Recipe: Carrot Cake

The recipe was loosely taken from BBC Good Food.

I can take or leave chocolate, crisps or sweets but cake? Cake I can eat all day, every day. Hence why I try not to bake it so I don't eat it all but last week I decided that I rather missed baking and whipped this up as a birthday treat for my boyfriend's dad. I was so pleased how it turned out!

Ingredients:
300ml of sunflower oil
4 eggs
280g of soft light brown sugar
170g of self-rasing flour
170g of wholemeal flour
4 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 teaspoons of bicarbonate soda
280g of coarsely grated carrots
100g of chopped walnuts

For the icing:
Make it easy for yourself and buy the Betty Crocker ready made cream cheese icing. It's like heaven in a tub. You'll need two tubs and some walnuts to decorate.

Method:
Heat the oven to 180 degrees and generously grease three shallow cake tins with butter.

Whisk together the oil and beaten eggs in a bowl and leave to one side. Add the sugar, flours, spices and bicarbonate soda into a large mixing bowl. Make sure you mix together thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

Finally add the remaining grated carrots, walnuts and egg mixture to the dry ingredients and give it a good stir.

Divide the mixture equally between the three cake tins and pop in the oven. Mine cooked with 30 minutes but always keep an eye on it as it depends on your oven. Sometimes it can take up to an hour.

Once the cakes have cooled, slice off the top - quickly scoff them so the evidence disappears - and smear on the icing before placing them on top of each other. Decorate with the walnuts however you wish.

Admire your handy work and tuck in to a big slice in front of the telly.

Like always, please do tweet me if you happen to make this! Happy Baking!

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Giveaway: Foodie Festival

I have three pairs of tickets to give away to three lucky readers thanks to the generosity of the guys at the Foodie Festival - you can choose to attend on 28th, 29th or 30th of November. You'll be able to get into the Christmas spirit early with lots of festive food on offer - there's even a life size gingerbread house serving warm ginger beer and roasted ginger marshmallows. Feed your sweet tooth with delicious eggnog tarts, marzipan bonbons and macaroons at the Pudding Hall or browse the cheese village for treats to take home. 2012 GBBO winner John Whaite will be offering up his tips to make you a Christmas baking goddess. It's all going on at the Truman Brewery, London. I'm personally looking forward to treating myself to a few retro 'pops' at the vintage Soda Bar, a cool 50's themed bar.

All you have to do is complete what it says on the rafflecopter widget and you're in with a chance.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck everyone! I'll announce the winners on Twitter on 1st November so keep an eye out.

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How to style a midi skirt

Even if you've only read my blog for a few weeks, you'll know that I have an obsession with midi lengths and in particular midi skirts. I often get told that people love them but could never pull them off themselves. Rubbish! Midi skirts are so amazing because they suit everyone - you just need to find the right one. I've got a few pearls of wisdom to pass on.

1. Wear heels or pointed flats
Midi skirts have the nasty habit of looking a bit frumpy. Now I'd love to pull off the off duty look with converse and a midi - it's a fine line - but I can't most of the time. Fair play to those who do! But I feel that a little bit of a heel lifts the skirt from frump to chic. In the winter I love to wear mine with chunky heeled boots. If you can't stomach wearing heels all day then a pair of pointed flats will be perfect. They just make it look a little more polished.

2. Find a length that works for you
There are many types of skirts that are classed as midis on sale. For some companies they come just above the knee and for others they fall down to your calf. I remember feeling very exposed when I popped the above midi on - you could see my knees! The shorter ones are perfect for those who might be a bit on the small side - they won't swamp your frame. Whereas the longer lengths are great for tall ladies.

3. Wear a fitted top
I always wear a fitted top and always tuck it in. I've never been one of these cool cats who can wear a jumper over the top. It's just too much material and does me no favours. Show off your waist if it's your smallest part and you'll create that gorgeous 1950 silhouette.

4. Wear a waist length jacket
Again I find a waist length jacket like a leather biker or a denim jacket works best. It stops at your waist and shows off the skirt in it's full entirety. I find it can cut off your body if it's too much longer. In the winter I try to wear a full length coat - maybe with just the bottom of the skirt peeking out if I'm feeling cheeky. But I never wear a coat that stops halfway down the skirt as I find it not to be very flattering.

Do you have any style tips for midis?

Psssst I find ASOS is the best place to pick up some gorgeous midi skirts - here are a few of my favourites. It's not sponsored, they just take too much of my money.

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