I made tights?!!

Yes, you read that right. I have sewn a pair of tights. Those awesome star print things on my legs. GO ME!!

Let's just ignore that these are seasonally inappropriate at the moment.

This is another item I have made in collaboration with Funkifabrics. I immediately knew I wanted to sew a skirt with the macaron fabric but was a bit unsure what to do with this turquoise star print I also requested. Leggings seemed simple and logical, but to be honest I don't wear leggings all that often as my feet get cold. I can't do that trendy leggings-and-bare-feet-in-pumps look. Then I stumbled across the Rosehip tights pattern...

Now if you told me earlier this year that I would be making a pair of tights I would have laughed in your face. It's a bit of a mental concept, but utterly brilliant. All those years of feeling dissatisfied with the lack of colour and pattern variety of high street tights, well, NOW I CAN MAKE MY OWN CRAZY TIGHTS!

Look at all those cool seam lines! I love how these were constructed. So damn clever!

This was also my first time purchasing and assembling a pdf download pattern and I have to say it was pretty straight forward so I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Mari, the pattern creator, was also fantastic at responding to me when I was a bit of a dunce and asked for help regarding pattern adjustments. Great personal service!

My only minor negative remark about the pdf is that I noticed some of the pattern lines on the larger sizes didn't line up very well when I was sticking my sheets together, but then again my printer could be at fault as it enjoys gobbling paper in squint if I don't watch it like a hawk.

Let's get down to sewing details then:

• I cut a size S according to my hip measurement but a size M for the feet.

• My fabric had 50% grainline stretch so I added 2 inches of leg length (1 inch at each cut/lengthen line) to achieve my 33-34 inch in seam.

• I removed the elastic I originally inserted into the waistband as I struggled to pull the tights up over my hips and backside! This surprised me as I was well within the size S, (my hips are actually closer to 36" than 37") I really don't have much of an ass and I thought I had sufficient crossgrain stretch. To give myself a little bit more wiggle room I unpicked my main stitching line at the waistband back to the overlocked edge. Thank goodness I had a bit of seam allowance. Now I can pull my tights on without fear of bursting seams!

• I only used 1 metre of fabric. Yay!

I am delighted with the overall fit of these for a first tights making attempt. The length is spot on (no hoicking up required!) and I'm really pleased that the white background the fabric's design is printed on doesn't show through when stretched. The fabric's stretch recovery was great as it didn't appear to distort anywhere after prewashing which made cutting out pretty straight forward and it wasn't too "shifty" to sew either. Sewing in the gusset was a bit fiddly, as was the join at the top of the foot, but all perfectly do-able if you sew slowly and carefully.

I'm aware that £18 per metre may seem a bit steep, but if it's good quality fabric, which this is, I have no qualms about spending that to produce something fun and unique. Plus, I only needed one metre to produce these. For those not in the know, Funkifabrics is a British company specialising in stretch fabrics. They have an in-house design team and digitally print their fabrics on demand within the UK. I thought it was cool having the date and time of my order printed along the fabric's selvedge.

Yes, Funkifabrics are more geared towards sports/dancewear, after all they specialise in spandex/lycra rather than general apparel fabrics, but that doesn't mean a homesewer such as myself can't benefit from their vast array of fun, stretchy fabrics.

So...... who thinks I need to have octopus print legs next? :D

*Disclaimer: I was offered free fabric to create an item of clothing of my own choice in exchange for a review. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.*

twirly macaron circle skirt

I have made a new skirt AND IT HAS MACARONS ON IT! The baker in me is delighted. I have united two of my favourite hobbies in some sort of weird hipster blogger paradise.

A couple of months ago Funkifabrics got in touch asking whether I'd like to make something out of their fabric in exchange for a review. Although initially hesitant as I had never sewn with any stretch fabrics before (this was before my Coco dress), I decided to jump on board the Funki wagon. This was the perfect opportunity to boot myself up the backside and stretch (LOL, sorry) my sewing skills.

Today I am guest posting on the Funkifabric blog so hop over to their page if you'd like to continue reading about my super swishy macaron skirt.

 Perhaps I have missed my calling as a flamenco dancer?

*Disclaimer: I was offered free fabric to create an item of clothing of my own choice in exchange for a review. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.*

black tea and blackberry cupcakes with honey cream cheese icing

I'm going to come out and say it... this is one of my favourite things I've baked in a long time.

To be honest I've felt dissatisfied with the majority of my bakes since the new cooker arrived back in May. It has taken a while to make friends with the new oven and I've ended up in a bit of a baking slump. Both my work and my hobbies are practical/creative so it's inevitable that something temporarily falls by the wayside and recently it has been my baking.

Therefore I was delighted when Whittard contacted me last month to ask if I'd like to play with some of their hot chocolates and teas. I felt it was the perfect opportunity to throw myself into some baking and get creative. These cupcakes certainly did the trick.

I really don't know how to describe the flavour of the sponge other than delicious. You wouldn't say "ooh that tastes of black tea" but the tea definitely adds a subtle depth of flavour, or richness perhaps, as well as turning the cupcakes an attractive golden colour.

I initially considered lemon and honey as flavours to compliment the tea, but decided against lemon as it has increasingly become my default baking flavour. As I still wanted a sharp element I chose blackberries instead. I love the contrast in flavour between the tart blackberry and the sweet, creamy honey icing. It's a really satisfying combination.

I also love the burst of colour from the blackberries in the centre of each cupcake - a cheerful surprise on a dreary November day.

I think the Whittard 1886 Blend was an excellent choice for this bake as it's a lovely strong, rich tea. I find it very comforting to drink, like a big tea hug. The other black tea I was sent, Whittard's Original, has a lighter, almost citrus-y flavour. It's very refreshing and I find I add less milk as I don't think it needs it. At the moment I'm favouring the 1886 more - I need a good, strong tea to keep me going in winter!

What's your favourite tea at the moment? Any other Whittard fans?

Black tea and blackberry cupcakes with honey cream cheese icing

Adapted from Earl Grey Cupcakes in the Hummingbird Bakery's "Cake Days" book.

cupcakes:

3 black tea bags. (Whittard's 1886 Blend or an equally strong flavoured black tea.)

80g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened

280g (10oz) caster sugar

240g (8.5oz) plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

240ml (7fl oz) semi skimmed milk

2 large eggs

a small tub of blackberries

icing:

250g icing sugar

125g cream cheese

50g unsalted butter, softened

1 tbsp honey

Almost bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan then remove from the heat. Add the 3 tea bags and leave to steep for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.

Mix the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl (on a slow speed) until it resembles breadcrumbs in texture. Squeeze out the teabags and remove from the milk then pour the tea infused milk into a measuring jug. Top it up to 200ml if it has dipped below then add the eggs and whisk together with a fork. Pour 3/4 of the egg milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix until thick, smooth and combined. Add the rest of the milk and mix again for about a minute until smooth. Fill the cupcake cases until half full, pop a blackberry in the centre of each case, then cover over with more mixture until roughly two thirds full. This batter easily filled 16 cases.

Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until well risen and springy to touch. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. In a large bowl mix all the icing ingredients together. I recommend initially combining everything with a spoon to prevent massive icing sugar dust clouds with the mixer! Once smooth, spoon over the cooled cupcakes with a palette knife. Feel free to reduce the icing amounts as I had enough icing left over to cover perhaps 3 more cupcakes.

Disclaimer: I was sent products to bake with as Whittard recognise I'm a crazy cake lady with an uncontrollable hot chocolate and tea addiction. They're a brand I enjoy and have purchased from before. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.

hot chocolate deluxe cake

When I first left university and started this blog I worked in a cafe/bar and one of my favourite drinks to make was the hot chocolate deluxe: a milky hot chocolate topped with a swirl of cream, marshmallows and a Cadbury flake. By this time of year I was making quite a lot of these daily. Cold weather hits and everybody craves hot chocolate.

To celebrate the arrival of hot chocolate weather I thought I'd recreate my favourite cafe drink as a layer cake: monster slabs of moist chocolate sponge sandwiched together with chocolate icing, marshmallows and topped with mini swirls of cream, even more marshmallows and a chocolate flake.

Although visually impressive I have to admit I was massively disappointed with my icing for this cake. It was entirely my own fault too as I stupidly didn't taste it before slapping it on the cake. (There's a reason why Masterchef contestants are always told off for not tasting their food.) Despite the fluffiness there was a slight grainy texture. I'm guessing I should have dissolved the cocoa powder properly in hot water/milk first before adding to the mixture as the graininess certainly wasn't from lack of mixing.

I think it should have tasted much more chocolatey as well, but at the time I was reserving the remaining chocolate to make a ganache topping. The plan was to use chocolate butter icing for filling and crumb coating, then make a ganache to coat the top and sides. By the time I stacked the sponges I realised crumb coating wasn't really an option as I didn't have enough icing left and it wasn't practical with my tiny palette knife. Ganache also seemed unnecessary by this point so I whipped some of the cream and piped it on as rosettes.

The cream rosettes worked brilliantly. Not only did they look cute they also offered a light contrast to the chocolate and sweet marshmallows. The cake itself was also lovely - light in texture, juicy and satisfyingly chocolatey in flavour - it has been my go-to, easy chocolate cake recipe for many years. If I recreated this hot chocolate themed cake, which is definitely worth doing as this cake is so close to being awesome, I'd use chocolate ganache instead of butter icing. I think it would have more of an indulgent hot chocolate quality.

The hot chocolate powder I used for this cake was kindly sent to me by Whittard along with a couple of other exciting prodcuts which I will blog about soon. I've actually had their parcel for a couple of weeks and it has been so tempting just to drink it all and not bake with it, haha! I hadn't tried their luxury hot chocolate before as I tend to favour their white hot chocolate but this is satisfyingly rich and indulgent, definitely a luxury. It's a real treat with a few marshmallows and the perfect way to spend an afternoon doing a bit of letter writing and crafting.

Hot chocolate deluxe cake
Recipe adapted from here, my favourite chocolate cake recipe. Use the recipe in the link if you'd prefer a normal sized sandwich cake! (7" round)

cake:
262g/ 9oz self raising flour
3 generous tbsp Whittard Luxury hot chocolate cocoa powder  (courtesy of Whittard)
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225g/ 7.5oz soft light brown sugar
3 generous tbsp golden syrup
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
225ml/ 7.5fl oz sunflower oil
225ml/ 7.5fl oz milk (I used semi skimmed)

icing - this is what I used but I would recommend using your own favourite chocolate butter icing or chocolate ganache recipe instead:
250g icing sugar
125g unsalted butter, softened
100g milk chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Green and Blacks)
1 tbsp Whittard hot chocolate cocoa powder
a splash of milk
150ml double cream, whipped until stiff
1 Cadbury flake
a bag of mini marshmallows and heart shaped marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and grease and line three 6 inch round tins. In a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda. Stir in the sugar then make a well in the centre for the wet ingredients. Add the golden syrup, eggs, oil and milk then mix everything together for about a minute. 

Divide equally between the three tins and bake in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes until well risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. I put a layer of greaseproof paper on top after 25-30 minutes as the tops were starting to catch/burn but the insides still weren't fully cooked. It may be worth cooking them in a slightly cooler oven next time or perhaps not fill the tins so high! Leave to cool in the tins for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Once completely cool, level all the tops of the sponges for stacking. Mine rose quite high so I had a lot of leftover crumbs to nibble on! 

For the icing, mix together the icing sugar, butter, chocolate, and cocoa for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Use to sandwich together the layers along with a few handfuls of mini marshmallows. Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks and pipe as rosettes on the top of the cake. Decorate with more marshmallows and a flake.

Disclaimer: I was sent products to bake with as Whittard recognise I'm a crazy cake lady with an uncontrollable hot chocolate and tea addiction. They're a brand I enjoy and have purchased from before. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.

red velvet cake

On Saturday night I went into town, just like all the other cool, young people. Except I went to the supermarket. To buy cake ingredients. Then I visited my brother's family and told my nephews bedtime stories about Sonic the Hedgehog and Minecraft (I don't understand Minecraft.) Later on I baked this red velvet cake.

Living life on the edge, people.

I've never baked a red velvet cake before although I baked red velvet cupcakes way back in my early days of blogging. Although my cake is more dark pink than deep red I was very pleased with it. The sponge is very light and soft in texture due to the buttermilk, and lightly flavoured with cocoa and vanilla. The vanilla cream cheese icing adds to the overall indulgent, creamy flavour.

The cake also gave me an opportunity to try out my new icing pen kindly gifted from British bakeware company, Tala. As the cake wasn't for anybody in particular, I doodled the word "yum" and some love hearts around the border. I drew it all freehand but I think the direct, unmeasured approach adds charm. It makes a fun change from my usual "throw on a pile of sprinkles" approach to cake decorating.

I already own a larger icing syringe but for smaller, linear details such as handwriting the pen is perfect. Plus it's pink and packaged in a pretty tin which is a lovely stylish touch. I suspect it'll come in very handy for decorating gingerbread men at Christmas. Thanks Tala!

Red velvet cake
Recipe from "Vintage Cakes" by  Jane Brocket.

120g softened butter
300g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
10g cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
220g buttermilk
1-2 tsp red food colouring gel/paste (I recommend buying good quality)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 heaped tsp of bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3 and grease and line two 20cm round cake tins. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa and salt. Mix then carefully add to the other mixture in batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Add the red colouring and gently fold the mixture until it's a solid deep red colour. In another bowl, mix together the bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar before folding into the cake batter. 

Once mixed, divide the batter between two cake tins and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are firm and springy to touch (or a cake skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean). Leave to cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

icing:
110g softened butter
400g icing sugar
220g soft cream cheese (full fat)
a few drops of vanilla extract

Beat together the icing sugar and butter. Once combined add the cream cheese (I added mine cold from the fridge) and the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly until smooth. If needed, level the cakes before icing. There's easily enough icing to sandwich the cake and cover the top and sides. For the writing I mixed up a small amount of icing sugar, water and red food colouring to pipe using the icing pen.

Disclaimer: I was kindly sent a product to use/review by Tala. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.

mango chai latte cupcakes and mango lime curd

Perhaps 2013 is my year for baking with different fruit. First passionfruits and now mangoes.

This bake came about when Drink Me Chai offered me some instant chai tea latte powders to play with. They have a great selection to choose from, but I was immediately intrigued by the mango flavour. I had no idea you could get mango flavoured chai latte!

When I decided on incorporating the instant chai powder into a cupcake, I fancied making a mango based curd as a filling. After some searching online I went with a mango lime curd recipe found on My Darling Lemon Thyme and it produced 3 full Bonne Maman sized jars of curd, so unless you want to go curd mad I would suggest halving the ingredients. I should also warn you that sieving mango puree is time consuming and so boring but it is worth doing.

Half of my cupcake batch were filled with the mango lime curd, also mixing it into the butter icing, and the other half were left plain with a mango chai latte flavoured butter icing.

It's hard to pick a winner. The curd batch had an extra punch of fruitiness, really pulling out the mango flavour, whereas the other batch were all about the chai latte flavour. I particularly enjoyed the creamy, spiced quality in the latter's icing. Despite my fondness for curds, I think I liked the more chai-ified (I'm making it a word) batch, but this is only if you're holding me at gun point to decide. I will happily eat tray-loads of either cupcake.

I also tried the mango chai as a drink and needless to say I loved it. The sweet, tropical fruitiness really comes through the warm spices. The powder can also be mixed with hot water instead of milk but I found the flavour disappointing as a water-based drink. Similar to water-based hot chocolates, they just lack that wonderfully indulgent sweetness and comfort you get with a milky drink. I always think if you're going to have a treat, do it properly!

And yes that's a new cake stand I picked up from my Glasgow travels two weeks ago. Is it possible to own too many three tier cake stands? (Humour me, please say no.)

Mango chai cupcakes

makes roughly 18 cupcakes

225g Stork margarine

225g caster sugar

225g eggs (I used three large duck eggs, but 4 normal hen eggs should weigh roughly the same)

2 tbsp instant mango chai latte powder from DrinkMeChai

2 tbsp milk

200g self-raising flour

1 jar of mango lime curd

Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160/Gas 4 and line cupcakes trays with cases. Beat together the margarine and sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add each egg one at a time, beating between each addition, and adding a tablespoon of the flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Mix together the chai powder and milk and add to the mixture. Sift in the remaining flour and mix everything together until fully incorporated. 

Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases, filling each one 2/3 full. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until well risen and springy to touch. Leave to cool in the trays for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
 

For the curd version, cut a hollow into the centre of each cupcakes (I just use a knife) and fill with a teaspoon of mango lime curd before replacing the top. Mix some of the curd into a standard butter icing (one part butter to two parts icing). I think I used 150g icing sugar, 75g butter and two teaspoons of curd to cover 8 cupcakes.
 

For the straight forward mango chai version, top each cupcake with butter icing flavoured with some of the instant chai powder. Once again I used a standard butter icing, but added some chai powder to taste along with a splash of milk until I was happy with the consistency.

Spread the icing on in a child-like fashion (like me) or pipe in swirls using a fancy nozzle, such as a wilton 1M or 2D.
 

Disclaimer: I was kindly sent products to bake with by Drink Me Chai. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.

Earl grey tea loaf

There's something a bit old fashioned about a tea loaf so it only seemed appropriate to photograph it with my 1940s Berylware crockery.

This loaf is a great way of using up questionable looking dried fruit as soaking them in the tea plumps them up beautifully. Nobody would know that they are quite possibly past their sell by date.

 

The fruit bursts with orange flavour in this very citrussy flavoured loaf although I think the star of this bake is the syrup topping. It's like a sticky, sweet marmalade. The zingy-ness of it contrasts well the heavier texture of the loaf.

I like to think that this is a healthy bake because of the amount of fruit it contains: dried cranberries, sultanas, raisins, orange and lemon. That's your 5-a-day covered! It's also dairy free.

My only slight niggle is the amount tea flavour. Although Earl Grey is a citrus tea (a black tea blended with the flavour of bergamot oranges) I felt its distinctive flavour didn't quite come through with this loaf (for me anyway) despite the overall flavour being very orangey. If I made this again I would perhaps brew the tea a little longer before adding to the dried fruit.

And that's the end of my mini tea series, hope you enjoyed it! A massive thank you to the folks at Whittards for giving me a lovely tea selection to bake with.

I'm also entering this bake into Kat's Sweet Leftovers Link Party as my dried fruit was on the brink of being thrown out.

Earl grey tea loaf

I came across multiple variations of this Jamie Oliver recipe online. I don't know what the exact recipe is, but this is what I did:

4 earl grey teabags (courtesy of Whittards)

100g dried cranberries

200g sultanas

100g raisins

1 orange, zest and juice

1 duck egg

200g golden caster sugar

400g self-raising flour

1 level tsp. mixed spice

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ginger

1 lemon, zest and juice

100g caster sugar

200ml water

2 earl grey tea bags

Pour 300ml of boiling water over 4 teabags in a jug. Leave to brew for 5 minutes then remove the teabags. Put all your dried fruit and orange zest in a bowl and pour in the brewed tea. Stir, cover with clingfilm and leave overnight (or if you're a night time baker like me, leave them to soak all day.)

Preheat the oven to Gas 4 and line a 1l loaf tin. Beat the egg in a separate bowl before adding to the soaked fruit. Then add the sugar, flour, spices and orange juice. Mix well and put into the tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1hr 10 minutes or until golden on top and a skewer/knife is clean when inserted into the centre of the loaf. Mine actually took about 1hr 30 minutes to cook, covering the top with baking parchment for the last 15-20 minutes to prevent it from burning. Start making the syrup in the last 5-10 minutes of the loaf baking.

For the syrup topping, place 2 teabags in a saucepan with the water, lemon juice and zest. Gently bring to the boil, removing the teabags after a couple of minutes. Add the sugar and bring back to the boil without stirring. On a medium heat let it boil steadily for 5-10 minutes until the mixture has reduced by half and is syrupy. Prick the cake and pour/brush the syrup on top of the cake and leave the loaf to cool in the tin.

Disclaimer: I was sent tea products to bake with as Whittards recognised that I'm a cake/biscuit obsessed crazy tea lady. They're a brand I enjoy and have purchased from before. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.

Vanilla chai tea latte cake

I had a chai-normous amount of fun baking this cake. (HA! See what I did there?)

Awful puns aside, I was really pleased with this cake. I immediately knew what I wanted to bake when I saw instant vanilla chai in my bundle of goodies from Whittards: a fluffy, spiced, brown sugar sponge with a sweet, vanilla cream cheese butter icing. The homemade stencil decoration was a last minute addition to cover up my slightly lumpy icing (perhaps my butter was too cold?) and I think it looks fun although I may have been a tad overzealous with my cinnamon dusting as it caught the back of my throat a little when eating the cake!

 
I wasn't sure how much the vanilla chai flavour would come through (I baked this while my biscuit dough was in the fridge) but it worked really well. I thought there was a good balance between warm, cinnamony spices and vanilla sweetness.


It actually took a couple of weeks to get round to baking as I was enjoying just drinking the vanilla chai, but I'm glad I eventually did. I'm definitely making this cake again providing I don't drink all the chai first.

For a bit of fun I put a different flavour of instant chai in each cup for myself, my brother and mum to try. Out of the three we all liked the vanilla chai the most. I liked its sweeter edge over the spiced chai (I do have a raging sweet tooth after all) although the spiced chai was more refreshing and, well, spiced (you can tell I'm going to be inundated with product reviews with descriptions like that.) The chocolate chai was lovely too and makes a nice alternative to hot chocolate if you want something comforting but not as sickly sweet.

Hope you're all enjoying my tea series! I'll be back with my final tea themed bake on Sunday.

Vanilla chai tea latte cake
Own recipe 

Sponges:
200g (7oz) soft light brown sugar
200g (7oz) margarine
3 large (7oz) eggs
170g (6oz) self-raising flour
30g (1oz) instant vanilla chai
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream cheese butter icing:
300g icing sugar
50g softened butter
175g cream cheese
a few drops of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm round cake tins. Beat together the sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating between each addition, and add a tablespoon of the flour with the last egg to stop the mixture from curdling. Add the flour, chai, milk, cinnamon and vanilla and mix everything together until just fully incorporated. Divide the batter between the two tins and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for approx. 25 minutes until risen, golden and springy to touch. Leave to cool in the tins for around 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

For the icing just beat everything together for a few minutes until light and fluffy and use to fill and top the cake. For some reason the butter stayed a bit lumpy with me but wasn't too visually horrifying and still tasted fine. Finish with a dusting of cinnamon.

Disclaimer: I was sent tea products to bake with as Whittards recognised that I'm a cake/biscuit obsessed crazy tea lady. They're a brand I enjoy and have purchased from before. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.