Galaxy Enchanted Eggs Cupcakes Perfect For Easter!

I bloody love Galaxy chocolate, so it's quite shocking that I haven't created a bake or cake with the yummy stuff yet, well until now I should say! Yup, today I am bringing you a scrumptious yet easy Galaxy chocolate cupcake recipe decorated with those pretty rose gold Enchanted Eggs to add an Easter feel! The cupcake itself is just a regular chocolate cupcake but it's been spruced up with chunks of chopped up Galaxy bar within it, it's so yummy and perfect for any chocoholics out there!

What You Will Need For The Cupcakes
125g butter
2 large free-range eggs or 3 medium
100g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder
125g light brown sugar
100g Galaxy chocolate chopped up into chunks.

What You Will Need For The Icing
150g unsalted butter
300g icing sugar
15g cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp milk
2 bags of Galaxy Enchanted Eggs to decorate

How To - Cupcakes
1. Firstly pre-heat your oven to gas mark 4 /180 and line a muffin tin with your cupcake cases.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whack in your butter and sugar and cream together, then pop in the rest of your cupcake ingredients (apart from the Galaxy) and mix until smooth with a hand whizzer or standing mixer.
3. Chop up your Galaxy bar into chunks, these can be as big or as small as you like then gently fold them through the batter.
4. Pop a heaped tablespoon of the cupcake batter into each cupcake case and bake in the oven for around 16-18 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes are springy to the touch, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

How To - Icing
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until it becomes smooth and silky, then start adding the icing sugar and cocoa powder slowly to avoid the dreaded icing sugar cloud and mix again until combined. If your buttercream becomes thick just add in a tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the perfect consistency.
2. Pipe or spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes and decorate how you wish, because I wanted to make these Easter themed I used the new Galaxy Enchanted Eggs because they just look so freakin' pretty, but you could also use squares of the Galaxy bar or Galaxy Minstrels if it wasn't Easter time.
And there you have it, super yummy Galaxy cupcakes that are so easy to make and will look amazing on your Easter table this Easter! I will warn you, these are quite sickly and definitely for the chocoholics out there, my Nephew absolutely loved them and polished 3 off in one day (little piggy), one was definitely enough for me though he he!

nopin

How To Keep Your Home Warm For Less


There’s nothing worse than getting up in the morning or coming home from work to a cold home. It’s quite frankly miserable to have to wear multiple layers and wrap up in blankets in your own house. While it may seem like an endless battle between keeping your home cosy and trying to keep a lid on your energy bills, there are a number of simple tricks that can make a huge difference to your home’s temperature without breaking the bank! 

Here are some top tips for heating your home and saving money at the same time… 

Curtains 
If you don’t have curtains around your home currently, having them installed is one way to help insulate your rooms. They can be used to your advantage to keep heat in and stop cold air from getting in. Keep your curtains wide open when its sunny to allow the sun and heat to stream in, and firmly shut in the evenings to insulate the warmth already in your room. 

Investing in some long and thick draped curtains that go right to the floor and reach the ends of your windows will ensure no heat escapes or cold air enters underneath. Curtains are a useful temporary solution for homes that may have older window panes or doors with cracks where draughts can creep in.

Smart thermostats 
Another tip is to make the most of advances in boiler and central heating technology. Smart thermostats can be found in many homes across the UK and you should make the most of this. Smart thermostats can be programmed to turn on at certain times of the day or can be triggered by temperature so they kick in or turn off once your home hits a certain temperature. 

Most new boilers nowadays will come with a smart thermostat that can be controlled via a handy app on your phone. BOXT are leading providers and installers of combi boilers in the UK, offering top of the range Worcester Bosch and Vaillant boilers to homes and businesses. Their top priority is customer service and they are renowned for having boilers installed with minimal hassle, as soon as the next day. 

Don’t believe the old wives tale that leaving your central heating on low for longer periods of time is more economical. You should only use your boiler when it’s needed by setting it to come on around half an hour before you get up in the morning or arrive home from work. Doing this means your home is cosy as soon as you walk in but also allows you to avoid overspending on energy bills by having your boiler running constantly. If you have pets, you may want to set your thermostat to turn on for a short period in the middle of the day to make sure your home doesn’t become too chilly for them.

Keep your radiators clear 
Next, try to avoid blocking the heat from your radiators with any furniture. Radiators may not be the best looking items in your home, but placing sofas or other pieces of furniture in front of them will leave you spending more than necessary to keep your home warm. Leaving clothes or towels hung on your radiators to dry will also mean they absorb the heat that should be keeping you warm. Try to keep the areas around your radiator as free as possible to allow the heat to flow freely.

Insulate water tanks and pipes
If your home doesn’t have a combi boiler installed like most do these days, you should try to keep your water tank and pipes as insulated as possible. Minimise the amount of heat lost from your tank by using specially made insulation jackets and make sure your tank is installed in a space that isn’t prone to draughts. 

Pipe lagging can also make a difference by preventing heat from escaping on the journey from your boiler to the radiators around your home. Foam lagging can be found in any DIY store and is easy to fit. 

Draught-proof your home 
If you live in an older or period home, draught-proofing is essential to stop your energy bills from going through the roof. Check around your floorboards, window panes, door frames and more for any cracks or gaps where cold air can creep in. There are plenty of DIY options for preventing draughts like floorboard filler, rubber window seals, under-door draught excluders and more. You will notice a difference in the overall temperature of your home by stopping any pesky draughts from finding their way in. 

Heat reflectors
A final but still important tip for keeping a warm home for less is to place thin sheets of foil behind your radiators. This reflects the heat produced by your radiators into the room, rather than letting it hit the wall and be absorbed. 

nopin

*AD - This is a collaborative post.

No-Bake Biscoff Cheesecake Recipe

Hey beaut's!

Your'll all know by now that I love my bakes and cakes, but last year I go into making no-bake cheesecakes and to be honest I couldn't quite believe how easy they where, so obviously I got hooked! One cheesecake flavour I hadn't attempted yet was Lotus Biscoff, this is quite shocking for me because I bloody love Biscoff biscuits and the Biscoff spread so it was a no brainer really! If your a Biscoff lover then you NEED to give this a go, what's not to love about a Biscoff biscuit base, Biscoff spread mixed within the cheesecake filling and more melted Biscoff spread drizzled on top with whipped cream, wowza!

What You Will Need - Biscuit Base
*250g Lotus Biscoff Biscuits
*85g Melted Unsalted Butter

What You Will Need - Cheesecake Filling
*250g Cream Cheese
*50g Icing Sugar
*150ml Double Cream 
*125g Lotus Biscoff Spread
*Half a tsp Vanilla Extract
*2-3 tbsp Lotus Biscoff Biscuit Crumbs

What You Will Need - To Decorate
*150 ml Double Cream
*2 tbsp Icing Sugar
* 2-3 tbsp Lotus Biscoff Spread
* Lotus Biscoff Biscuits

How To - Biscuit Base
1. Blitz up the Biscoff biscuits to a fine crumb and pour in your melted butter and mix until it feels and looks like wet sand then pop it in a spring form tin and press down firm to pack those crumbs together. 
2. Pop into the fridge or freezer to chill/set whilst you work on the cheesecake filling.

How To - Cheesecake Filling
1. Pop the cream cheese, icing sugar, Biscoff spread and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl and whizz together with an electric/standing mixer until smooth.
2. Once smooth, pop in your double cream and mix again until well combined and it's thickened.
3. To add some crunch I mixed through a couple of tablespoons of Biscoff biscuits that I had roughly broken up into small bits, if you can find the crunchy Biscoff spread then you wont need to do this but I could only get my hands on the smooth kind. 
4. Heap the cheesecake mixture on top of the biscuit base and chill in the fridge ideally overnight however, I made mine first thing in the morning and left it to chill all day until dinner time and ours was fine. Basically the longer you can chill it the better!
5. Once the cheesecake has completely chilled and firmed up decorate how you like, I melted some Biscoff spread and drizzled it over the top on the cheesecake, then I whipped up some double cream and added swirls on top then I used left over Biscoff biscuits
And there you have it, the most scrumptious cheesecake I think I've made yet! The cheesecake will keep in the fridge for 3 days starting from the day you made it being the first day! Also if you do add the Biscoff biscuits on top with the whipped cream to decorate they will probably go a bit soft by day two so just bare that in mind!

nopin