A Gooey Slice of Paradise...

I have long wanted to make a cheesecake as part of my baking venture, and being an avid New York cheesecake fan (especially the one from Waitrose- lush), I always imagined that I would start simply... Cue the deliciousness which is the white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake seen on UK morning programme, Lorraine, and the temptation to launch straight in was too much. And I am pleased to say, the risk did pay off! Since this was my first time making anything remotely like this, I struggled with how it was meant to look consistency-wise, and parts of the recipe were very simple and vague and left me at a bit of a loss. However, although it could have been more solid overall, this was absolutely incredible as a sweet treat. A very sweet treat considering the amount of cream that went into it... Here's how to make it: 

Ingredients:

230g digestive biscuits
80g unsalted butter melted
200g white chocolate (proper cooking chocolate is best as white choc can often be temperamental)
400g mascarpone cheese
100ml sour cream
300ml double cream
80g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Crush the biscuits to fine crumb in a food processor, or with a rolling pin. Mix in the melted butter until crumbs are all covered. Place the mixture into a buttered 23cm loose-bottomed spring form cake tin, compress down and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. If you don't have a spring form tin, I put baking paper around the outside of my tin so it wouldn't stick.

2. Gradually melt the white chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and then set aside to leave to cool slightly.

3. Cream the mascarpone, chocolate, sour cream and sugar together along with the vanilla extract, until light in weight.

4. Whip the double cream to soft peaks then fold the two together. Set aside.

5. Halve the strawberries then place around the outside of the tin with the insides facing out. Place a few more in the bottom of the tin then cover with the cheesecake mixture, making sure to smooth it into the gaps. Chill for at least 1 hour to set (mine required about 2 in the end to set properly).

6. Remove from the tin then decorate with the remaining strawberries, and dust with icing sugar (optional).

Definitely give this a go, even if you're beginner baker like me. It was actually really easy and, the actual preparation time was fairly minimal. Plus, it's delicious. 

The finished result!

New Adventures

I'm writing having finalised the last details of my placement year and can proudly announce that I have been accepted at a school just outside of Paris to teach English. Spending a year abroad in France has been a goal of mine for a long time, principally because I never want to lose my ability to speak French having studied it at A Level, and needless to say, also because I absolutely adore the country. But now that it's all started to become real, I am incredibly nervous. I suppose that's normal but that does not make the idea of me going to somewhere completely unknown for a year, where they not only speak a different language, but have a whole different culture, any less scary.

More than once I have found myself asking... Is this really what you want to do? What if you hate it after a few months and can't do anything about it? And then I remember that I'll be leaving my horse and all my friends and family, and it's almost enough to make me cry and hide in a dark corner, far away from reality. But I also know that this is the perfect time to do this: mum can look after the horses; and, thanks to that wonderful thing called technology, I can keep in touch with friends and family whenever I need to.

It'll be scary and intimidating but it'll also be one of the most exciting and incredible things I will ever have the chance to do. I've set up a separate page on my blog dedicated to my Parisian adventure and hope to post updates on everything I do, the people I meet, and the places I visit. But for now, I better start practising my French! A bientôt!! xoxo

Discovering Etsy

My friend told me a while ago about this site which she deemed "like eBay, but better". This sounded too good to be true! I love eBay but I do think it's getting a bit too commercialised and it's starting to overlook all the little gems that are hidden in the depths of the website. So when I finally got around to visiting Etsy, I got super excited. 

If you're into genuine vintage items, handmade jewellery and loads of other cool, unique gifts and accessories, this is the place for you. Everything ranges in prices so it can suit every pocket and the items are just gorgeous. I think the greatest thing about this site is that everyone is so like-minded: we're all interested in the same style and want to buy and sell genuine items. From what I've heard, although I can't yet speak from experience, the site is welcoming and is absent from any of the hostile tensions which quite often exist between buyers and sellers on eBay. I have read several online reviews of the website because I've been interested in buying a few things and, naturally, you always want to know that the website is safe/you're not going to see your money disappear. Whilst I've found the majority are very positive, particularly one reviewer who had set herself up as a new seller, there was one website where many of the comments underneath were hugely negative, with 1-star ratings littering the section. But I haven't been put off that easily. Etsy seems like it was literally made for me and my tastes and there are too many lovely things on there that I simply cannot wave bye-bye to. So, I'm, taking these with a pinch of salt and hoping that it's only those with bad experiences who have taken the time to comment. Like eBay, there is a feedback system with a percentage rating and obviously, you avoid those that look even vaguely dodgy... I'm going to give it a chance.

Take a look! It's well worth it... www.etsy.com

Once I've made my mind up on what to order, I'll post about my new goodies soon... xoxo