fat little pixie

Ingredients:
200g/7 oz self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
150ml/ ¼ pint vegetable oil
juice and zest of 1 orange
200g/7oz light soft brown sugar
3 medium eggs
200g/7 oz carrots grated

Method:
1.Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C Fan Oven). Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl.
2.In a jug, beat together oil, orange juice and zest, sugar and eggs until well mixed. Add oil mixture to dry ingredients along with grated carrot and gently stir until just combined. (When I was making this the mixture was slightly too runny so I just added a small handful of flour.)
3.Spoon mixture into muffin cases and bake for 15-20mins or until risen and golden.
4.Mix together cream cheese and olive oil spread in a bowl until soft and smooth. Add icing sugar and mix until just combined. Spoon onto cooled muffins, swirl, and top each with finely grated orange zest.

A few extra little tips:
-To make your muffins look even more delightful place them on a pretty doiley.
-Make a big mug of tasty tea, get your favourite book, put on some music and enjoy!
-Make a double batch.
-I recently started to write my favourite recipes into a little book divided into the 4 seasons, this can be added to Summer!

I love getting a blank sheet of paper and playing with paint, it’s so relaxing. And you don’t have to be an artist to do it. Paint anything – words, dots, hearts, stars, just anything that comes into your mind. Plus it’s a good way to escape from the world for a while. Put on some music, fill some jars with water, grab a paintbrush and paint until your fingers look like rainbows.

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I love April so much for one reason – cherry blossom trees. And of course my birthday falls in April too. I have a giant cherry blossom tree in my garden,

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