AD. The products in this post were paid for by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas in exchange for this blog post. I always love giving the gift of food and a box full of freshly baked cookies is such a fantastic gift, especially around the festive season. And one of the recipes that has recently come across my…
Category: Product Reviews
Product Review: Cake and Handle Cake Boxes
[this post classes as an advert under ASA guidelines] Many times through my school placements, I would bring cake into the staff room. Usually it would arrive either in an old biscuit or chocolate tub or if I was feeling very fancy, a plate covered with foil or even a cake carrier! I know my…
Mini (and cute) Matcha Cakes – ideal for Halloween!!
There’s only 1 more week of Bake Off this series – time has flown by! But before we knew the final 3 bakers, there were the three semi-final challenges to go first! The bakers had to make 24 signature madeleines in two different flavours, travelled to Italy for the complex 7-layered torta setteveli technical before…
I Tried the Limited Edition McDonald’s D24 Durian McFlurry
This is the limited edition McDonald’s Durian McFlurry. Made using real D24 durian purée, the McFlurry is back in Hong Kong and Macau after selling out within 2 days when it first was released earlier in the month. For those of you not in the know, durian is sometimes better known as the world’s smelliest…
How to make Chocolate Soufflé for Two
The soufflé has gained a reputation of being incredibly difficult to make. With many TV chefs, cooks and programmes placing the soufflé on a pedestal, it makes the soufflé sound much harder to make than it is. I challenged myself to tackle the soufflé and it was an adventure with many ups and downs but…
Simple Rice Cooker Congee with Minced Beef
Whenever you are ill, do you have your go-to ill food? For many people, it’s probably going to be chicken soup or something along those lines. But I wonder if you have heard of the ill food for many Chinese people; it’s congee, which is a type of rice porridge. This is my recipe for…
Double Chocolate Chunk Brownies
This recipe was a true invention on the spot for when me and my flatmates were all craving brownies one night. I just needed something sweet and chocolaty and rich and sticky and brownies were the only solution. In the end, I came up with my Double Chocolate Chunk Brownies. I looked in my recipe…
Chicken and Chorizo Pot Pie for 1
I remember watching Nigella Lawson making a Chicken Pot Pie in one of her shows and she used chicken stock concentrate and it’s an ingredient that I’ve never tried before. But thanks to the lovely team over at Essential Cuisine, I am finally able to use chicken stock concentrate, 10 years after watching Nigella make…
Product Review: Photo Backdrops
Backdrops have never been on my radar before as a blogger. I’d often use what I had around the house to take photos on, whether that be a wooden table, a slate or even some bathroom tiles (not actually in the bathroom, I bought them in the clearance). Whilst these have created nice photos, I…
Product Review: Smart Bacon Express
I love bacon. The salty fatty pork is utterly delicious and addictive and I think plays a huge role in the British psyche. The Americans may chuck bacon onto literally everything but we have the upper hand with the bacon butty and the English breakfast. The tasty yet humble bacon butty may be simple but…
Product Review: Beech’s Fine Chocolates Milk Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
Beech’s Fine Chocolates is a UK-based company which uses all natural ingredients to produce chocolates which are suitable for vegans as well as being gluten-free. Traditional and quality chocolates are being produced by a British chocolatier in Lancashire and have been since 1920. You can find their full range here on their website. Over Christmas,…
Day 7 of 12: Essential Cuisine Turkey Gravy Review
Essential Cuisine makes award winning stocks and premium gravies and this Christmas, they have launched a new Turkey Gravy to accompany your roast dinners with all of the trimmings. Seasoned with a hint of sage to boost its savoury goodness, the gravy can be made in advance and stirred into the cooking liquid. And even…
Day 3 of 12: Lidl’s Favorina Spiced Biscuit Spread Review
We’ve all seen the jars of Lotus Biscoff spread in the supermarkets. If you’ve not tried a Lotus Biscoff biscuit before, it’s like a spiced caramel biscuit which is just so addictive!! Spreading it on toast is just the epitome of deliciousness! So it was to my surprise when I saw that Lidl had released…
Exploring Chocolate Tarts: Chocolate Brownie Tarts
I’ve been wanting to do a series of different versions of the same bake and everything seemed to come together all at once. I found another one of my reduced bargains from Marks and Spencer and it was ready rolled shortcrust pastry for 80p and it tied in perfectly with the arrival of my Food Thoughts…
Product Review: Nanny Violets Jam
I was contacted by Nanny Violets Jam to try and review their fantastic homemade jams in my cooking and baking. I was excited at the prospect of trying lots of different flavours of jams, chutneys and relishes since you probably wouldn’t find these in your supermarkets. The 6 flavours that were given to me to…
Andrew in the Kitchen 