Purple Button Couture

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

St Particks Day Baking ~ Guinness Cake Baileys Frosting ~ Recipes

I thought I'd try something a bit different this Paddy's Day, so instead of the usual green cupcakes I'm making a Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Baileys Frosting!!! I found this great blog Love Swah, with this recipe, show this girl some love and check out the full recipe here!!!

Ingredients:

Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake

250ml Guinness stout/porter (1 cup)
250g butter (1 cup + 1 tbsp.)
100g cup cocoa powder (2/3 cup)
400g caster/superfine sugar (1¾ cups)
140ml sour cream (2/3 cup)
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour (2 cups)
2½ tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda

Baileys Cream Cheese Icing

500-600g sifted icing sugar/powdered sugar (4-5 cups)
100g butter at room temperature
250g cream cheese at room temperature (8oz)
4-6 tbsps Baileys Irish Cream

Read the method here...

I used Guinness Stout as per recipe but if you prefer Beamish or Murphy's stout then I don't see a problem. It's your taste so pick your favourite Stout!

I read this great review of Baileys and alternatives from A Thrifty Mrs read here so I went with the Lidl alternative!

This is a big recipe so I made 4 cupcakes too. I could have made more really!!! But I used a 7" tin.

(This cake doesn't rise much when it did mine cracked open all over so I had to trim it level)

This cake is also sooo heavy! So small slices!

The Baileys frosting is amazing and I'm not a boozy person! I will definitely be making that again!

But I used less icing sugar and more cream cheese and maybe less baileys. I always use less sugar in cream cheese icing, it's a personal taste thing, I just don't like it overly sweet so I used approx.:

Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting

200g sifted icing sugar/powdered sugar

60g butter at room temperature

150g cream cheese at room temperature

2 tbsps Baileys Irish Cream

Love this cake, a nice change from my usual cutesy baking! Hope you try it and enjoy it!!

Check out my previous baking posts:

Simple Chocolate Fudge

Ferrero Rocher Cake

Cake Pops

Monday, 14 March 2016

Who's taking money out of your pocket?? Rounding cons!

Now maybe everyone has not heard about rounding but this is my pet peeve! It is daylight robbery!!
I mean are we really that stupid that we are allowing people to take money out of our pockets!!!!

So if you don't know what I am on about "Rounding" is the concept that if your shopping costs €2.99 you pay €3. That doesn't seem that bad does it? What about if your shopping costs €2.96 you still have to pay €3!!! So you are giving the shopkeeper €0.04 for doing nothing you are getting nothing in return for your money!!!

Just How much is being robbed from my Pocket???

Think about it this way, you probably buy more than one thing every day be it your morning take-away coffee, your lunch, groceries, beauty products... etc. etc.
So that could be 16 cent a day!!1 That's €58.40 a year!!!!! Think about what you could have bought for that!!! And that's a minimum!!! That's like filling your car with petrol! Rent? A fancy meal?

It's not just this but I have and a lot of people I know have a savings plan of putting your change in a jar every day and at the end of the year you can get yourself a treat or just have this as an emergency stash of cash for those bad days!!!
I mean that's a years meals on the McDonalds eurosaver menu!!!!!!

I have yet to have any purchase rounded down!!!!

It's illegal for a shop to refuse to give you your change!!!

Also this "scheme" (scam) is voluntary , you don't have to be robbed but try asking for your correct change!!! I mean I have been verbally assaulted by shop staff!!! for what asking for my change!!!
This by the way is illegal!!!! They have to give you your change so persist!!! We have to stand up for our rights as consumers!!!

If you went into a shop and bought a bar of chocolate for €1 and paid with a €50 note and then the shopkeeper refused to give you your €49 change then that would make you furious!!! So this rounding scam makes me furious!!!

So Where is my Money going???

Where is this money going??? It hasn't gone through the books at the till, your receipt, the accounts lodged to the relevant authorities??? So where has it gone??? That's right straight into the shop owners pocket!!!! No tax is paid on it?? It's not declared???
I'm curious how this will be accounted for at the end of the year???

It's not just us the consumer who has been robbed!!!!

Charities are losing millions!!!!

Yes you know the Charity boxes at tills, which usually support local charities, which we all might need some day, yes they are being robbed!! In the past anyone who didn't want to soil their hands with change just put their change into the charity box. This adds up quickly as it's just 16cent a day each bit a shop could have 100's if not 1000's of customers a day, so over the whole country charity is losing MILLIONS!!!!

Sorry Trocaire Box... Not this year!!!!

Think about shops like dealz where everything is €1.49! That means there is 1c undeclared income/overcharging for every purchase!! Now have you ever seem this shop empty.... no there is always a huge q!!!! One can only imagine the company owners rolling around in the millions of tax free income!!!!

I have given you a lot of con's here but I can't really think of any pro's?? Except that for the shop owners???

Pro's

Shop owners / Companies getting tax fee profit

Con's

Consumer being overcharges
Charities losing out
Government/ Revenue losing Tax revenue

So tell me your opinion???

Are you ok with your hard earned money being stolen???

Please share this rant!!!

Friday, 11 March 2016

Knitting & Crochet Project ~ Owl Hat ~

I have seen soo many cute owl hat projects and patterns. Now I'm not quite experienced enough for a lot of them, but I saw so many cute images on pinterest and thought I would give it a go!

Also I planned to do something crafty every month, this is February's craftiness!!!
Also I was quite poorly so this took my mind of dwelling in self pity!!!

I struggle with following patterns in everything I do, I'm more of a trial and error kinda gal!

So this is my "pattern":

Using 10mm needles
Cast on 40 stitches
Stocking stitch for approx. 25 rows (I didn't really count approx. 5")
Then change colour (I changed to White)
Stocking Stitch the same amount again, approx. 25 rows!

Sew up edge.
Then sew top.
(Thinking about sewing across corners as ears??)

Crochet eyes
I'm not the best at crochet but my attempt worked quite well!!!
Chain 3 in circle and keep circling to make big round eyes!!
Start Black for pupil and change to white after one round!

I knitted a beak too, couldn't decide what colour, and I only had much thinner wool so I used 3 colours of yellow/orange.
Cast on 5. Kn1 Pl1
Reduce to 3
Reduce again to 1.

This is the first time I used crochet to "sew" up the seems and sew on the eyes and beak but it worked quite well!!!

And here is the finished product!!!!

Hope you like it!
This hat keeps me warm and puts a smile on my face!!!

Send me links to any simple projects you think I would like or projects you have done!!

xx

Previous Posts:

Check out my last Knitted Hat Project

Wednesday, 9 March 2016

Blog Organisation ~ Free Download for Begineers ~

If you are like me you wish to become more organised. I have been learning so much from all the lovely bloggers I have met through Twitter Chats and one thing I know to be important is Time Management and Organisation!

So for me having a true copy of all my important details is soooo important! So if you are just starting out this free printable is how I try to organise myself!
(Also Tip: punch holes and tie together with pretty ribbons or hoop earrings!)

I would also advise you to get a page to a day dairy, you need not have a dedicated blog diary to begin with but as you progress you might want to get a dedicated diary, Especially if you schedule posts in advance!

Also a small notebook to carry with you for any ideas you might have when out and about! (also everyone loves stationary!!!)

Hope this helps you in your venture into the blogging world!!!

Download Here!

(I haven't used any colour so you can print easily & cheaply)

Monday, 7 March 2016

Red Velvet Cake in a Jar ~ Recipe ~ Baking Love ~

Just realised I have shown you the baking blogs I love, pinterest pic's, and jar re purposing however after all my Cake in a Jar lovin' I have totally forgotten to tell you about my Cake Jar recipe!

Well problem solved here it is:

Ingredients:

3oz Self Raising Flour

1oz Cocoa Powder

4oz Marg

4oz Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

Vanilla Essence

Red food colouring

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream
Cream Cheese
Icing Sugar
Vanilla Essence

Pretty simple just mix everything together and bake!!!
I baked mine in lined cake tins and baked for 10-20 mins at 160C

Again for the frosting just mix it all together, I know I have no measurements, I just put a spoon of cream and cheese in a bowl and mix and hope for the best!!! Add your sugar a little at a time to your own persona taste!!!

Now the Jar part!

Ok you probably have seen my organisation, I love storage Jars post, (if not tut tut here it is) so I have repurposed my old food jars.

Once my cake has cooled I used the open jar to cut cake to the right size to get into the Jar. Then I started layering inside the jar with cake, raspberry jam, creamy frosting and repeat.

Delicious and because I used chalk paint on my jars I can write peoples names and what it is on the jars! (and reuse for others later)

Hope you like it!!!

xx

Friday, 4 March 2016

The Liebster Award

Great New!!! The wonderful Katie Ellen (show her blog some love) nominated me to do The Liebster Award!!!

Let me explain the concept for you:

Thank the person who nominated you and include link to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions.
Think up 11 new questions
Nominate 11 other bloggers you think deserve the nomination, who have under 1000 followers.
Alert them to the nomination on social media!

The Q & A

1. What do you feel is the best thing about blogging?

I get to share my ramblings with the world instead of them staying in my head!

Honestly I get to research and share my passions which in the ordinary course of working I would not be able to do.

2. Do you enjoy reading blogs more than writing them or vice versa?

Both really, I love reading blogs and learning new skills from new recipes and crafts to beauty suggestions and motivational kicks up the bum!

Then I like sharing my finds!

You need both, you can't write a blog without having read one!

3. What is the most embarrassing thing you or someone you know have experienced?

This is a tough one! I kinda have a goldfish memory (or human memory since we are now worse than fishies!!!) so I forget most things straight away!

4. What types of blogs do you enjoy most? (e.g. beauty, fashion, lifestyle, etc.)

I'm into everything really, I do like my make-up but fashion is one of my real passions, from trend forecasting to #OOTD.

Then there is baking and foodie blogs, I have a mouth full of sweet teeth so any simple bakes are a must!

Then crafts and knitting etc guess this ties in with fashion?!

I think lifestyle is a catch all, so if you give me everything I love that's great!!!!

5. Who is your biggest celebrity crush and why?

Gotta say Johnny Depp... Typical!
I'm not a big celebrity crush person, I want to get what I want and travelling around the world to stalk down my man prey just seems like too much effort!!

6. Do you have a favourite beauty brand? If so, who?

Not really, I have an eclectic make-up bag from High Street to High End, if I like something I get it!

7. One piece of make up you could not live without?

Black Eyeliner!!! Currently using Shiseido!

8. Weirdest habits of yours?

Staring off into the distance!!!

9. What do people in your offline life think of your blog?

Most don't really know/care or understand!
Except the ones that Blog too!

10. Who is your best online friend and how did you both meet?

I'm really just starting out chatting to other bloggers online so I can't really pick a best friend yet. But I am meeting so many lovely people having Twitter Chats like #syblchat #bdibNA #bdib etc. etc.