Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe

Hello my lovelies!

Today I have the most amazing cake recipe to share with you all, this is honestly the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. It's moist, rich and just oh so mouth watering! 
I've made it twice now and both times have I had many people ask for the recipe and have nothing but good things to say about it.
So here we go!

You will need:

• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or you can put 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then fill the rest up with milk; let   stand 5 minutes. This is what I do)
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence 
• 1 cup hot coffee 
• Fresh Cream
• Mateasers or whatever you want to use to decorate 
• A food mixer, I use a Kenwood 
• A rubber spatula
• 9 inch round cake tin x2

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and grease your 2 cake tins. Pop on the kettle for your coffee as well.

First you need to add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt 

Then mix in the eggs, milk, melted butter, vanilla essence until smooth

Do this on high power for a few minutes

Brew your coffee and add it to the mixture(make yourself a cup too). This is the most crucial step to having your cake be moist. I swear that there is no taste of coffee in the finished product, every single one of my friends where shocked to hear of this ingredient! 

Mix it altogether using a rubber spatula 

Pour the mixture evenly into both tins. The mixture will be very 'runny'.

Place your cakes in the oven for 35 minutes (The little heart was in the oven for just over 15 minutes)

Place a toothpick into the middle of the cake after the time, if it comes back with no batter, you're good to go! Leave them stand for 15 minutes.

 Run a knife around the edges and flip them onto a cooling tray. You can not ice or put cream on cakes that are not fully cooled.

You can make butter icing(which I did for the last cake) but I wanted something a little less heavy and also didn't feel like making a bigger mess so I just got some fresh cream from Centra.

I only used one small thing of cream for my cake and it was just enough

Put one cake on a plate and spread cream on the top of it

It looks like a lot but it just covers the top however I would use more on this layer then the top layer.

Place the top cake on top creating a 'sandwich'. Spread the remaining cream on the top and decorate if you wish. I used maltesers. 

Serve and enjoy!

That is the recipe! It's nice and easy and tastes absolutely amazing! I brought this to my friends who was making dinner for us all and it went down a treat as well as the leftovers being wolfed down by the girls in college. 

Jumana also made a Nutella and Oreo cheesecake for desert for us all so I had to include a picture of it here!

Please let me know if you try this out and send me pictures on twitter if you do. Also do you all like recipe posts and would you like to see more like this? I know I haven't been posting regularly however I have been a little better over on YouTube so be sure to check that out!

All my Love,

Alice May xx

*Original recipe found on foodsess.com

As Told Through Instagram

I wanted to write a bit of an update post about whats been going on in my life but as they say a picture is worth a thousand words I thought I'd use my old friend instagram(follow me here) to help.

 First, this is my new tattoo! I know you can't see it very well but that is how it's going to stay for a while, I might post a better a picture at some stage but I have to keep a little mystery right? It means something dear to me and that's all that matters!

I went to Galway! This was just a little 2 night break with the girls and we met up with friends we had made on holiday this summer so was definitely a fun 2 days!

My friends have literally been my life recently, I feel i have a group of friends I can trust and rely on which is such a great feeling! These are ma two beauts Sinead and Seana. 

 This is my sister and Amelia, who is not shown for the most part as Sinead has decided not to have her face on the Internet. I had to include her as I spend so much time with this gorgeous girl, she is such a good baby and spends all her time smiling away!

 For the last 2 months I was working away in a beauty salon. I have actually stopped working and have moved to a new exciting adventure which I want to do a whole blog post on so hold tight! I am already missing the girls from the salon though, absolute gems they where.

I have to include it in my updates, I have a boyfriend! We've been together 6 and 1/2 weeks if you want to get all technical so it's still quite new but seriously happy with Sean

I've been missing my sissy big time as she moved to Galway for a month(I'm half Galwegian did you know?)She's back this weekend but will probably be off travelling the globe soon so trying to mentally prepare myself! 

 

 

I couldn't have instagram pictures without a saturated image of food could I? Basically I'm a master chef. I mean just look at that. NOM.

So that is my update of life as told through instagram! I want to start blogging more but with this new adventure I'm going on I just hope I have the time!

All the best, love and hugs,

Alice May

xx

I got a job!

Hello my lovelies!

I know it's been what seems like forever but I hate when boggers/youtubers apologise for their absense so that is not what I'm doing.

I have a few reasons but honesly one of the is that I haven't felt that inspired to write about anything beauty related. Which is why I hope you don't mind but I think I'm going to start posting more 'lifestyle' type posts with a few reviews, ootd's and that sort of thing thrown in here and there.

For my first post 'lifestyle' post I want to share something that has happened that is huge to me.

I got a job!
I have never had a 'real' job before would you believe? I have been babysitting and child minding since I was probably a child myself but I've never had a job that is official so it's all very grown up of me!
I finished college in May and was kinda freaking out, what next? was all I could ask myself.
I decided I would give myself till after my holidays to start looking for a job or to decide what I wanted to do. Well the week before I went away I had a surge of enthusiasm and started applying for jobs. I went around Dundrum handing in CV's and applied to about a gazillion online(more like 20 ish) I had two interviews before my holiday and one after. I was offered one on the spot but the work was really casual and they were hinting that I should cancel my holiday that I was going on in 3 days time(not a chance!).
Well with 4 trial days under my belt I was offered a job in the most amazing salon, the girls who I work with are so unbelievably nice and are helping me so much adjust into the way the salon works and teaching my loads so I am so grateful for that.
I'm always tired after work but I'm always looking forward to going in so I think it balances out in the end.

That's all I really wanted to share for today but I have review coming up and will try and do one on my holiday if I can get anything together as it was a crazy mash of fun!

Until next time,
Alice May xxx

A-Z of C'est Moi!

I have just read this tag type of post on my fellow blogger friend Lisa's blog and really liked it so naturally I am here doing it!(I Love a good tag post!)I know she posted hers ages ago but I was stuck on 1 question for ages!
Basically I just fill in this A-Z questionnaire and that's it so please do do it and link it below! 

Addictions: Food. Seems pretty weird but as I'm trying to be healthy you have no idea how hard it has been to avoid huge portions of CARBS...
Bed size: Double(It's basically a big single bed)
Chore you hate:  Hoovering the stairs. I'm always stuck with that job.
Dogs or cats: Dogs. I hate my cat.
Essential start of your day: Catching up on Twitter.
Favorite colour: Pink.(surprise, surprise)
Gold or silver: Silver jewelry, gold to look at.
Height: 5'5"
Instruments you play (or have played): Piano(not anymore) & Guitar(very badly)
Jobs titles you've had: Nanny, Mystery Shopper, Beautician, Makeup Artist
Kids: Lucy Lou, 1.5. Yes I am talking about my Dog.. 

Live: Co. Dublin, Ireland
Mom’s name: Annmarie (not ann-marie, pronounced ann-marry)
Nickname: Ali, Ah-key and recently 'Al'. I don't like that one.
Overnight hospital stays: appart from when I was born? One, ugh let's never speak of it again!
Pet peeve:  People shaking their legs. 
Quote from a movie: "Hey, hey, hey how's my best Girlfriends!?"- Mean Girls. (probably not my fave but I love it all the same!)
Right or left handed: right handed
Siblings: 2 Brothers, 1 Sister

(do any of us look alike? ps stinger this is the only Christmas photo of the 4 of us and my older Brother's eye's are shut!)

Time you wake up: between 7:30 & 8 on college days and about 10 on day's I'm off.
Underwear: Dunnes Stores.
Vegetables you dislike: Celery. YUCK!
What makes you run late: Sleeping in. ie just lying in bed when I'm supposed to be up even though I'm awake..
X-rays you’ve had done: One on my ankle, wasn't broken just a really bad sprain. 
Yummy food you make: Healthy Pizza(made with Spelt flour!)
Zoo animal: I love looking at the giraffes and elephants cause their so darn big but I also go into a trance watching the penguin's... weird I know.

Make sure you do this tag and link it below!

Until next time,

Love and Kisses,

Alice x

Why I don't do many Makeup Tutorials

I'm sure most of my readers know I have a YouTube channel where I make beauty video's and the likes. Basically it's my blog in video form! You can click HERE to bring you to said channel.

Well as you may or may not know I am also a Theatrical & Media Makeup student. So I don't want to sound like I'm tooting my own horn but I feel I'm fairly okay at doing makeup. 

I think that I am better at doing makeup on other people  as apposed to myself so that is the first reason why I don't do as many makeup tutorial's as perhaps a (nearly) makeup artist should be doing.

The second and main reason I don't do many makeup tutorials is because honestly makeup just doesn't look as good on me! I don't have that much eye space for some awesome cool eye looks so as much I want to teach others it's hard to show on myself. I mean I could get someone to model occasionally but I'm pretty sure people watch YouTube tutorials to learn how to do makeup on themselves not others.

The third reason and the worst reason really is that I find it hard to think of looks people would like me to do! So by all means leave me suggestions. But specific ideas like a tutorial using orange and black or a bold lip... ideas are just... hard! ha ha

So those are the reason's I don't post many makeup tutorials that often on my YouTube channel.

There is my thought for the day!

Until next time, I hope you're all well and I'll talk to you soon, 

Alice x