Blood Orange Macarons

My eagerness to post another blood orange recipe before Lidl stops stocking them and ultimate life goal to master (alright wouldn't go as far as master, nor declare them my life goal but these turned out pretty darn well) macarons very conveniently led to this fancy pastel coloured post: blood orange macarons. I say fancy because this is definitely a baking milestone for me! Plus I have a lot of making up to post wise since ya know, I'm abysmal at following my self set post schedule!! Uni seems to have thrown all-the-work-ever at us these past few weeks, but deadlines have now all been met and I can breathe PHEW (when I say breathe I mean watch back to back episodes of Angel because I have finished Buffy *sobs uncontrollably*).

Fondant Fancies

With sunshine comes the good mood that sees me buying dungarees, pastel coloured socks, not grunting at the crowds of people in Liverpool on a bank holiday weekend and having the urge to make fondant fancies! I came home one day last week to find someone had 'taken' my piping bag (there is a lot of 'taking' going on here at the moment, I cannot wait to move out into our own apartment where I can keep my stand mixer out and still come home to it!) so the chocolate drizzle on top isn't fab but I tried two different ways did the best job I could without my tools!

Orange Butterfly Iced Biscuits

The sun is shining in Liverpool again (I probably shouldn't get used to it) so I thought I'd spend the morning making these lovely little fluttery delights! The dough is as delicate as butterflies themselves so needs to be handled with care, other than that they are easy peasy and can be whipped up pronto. (Or it can take you all morning if you are trying to find a no-revision-worthy activity.)

Giant Double Chocolate Sandwich Biscuits

I crave biscuits often and chocolate all the time even more often and on a student budget it is very difficult to find an affordable satisfyingly yummy chocolate biscuit... OK who am I kidding Aldi's dark chocolate digestives and Lidl's bourbon biscuits are perfectly yummy enough to gobble down nine at a time, I just wanted an excuse to create the biggest yummiest chocolate biscuits I could think of after 5 hours of data analysis (a uni assignment, fingers crossed!). I plonked myself down to watch the Great British Sewing Bee with a cup of tea and one of these bad boys within half an hour of taking the dust cover off my stand mixer. Yes I could have plonked myself down sooner had I simply taken the lid off the biscuit tin, but truth be told these homemade biscuits ARE much more satisfying than the aforementioned budget buys - not to mention significantly larger! (ENORMOUS)

Summer Lovin' Cake

I know it's not summer but there have been a few hints that it is on its way - "Really?" I hear my fellow Brits say, "was it not snowing in April this year?!" - and the tiny ray of sun I saw peeking out of the clouds the other day made me feel all summery, not to mention this cake is yummy yummy yummy and so in an attempt to coax the reluctant sun from its hide out behind the clouds and raise everyone's rather wintry spirits I want to share my Summer Lovin' Cake with you all!

This cake looks so much more difficult to make than it is so it is perfect for impressing friends and family at picnics and BBQs. It is made using two different flavoured (and coloured) sponges and provided you have a heart cutter and a loaf tin you are good to go!