In The Mix - Disney Star Wars Cupcakes

Name: Disney Star Wars Cup Cake Kit

Company: Fiddes Payne

Bought in: Tesco

Preparation:  All you need to prepare for this is an egg, a teaspoon of butter and some water. Don’t forget to pre-heat your oven!

Star Wars has always been a very popular franchise but with the fast-approaching release date of the new Star Wars film in December, it is everywhere. There are adverts on television, toys and costumes coming out in stores all over and even Star wars foods popping up everywhere. I couldn’t resist when I saw this awesome cupcake kit in the supermarket.

Part 1) Mix the mix and extra ingredients – simple as that, mix your mix and egg, butter and water in a bowl until smooth. Make sure all the ingredients are well combined and there are no lumps, lumpy mix makes bitty cakes! The mix is still quite runny but have no fear, it still makes amazing cupcakes.

Part 2) Separate the mix – separate the batter out into the cupcake cases provided and make sure its even. Pop them into the (pre-heated) oven. The pack says 12-15 minutes in the oven, I set it for 13 and they were still a little moist inside so 15 was perfect, golden and spongey.

Part 3) mix the icing – put the icing mix in a bowl and add water half a table spoon at a time till the icing is well mixed and sticky. Then all you have to do is wait for the cakes to cool and cover them in the icing. The pack also comes with rice paper  stand up figures of famous Star Wars characters that you can stick in the top of your cakes!

Notes: these cakes are perfect for Star Wars fans young and old and really good for birthdays parties or premier parties!

In The Mix - Symington's Despicable Me Minion Cupcakes

Name: Despicable Me Minion Cupcakes

Company: Symingtons

Bought in: Sainsbury’s

The minions say: if you are under 13, make sure an adult helps you with the baking.

                                                  

Preparation:  Not much preparation for this at all, you just need to have a mixing bowl, spoon, cupcake tray and pre-heat your oven!

My brother, Adam, and I are more than a little obsessed with Despicable Me’s minions, small yellow monsters in dungarees and goggles who help villains and seem to have taken the world by storm with their own movie and merchandise in almost every shop you go into nowadays. So when I spotted this mix in a supermarket, we had to have it! This cupcake mix is as simple as any, all in requires is an egg and less than a cup of water (75ml to be exact).

Part 1) Prepare mix – Mix the cake mix, water and egg in a bowl till “lovely and fluffy”, which really means ‘mix till more fluffy than watery if you don’t want your arm to fall off’ don’t worry too much about making it fluffy, as long as all the mixture is fully combined. Slop it into the cupcake cases (decorated to look like the minions dungarees) and pop them into the oven.

The cakes came out much lighter than I expected, so don’t worry if this happens to you, they are still perfectly baked and really tasty!

Part 2) Mix the icing powder – mix the icing powder and water in a bowl and as if by magic a little bag of white icing sugar-like powder becomes a fair amount of yellow icing. Make sure you don’t mix too quickly otherwise the powder will go everywhere and that just means less icing! Pop the icing on top off all of the cupcakes once they have cooled.

And finally…

Part 3) Add the face decorations – pop out the rice paper pieces, in the shape of hair, eyes and mouths and (making sure the front of the dungarees is at the bottom, its marked with a ‘G’ for Gru the villain of ‘Despicable Me’ and the minions’ boss) put them on to the cakes. Have fun with it and make the silliest faces you can or look the minions up and copy their faces.

Notes: This is by far the most fun I have ever had baking and they look and taste fantastic when done. The icing mix does create a lot of icing, don’t feel like you need to use it all or your cupcakes will be far too sweet and sticky (if there is such a thing). This kit is fantastic for everyone, kids, friends, parents and families. I know a father who said he had great fun making this with his son only a week before me and my brother enjoyed making them so much. Just make sure you face the little ‘G’ forwads to it doesn’t look like your minions are wearing their uniforms backwards!

In The Mix - Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

Name: Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

Company: Betty Crocker

Bought in: Tesco

The Betty Crocker website rates this recipe a level 1 (of 4) difficulty.

Preparation:  Not much preparation for this at all, make sure you have a mixing bowl, spoon  and baking tray ready and have fun!

My brother and I really enjoyed making Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Fudge Brownies (the review can be found here: http://time-for-tea-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/in-mix-betty-crocker-chocolate-brownie.html) and we enjoyed eating them even more, so we decided to try another of their packs. The cookie mix was the obvious choice, who doesn’t love cookies?! Whether its plain chocolate chip, double chocolate or triple chocolate and orange peel (to name a few). Cookies are a staple for any age group and perfect for a snack and a nice addition to any gathering. This recipe is lovely because it is so simple, this means you can create almost any time of cookie you like, just by adding in extra ingredients.

Part 1) Mix the cookie mix and water – that’s it, water, simple as that. The easiest of easy recipes that creates a really wonderful thick dough and comes with plenty of chocolate chips. Though feel free to add more if you like, maybe even some different types of chocolate, white, dark or orange, go nuts and add some nuts, make your cookies appealing by adding orange peel or even spice things up and add a touch of cinnamon.

Part 2) Separate the mix and place it on a baking tray. – make sure that the chocolate chips are evenly distributed; you don’t want a cookie with no chocolate in it! Separate the mix into balls and squash them into rounds, bigger and thicker if you want more chunky cookies or smaller if you want regular ones maybe even mini ones (remember that they will expand in the oven.). Place them on a baking tray with quite a bit of space between them and pop it in the oven.

Part 3) 12 minute cooking time - They smell amazing in the oven but by the 12 minute recommended cooking time they just  don’t look done to me. I must be really bad at judging this because by the time they do look done they are, of course, bone dry and taste burned… oh dear.

Notes: This is the easiest mix in the world, using just the mix and 2 table spoons (yes two table spoons) of water you can create perfect cookies if just you trust the recipe, it says 12 minutes for a reason, take them out at 12 minutes like the recipe says and try it! This recipe, like a lot of the Betty Crocker mix packs is available in the US in gluten free.

In the Mix - Betty Crocker Chocolate Brownie Mix

Name: Chocolate Brownie Mix

Company: Betty Crocker

Bought in: Tesco

The Betty Crocker website rates this a level 1 (of 4) difficulty.

Preparation: make sure you have the correct size tin and grease-proof paper and pre heat your oven!

Though I love tea every good cuppa deserves a lovely sweet to go with it, so when my brother (who is too lazy even to ask me to make him brownies, let alone make his own) brought me a Betty Crocker Brownie Mix, my new series ‘In The Mix’ was created!

My brother and I LOVE our cakes and sweets especially those with chocolate involved (and as the packet says, these brownies are ‘total chocolate heaven’) and though I love to bake he is a little lazy so these ‘make your own’ baking kits seem a lovely middle ground for us and something fun we can do together. I’d recommend these kits to anyone, from the hungry student, couples and parents to families looking for an easy weekend activity as they are relatively quick and very easy plus a little messy! Because I love to bake from scratch and have control over the whole recipe I was a little wary of these kits with most of the ingredients already measured out and bunged into one bag, (how can you tell what’s in there?!) but I put these worries aside for the love of brownies and we gave it a go.

Part 1) Measure out the remaining ingredients then mix it all together – though most of the ingredients come with the pack, you do have to add three more ingredients (the perishables they can’t put in the packet) to complete the recipe but don’t worry, they are everyday things that you will probably have in your kitchen (I did): a small amount of Oil and water and an egg. It is surprising that so little of all the ingredients serves 16! The instructions say that the mix will be lumpy, it will, but just keep going and you can wear those lumps down a little bit. Don’t worry about them too much it just makes the cake a little denser in those parts.

Part 2) Pour the mix into a lined tin – first you need to make sure the tin isn’t too big (like the first one I tried was) otherwise you will end up with wafer thin brownie crisps (which doesn’t actually sound that terrible, its just not what we’re going for). Tin hopping aside, my new tin was deep enough to create lovely thick chewy brownies so I reached for my grease-proof paper… only to discover I didn’t have any! I cant stress enough the importance of preparation when doing ANY baking (or cooking for that matter) ALWAYS make sure you read the recipe early enough before you bake (or cook) to be able to grab all the ingredients and any extras you will need before its too late! So, make sure the tin IS lined with grease proof paper (an easy but a vital step if you actually want to be able to get the brownies out of the tin!) and that the mix is level in the tin for perfect brownies! However with the mix already prepared I popped the mix in the tin and hoped for the best.

Part 3) Pop the mix in the oven and wait! – simple. The instructions say 20-25 mins, I took mine out at 20 mins and they were still they really do need that extra 5 minutes for the perfect squishy inside, crisp on top treats! The instructions also don’t mention the amazing smell that comes from the oven which is torture if you haven’t eaten since breakfast and its rather late!

And finally…

Part 4) Remove them from the oven, leave to cool (if you have the patience) and enjoy – as you can probably guess, we didn’t have the patience to cut them out of the tin let alone let them cool so we cut it out a slice at a time(with a little bit of difficulty owing to the lack of grease-proof paper and the brownie having a really strong hold on the bottom of the tin) and enjoyed it with a movie. However if you aren’t an animal like us I would suggest waiting for the tin to cool, cutting the brownie into squares, dusting with icing sugar and serving piled up on a plate. Despite losing the bottom of the brownies to the sticky tin they were amazing, sweet and soft, just perfect!

Notes: this is an easy recipe that goes from packet to plate in no time at all but do make sure you have everything you need before starting so you don’t have any mishaps like I did! The box says this kit serves 16 but the two of us finished it off in one sitting (it was really, really good!) Another piece of great news is that if you are in the US you can get this mix gluten free!

The Black Dog Cafe - Tunbridge Wells - ...Again

I know what you’re thinking, I wrote about The Black Dog café back in August last year and though I wouldn’t usually write about a place more than once I feel like this place, since its recent refurbishment, it needs another look as it isn’t the same café it was last year.

The first thing I notice upon entering the café is the back wall, which has been covered in shelves and stuffed with books giving the café a ‘chill-in-a-corner’ feel (if anyone ever picks one up that is, I am sure that if I was sitting closer I would at least scan the titles). I like that these shelves have also been matched to the shelves behind the counter that are covered with teas and coffees. The new look is minimalist grey and black with lovely bare wooden accents such as the shelves and the tables. It gives the whole place a very professional look (though at my chosen table, two from the open door, the grey tile does nothing to help the cold breeze, pleasant for the hard-working staff, I’m sure but more than a little chilly for us static customers. My tea is great, even if it cools a little faster that I’d like (my fault for sitting so close to the door!)

A couple of things I really love about the new look are the three giant chalk boards that take up most of one wall (barely filled with the menus and messages that I written on them) and the half shades over the front windows fashioned from coffee bean sacks and look really good. Along with an impressive looking coffee machine a glass cabinet full of treats sits on the counter and of course I am tempted by crisp croissant (even more when the lovely man behind the counter asks if I want it with jam!)

Even though the new-look Black Dog Café is much more stark and modern it brings a professional feel to the café with personal hints such as the messages on the black boards and the books on the shelves. I am so happy with the friendly staff and lovely tea, I can't wait to return (and sit further away from the door!)

Bookshop Cafe - The Sevenoaks Bookshop - Sevenoaks

I have to admit, this isn’t my first time at the Sevenoaks Bookshop, I love the idea of combining a bookshop and café, one which was taken up by Waterstones and Costa in 2012. However, here in this independent bookshop with homemade café simply named ‘Bookshop Café’ it works so much better. The feeling is very different in here, with the staff not under the strain of a big company name and a three-floor mega-bookstore they have time to chat with customers about books, their tea choice, the gorgeous tiffin on the shelf or anything else. The crockery cabinet to one side is laden with gorgeous home-made treats, towered over by shelves of cafetieres, teapots, milk jugs and take away cups. That’s all this café needs, plus three small table and chair sets, it’s perfect. The one corner of the world and the shop that feels calm and genuine, run by genuinely friendly people who are there because they want to be. It’s a blissful rest from the heat today and a lovely cup of tea in this lovely shop. Here at the front of the shop, the front window is full of books and leaflets about Sevenoaks and Kent, another sign of the homely feeling this shop gives out.

I really love the tea here (however, unfortunately I’m not sure what company it is, the symbol is a tea cup and saucer with steam curving from it) and the elegantly slim sugar packets from ‘Allpress Expresso’, makes you think about just  how much goes into running a café and ordering all the necessary bits in and making all the tasty things. I don’t think I think about what really goes into making a café often enough, just appreciate how lovely that effort makes the places I write about.

All in all a lovely shop, perfect for a cup of delicious tea and home-made cakes, surrounded by the smell of books and some truly great people. Delightful.

Twitter: @7OaksBookshop

Website: Sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk

Address: 147 High Street, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 1XJ

The Zed Music Cafe - Sevenoaks

Hidden down the far end of Sevenoaks high street, almost (but definitely not) too far to walk is The Zed Music Café. Bigger on the inside than it looks from outside (yes Doctor Who fans, that’s what I said) the café feels different from the moment you see the sign outside. ‘Zed Music Café’ sounds so interesting and fun not to mention the gorgeous 450 year old listed building itself, once the home of the Sevenoaks Tearoom (visited by the Beatles when they were filming in nearby in Knole Park). Once you step foot inside, the interior does not disappoint. Painted in a variety of colours, with a sound desk and stage at one end and a table groaning with gorgeous-looking cakes in the middle, I instantly feel happy here. The staff are friendly and polite and as I receive my huge slice of Victoria sponge and pot of tea I wonder if I’ll ever leave!

The room, which was obviously two rooms and one point has floor to ceiling beams splitting the serving area and the performance area. I love the way they have used the odd shaped space by putting tables with comfy chairs in some corners and using the space to its fullest. The slogan ‘By music lovers, for music lovers’ pasted on the wall sums up perfectly what this café is about (if the drum kit, piano, sound desk… and the name didn’t give it away!) sharing music. A cause I can really get behind. There are posters all over the café advertising lessons taught in the rooms up stairs and all sorts of gigs played in the café itself.

A true (almost) hidden gem and one of the best places to visit in Sevenoaks, the Zed Music Café is wonderful. If the countless gigs and opportunities for musicians aren’t enough, the lovely atmosphere and selection of great cakes and Tea Pigs tea are so great, you’ll want to stay here forever!

Twitter: @zedmusiccafe

Facebook: Facebook.com/zedmusiccafe

Website: www.zedmusiccafe.com

Address: 28-30 High Street, Svenoaks, Kent, TN13 1HX