How To: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Summer from Nothin' fancy. Really. left a comment on my 'Bargains and Baking' post to ask if I would post the Red Velvet recipe I use so here it is :) It is originally from the Hummingbird Bakery book however I have slightly adapted it - mainly with the icing, opting not to use cream cheese.

Ingredients: for the cupcakes

• 120g (4oz) unsalted butter
• 300g (10 1/2 oz) caster sugar
• 2 large eggs (room temperature)
• 20g (3/4 oz) cocoa powder
• 40ml (1 1/2 fl oz) red food colouring
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp salt
• 300g (10 1/2 oz) plain flour
• 240ml (8 1/2 fl oz) buttermilk

Ingredients: for the icing

• 300g (10 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
• 600g (1lb 5oz) icing sugar 
• Approx. 2 tbsp milk/buttermilk

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Baking time: 18-20 minutes

Makes: 12-16 cupcakes

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 190° (gas mark 5) and line a 12-hole muffin tray with muffin/cupcake cases.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric whisk to cream the butter and sugar together for a minimum of 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating with the whisk after each egg is added.
3. In a separate bowl, stir the cocoa powder, food colouring and vanilla essence together until they form a paste. Add this paste into the batter created in the large bowl.
4. Sift together the flour and salt in another bowl, before adding half to the batter and mixing with the whisk.
5. Add half of the butter milk to the batter and whisk again.
6. Add the remaining flour-salt mixture and whisk again.
7. Add the last half of the buttermilk and whisk until the batter has a smooth consistency.
8. Spoon the batter evenly into the cake cases and cook on the middle shelf of the oven for approximately 18-20 minutes or until the cakes are springy and you can remove an inserted skewer cleanly.
9. Set the cakes aside to cool.
10. In a new bowl, use an electric whisk to mix together the butter and icing sugar, adding a small amount of milk/buttermilk to create a thick but spreadable icing.
11. Once the cakes have cooled, ice to your preference using either a piping bag or a flat palette knife.

Tips

• The better quality of your food colouring, the better the colour of your cupcakes
• Using an electric whisk combines the ingredients far more effectively than mixing by hand

I hope that was helpful, if you have any further questions; please ask!

Vicky xoxo

Bargains and Baking

Before I get into this post I just wanted to quickly say thank you for the lovely comments on the '2011 Favourites' video I posted! I'm hoping to film a 'What's in my bag?' and a 'Haircare routine' this week as well as any other suggestions you may have so if there's anything you would like to see - please comment and let me know.

So, work has been pretty hectic for me over Christmas and New Year but when it hasn't been, I've been baking up a storm. Above are Red Velvet cupcakes that I made last week. They were divine!

Meet my new baby... I picked up this coat today in the Oasis sale for a bargainous £35, down from £95! I did see this coat when it was full price and I fell in love but I refuse to spend £95 on a coat when I have an insane amount - I love a coat and a quick mental count on the way home from the shop saw my coat/trench tally reach 15. I think I may have a problem.

I'm not one for sale shopping if I'm perfectly honest - I find the sale items really aren't worth the effort, stress and elbow damage of getting to the bottom of a pile of tops that I never would have paid full price for. When I do browse a sale rail I will always ask myself one main question: would I have paid full price? The answer is rarely yes!!

Have you picked up any bargains in the sales this year? 

Have a lovely week! 

Vicky xoxo

OPI Giveaway Winner!

Firstly, Happy New Year! I hope you have a happy, healthy and wonderful 2012!

As you know, my giveaway closed at midnight last night and I used random.org to generate the winner today and it picked....

CONFESSIONS OF A MAKEUPAHOLIC!

As you can see, I started from #2 because Lonneke who was the first comment opted out of the giveaway.

Thanks to everyone who entered and keep your eyes peeled for a personalised makeup giveaway soon.

Vicky xoxo

My First YouTube Video!

EEEEEK!

Here it is guys - my first EVER YouTube video!





Let me know what you think and if you do the tag, leave a comment below!

Vicky xoxo

OOTN/FOTN: Blue Is The Colour

Long time no speak! I'm finally back with a mammoth list of posts to do - the first of which being an Outfit of the Night from last week which marked my work Christmas party.

Excuse the headless shot... let's just say many alcoholic beverages had been consumed by this stage! Damn you cocktails!

I absolutely adore this Zara dress that I picked up in the summer, everything from the colour to the shape is perfect and this was its first outing of many! I teamed it with black tights (it was fff-reeeezing) in London and black ankle boots after I discovered my beautiful glittery shoes tipped forwards when I walked! Badly balanced shoes + alcohol + cobbled streets + work the next day = accident waiting to happen!

I kept my makeup pretty simple and re-created the look below...

Face

Illamasqua Matte Primer

NARS Sheer Glow in 'Mont Blanc'

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in '51'

Chanel Loose Powder in '20 Clair'

MAC blush 'Peaches' and 'Well Dressed' mixed with Illamasqua 'Ambition'

MAC 'Vanilla' Pigment

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion

MAC e/s 'Brule' (lid)

MAC e/s 'Omega' (crease)

MAC e/s 'Carbon' (through the brows with Omega)

Elizabeth Arden Gel Liner 'Black'

MAC 'Reflects Gold' Pigment (lid)

Illamasqua Medium Pencil 'Vow' (waterline)

Girls Aloud for Eyelure 'Nicola' lashes (cut up and placed in outer corner)

Lips

MAC lipliner 'Dervish'

Revlon Matte Lipstick 'Smoked Peach'

Chanel Rouge Allure Lipgloss in '57' (later in the evening)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway *here* :)

Oh and look out for my first YouTube video, coming your way tomorrow camera permitting!

Have a lovely weekend!

Vicky xoxo

[CLOSED] Christmas OPI Giveaway!

In a bid to find some sort of comfort in front of the camera pre-YouTube debut, I decided to film this giveaway video for you! All details are in the video :) Enjoy! Remember, if you have any YouTube requests, leave them in the post below YouTube: You Choose!

FOTD

Face
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation
Chanel Loose Powder in 20 Clair
Illamasqua Blush in 'Ambition'

Eyes
MAC Omega and Carbon through the brows
Urban Decay Half-Baked, Smog, Darkhorse and Hustle
Illamasqua Beguile Pigment
Illamasqua Masquara

Lips
YSL Vogue Volupte in 'Lingerie Pink'
Revlon Pink Pop lipgloss

Have a lovely evening!

Vicky xoxo

YouTube: You Choose!

You may remember a few posts ago I said I would have a YouTube video up that week... to cut a long story short I got a new job the next day and didn't think I'd have time to film to I put it off.

It turns out I'm not as busy as anticipated with work and therefore can finally take the plunge and join the YouTube beauty community!

 image from weheartit

I've highlighted the word community because for me, that is one of the key elements and as such, I'd like it if you'd leave me suggestions for the sort of videos you'd like me to do whether they're tutorials, hauls, reviews, vlogs, etc., etc.! Also, if there's a Tag you'd like to see me do - let me know :)

Hopefully I'll have made a decision and have a video filmed and uploaded by the end of the week!

See you all soon!

Vicky xoxo