Neelam Jayna: September 2014

Some Sleek Goodies

, by neelamjayna

Ok, So I'm not a big fan of the whole 'monthly favourites' posts, don't get me wrong, I love reading others. But personally, I don't change things up that much and it would be pretty boring to read. So I thought I would just show you what I've been loving over the past few months instead - a sort of Summer favourites. I thought I'd put this up before Autumn gets into its full swing.

E.l.f. Jumbo Eyeshadow pencil.
Now guys, I know you know that I used to go crazy when ordering from e.l.f. and quite franky I do not reach for many products by them. But I have been overly impressed by this jumbo eyeshadow pencil, it is in the shade Turkish Coffee and it looks stunning when you blend it across the lid. It is by far the easiest creamy product to blend that I have ever come across. The lasts a long time, it's quick to apply, you just cannot go wrong! I've had quite a lot of early shifts at work lately, and I've been wacking this on with a bit of mascara and I am good to go.

Makeup Geek Eyeshadows.
I bought these not to long ago and honestly, I have been using them everyday! It's the first time I've bought individual pans so I was a little concerned about not liking the colours, but the website is dummy-free and has a swatch of each colour. I bought these mainly because Jaclyn Hill is always using and praising them and I just had to see for myself (and not just because I absolutely adore her!). I've got a post coming up soon on the colours that I got so I won't talk too much about them. But honestly, if you're new to eyeshadow like myself, then get these babies, they really do bring a look together! I got the small Z-Palette in the Dotted Leaf pattern which is exclusive to the Makeup Geek website.

Blogilates.
I cannot even begin to tell you how lazy I am when it comes to working out. I used to go to the gym a few times a week but since starting uni I have struggled to get into a regime. I will have the odd week where I will work out a tonne and then do nothing for the next few months and it's really beginning to take its toll. I know there is no point in me starting at the gym while I'm at the gym so I decided, alongside my best friend, to try blogilates after a few friends recommended it to me. Guys, I have never felt so motivated to work out so often before! Cassey Ho, the creator of blogilates is an absolute delight to watch, her happiness is so infectious and she really makes you feel good about yourself and motivates you to reach your goals. She produces these calendars each month packed full of workouts to do everyday. Yes, there are days where I just want to curl in a ball and do nothing, but I try and do at least two of the videos - because they are pretty hard. Although I haven't seen any visual results yet, I definitely feel more energized and stronger. I highly recommend checking out her website, she is an absolute babe!

Purple Tropical-Print Floral Kimono.
I have been wearing this out so much the last few weeks, I love the colour, the style, the fit, everything! I love that I can team it with leggings or skinny jeans and it will look goregous. It is so easy to wear and adds so much colour and style to an otherwise simple outfit. It's from New Look and I actually ordered it online, so I'm not sure if it is still in stores.

Pesto.
Yes, you read right, pesto. At uni I always used to cook salmon smothered in pesto and since then I've fallen in love with the taste of pesto. I also mix it in with cream and add it to my pasta.. heaven! A bit of a random favourite really, but I just had to mention it. I'd love to try some other recipes that include pesto, so if you have any reccommendations.. you know what to do!

Multi-patterned nails

I've been obsessed with Shannon from Shaaanxo's nails! She always has the most stunning designs and they always look gorgeous. Recently, I decided to treat myself to getting my nails done - I never normally get acrylics done because my job isn't so friendly on my nails and my natural nails grow pretty fast as it is. But seen as it was my birthday a few weeks back I decided to treat myself. I got them done at Greenford Nails which is my most local nail salon. They cost me £23, which for me is quite a bit but if they last me for a few weeks then I don't mind getting them done now and then. I showed them a picture of something I found online and they did a good job at recreating it. Overly impressed!

So those are a few things that I have been loving lately, I would love to hear what you've been enjoying this summer!

Neelam xx

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, by neelamjayna

In Baking, Nigella Lawson

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I remember the first time I attempted to make a Red Velvet cake with a friend and through all the effort we went to, it just turned out to look like a standard Chocolate cake. But after discovering Food colouring paste is the secret to getting bright colours, I decided to give it another shot. I looked up the recipe online and decided to follow Nigella Lawsons recipe. Her recipe is easy to follow and you're most likely to have these ingredients in your cupboard - although I did use a few alternatives. I'm very happy with the results, so let's jump right into it.

The Ingredients you will need:

250g Plain Flour

2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspon Bicarbonate of Soda

100g Unsalted Butter

200g Caster Sugar

1 heaped tablespoon Christmas-Red paste food colouring

2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

2 large Eggs

175ml Buttermilk

1 teaspoon cider Vinegar (I couldn't find this in the shop, so I used distilled vinegar).

She also has a recipe up for a butter cream-cheese frosting, but I just bought a ready-made cream cheese style icing by Betty Crockers - mhmm!

So start off by preheating the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325°F. You can put the cake tins inside the oven to preheat as well so you get a nice thorough bake.

Firstly you want to cream the butter and sugar in the bowl, to get a nice fluffy mixture.

Then add all the food colouring into this mixture, along with the vanilla drops. Now I only had a small pot of this, and so I used about half a teaspon of the paste. The colour looked beautifully vibrant at this stage as you can see, but I late discovered it could've done with a whole lot more. You can buy the food colouring paste for a cheaper price online and you tend to get more for your money.

I forgot to show a picture, but you need to sift the flour and cocoa powder into a seperate bowl, it's important to use a sieve as cocoa powder can often be quite clumpy. Then add one tablespoon of the colour mixture followed by one egg. Beat it together and another tablesppoon of flour and a egg and beat again. Once it's all mixed, add the remaining flour to the mixture.

In a separate bowl, add the vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder so the mixture froths up and add it into the main mixture, along with your buttermilk. Fold it all together so it's nice and smooth. Notice how the mixture has gone rather dark at this stage, if you want it brighter, add more colouring!

This mixture makes roughly 24 cupcakes, so fill them evenly into your cupcake cases. About 1/3 of the way as they rise. A lot. Bake for 20 minutes.

Now, I was quite disappointed when these popped out of the oven. Firstly, I was expecting them to be a lot more brighter, but I reckon, even with more food colouring they will still go slightly chocolatey coloured on the top.

Add your Cream cheese icing on top, I used a knife for that messy kind of look, but you could be fancy and use a piping bag to make it look more appealing.

As you can see, the colour of the cake is a lot more vibrant when you bite into it, which impressed me a lot! They taste absoultely delicious! I am not ashamed to say that these didn't last long in my house, they're so moreish. It is such a simple recipe, that will impress your friends and family. You could of course decorate them with some coloured icing sugar or some pretty sprinkles, but I personally prefer them without. Don't forget to check out Nigella Lawsons website which is filled with easy to make recipes!