Equipped with my Sunday Morning Playlist, I set off to The Minimalist Baker for a super easy recipe that anyone can follow. the best thing about this recipe? It's made with vegan ingredients! If you're not vegan like me, then just substitute the Vegan ingredients for regular ones and you're good to go!

There's nothing better than a cosy weekend in baking, something I try to do as regularly as possible to get me through the long winter months... not to mention its a form of productive procrastination, I'll do anything to get away from the mountain of school work constantly clouding over my head!

And of course, how can you say you've baked without proof these days? There's no way I'd have any left over so these photos will have to suffice...


Why don't you have a go at this decadent treat?

P.S. Here's the amazing playlist I listen to pretty much every Sunday without fail:

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This weekend my friend had a birthday so four of us decided to take a trip up to the Hard Rock Cafe for a late lunch. We were lucky to have pre booked because the queued wait is about an hour or so! Following a speedy entrance we were handed menus and then came the 'difficult' part, making an actual decision as to what I wanted to eat. I ordered a drink first which hands down is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever had to drink- the strawberry and basil lemonade- it really hit the spot, perfectly refreshing! After deliberation yet again, I finally made my mind up and asked the lovely waiter for a hickory smoked pulled pork sandwich, which came with a side of beans, coleslaw and seasoned chips. Honestly it tasted amazing, and paired with my new favourite drink (which I'm so obsessed with I might have to try and replicate it) I was beyond satisfied. Unfortunately my childlike appetite meant I had no room for dessert but maybe another time? (Definitely another time.)

After the meal we had a little while left before I had to go home so we went gallivanting, taking in the sun and enjoying our surroundings and each other's company. I love the city so much, one of my favourite things to do is to just walk aimlessly around!

The outing was well needed, much enjoyed and the Hard Rock Cafe was delightful!

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-1 pineapple 

-2 tbsp coconut cream

-1-2 tbsp caster sugar plus extra for the rim of the glass

-Some lemon juice to taste and for the rim of the glass (depending on how tart you like your drinks I'd go for maybe half a lemon to a whole lemon)

-1 cup of ice

-Depending on how fancy you're feeling a  slice of lemon to decorate

1) Place the pineapple, coconut cream, sugar, lemon juice and ice into a blender 

2) Blend

3) Give it a taste to see whether it's how you like it and adjust accordingly if need be (this would be the time to add any alcohol!) 

4) Wet the edge of a glass with some lemon juice and rim the glass with the leftover sugar (the easiest way is to put the sugar on a plate and coat it that way!)

5) Stating the obvious here but pour the drink into the glass and decorate with the lemon slice

6) Voila! Enjoy your drink on a lovely hot summer's day

Honestly this is so simple, the ingredients are cheap, easy to find and all you have to do is throw them into a blender! Delicious and virtually no effort at all!

I found an amazing recipe for 'Ooey Gooey Fudge Brownies' by Erin on a website called Brownie Bites which will now be my go to recipe for brownies as they were so good! I followed the recipe word for word apart from using a loaf tin instead of a square baking tin. Of course this meant the baking time was a bit askew, so bake them for the time stated, stick a knife in to see if they're not runny in the middle (there will be batter on your knife when you pull it out but as long as it's not as liquid as when you put the batter in the that's supposed to happen!) and if they have a perfect crust on top and a gooey centre then you're all set to take it out of the oven. The next part requires so much self control- I mean like 5 year old on Christmas morning self control. You must wait until the tin is cool before taking the brownie out due to the fact it is so gooey half of it will literally remain in the tin if you don't do exactly what I've said (and if you're wondering yes I speak from experience). 

After an agonising wait all that's left to do is slice and eat up! There's nothing like the contempt of biting into something that's chewy, gooey and crunchy all at the same time! 

Enjoy enjoy enjoy and let me know what you think if you do give them a go!! 

Ingredients 

-Regular oats, literally whatever kind

-A couple of strawberries (I only used two but I have the appetite of a small child) or any other fruit- bananas or blueberries work quite nicely

-Two teaspoons of sugar, again whatever kind you have

-Half a teaspoon of cinnamon

For the nuts

-Handful of nuts of any kind or skip out on them if you're not a fan

-Teaspoon of maple syrup

-Teaspoon of honey

(If you don't eat honey or maple syrup, two teaspoons of any kind of syrup is usable whether agave or golden syrup)

Method

1) cook the oats as instructed on the packet- unfortunately I don't follow a rigid recipe and go for the 'just do whatever and hope it works out' but I'd say roughly 300ml or any milk/water with about half a cup of oats?? Honestly just see what looks right

2) (you can actually do this in advance and I think it does work better that way) start by crushing the nuts with a rolling pin, place them into a small saucepan with the honey and syrup on a low heat. Make sure to stir continuously until it starts to thicken and bubble a bit. Take these off the heat and spread them onto greaseproof paper or something that's greased down so they don't stick as they cool. The best thing to do is to let them cool completely then bash them up with a rolling pin again to get the candied pieces ( I made the mistake of eating them right after I took them off the heat and they were a bit too chewy)

3) in a small bowl mix the sugar with the cinnamon until the sugar is coated and sprinkle this on the oats (make it as pretty as you like!)

4) slice the strawbs and begin arranging them on the oats as well going to town with whatever design you choose

5) EAT!

I hope this tastes as good to you as it did for me, these oats have me craving breakfast at all times of the day!

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As the late afternoon approached we decided it was time to go home, still slightly full from our 'banquet' but satisfied all the same.

I have no idea what it's exact name is but all I know is that it tastes delicious and is super quick, easy and cheap. All you need is fruits like apples, pears, grapes, berries of any kind and then carrots, cucumber and some kale and you're ready to go! Just chop them up and stick it into a juicer/ blender with a table spoon of honey and half a lemon or so until smooth. You can mix and match as well, sometimes leaving out the kale or the berries for a different flavour or maybe even trying some more exotic fruits! It takes no effort at all and is a really nice detox-y type drink that you can have at any point in the day and counts for a large portion of your five a day!

This is a great meal as it can be enjoyed hot or cold with plenty of salad or pesto and lovely spices. Whether you have a pre-made pack or you want to start from scratch, cous cous can easily be made to your preference! Instructions are simple and are on the back of the packaging so you're ready to go!

*tip: use baby leaf spinach and peppers in your salad with the cous cous! They taste great together*

The only recipe here is for the nuts: all you need is assorted nuts and some honey. Place the nuts on grease proof paper and cover evenly with the honey and put them in the oven on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes! (Toss them around a bit after 5 minutes so they're evenly golden brown and add anymore honey if need be). Take them out when they look ready and leave them to cool. After just put them in a jar with the raisins and banana chips and enjoy! These are a great replacement for chocolate and crisps at snack time!

*tip: you can skip out on the rasins and banana chips if you like or even replace them with other things!*