New Years Eve Cocktails

New Years Eve Cocktails

Now this is something very different for our blog. I adore cocktails (Mojitos stole my heart a long time ago) and I have always struggled with the creative element of making new cocktails. Caitlin is yet to experience the joys of a good, strong cocktail, so we decided to create some of our own for New Years Eve. These cocktails have most likely been done before, but I personally have never seen them! I will be covering the alcoholic cocktails side and Caitlin will be attending to the non alcoholic cocktail. These will be an affordable cocktail with not any fancy alcohols (no Grey Goose here!) so anyone can make them and feel even more glamorous at New Year's, whether a child, a non drinker, a pre- drinker or house party animal! So lets get started shall we?

Jungle Juice and Dark Sunshine
Dark Sunshine:

This cocktail is one of our alcoholic cocktails, and is very fruity with a dark twist. Mixed with pomegranate and cranberry juices, I feel this is a more sophisticated version of your woo- woo's that everybody loves! The alcohols are vodka and amaretto, giving the dark twist at the end of your drink. The drink can also taste heavenly with a hint of fizz- we used lemonade here.
Dark Sunshine
Ingredients:
-ice cubes (any size)-
-half a shot of amaretto-
-shot of vodka-
-100ml (or there abouts) of cranberry juice-
-100ml (or there abouts) of pomegranate juice-
-optional topper of lemonade-
Method:
Pop your ice into a long glass and add your shots of amaretto and vodka. Pour in your cranberry and pomegranate juices to the top, or add your hint of fizz at the top of this. Stir with a straw and enjoy!
Jungle Juice:
This is a juice that anyone, boy girl, grandma or grandpa can enjoy and devour at ease. Perfect for making in bulk and sticking in the middle of the table for anyone to grab hold of and enjoy. As enjoyable with ice as without, and can also be fizzed up for any fussy child!
Jungle Juice
Ingredients:
-2 shots of pomegranate juice-
-1 shot of orange juice-
-3 shots of cranberry-
Method:
Pop your juices into a glass (or plastic cup!) and mix with a straw and enjoy!

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Dairy Free Restaurant Review: Zizzi's

Dairy Free Restaurant Review: Zizzi's

Since becoming dairy free, I have struggled with trying to find places to eat out where I can eat something other than a salad. So we are going to be starting a series (if not a little sporadic, who has the dollar to eat out all the time?!) reviewing restaurants in the UK for dairy free options on 'normal' foods! There is nothing more irritating or embarrassing then when dining out with friends, having to be a fussy bugger and avoiding Pizza Hut like the plague so we along this ride will try and help you all out!

Sofia Pizza
I was out for dinner with 2 of my friends from my old job, we tried to book many other tables but ended up on Zizzi's, as it was the Saturday just after Christmas! I knew from previous visits that I could get a decent, dairy free meal here and my friends like Zizzi's too. Our table was booked for 8.15 and I was eager to sit down and eat! We all ordered cocktails, and we all chose the 'Berry Bella', which is a mixture of amaretto, vodka, berry juices and soda water. I have to say this was delicious. I was slightly wary of the amaretto aspect but it blended in really well and made for a grown up cocktail, far away from my usual go to option of Sex on the Beach! The cocktail was £5.95 which is a little pricey, but I found it well worth the money.

Berry Bella Cocktail

Next came the choice of starters. Now, whenever I see Calamari on a menu I cannot resist, it's like a little Calamari gremlin in my head! There was a little bit of a wait on this but what I got in return could not disappoint. Some of the nicest Calamari I've eaten have been at Zizzi's restaurants previously and I was thoroughly satisfied here. The Calamari comes in small or large sizes and as tempting as large is, I can't quite justify that to myself! That still doesn't diminish the sadness I feel when I reach the bottom of the pile. The Calamari is served with garlic and basil aioli dip which I'm not sure if there is dairy in it or not, but I haven't had any adverse reactions to this. The Calamari was £5.95 for the small portion, there was a good amount of Calamari here for the price.

Calamari <3

Then came the mains. I adore pizza like it is going out of fashion and the fact that Zizzi's has Bufala mozzarella was like all of my pizza dreams coming true all at once! When ordering my pizza, I asked if I could have buffalo instead of normal mozzarella and the waiter and chef were absolutely fine with this as I explained I couldn't have the normal version. Bufala is perfectly fine with me as my intolerance is only to cows but you might want to check your own intolerances out before hand! I ordered the 'Sofia' pizza, which is part of the 'rustica' range of the pizzas, where they are stretched out thinner and longer than the normal pizza. The pizza comprises of mozzarella, spicy chicken and sausage, chillis, and pepperoni. The pizza was really delicious. I always struggle with having to cut slices of the pizza off myself and the rectangular shape meant I could fold it up and make it easier to eat. The chilli on the pizza is hot stuff, especially when you manage to get it stuck to the end of your tongue! I was really impressed with this pizza and I was absolutely stuffed at the end! The pizza cost £11.95 which I found was a good price for the size!
The pizza is huge!
The bill totalled £23.85 for myself, which I found was ok for a once in a while treat and catch up with friends, but I would not be able to afford this regularly. The bill was easily split between the 3 of us on different cards and then there was an option to give £0.25 to charity which I did. The food is mainly Italian influenced which I really enjoy and having the option to eat pizza just makes me feel just that little bit normal again. The pizza bases all come with a gluten free option too! Overall I was really impressed and will be visiting any of their chain again next year!
Hev
xoxox

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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 9: Chocolate Fudge

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 9: Chocolate Fudge

Day 9 has arrived and what better way to indulge yourself than some dairy free fudge? this fudge is soft set and can double up as fondant on top of a chocolate cake! 
Enjoy!



Ingredients:
-1/2 cup of milk (we used soya)-
-50g dairy free margarine-
-4 cups of icing sugar-
-1/2 cup of cocoa powder-
-2 packets of chocolate chips/ chunks-
-1 teaspoon of your flavouring (we used vanilla-

Method:
1) Sieve out your icing sugar, cocoa powder into a large bowl and then add your chocolate chips.
2) Melt your milk and butter together and bring to the boil.
3) Mix the milk and butter into your dry mix, beat well until the chocolate is nearly melted and everything is smooth, then pour into whatever container you would like to store this in! Pop in the fridge for a few hours or overnight until set.

Scoop out in tiny slices and devour!



Happy Baking!

xoxox

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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 10: Chocolate Log

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 10: Chocolate Log

Today marks day 10, only 2 days to go! We are bringing you our chocolate log recipe, perfect for Christmas day or Boxing day after dinner! The log can be filled and decorated however you require but we have chosen an icing based middle!
Hope you enjoy!
you will need:
- 3 egg whites-
- 150g caster sugar-
- 120g plain flour-
- 15g cocoa powder-

1) Preheat your oven to 180 and place a baking sheet on a baking tray.

2) Measure your egg whites and sugar into a bowl and whisk until the mixture is thick and holds its shape for at least 5 seconds when dripped off of the whisk.

3) Sift and in your flour and cocoa, ensuring to fold them in slowly and gently, so as to not knock out any air bubbles in the mix.

4) Once finished, pour your mixture on to the lined baking tray and spread evenly. Make sure your mix has been spread into the corners of the tray so that the chocolate log cooks evenly.

5) Bake for 8 minutes and pre-roll tightly, keeping the baking paper on the sponge.

6) When still slightly warm, unroll, and liberally spread on your filling of choice on to the roll. Reroll and cover in icing or whipped soya cream!
Cut a slice off (the ends are the best bits!) and enjoy!
Happy Baking!
xoxox
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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 8: Chocolate Truffles

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 8: Chocolate Truffles

How are we here at day 8 already? Madness! Today we have some gloriously dark chocolate truffles for you. These really are crazily dark and are perfect to be eaten along side a steaming mug of sugary black coffee! Add whatever flavourings you want to these truffles, we only used the basics as I am taking them to work for our Christmas brunch but you can add any alcohol or flavouring you could possibly wish for to these! They take around 2 hours to set in the fridge and then its time to get your hands messy! Makes about 25 truffles so please go ahead and enjoy!


Ingredients:
- 175g dark chocolate (we used Green and Blacks but maybe next time Lindt as it is slightly less bitter)-
- 125g dairy free margarine-
- 2 teaspoons of water-
- sugar for if the mix is too dark for you-
- liquor of your choice in the volume of your choice!-
- icing sugar for coating-
Method:
1) Melt the chocolate and the water together until thick and just melted.
2) Add in the butter and stir until fully melted in.
3) Add your sugar and liquor if you require and mix well.
4) Pop in the fridge for around 2 hours until mostly set but still quite pliable, use a teaspoon to scoop out an amount of truffle mixture, form in your hands until resembling a ball and roll in your icing sugar until fully coated! Put back in the fridge until set completely.
Take one of your truffles, bite in and enjoy!
Happy Baking!!
xoxox
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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 7: Profiterole Pyramid

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 7: Profiterole Pyramid

 It's day 7 of 12 cakes of Christmas and today we have scrummy profiteroles for you! These are suprisingly easy to make but you will need strong arm for beating the choux pastry though! You can use this recipe to make eclairs as well! We used Soyatoo cream for the filling which you can order off the internet and it has the same texture and taste as normal cream! If you use the squirty can version make sure you go back and refill the profiteroles when the air dissapates! Top the profiteroles with dark chocolate and you're good to go! The pastry makes about 25 profiteroles, you can probably strech this a bit more if you use a piping bag instead of a spoon like we did! The pyramid is sure to impress anyone at Christmas time!
Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-150ml water-
-50g dairy free margarine-
-60g plain flour-
-2 eggs, beaten-
-dairy free whipped cream (we used Soyatoo)-
-dark chocolate for melting-

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 190°C. Melt the butter in the water and then bring to the boil. When boiled, take off the heat completely, add the flour and beat like crazy until the dough forms a nice ball and barely sticks to your pan. 


2) When the dough is shiny and not sticking to the sides slowly beat in your 2 eggs. The pastry should be very supple and shiny after this.


3) Pour your pastry into a piping bag or just use a spoon (piping bag will get you even sizes) pop dollops of the pastry onto a sheet of greaseproof paper on a bakng tray, keeping a distance of at least 1cm so they don't try and stick together! Pop in the oven for 30 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.

4) When the profiteroles are out of the oven, Pierce a hole about 1cm round into one of the ends of the pastry balls to let all the steam out and stop them deflating. Fill the ball with whipped cream, and if using a squirty can wait for a few minutes then refill!

5) Dip the top of the profiteroles in the dark chocolate (you can cover as much or as little as you want!) and then pop in the fridge to set.

When set, take the profiteroles out of the fridge and stack into a pyramid shape and serve!

 Happy Baking!

xoxox
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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 6: Christmas Chocolates

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 6: Christmas Chocolates

Day 6 of our 12 Cakes of Christmas has arrived! These are not exactly cakes but they do make a great gift for any chocoholic who is missing proper chocolate after leaving dairy behind! We just melted the chocolate down normally, but if you have more time (and the skills) in your hands you can temper the chocolate to make them gloriously shiny! We used a chocolate mould that we brought from Lakeland but there are many alternatives floating around supermarkets and bake shops! If you fancy being more creative you can melt some dairy free white chocolate down and create two toned chocolates!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Bar of 70% cocoa and above dark chocolate (we used lindt)
Method:
1)In the microwave or in a bowl over some simmering water, melt the chocolate slowly to avoid burning the chocolate.

2)Pour the freshly melted chocolates into the moulds until filled to the top. Tap the moulds onto a flat surface to remove the air bubbles that may have caught in the chocolate. Pop the chocolate in the fridge and leave to set until completely hard. Not tempering the chocolate may leave slightly lighter specks on the chocolate where the chocolate becomes cold but this is both fine and entirely normal.

3) When set, pop out the chocolates carefully with cold hands and onto a clean surface. Now you can wrap the chocolates or keep in the fridge until required at Christmas! 


Happy Baking!

xoxox
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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 5: Christmas Cake Pops

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 5: Christmas Cake Pops


 Day 5 of our 12 cakes of Christmas is now here! Today we will be showing you our Christmas cake pops, lovingly decorated as Christmas puddings! So simple to decorate and the perfect treat sized pudding for when you're just too stuffed from your Christmas dinner! All you need is a cake pop mould and you're good to go!
Ingredients:
For the cakes:
-120g dairy free butter-
-150g caster sugar-
-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract-
-2 eggs-
-160g self raising flour-
-20g cocoa powder-
-4 tablespoons of milk (we used soya)-
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180°C and use cake release or simple greasing around the moulds of your cake pops.
2) Cream the butter and sugar until light and unable to feel the sugar under your spoon. Add in the vanilla and eggs and mix until combined.
3) Pop in half the flour, cocoa and milk and mix, and then add the rest.
4) Put your cake pop mould onto a baking tray and use a teaspoon to fill each mould (not the one with the holes!) fill to the top and then add the cake pop lid!
5) Pop in the oven for about 15 minutes until the cake pops are cooked through (poke a cocktail stick in the top of the pop mould and see!)
6) Wait until completely cool to take the moulds out! Don't worry if some are slightly misshapen you can use these for other designs!
Once cooled, put your cake pops onto the cake pop sticks. Whip up some simple icing sugar and water until quite thick and pour over the top of your cake pop. Roll up 3 little red balls for the berries and then a leaf shape in green fondant for the leaf! place on top before the icing sets!



Happy Baking!
xoxox
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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 4: Christmas Jumper Cake

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 4: Christmas Jumper Cake

Today is day 4 of our 12 cakes of Christmas! Today we're showing you our Christmas jumper cake. We originally made this for a Lakeland competition but we thought we would show you how we created this! This will look spectacular on the Christmas table as a brilliant dessert or centre piece, plus you can be creative and design this anyway you want. We used a jumper shaped mould to bake the cake in and used different coloured fondant icing to create the moulds. We covered the cake in white fondant and filled the sleeves in with green fondant. The trims were rolled out and cut to size for the neck and sleeves.


For the snowflakes:
We used a snowflake icing cutter set to create the different sizes. the cutter works best on about 1/2cm thick fondant!

For the leaves and berries:
We used red fondant for the berries rolled into small balls. For the leaves, we cut out a holly leaf shape using a knife, then used this as an outline for the rest of the leaves out of the green fondant.

For the Christmas trees:
We used green fondant and cut out the Christmas trees with a sharp knife, with the middle tree slightly bigger than the outer two trees.

For the candy canes:
We rolled out some white and red fondant into 2 even sausage shapes, then placed side by side and rolled together to create the candy cane pattern. We then bent the top over to create the cane shape.

For the Penguin:
This is very simple to create. We used a triangle of black fondant, an oval of white fondant and some orange coloured fondant. Press the white oval into the black penguin oval, making sure to leave room at the top to bend over the white oval. Pop two tiny black oval shapes into the oval for the penguins eyes and then roll some of the orange into a small triangle for the penguins nose. Bend the top of the triangle over the oval. Roll two orange balls and then squish and press onto the bottom of the penguin to act like feet! 

Happy Baking!

xoxox


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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 3: Christmas Gingerbread

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 3: Christmas Gingerbread


It's day 3 of our 12 cakes of Christmas and what can possibly be more Christmassy than Gingerbread? We've scrapped the traditional shape for snowmen and Christmas trees and are excited for you all to try our gingerbread! Be warned, the recipe can be extremely sticky if too much golden syrup is used so have an adequate amount of flour on hand to aide rolling and handling of the dough! These gingerbread are so soft they make the perfect Christmas themed snack!
Enjoy Everyone!


Ingredients:
-350g plain flour-
-1 teaspoon of bicarb of soda-
-3 heaped teaspoons of ground ginger-
-100g dairy free margarine-
-175g light muscavado sugar-
-1 beaten egg-
-3 tablespoons of golden syrup-

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sieve the ginger, flour and bicarb into a bowl and rub in the margarine until it looks like breadcrumbs. Mix the sugar into the breadcrumbs, being careful to break big sugar lumps up.

2) Add the egg and golden syrup into the mix and stir until just forming, then get your hands back in and form the end dough (you might want to flour your hands first!).

3) When the outside has formed a smooth dough, roll out on a liberally floured surface (depending on dough stickiness) until about 1/2 to 1cm thick. Use your Christmas cutters to cut out shapes in the dough, and place on greased baking tray, reusing the spare dough constantly. Pop these in the oven for about 10 minutes until they just become golden on top and change colour.


Take the gingerbread out of the oven, don't worry if they have stuck together just use a sharp knife to separate them! Use a fish slice to slide them onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Decorate with a simple sugar and water icing when cooled and voila! Share your gingerbread with friends and family and i cannot be beaten devoured with a nice cup of tea!



Happy Baking!
xoxox
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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 2: Biscuit Baubles

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 2: Biscuit Baubles

Day 2 of our 12 cakes of Christmas is here! this is our version of the classic reception bake of biscuit baubles! The recipe used here is our Chocolate Biscuits recipe (follow the link!) which is super easy to create and make and is vegan friendly too! These biscuits can be hung on the tree for about a week before Christmas and make such an easy childrens bake so they can feel like they have added something they've made themselves to the tree!
Hope you all enjoy!


Make up the dough for the biscuits and roll out onto a lightly floured surface, use your christmas cookie cutters or any other cutters you have to cut out shapes in the dough. Using a cockail stick (for children) or a knife pierce a whole (quite wide) at the top of the shape so you can thread a ribbon through later on!


Pop in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked through and still a little soft! Pop on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. Thread a ribbon through the top if destined for the tree and then decorate to your hearts content!


Happy Baking!

xoxox
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12 Cakes of Christmas Day 1: Mince Pies

12 Cakes of Christmas Day 1: Mince Pies

Welcome to our 12 cakes of Christmas! from today until Christmas Eve we will be bringing you some incredibly Christmassy cakes, chocolates, biscuits and more! Lets get you thoroughly into the Christmas spirit and give you some inspiration for you own Christmas' at home! We're kicking off the series with these insanely easy mince pies which are a great first Christmas bake!
Merry Christmas!

You will need:
- 210g dairy free butter-
- 325g plain flour-
- 90g caster sugar or granulated sugar-
- 1 tsp mincemeat per pie-

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180 and take out your equipment. Add the flour and sugar into a bowl and rub in the butter until it starts to form lumps.


 Knead the mix into a firm dough, don't worry if this takes a while, just keep going at it until the dough fully comes together.


2) Roll into a 5mm thick thickness and cut discs out of the dough, proceed to put these in a non stick fairy cake tray or a greased one depending on your personal preference. Fill the cases with the mincemeat and cut out some more discs to make lids, press the lids down at the sides and prick with holes to prevent any mincemeat from slipping out.


3) If you want a shiny top, coat with a light eggwash before baking, bake in the oven for 15-20minutes and set out to cool. Wait until completely cool to try and remove them from the tray as other wise they can be a bit crumbly and weak.
Perfect with some soya cream or custard flavoured with a dash of brandy or some brandy flavoured dairy free butter!
Happy Baking!
xoxox
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