Easy like Sunday morning: G&T cupcakes

I don't know about you, but on weekends where things are a little dull and grey outside, I often get the urge  to bake. And experiment a little too :) These Gin and Tonic cupcakes are inspired by the lovley Katiecakes, and helped along by the lemon cupcake recipes from my hummingbird cupcake recipe book. The method and mix of self raising flour and plain flour makes fluffy soft cupcakes every time. I've also added a bit more lemon and lime- I'm a big fan of the zing! These are seriously good and would be so perfect at a picnic or for a summer garden party :) Maybe I'll have to make another batch for the Brighton Blogger Picnic! Do you bake at the weekend? Got any amazing recipes to share with me? Let me know! 

G&T cupcakes

makes around 12 small cupcakes or 6 big cupcakes

Ingredients

55g unsalted butter, softened

112g caster sugar

1 large egg

65g plain flour

125g self raising flour

3 tablespoons of lime juice

zest of 1 lime

2 tablespoons of tonic water. 

1 tablespoon of gin. I'm a big fan of Hendricks- it tastes of rose and cucumber which is just delicious!

for the icing:

170g icing sugar

75g of softened unsalted butter

2-3 tablespoons of gin to taste

Method

Pop your oven on to preheat at arounf 180C. Place the softened butter and caster sugar into a big bowl and beat together until it is pale yellow and fluffy. Then add your egg, mixing until all incorporated into a smooth batter.

Next, sift your plain and self raising flours into a separate bowl, and put your lime juice and tonic water into a  small bowl or jug. Add a third of the flour to your batter and mix in, then add a third of  your liquid. When it is all incorporated, add another third of each, and then do the same again with the last lot. Finally, add your lime zest. The spoon your mix into cupcake cases, filling each one to around two thirds full. Pop into the oven and leave to cook for about 15-20 mins. They're done when a knife or skewer placed into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean. Take them out of the oven and brush the gin over the tops of the cupcakes before leaving to cool for half an hour or so. 

To make the icing, just mix your butter and icing sugar together and add the gin to taste- pop a bit extra in if you want a really boozy kick! When the cupcakes are cool, ice them. If you want to, you can finish them off like I have here with a sprinkle of lime and lemon zest mixed with sugar. It adds a little bit of colour and a citrussy crunch. Yum! 

Then use any extra zesty sugar to edge a glass and pour yourself a Gin and Tonic to go with your cupcake :) Enjoy! 

xxx

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The nasty side of blogging

This post is going to be somewhat different to my usual, but I've had this on my mind and I just want to try to get some thoughts out. Last week I ended up stumbling across not just one, but two whole forum sites dedicated to putting down bloggers. One link was tweeted and the other turned up on google whilst trying to find a recipe I'd seen on a blog a while ago. I'm ashamed to say it sucked me in for a few hours and I was pretty horrified.

There were pages and pages and pages of different people tearing apart bloggers. And I mean really tearing them apart. Nasty nicknames, criticising their looks, their style, their writing, their posts, their lives. Digging up old photos of them to laugh at them or show they're fake because they changed from what they used to be. Talking about how shit their life choices are, that their partners must hate them, that they are failing their children... And these things were being said anonymously. By people who professed themselves to be bloggers too, by adult women with their own lives and interests. I just couldnt help thinking why? Why write and say all this stuff? Why do you feel the need to read what someone else has blogged and then publicly shit on it? I can get not liking what someone posted. I can get finding someone annoying. I can get that urge to laugh at awkward photos and poses. That is kind of inevitable in this internet land where we can stumble into anyone's patch- the liklihood of finding something along the lines of what we like is fairly small really.

 But what I really don't get is why anyone would feel the need to actively take that person down, and feel like they can judge and say horrible things that they would never say in real life? I can't help but think how upsetting it would be to see my own blog on one of those pages. I know we are all meant to be thick skinned and understand that internet trolls are to be ignored but really? How would you feel? It is one of those situations where I am so grateful not to be a hugely sucessful blogger. It seems like people think that being well known on the interwebs suddenly means that a blogger is fair game for any comment. But isn't blogging all about experimentation, trying out some things we wouldn't have done otherwise? Isn't it a way of keeping track of how we change and develop over time? And surely not all of those things are sucessful... I can think of a few posts on this little blog already that make me cringe and laugh a little, and god only knows what it'll be like in 5 years time!

 I know some people will say that there are some bloggers who deserve it. They're stuck up, they're full of themselves, they're fame hungry and they need to be told. But even if they are all those things does it really do any good to say mean things about them? About their lives, their loved ones, their choices and their achievements? I can't help but think it just makes the commenter look bad instead of actually changing anything. On the internet we are given so much freedom to be ourselves and do what we like and I think that is what leads to the really good stuff and the really bad stuff about it. Maybe if we all start imposing a little more restriction on ourselves and try to be a little kinder, a littler nicer then the bad stuff like this will decrease. I'm going to apply what my mama used to tell me when I was little- If you have nothing nice to say then say nothing at all.If you find yourself thinking nasty thoughts about someone, click off that blog, don't read their posts, don't comment on any of it. And best of all- that way you don't give them the benefit of the pageviews!

One hell of a ramble I know... What are your thoughts on internet behaviour and forums like that? Reckon its  just part and parcel of the internet, or just plain nastiness? Have you been the brunt of any cyber negativity?

xxx 

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Blossom

At the weekend I headed into town to have coffee with the lovely Jessica from Fashionmeasmile - she is a queen of cool in all black and does AMAZING illustrations. Go and check her out! Anyway, seeing as we were blessed with a bit of sunshine, I couldn't resist taking some photos in the garden (even if it may have confirmed my loonie status with the neighbours). The garden is covered with Cherry Blossom, Forget-me-nots and Bluebells and it just makes me think of a magical wonderland. This is definitely my favourite time of year. Summer is amazing for those warm evenings and time off but Spring? Spring kind of has the monopoly on pretty.

Wearing- Ripped Denim: DIY (I've got a 101 guide on that here!); Tee: Primark; Sandals: Sam Edelman "Gilda"; Denim Jacket: gifted by my boyfriend's mum (Thank you Lizzie!); Necklace: Vintage; bag: Kurt Geiger; Rings: River Island 

xxx

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