LJC x OASIS

Things have been a little hectic here at HQ which is probably pretty apparent from the lack of posting that has been going on lately. One in particular event we're super excited to finally be able to share with you all is where we supplied these little cuties to UK retailer Oasis for their spring/summer collection launch which was held at The Glasgow Corinthian. 

All ready on their way to the event....

Each glitter tablet heart had their very own display box and were popped into all the Oasis goody bags. Pretty cute huh?

The collection was pretty, fresh and classic with all the additional attributes you would expect from a spring/summer collection.  

Head on over and check out the full collection here

Thanks to Oasis Glasgow for getting us involved in such a wonderful event. 

Happy Friday everyone!

LJC

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Almond + Lemon Meringue Roulade

IMAGE | BBC GOOD FOOD

With Easter over and spring officially here, we thought it would be the perfect time to share one of our favourite (and most impressive) dessert recipes that's not only perfect for a garden party with friends but also great for cosy Sunday roasts with the family. 

It may seem slightly intimidating but it's really rather simple, promise...

Almond + Lemon Meringue Roulade

Serves 6-8 | To prepare 15mins  | To cook 35mins

Ingredients  

• 4 large egg whites
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 50g ground almonds
• 300ml double cream
• 1-2 tbsp icing sugar
• 6 tbsp lemon curd
• 1 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
• 3 strawberries, halved, to decorate

Method

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line a Swiss roll tin (about 23 x 30cm) with baking parchment.
• Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff. Slowly add the sugar, still whisking, until stiff and glossy.
• Fold in the almond extract, vinegar and ground almonds until lightly incorporated. Pour into the Swiss roll tin and smooth over, tapping the tin to remove any big air bubbles.
• Bake for 30-35 mins or until the top is golden and feels firm and set. Remove from oven, cover with baking parchment and a damp tea towel. Leave to cool.
• To serve, whip the cream until thick. Spoon a third into a piping bag and set aside. Invert the roulade onto a large sheet of baking parchment sprinkled with icing sugar. Carefully peel off lining paper and spread over the lemon curd, then spread over the rest of the cream.
• Roll up carefully, using the paper to help you. Pipe the remaining cream on top of the roulade, and decorate with flaked almonds and strawberry halves.

Recipe Source | BBC GOOD FOOD

Have a great Friday everyone!

LJC

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We hope you all have a wonderful Easter Sunday!

Relax, sit back and let the chocolate eating commence....

LJC 

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Easter Party | Food

Yesterday we touched upon creating decorations and DIY's that were perfect for your Easter party. Now the art's and crafts have been taken care of we're focusing our attention onto one of our favourite topics...food of course! 

To create the perfect dessert table we believe that there's three elements that can make it successful; Colour variation, height variation and great positioning. 

Here's some idea's to get your inspired for this upcoming weekend...

Sweet Treats

Easter (or infact your dessert table) wouldn't be the same without some delicious sweet treats. Here's some of our favourite Easter inspired creations we spotted over the past week...

Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcake 

IMAGE SOURCE | MY BAKING ADDICTION 

Not only are these cupcakes super cute thanks to the addition of a miniature creme egg but we're told they taste exactly like the real thing. Want to make a batch of your own? Head on over to My Baking Addiction for full details and recipe. 

Pastel Croquembouche

IMAGE SOURCE | CARNETS PARISIANS

Whilst this sweet delight requires a little more art than baking we can vouch that it's very much worth the effort. If you're not familiar with choux pastry then this may be a little too adventurous however we believe you should never shy away from a challenge, especially when it's this pretty. This particular recipe is French so if you're not fluent you can also find a great alternative here just remember not to make the caramel cage. 

Carrot Strawberries

IMAGE SOURCE | HARRY & DAVID 

The art of deception is always a fun idea for your dessert table, watching everyone's face overcome with amusement and curisoty once they discover what they're eating is not all that it seems. We couldn't get enough of these little mini strawberry carrots when we spotted them earlier this week over on Pinterest . Not only do they look effective but they're also really easy to make, take a look at the recipe here

Bunny Cookies on a Stick

IMAGE SOURCE | MUNCHKIN MUNCHIES

I would challenge you to find any kid or adult that wouldn't be in awe of these little cuties. What's more find someone who doesn't like sugar cookies, impossible right? Not only do they taste amazing but they're also multi purpose, yep kids can use them as novelty masks. Find the full tutorial here

Chocolate Cake

IMAGE SOURCE | MORRISONS MAGAZINE 

Easter and chocolate go merrily hand in hand so it's inevitable that a chocolate cake will make it's way onto your dessert table. We love the simplicity of this particular cake, especially the powder blue Easter eggs, don't be afraid to get creative and try out your own decorations. 

Good Luck!

We hope you all have a wonderful Good Friday! 

Keep us updated with all your Easter party creations over on Twitter we love to hear what you've all been getting up to in the kitchen. 

LJC

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Easter Party | DIY

Planning on having an Easter party this weekend? Don't fret we have you covered on the creative side with lot's of fun, valuable DIY's that will add a little originality to your festivities and also keep the kids entertained too. 

Why not get a head start by making these super cute Bunny ear bags from Oh Happy Day. Not only are they fun to make but they're also a great gift alternative to a chocolate egg and you can fill them with almost anything. 

A great idea to give your Easter table a novelty twist is creating a bunch of carrot utensils for all your guests. They're very effective and easy to create, just follow this step by step guide from Spoonful. 

Here's a fun activity the whole family can get involved with after Easter lunch... 

Watercolour eggs!

IMAGE SOURCE | A CREATIVE MINT

Not sure how to prep an egg ready for painting? Not a problem check out Martha Stewart for easy to follow instructions here. 

Good luck and have fun getting creative!

LJC

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P.s Check out the blog tomorrow for Easter party food ideas!

Hot Cross Buns | Recipe

IMAGE SOURCE |Pinterest 

Personally Easter just wouldn't be complete without the inviting aroma of freshly baked hot cross buns surrounding the home. And although purchasing supermarket versions are very, very tempting we trust that as soon as you make your first batch of home made hot cross buns you won't look back. They're that good! 

Please don't be put off by what looks like a very difficult and time consuming recipe. The results are worth it and it will get alot easier with practice...we promise!

Hot Cross Buns

Serves 15 | To prepare 30 mins + proving| To cook 20 mins

Ingredients 

For The Buns

• 300ml full-fat milk , plus 2 tbsp more
• 50g butter
• 500g strong bread flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 7g sachet fast-action or easy-blend yeast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 75g sultanas
• 50g mixed peel
• zest 1 orange
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For The Cross

• 75g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

For The Glaze

• 3tbsp apricot jam 

Method

• Bring the milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add the egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.
• Tip on to a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand and stretching it with the heal of the other hand, then folding it back on itself. Repeat for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hr or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.
• With the dough still in the bowl, tip in the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, apple and cinnamon. Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Leave to rise for 1 hr more, or until doubled in size, again covered by some well-oiled cling film to stop the dough getting a crust.
• Divide the dough into 15 even pieces (about 75g per piece ). Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with parchment, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover (but don't wrap) with more oiled cling film, or a clean tea towel, then set aside to prove for 1 hr more.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix the flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross - add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses (see *Tip below). Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown.
• Gently heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.

*TIP- Pipe the crosses over the buns slowly so that the paste 'hugs' the curves on each bun.

Recipe via Paul Hollywood for BBC Good Food

Good luck & Enjoy!

LJC

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Eggshell Candles

IMAGE SOURCE | LESS CANDLES 

We spotted these super cute Easter candles over on Etsy a few day's ago and ever since we've been scouring the internet to find the perfect DIY to share with you all. Turns out they're really pretty simple to make, or so it seems when following instructions from master creative Martha Stewart. 

What You Will Need 

• Eggs (as many candles as you would like) 
• Pin (medium to large) 
• Candle wick 
• Funnel 
• Dye Pellets (for dying the wax) 

How To 

• First, make a hole in the top of each egg with a pin; enlarge the holes, and pour out the yolks. 
• Clean shells by rinsing under warm water, and checking the insides for any loose shell. 
• Allow empty shells to dry out. 
• Place your eggshells in an empty egg carton (great for holding larger quantities) or an egg cup. 
• Cut wick to around four inches long. 
• Flatten one end of the wick and fasten in the centre of the eggshell with a little warm wax. 
• Using your funnel (this minimises spillage) fill your eggshells with hot wax which has been tinted using dye pellets. 
• Let the wax cool. 
• Trim the wicks and enjoy.

IMAGE SOURCE| LESS CANDLES 

If you're not a regular with DIY's or you would like to use old or left over candle wax we also found this great tutorial that goes into a lot more detail and uses step by step images.

p.s Keep your eye's peeled on the blog over this week as we'll be sharing our favourite Easter inspired recipes, along with some easy art and craft ideas for your home. 

Have a lovely Tuesday everyone!

LJC

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