponymous Wicked Witch, who steals the show! Her performance of Defying Gravity made my heart simultaneously beat like a train, and stop completely! I was still shaking from it well into the start of Act 2; it affected me in such a primal way. Her voice contains such incredible power (man, can she belt out a spine chilling high D flat!) but also has a soulfulness and heartache which comes from deep inside who Elphaba really is. She's now (alongside Kerry Ellis) my all time favourite Elphaba.

If you only see one show this year, please make it this production of Wicked. If there are any tickets left, I'm definitely going to be going again!

Emily Tierney as Glinda and Nikki Davis Jones as Elphaba

WEEKSTAGRAM // 3rd March - 10th March

I finally caught up with (apparently) the rest of woman kind and bought a 'magic lipstick'. It works with the alkali levels in your lips to create an individualised colour. Seriously, if this exists, what's the point of having any other lipstick!? // I took Cheryl to her first Zumba class - she came out slightly worse for wear // For Pancake Day Cheryl and I treated ourselves to a pancake lunch at Cinnamon Sticks // I then went home and cooked more pancakes. I ate 9 in total that day. Don't judge // Started a new skincare routine. Better be good - that pot of Clinique cost me £21 // Baked a cake for my nephew's birthday party - made a mess of my mum's kitchen in the process // The finished cake. Tasted pretty darn good // Me and the birthday boy. I can't believe he's 5 already! // Met my cousin's little girl, Lydia, for the first time. I admit, I felt a slight twang of broodiness.... // Wandering around Cefn Mably Farm Park reminded me of a) how much I miss living in the countryside, b) how friggin' cute falabellas and goats are, and c) how little townies know about the countryside. One woman confused a goose for a swan. I mean, seriously??! // We had such high hopes for the Wales v England 6 Nations clash, but it all ended in tears. Luckily cider and karaoke made up for the crushing defeat. 

Not pictured: Cheryl, Kath and I came 2nd in The Heath's weekly pub quiz (with hardly any cheating involved) // Conducted my first ever data collection. It went pretty well // Spent most of Monday 10th recovering from an horrendous hangover - detox starting immediately // Reconnected with a few old Edinburgh buddies. 

Recipe // Naughty Chocolate Fudge Cake

A few weeks ago, my brother asked me to make a cake for my nephew's 5th birthday party. As a keen baker I was happy to oblige, and quickly decided to use this BBC Good Food recipe for chocolate fudge cake, as it's been a perennial favourite in my house for quite some time. It's a really easy recipe to make, and goes down a storm with kids and adults alike.

Ingredients

175g Self raising flour

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 Tsp Bicarbonate soda

150g Caster sugar

2 Eggs Beaten

150 ml (1/4 pint) Sunflower oil

150 ml (1/4 pint) Semi skimmed milk

2 Tbsp Golden syrup

For the Coating and filling

75g Unsalted butter

175g Icing Sugar

3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

Drop of Milk

Method (in words)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC/350F/Gas Mark 4 (less for fan ovens). Grease and line two 18cm (7 inch) sandwich tins.
2. Sieve the flour, cocoa and Bicarbonate of Soda into a bowl. Add the sugar and mix well.
3. Make a well in the centre and add the syrup, eggs, oil and milk. Beat well with electric whisk until smooth.
4. Spoon the mixture into the two tins and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Remove from oven, leave to cool before turning out onto a cooling rack.
5. To make your butter icing, place the butter in a bowl and beat until soft. Gradually sift and beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder then add enough milk to make the icing fluffy and spreadable.
6. If the cake has risen a little too high then use a serrated knife to even off the top, now sandwich the two cakes together with the butter icing and cover the sides and the top of the cake with more butter icing.

Method (in pictures)

Make sure you have all your ingredients to hand.

Weigh out your ingredients. Here I've already combined the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb. It doesn't matter if you are slightly over/under.

Sift your flour, cocoa powder and bicarb into a large bowl. Try and sift as high as you can to get air into the mixture - this will make your sponge light and fluffy.

Add your sugar and mix well into the mixture.

Once you've added your wet ingredients, mix well with an electric hand whisk, or an electric mixer (if you're lucky enough to have one). Make sure you check that every but of dry mixture is added (glass bowls make it easier to see this).

Carefully pour your mixture into your pre-lined tin. Place into the centre of a preheated oven and keep a close eye on it! My first cake burnt because I was too busy painting my nails!

Whilst the cake is cooling you make can your buttercream icing. Simply combine butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and a drop of milk. This butttercream will go hard fairly quickly, so make sure you keep stirring it whilst it's in the bowl.

Finally, decorate your cake. My nephew is hugely into Star Wars so I used a pre-made icing sheet transfer to decorate it, surrounded by a sea of chocolate buttons. 

Have fun baking! 

Cardiff Comic Con - March 2014

It's a fact - geeks are the best people! I've been wanting to visit a comic convention ever since I first heard about Comic Con International in San Diego. Whilst that's still on my 'to visit' list, it sadly won't be for some years before I can get to go to California. Which is why I'm delighted that Cardiff now hosts it's own Comic Con at the Motorpoint Arena!

The event, which started in August 2013 and will hopefully run twice every year, draws in  huge crowds from all areas of fandom. In the queue alone I saw the following cosplay: Dr Who; Game of Thrones; Star Trek; Star Wars; X-Men; Lord of the Rings; The Avengers; Ghostbusters; Disney; Kick Ass; plus a lot of manga. Inside it was a veritable visual feast of awesomeness! The auditorium is crammed full of stalls, selling anything and everything a fangirl or fanboy could desire (t-shirts, models, vintage figurines, artwork, plus much more).

My two favourite stalls were Genki Gear, who sell brilliantly quirky t-shirts (and are now my best friends because they've met Benedict Cumberbatch!), and FanGirl Quest, who seek out fandom shooting locations and "sceneframe" the shots. Those girls are are very possible my geek love soulmates, and I'd love to be involved with their project in some way (hint). There are also several displays of original props and items used in various movies and shows. There is also the opportunity to meet and have a photograph with a variety of TV and movie stars. This year's stars included: John Rhys Davies (Gimli from Lord of the Rings); Danny John-Jules (Cat from Red Dwarf); Chris Judge (Teal'c from SG-1) Eve Myles (Gwen from Torchwood); Lee Merriweather (Catwoman); Devon Murray (Seamus from Harry Potter); plus many more!

The event does get really busy, and there are lots of opportunities for you to part with your hard earned cash, but it's something I'd highly recommend everyone visit. The weekend is so choc full of joy and creativity, and everyone is there to just have good, old fashioned fun. It's a place which encourages imagination, and allows people to truly be themselves; which is only ever a good thing!

The next Cardiff Comic Con is set to take place on the 8th and 9th November this year. I'm definitely going again, and I already have my cosplay in mind.....

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

WEEKSTAGRAM // 23rd Feb - 2nd March

Cheryl introduced me to the wonderful world of E.L.F. cosmetics // The obligatory selfie (a requirement when in the presence of the full length mirror!) // Afternoon Tea in a newly discovered gem - Cinnamon Sticks (High Street Arcade). It's a Instagrammers paradise, with vintage movies played for your enjoyment (we saw Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Calamity Jane) // Kath and Cheryl enjoying a good natter over tea and cakes the size of small children // Spring finally came to Cardiff, and then promptly left again // A photo I tweeted to Cardiff University went viral when they retweeted it, and has been found as far away as California // Cheryl, Karen and I went to (yet another) ceilidh, with the fantastic Uisge ContraBand playing // Helen and I enjoyed a stroll in the sunshine, and took in the eclectic sites of the St David's Day parade celebrations // We then had a total geekgasm at Cardiff Comic Con // Pizza party with the girls on Saturday, whilst watching Groundhog Day // Lovely lazy Sunday with Cheryl and the Rhiwbina Handmade Market (I didn't buy anything, but may have found a wedding photographer!)