Heard a brilliant tip for super soft feet the other day.
I was shopping with a couple of friends and one of them was wanting to buy a pedicure foot razor that they use in most beauty salons to removed the dead skin from the soles of your feet. Love the idea of being able to do it by myself but am too scared that I'd take a chunk out of my foot!
But my friend said that she uses her old razors!? She only uses disposables anyway and once they are going blunt, instead of throwing them away, she uses them to remove the dead skin. She says she does it near the end of the shower so her feet are soft enough.
So I gave it ago, being a bit skeptical admittedly. BUT it worked, it took off the dead skin and I didn't cut myself at all - I actually don't think you could cut yourself because now most shavers have guards or multi blades to minimize the chase of cutting yourself.
Try it...
Love this look - gold leaf and lip gloss/lip salve on the eyelids.
So reading one of my 16 year old sisters trashy magazine (I sometimes feel like I have to justify why I would want to read a magazine that has a picture of Tulisa, Cheryl and Kristen with the title 'Under Attack'!?!) I have my first share!
Edd Kimber, the winner of 2010's Great British Bake Off (this years was better than ever) has an amazing recipe for a white chocolate rainbow cake. The reason why this interested me so much is my boyf has 4 nieces who has challenged me to create a rainbow cake better than theirs. As I'm unashamedly competitive it was game on and think I have found the trump card with this recipe!
Here goes:
Serves 18
Ingredients for Cake:
- 325g plain flower
- 50g cornflower
- 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 225g unsalted butter (at room temperature plus a bit extra for greasing)
- 400g caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 medium eggs seperated
- 300ml whole milk
- Gel food colouring in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple
Ingredients for White Chocolate Meringue Frosting (YUMMY!!!!)
- 150g white chocolate
- 300g caster sugar
- 6 medium egg whites
- 540g unsalted butter at room temperature
Method for Cake Layers:
- Preheat the oven to 180C/356F/gas mark 4, then grease and line 3 2cm round cake tins with baking parchment
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt together and set aside
- Put the butter into a bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy then add vanilla and mix
- Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating until fully combined. With the mixer on low, sift in the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk and ending with flour
- Put the egg whites into a clean bowl and whisk until they hold soft peaks. Add the whites to the cake batter and gently fold together until combined
- Divide the batter into 6 bowls and add a small amount of food colouring to each portion. Add the first 3 bowls to the prepared tins and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining portions of batter.
Method for Frosting:
- Melt the white chocolate in a bow set over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Put 190ml water and the sugar into a pan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and have a sugar thermometer ready.
- Put the egg whites into a clean bowl and start whisking on a high speed when the syrup (water and sugar) reaches 115C. Cook until the syrup reaches 121C
- Keep the mixer running and pour the syrup into a slow stream down the side of the bowl containing the egg whites. Continue whisking on a high speed until the meringue is at room temperature.
- Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until fully combined. Keep the mixer running and pour in the white chocolate until fully combined.
To Assemble Cake:
- Put the purple cake layer on a serving plate and top with a thin layer of frosting. Repeat the process with the other layers in order of the rainbow (purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red) and then spread the remaining frosting across the top and sides of the cake. (I think this bit should be optional as the cream might be a bit much all over the cake!?)
It seems complicated but I'm going to give it a go and I'll feedback soon on my attempts!?
ENJOY!
Well my first post, I'm sure most blogs start with that obvious statement but still!
This is just something I fancied doing. Being a 27 year old Londoner that has worked ever since she received her UK NI card at 15 I have now found myself living in Amsterdam with plenty of time on my hands. So I decided to explore things I never had time to do; cooking, painting, lunching (!) and generally taking time to appreciate having time!
But this blog was actually inspired by my bestie who after hearing about my novice Jamie Oliver-esque attempts bought me a gorgeous recipe book, which I totally fell in love with. So I set it on my book shelf along with my 'Beauty Bible' - another book that was a gift as I love jotting down beauty tips or ideas that I read or hear about. But seeing both these books sitting there I thought that maybe being a Generation Y child should be putting both these books online in one place?
So hear we are, a blog that is a culmination of beauty and baking, ideas and thoughts and I can only imagine a diverse range of pictures seeing as I can't get through a day here without seeing something worth my jaw dropping and the iPhone getting whipped out!
