Happy Friday! A little while ago I was inspired to make this yummy toffee apple and salted pretzel rocky road. It’s ideal for when you just need something sweet.
Here is the recipe (by John Whaite) if you want to give it a go this weekend!
Ingredients: (Makes 12–16)
250g dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa solids), broken into chunks
Put both the chocolates, butter and the golden syrup into a medium saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Stirring frequently, allow everything to melt together into a smooth, chocolatey pool.
Put all the remaining ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl and stir so that everything is evenly mixed and coated in the chocolate.
Scoop into the prepared cake tin, press down to level and refrigerate for an hour or until set solid. Cut into the desired number and sized pieces.
As well as wanting to be a food blogger, I’ve always fancied being a travel blogger. What could be better than travelling the world, writing about my experiences of eating great food and seeing interesting sights? Travel blogging is not quite an area I’ve cracked yet, but I still enjoy talking about the food I’ve eaten in the places I’ve visited. My trip to the Scottish Highlands last Autumn is perfect for that. Most of my food choices were centered around Inverness as it is the capital of the Highlands. Inverness is full of visitors who want to eat well- which is exactly what I was looking to do.
Encore Une Fois in Inverness is a cute little bar which does a good line in food as well. It is inspired by Bonny Prince Charlie and is supposed to be a tribute to Highland dining. A lot of places in Inverness were fully booked quite early on- however, this one wasn’t. The first thing I noticed was that the service was slow, which was a bit strange as we went on a fairly quiet Monday night. However, I had the chicken stuffed with haggis, which was sublime, and the cocktails were £5 which was a bonus. We didn’t order dessert, as it was likely to turn up at midnight. Encore Une Fois is worth a visit, if just for the food alone.
Zizzi is a chain restaurant, but not one I tend to go to often, so I’m not massively familiar with it. I tried the pepperoni pizza- I find most high-street pizza generic but was this one was genuinely full of flavour. Also, Zizzi in Inverness has a great view overlooking the River Ness. Again the service was slow- I’m not quite sure what was going on, but the staff were apologetic.
Pitlochry is a Victorian holiday resort nestled in the mountains. It is super pretty and packed full of cafes, restaurants and gift shops. Morton’s Coffee Lounge is the place to duck into for a hot drink and a cake whilst in Pitlochry. It was charming, bustling and the millionaire shortbread is recommended. Plus sitting in the window is a good place to people-watch.
I would definitely say though, that the best meal I had in the Scottish Highlands was courtesy of The White House. If you want to eat here, try booking a few days ahead, as it can be popular. The chicken burger and chips were delicious. The atmosphere was also great- cosy, but with a classy and trendy vibe. Great place to have a few glasses of wine on a Friday night as well.
We also had pre-booked dinners in the hotel a few nights (Mercure), so I’ve included some of those- love ice cream!
The Scottish Highlands were so beautiful and such a treat to visit- I would go back in a heartbeat. But the food is also worth shouting about as well- I only wish I could have stayed there longer!
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great Christmas with plenty of opportunities for festive eating and drinking! I’ve been a bit out of it due to being afflicted by Covid. However, I’ve decided to get back to blogging by writing about my trip to the Turkish restaurant Iznik a few months back.
Iznik is described as being easily accessible from Highbury and Islington station but it’s actually more of a distance than that. This said, it’s worth the trip. It’s gorgeously decorated and makes you feel as if you’re in an Ottoman palace.
The environment is warm and cosy, a welcoming smile of a restaurant, perfect for date night or after a day of exploring London. Service was good and the staff were friendly. It was quiet but busy enough to have an atmosphere.
The food was delicious and not massively expensive. We both had the Izgara as it offered a selection of a few different dishes- it was so delicious. The bread is very high-quality.
And the baklava is outstanding:
I’ve been to a few Turkish restaurants around London and this is one of the better ones. And we were given free shots as well- bonus!
This is a delightful tea room situated in the former Victorian (1846) Ridgmont railway station building’s Ladies Waiting Room. I’ve been here a few times previously in 2019 and think of it as a bit of a hidden gem. With my love of anything vintage and retro, it’s right up my street.
I’ve been keen to try their afternoon tea for some time and my recent birthday was the perfect opportunity. I LOVE afternoon tea as you all know, so I really relished being able to try theirs.
It’s a good idea to book a few days in advance as their afternoon teas get booked up quickly- we booked a week in advance for a Thursday afternoon and were the last booking.
The afternoon tea was everything I hoped it would be- absolutely delicious and very, very filling. Luckily, what we couldn’t eat was boxed up for later. Everything was home-made too, which was a plus.
The atmosphere was also lovely, a very pretty setting, which made me feel like I had stepped back in time 😊. I loved the old-school railway posters and vintage bunting.
It may be a bit off the beaten track, but afternoon tea at the Ridgmont tea rooms is worth making a special trip to. Recommended 😊
This chocolatey treat is really moist and satisfying. It’s healthier as well- so ticks all the boxes.
The ingredients for this cake were originally supplied by Bakedin, but this recipe works equally as well.
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups self-rising flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
2 eggs
¼ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Method
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees).
2) Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a bowl. Mix sugar, water, eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract together in another bowl using an electric mixer.
3) Gradually add the flour-cocoa mixture into the bowl with the yogurt mixture. Mix until well blended. Pour batter into two 9-inch cake pans.
4) Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
Once baked, you can decorate in any you like- it was Easter, so I decorated with chocolate swirls and mini Easter eggs.
It’s been all about the churros recently. Here are some of my favourite ones I’ve tried in the last few months to moisten your tastebuds on a Monday morning.
I thought I was going to skip pudding- I was wrong! The food at Fotheringills in Nottingham is amazing, but the profiteroles were the best out of all of them.
Also recommended is the pork belly, but I decided just to focus on the profiteroles 🙂
Darlings, if you want deliciously moist cake, then Signorelli bakery is the place to get it. There is so much choice when you step inside. And their coffees and sandwiches aren’t bad either.
Sweet Harmless Temptations 