First attempt on Red Velvet Cake.

Everyone talks about them and since my partner has to organise seminars for his maths department, he normally volunteers to make the first batch of cakes for the tea and coffee afterwards.

By volunteering, this normally means me making something that 20 people can eat and survive therefore this time I made red velvet fairy cakes.

I had to try 5 of them to make sure they were nice enough but then most cake taste nice when they are warm.

But you can not have red velvet cupcakes with frosting and taking my friend's advice I made butter roux frosting.  This frosting is a lot lighter then the standard cream cheese frosting and because you mix in a roux mixture to bulk out the butter and sugar frosting, it is marginally healthier!  

Now to combine the two together.

Weekend fun at a Vintage Fair.

Lately, I have spending my weekends revising for my impending exam on the 9th June but this weekend I decided to finish early and visit a vintage fair.

This weekend I attended a fair that was organised by "The Vintage Fair". The last one I attended was a pick and mix one where you pay by the weight. This meant I could buy a lot of scarves for a cheaply. However this one is a proper one with individual stalls.

The fair was being held in the grand Sheffield Town Hall which fitted in perfectly with the fair.

Since each fair is unique, I never plan to buy anything because if I do I am endlessly disappointed when I leave empty handed.

Like before it was a £1 entrance fee which I didn't mind paying but the queue was amazing. Who would have thought a vintage fair would attract so many people. In fact the queue was so long, some people got bored of waiting but in my opinion the wait was no longer then the average wait at the tills at New Years sale.

As I mentioned before, I don't have any expectation but this time I was eager to see the hair salon in action because I love vintage hairstyles. Since I got to the event as it was opening, they were already preparing someone's hair with victory roll which was great to see. I even managed to pluck the courage and ask them what is the best length of hair to have for vintage style. As normal, it depends on the style you want to create but she said that with my waist length hair, she could create loads of large victory rolls.

Hmmm hairstyles are popping into my head!

Anyway I spend a hour there flicking through the rails and left empty handed. Nothing jumped out at me apart from the delightful cupcakes which were 4 for £5.00! So I brought some, I am so weak!!!! Clockwise from top left - lemon, chocolate caramel, strawberry cheesecake, Raspberry and white chocolate (I think)

Here are some pictures of the fair inside.

Lots of shiny stuff!

Just wanted to show you this really cool chandelier that the Town Hall has.

Woo hoo new books

I have been hard at studying this week and as I haven't brought a single kimono item for over a month. So time for a treat in the guise of books.

The first books is Okimono Kimono.


My friend owns this book but in Japanese and it looked like an interesting book for kimono co-ordination. I would like to modernise my kimono outfits and I hope this will give me some ideas. I will post more pictures of the book once it has arrive.

Then for something different, Mary Berry Ultimate Cake Book.

I was contemplating the Hummingbird Bakery book as well but this book seem to have more different recipes. I will get the Hummingbird book later on when I move to Sheffield when I can practice my cake making skills. One needs willing guinea pigs for taste tests.