1. Cream the butter to add lots of air. It should turn a light shade of yellow. 
2. Slowly add the icing sugar until it has fully combined with the icing sugar. 
3. Add the vanilla and 1 tbsp of cream, whisk together. 
4. Add more cream depending on the consistency. To pipe on the cake, you need firm peaks.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or 160C fan. 
2. Line a pan (approximately 20x20cm) with parchment paper. 
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and light.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla, zest and 1/2 an orange's juice. Most likely the mix will curdle but do not be alarmed! 
5. Add the baking powder, flour and almonds. 
6. Whisk together on a high speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture is full of air. The mixture should no longer be curdled now that the dry ingredients have been added. 
7. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. 
8. Let the cake cool and then remove it from the pan. 
9. Cut off the edges of the cake and the cut into 16 small squares. 
10. Apply some orange juice to the top and sides of the cake either by dipping very carefully or using pastry brush. 
11. Then sprinkle or dip the cakes into the granulated sugar. 
12. Finally pipe on the buttercream frosting and add some orange peal for garnish. 

Serves 3-4. 

White Chocolate Frosting 

1. Cream together the icing sugar and butter on a high speed. It should take about 2-3 minutes and the final mixture should be a lighter shade than the original butter. 
2. Melt the chocolate at 30 second increments until fully melted. Let it cool slightly.
3. Add the chocolate into the butter/icing and whisk together. 
4. If needed add the milk. The whisk should form a trail in the frosting. If you take out the whisk a soft peak should be formed on it. 

Traditionally, you are supposed to eat these pancakes with whipped cream and jam. In my family though we also have them just with plain jam, sugar, butter and sugar and sometimes nutella. . However, you could even have these savoury with ham and cheese. They are pretty blank canvas. My family spreads our topping of choice on half the pancake, then roll them up as shown below. 

Serves 2-3. Approximate cooking time 15 minutes (for all pancakes). 

Frosting Ingredients  

220g of unsalted butter, at room temperature

220g of cream cheese, at room temperature 

500g of icing sugar

2 tsp of vanilla essence or extract
1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of honey 

Process

1. Cream together the butter and cream cheese. 
2. Use a medium speed on a standing mixture or high on a hand mixer for about 5 minutes. 
3. The finished produced should be smooth, airy and a lighter colour than the original mixture. 
4. Slowly add the icing sugar to prevent spillage. 
5. Add the honey, milk, vanilla, honey and salt. Mix well. 
6. When you have finished the frosting should be thick and be able to hold a peak. 

When the cake have cooled, frost them with the buttercream. Sprinkle on some cinnamon and add the walnuts on top.

1. For the chai mixture boil 120 ml of water. 
2. Add the boiled water into a cup with two chai capsules or two chai tea bags. 
3. If you are using the capsules make sure to stir and dissolve the powder. 
4. Allow the mixture to cool before adding it to the frosting. 

300g of spinach 

300g of strawberries 

100g of almonds, slivered or cut 

balsamic vinegar for drizzling (white or regular) 

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling  

salt and pepper 

If you find your are out of cereal one morning, using a breakfast bar instead is a quick replacement. It may not be economically to be buying cerebral bars to put on cereal; however, it serves as an excellent replacement. This recipe is super easy, and the benefit of using a cerebral bar is you can limit your sugar intake but adding a fixed serving size. The honey and banana provide a great kick of sugar to start your morning as well. Best of all, it is filling enough to keep you going until lunchtime.
Ingredients 

100-200g of greek yoghurt
1 almond bar (I used nature valley almond bars), chopped or cut into small pieces
1 banana
Honey for drizzling

Nigella captured my heart when I as a little girl. People joke about her over-the-top sensuality and rather ridiculous descriptions of her food. I find that despite her rich vocabulary, her food is still simple, easy to follow and definitely not unapproachable. The warmth in her personality certainly adds to the warmth of her food. When I finally have my own flat, I hope to have an entire room dedicated to cookbooks just like hers. I may have to settle for a bookshelf though.

This cupcake recipe is from one of my favourite cook books, Nigella's "How to be a Domestic Goddess." I got the book for a bargain at a charity shop. Charity shops are an excellent place to find cook books without having to pay £20+ for one. I have slightly adapted the spices for the cake as well as omitting any raisins or nuts. If you are a fan of raisins or nuts, feel free to mix them in with the carrots. You should coat them in a bit of flour before adding them to the mixture to prevent them from sinking during the bake.  White chocolate chips would also be a deliciously decadent addition to this this recipe.