Cake with a Cause | Easter Cake Off with RGU & Drugs Action

Eat cake for a good cause? I'm there with bells on and my fork at the ready, and that's just what the Aberdeen public have in store at the Easter Cake Off in association with RGU and local charity Drugs Action on the 19th of March at The Park Cafe, Hazlehead!

Not only are we going to be able to have our cake and eat it too, but those with a bit of Berry skills in their baking will get a chance to show off their talents all in the name of charity! There will be a bake off style cake competition with the 'show stopper cake' winning the grand prize! But if you're like me and you're more boozy in the kitchen than berry, don't worry there's something for you too. Whether you're looking to entertain the kids for the weekend with an Easter Egg Hunt, looking to relax with your gal pal as I will be doing with a top notch afternoon tea, or even if you're just looking for a day out then why not come along?

If you do fancy yourself as a bit of a Mary Berry or heck let's not be sexist, a Paul Hollywood, then get in touch to enter your cake in the comp by emailing rguevents.da@gmail.com, or you know get in touch with me and I'd be more than happy to judge your cake bake skills! Hurry up and book your tickets here though, they're selling like hot cakes (sorry guys I had to!)

Of course I'd love to see you along there, drop on by if you have the chance and come say hi to me and my very own gal pal, Anastasia of Natbees, we'll be the ladies of leisure with our tea and cream cakes!

Until next time folks, scone anyone?

H.Elizabeth

A Cat-ch Up and a Cuppa | The Cat In the Window Cafe Aberdeen

Granite City cat lovers and caffeine junkies rejoice as Aberdeen celebrates the arrival of our first ever cat cafe. Last week I was lucky enough to hop along to the 'soft opening' week of the Cat in the Window Cafe in the Netherkirkgate area of Aberdeen's city centre to help settle in some mischievous moggies and see just what all the furry fuss was about before their official opening of the 13th of February 2016 (just in time for Valentines - convenient right?!)

It isn't every day you can say you feel right at home in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city centre, but it's the only way I can think to describe how you'll feel upon entering the Cat in the Window Cafe. From hanging up your coat on arrival and putting on your slippers (for health and safety reasons) to chilling on the biggest comfiest bean bag you've ever seen, and let's of course not forget the most homely comfort of all, lots and lots of fur babies.

I must give ultimate props to the interiors team behind Cat in the Window, their style jumped straight from all of the shabby chic pinterest boards those of us in the blogosphere seem to covet most highly, and of course looks like something straight from the dreams of the cuddle creatures who dwell within. Between scattered wooden fixtures to keep claws in check to plenty of nooks and crannys to climb, crawl and cavort and there are even toys for the cats to play with, there never seemed to be a dull moment throughout our visit.

Now guys I'm going to level with you, I was so busy playing with my newfound feline friends that I didn't even get a chance to sample any cakes, biscuits, tray bakes, not even a simple sandwich, in fact I settled for a latte that I didn't even finish (but let's take a moment to appreciate the cat inspired crockey shall we?) So apologies for those who came here for a foodie review and got more fur than they bargained for, but what can I say? I'm perhaps more cat lady than cupcakes than I originally thought.

Not only does the cat cafe serve to put a smile on the faces of local cat lovers but a higher purpose as well, the owners hope the cafe will help open peoples hearts to possibly rescuing their own mischievous moggy from the shelter and help find some of those lonely felines out there a forever home. (Can you tell I lugged in to the STV news feature while it was shot? Whoops)

Now you know where I stand on all things cat cafes, fur babies and of course cake, but I'd love to hear your thoughts, have you ever visited another cat cafe before or are you one of those you know...dog people!? Leave your experiences, comments, thoughts and cat musings below, come share in the cat lady crazy over on Twitter or if you'd just like to laze and waste the days away with me you can follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, cat-ching up with a cuppa!

H.Elizabeth x

Mothers Day Gift Idea | Cakes By Post with Baker Days

If you, like me, have been struggling a little bit in the gift ideas department for Mothers Day then this revolutionary new service (for people wit a sweet tooth anyway) may just be what you have been looking for. A few weeks ago I was approached by Baker Days, an online cake delivery service who specialize in personalized cakes and cupcakes for any and all occasions (and I mean all occassions - they have a Ryan Gosling cake for goodness sake, yummy in more than one way I suppose!) and they asked me if I would be interested in giving my own mum the gift of a letter box cake in celebration of mothers day, which of course as an avid cake lover I jumped at!


Upon looking a bit more into their services I found that Baker Days are no one trick ponies, with services ranging from letter box cakes to large personalized cakes, photo cakes and even cupcakes, with next working day delivery if ordered before 2pm and not to mention they are incredibly delicious I think this is a service that is certainly due to take off in 2015! There is something a little bit more satisfying about not having to move from the comfort of your own home for a cake (the former fat kind in me beams at the thought!) all you need to do is choose your design, size, sponge flavour (they also do fruit cakes, dairy free and gluten free so something for everyone!), give them your address and you're good to go.

The letter box cakes come in a white box which is well packaged and I was very pleased to find that the postal service hadn't damaged the box or contents (I have not had the best relations with the postal services!) Here is what the cake itself comes in, a beautiful little tin that you can keep after you've demolished the innards along with a little card, pamphlet about Baker Days and a small pack of love heart sweets. Even before we got the tin open we could smell the cake, it was all butter-creamy and mouthwatering, the tin was incredibly difficult to open although given it has to go through postal to arrive this can only be a good thing. The design I chose doesn't look exactly like the design on the website  it is a bit blurry but nothing was majorly out of place. Now I hear you scream, 'but how did it taste?' well we were able to get four portions out of the cake and it tasted delicious, and it makes me squeamish too but as it was a mothers day cake I had to get the lady of the hours verdict, summed up by one word, 'moist' and when it comes to cake that's really all you need (the Mary Berry in me coming out!)

Given that the cake went down an absolute treat with my mum, dad and my hubby I would say Baker Days have it nailed for Mothers Day, Fathers Day, birthdays and all manner of occasions (and I'm not kidding when I say they have something for everyone!) and they've definitely struck a chord with me! If you know anyone who would love to receive not only a personalised card (which we are incredibly saturated with in the UK) but a personalised cake they could actually enjoy head over to Baker Days just now and have a browse of their amazing range! If you'd like to share a similar service with me of course I'm all ears, drop me a comment below, come Tweet at me or if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite Cit Girl antics, adventures and reviews be sure to follow me on Bloglovin!

Until next time folks, drooling over a new kind of Ryan Gosling!

H.Elizabeth x

Domestic Goddess | Nar Nar Bread

Hello everyone, I pleased to report to you today that since New Year there have been no more baking disasters or kitchen mishaps, I'm sure we all remember when I melted my gravy lid on to my cooker top, not one of my finest moments, and that my resolution to bake and cook a bit more this year remains firmly in tact (hold for applause) So today, given my success, I thought I would share one of my newest culinary creations and sweetie successes that I have seriously loved munching on through the last week.

Usually when people hear the word 'bread' in a recipe title they shy away from it as it can be such a sticky and awkward mess, and (as my partner says) 'You can buy one from the shop' but let's face it, you and I both know there's nothing like homemade. Banana bread is different in that it is so much sweeter and most importantly it's so simple to make it's unbelievable.



Equipment

Small loaf tin

Large mixing bowl

Cup for measuring
Small saucepan
Teaspoon
Wooden spoon

Ingredients

2/3 Ripe bananas
1/3 cup of butter
1 ½ cup of sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½  cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp  ground cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C and butter your loaf tin (ooh sounds rude) 
2. Melt your butter in a saucepan but be sure not to let it boil. 
3. In your mixing bowl mash your bananas with a fork until smooth and then stir in your melted butter.    
4. Mix in the baking soda then stir in the sugar, beaten egg, vanilla extract and then flavour with cinnamon. Following this mix in your flour (don't panic, at this point it will seem like there is a lot of flour but persevere and keep mixing)
5. Pour the batter into your buttered loaf tin and pop into the oven for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes (yours may need a little longer, make sure you keep an eye on it) 
6. Before removing the loaf tin from the oven do the good old knife test and make sure it comes out clean before leaving to cool on a rack.

Serving suggestion:

Have a slice along with a chopped banana with some cream / ice cream for a dessert and enjoy.

If you guys do happen to give this a go (which I highly recommend) please let me know in the comments below I would love to see how yours turn out so be sure to Tweet any pictures you have at me, or of course if you have another similar recipe (or any banana based recipe for that matter) do let me know as I always love a baking challenge. I hope you have enjoyed this 'Domestic Goddess' post, if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City Girl bakes, reviews and ramblings be sure to give me a follow on Bloglovin.
 

Until next time folks, baking mad over here.

H.Elizabeth xx

Girls Day Out | Cari & Co Victorian Tea Room

Throwing a curveball into the mix today and stepping away from all of the healthy themed posts we have all been loving lately I wanted to share another one of my most recent Granite City outings with you, in the form of another girly day out. Now I must apologise because when I say recent, I'm talking the start of December! Sorry guys the time just seemed to escape from me, especially with Christmas and New Year, but onwards we march into 2015 and with a new Granite City high tea review!

Now I love a good bargain (and cuppa) as much as the next girl / human being out there, in fact saying goodbye to my student discount earlier this year was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do (I still wince paying for full priced items in Topshop) so when I heard this cutesy little tearoom in Aberdeen's West End (posh district) had placed an offer on the 'itison'' website (much like Groupon) I was ON IT and I've got to tell you I think we're on to a winner here! 

Cari & Co Victorian Tearoom

For the cheap and cheerful price of £16 my friend and I were treated to a three course afternoon tea in a very Victorian, vintage setting in Aberdeen's lovely West End, and yes I would even go as far as to say it has been added to my list of hidden Aberdeen gems. The tearoom has to be one of my favourite finds of the year, I always find myself pining over all of the beautiful afternoon tea venues I see fellow bloggers and tweeters posting on the regular and have even started collating a diary list of 'tea venues to visit' in the various UK cities, does anybody else do this? But I must admit, I felt a little victory at finding my very own one in my home city, and I'm so pleased that today I get to share my experience with you.

Our high tea at Cari and Co was served in true vintage fashion with beautiful cake stands, cutesy cutlery and rare antiquities galore we were treated to a sparkling raspberry rose fizzy beverage by what can only be described as one of the loveliest and most attentive women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, I think she is the owner as she took great pride in the store, a trait which I always find so lovely and inspiring in a business owner! Everything had a unique feel, from the individual sets of tables and chairs right down to the cups and saucers, detective inspector Monk has nothing on this immaculate tearoom, it can only be truly described by one word and that is stylish.

Treated to a starter of ham with onion chutney sandwiches as well as chicken and cranberry (chutney and cranberry are two of my favourite condiments!) which unfortunately we didn't get a picture of since we demolished them so quickly, we were swiftly on to our next course of scones with cream and jam which were divine! Just as a side note, the Great British debacle of cream or jam first, can anybody settle this for me? I believe I alternate every time I am treated to a scone just to see if there really is a difference to no avail.You'd think that after being treated to all of this we'd be well and truly stuffed, and you're right but our treats did not end there, oh no sir! We were then presented with a bowl of sweety yummy in the form of a lavish cupcake and cream filled meringue, both of which were like nothing I have ever tasted in my life! Then of course in true vintage style we commemorated the end of our fine dining experience (and our ability to stuff our faces spectacularly) with a cup of peppermint tea.

Verdict

It must be love, love, love, honestly if I had a car of my own (or a licence for that matter) I would probably be right there stuffing my face every weekend. This is one I'll be keeping up my sleeve for special occassions and birthdays and you know any which way and excuse I can use to stuff my face with cake, scones and delicious teas. For those of you out there who are perhaps not local to Aberdeen this is a gem I highly recommend you come and try, although it may be a little bit out of your way but if like me you're a bona fide tea taster you'll not regret the journey!

As usual I love hearing from you lovely lot so be sure to leave me a comment below, I'm always out and about and I would love to hear if you have any similar spectacular tea rooms in your respective cities, you can come share these with me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City antics and adventures be sure to come find me on Bloglovin

Until next time folks, I'll be pining over tea and scones!

H.Elizabeth xx

Domestic Goddess | Mini Baked Oreo Cheesecakes

Now even though I have been making a solid attempt to eat a little bit better to shed a few lbs. for the festivities, this doesn't mean I'm going to give up some of my sweet stuffs! And I always think making something nasty yourself is better than buying it in, hey at least you know how it's being made and what's going into it!

So today I thought I would share one of my most recent culinary successes, if I do say so myself, in the form of bite size (depending on you gob size) Oreo Cheesecakes.

Now these are not good if you're looking for a quick sweet fix as you will need to refrigerate these over night, but these are perfect for an after dinner treat! 

What you'll need (equipment wise)

2 large bowls

Wooden Spoon

Paper or Silicone Cupcake Cases
Something to weigh out your ingredients (it's surprising how often people forget this)

What you'll need (foodie wise)

400g Philadelphia Light

75g Caster Sugar (I use silver spoon)

2 Medium Eggs

12 Oreo Cookies (keep extra if you like crunch)

110g Milk Chocolate (or any kind of chocolate you like)
A couple of tbsps of Philadelphia Cadburys Chocolate

What you need to do
For the Cheesecakes

1. Preheat your oven to 180oC and beat the Philadelphia, caster sugar in a bowl until completely blended (Philly goes funny when you mix it, you'll understand when you see it) Add your eggs, one at a time, stirring until fully blended again.
2. Place one cookie in the bottom of each casing, and if you like a bit of crunch in your cheesecake I suggest crumbling up some of your cookie biscuits into your cheesecake mix. Now fill your cases evenly with batter.
3. Bake in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes until your centres are almost set. Cool these on your cooker top and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours. I recommend doing these over night though just to be sure. 
 

For the chocolate topped fondant (to be done after refrigeration)

1.  Using a plastic bowl over a pan of boiling water melt your milk chocolate (or any chocolate     you so choose)
2. Once your chocolate has fully melted add a dollop of your Cadburys philadelphia, don't panic it will not look like its going well.
3. Add enough philly and it should roll into a fondant chocolatey ball which you can take off of the heat and leave to cool a little before dolloping on top of your cheesecakes and leaving to set.
   

And that's all there is to it, they are so delicious, and not good for you but you know you've got to treat yourself sometimes!


If you do or have given this recipe a try before please let me know how it went or if you'd even like to share some similar recipes drop me a comment below, come tell me about them on Twitter or if you'd like to see more beauty and lifestyle posts make sure you keep up with me on Bloglovin.

Happy baking folks!

H.Elizabeth x

Silver City Living

 For my first post I'd like to share a little bit about myself and life in the Granite City, since that's   what I shall be posting about for the foreseeable future.

I'm Hannah Elizabeth, a communications and PR student at Robert Gordon University with a particular interest in the festival and events sector. My first and current job position is as a sales assistant (professional cake eater) at locally renowned bakery, 'Thains'  with ambitions of becoming a professional events planner and writer of short stories.

My other interests include cinema going (a weekly ritual which I share with my partner) vintage accessory hunting, and all things hair and beauty (particularly 50's/60's glamour) A few of my favourite things include my lady cat Marble, all things Star Wars and Trekkie related, and tacky home-ware!

This blog will take you through the coming months in Aberdeen and beyond as well as document my weekly lifestyle endeavors and purchases, with the aim of giving you an insight to an Aberdonian girl's life.

 All comments are welcomed and appreciated as well as any follows or queries you may have. Otherwise I hope you enjoy my future musings of granite life.

H.Elizabeth