Fresh new start for this..

Give me one month cake lovers and I will be dancing all over this page like I'm in a Beyonce video. 

Activity has been slow and ideas are still churning, unfortunately there has been a slight hiccup with a certain area of my life. Next month I will be back with exciting news and gorgeous recipes. I haven't given up on anything, only paused for a quick reality check. 

Mita Patel

 over and out.

xx

Fruit and Nut Shards

♬ Little Nikki

Hello my gorgeous food lovers.

Apologies, I've been slack. 

Everything that I've been cooking has been speedily consumed than posing for this page. After training every day I eat and sleep. Blogging has taken a back step for a while. Don't stress, my creativity is still fresh and ready to rock but I'm lacking inspiration in bitter boring London. I will be back into the swing once I've seen Italian sun this June. 

I've still got my sweet tooth and desire pudding after dinner, but don't want that guilty pang of tucking into a brownie when I've ran a wonderful 10k or been to yoga. There has to be an in between, a marriage of indulgence and health. Fruit is great don't get me wrong, and the amount of oranges I consume I think is slowly giving me a tan. Yesterday I melted down all the chocolate I own and got a bit adventurous with toppings. Making these couldn't be any easier, all you need to do is melt chocolate and add dried fruit and nuts you like. Next time you want ice cream or yoghurt get a few pieces of these involved.

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate

10 pitted and chopped dates.

20g pine nuts

50g Rice Krispies

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp flaxseed

50g chopped nuts

Freeze dried strawberries

Method:

: Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over boiling water, always stirring.

: Line a rectangle 20x20x5 cm baking tray with greaseproof paper.

: Pour chocolate and spread evenly.

: In a bowl combine Rice Krispies, honey, nuts and freeze dried strawberries. Make sure everything is covered evenly.

: Next sprinkle flaxseed over chocolate with teaspoon, then chopped dates.

: Slowly pour nut and honey mixture, use a spoon to avoid massive clumps.

: Leave in the fridge for an hour then break into shards and eat as a snack, partner with pudding or use to decorate a cake.

These will keep in an airtight container or in the fridge for 3 days. 

Enjoy.x

Easter Fruit Cupcakes

♬ 'The 20/20 Experience' by Justin Timberlake

I've always had a sweet tooth for Justin, this album is Snickers and Jaffa cakes rolled in one. I am totally consumed with every track. 

I just got back from a Bikram yoga class where the teacher was dressed as a chicken and handed out creme eggs as prizes! We all sang 'I feel like chicken tonight, chicken tonight' whilst in camel posture (cool looking back bend) and I won an egg for great control and balance. If there was ever an amazing Sunday, today is that day.

I love Easter.

One of the earliest Easter memories I can recollect is me and my sister sitting on a sofa forcing a smile at a camera with our milk button easter eggs and thinking, 'why can't we eat them now? how many more photos!'. Both of us had block fringes, the same dress and similar headbands on. With a two year age difference I'm not sure why my mum thought it was cute! I remember loads of chocolate and pretending to be excited about roast lamb, when really it was pudding I craved. The thicker the chocolate egg, the better it tasted.

 Anyway the point I'm getting at is, Easter is another time of year to indulge and get creative in the kitchen. All of a sudden a mini egg ends up counting as one of your five a day and a hot cross bun is the new morning toast. 

Give the cupcakes above a go...

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter

125g caster sugar

2 medium eggs

125g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

120g luxury mixed fruit, tossed with 1 tbsp plain flour.

Lemon zest

1 tbsp lychee liqueur

Topping:

100g chocolate

Mini eggs

120g unsalted butter

100g icing sugar

Yellow food colouring gel

Gold lustre spray for cakes

▶ Method:

: Preheat oven 180°c.

Line cupcake tin with muffin cases.

: Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time and lychee liqueur.

Stir through fruit, zest and sift remaining flour and baking powder.

Scoop into cases and bake for 20 minutes until golden.

Leave out to cool.

: Meanwhile melt 100g chocolate and pour over square piece of greaseproof paper, spread with butter knife so you can snap into twig style pieces once set. Or refrigerate chocolate on a lined tray to save time.

Whisk butter until smooth and then slowly stir in icing sugar and small touch of colouring gel.

The gels compared to liquid colouring tend to be loads stronger and more concentrated, so less is more.

 : Spread buttercream on each cupcake, making sure you are flicking up buttercream around the centre. 

: Once chocolate is cold, start breaking off stick style pieces and form a nest on top of buttercream. Place mini eggs in the middle and spray gold.

Done!

Favourite Song

'Pusher Love Girl'

Avocado and Spinach Spread

♬ 'Devotion' by Jessie Ware

A month of recuperating is over and I'm back into the mix. Most importantly I got my mojo back, which means I'm ready to blog and vlog more crazy food ideas. Hope each one of you in England have managed to escape this dreary monstrosity we call spring. I was even contemplating a sun bed last week, then opted for Ibiza and Italy this summer. There has been a total lack of inspiration on my part hence no blogging, someone please bring the sun to London, otherwise I might contemplate emigrating to Rio de Janeiro. 

 If there's no sunshine coming this way, then I will simply create my own magical light. Starting off with today's breakfast on a pretty plate with a flower. I love avocado and spinach, both are brilliant for giving back vital vitamins, minerals and protein after a hard core Bikram yoga, running and boxing session. Serving this for breakfast might turn a few noses due to the colour, but lets face a few home truths - healthy food is a mixture of vibrant colours. Basically get the rainbow on your plate.

Avocado and spinach spread - not dip. 

The consistency and texture of these ingredients make it suitable for spreading and would be quite runny to qualify as a dip. I mean this is my opinion, maybe give it a go and see what you think.

Ingredients:

1 large ripe avocado

150g fresh spinach leaves

1 teaspoon mascarpone

Method:

Basically wilt spinach and put in blender with scooped avocado and mascarpone. 

Leave in fridge until cool and spread on toast. Keep in a cute container and use on jacket potatoes, in wraps on pancakes, basically whatever your heart desires.

Boil an egg for 5 minutes and get dipping these green soldiers.

Sorted.

This weeks repetitive song:

▶ 'Running'

Breakfast Cuppa's

♬ 'When Fish Ride Bicycles' by The Cool Kids

 I discovered an old play list and have been refreshing my ears with the sound of hip hop for most of the day, then I had a Florence Welch break (pretty standard). While I was adjusting to hip hop lyrics in the kitchen there was an urge to bake. When there's no milk, fruit, toast, or even motivation to make eggs and pancakes for breakfast, I have to leave my cute little kitchen and buy something. It's a nightmare.

Those days are gone.

 Now, maybe your thinking the thought of eating a cupcake in the morning is mortifying and unhealthy - wrong, there's no butter cream in sight!  With this recipe you will see yourself adding goodness, fibre and even more goodness. 

Get the oven on and be a cool kid. These are perfect to store for a few days and top with yoghurt before serving.

 Makes 12 in muffin cases.

Ingredients:

125g butter

100g caster sugar

2 large eggs

100g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

50g oatbran

1 tbsp runny honey

50g pumpkin seeds

25g sunflower seeds

25g poppy seeds

20g goji berries

2 tangerine zest (keep to one side to squeeze juice)

Topping:

Greek yoghurt

Blackcurrant or strawberry jam

Method:

:  Preheat oven 180°c and line cupcake tin with cases.

: Cream butter and sugar then whisk in eggs.

: Fold in everything else.

: Fill cases most of the way up and bake for 20 minutes.

: Once out the oven, prick each cake with a fork and squeeze tangerine juice on each one.

: Leave out to cool completely.

: Once you are ready to eat one or hand a few out, mix a teaspoon of jam with yoghurt and spoon two teaspoons on each cake. 

Drizzle a bit more honey and then your sorted!

ê

Favourite songs

These have most definitely surged a complaint from the neighbours!

'Sour Apples'

'Swimsuits'

One more tiny bit of detail:

I'm not pushing for everyone to eat cakes for breakfast, try these once in a while or pack them for a snack.

Red Heart Cupcakes

♬ 'Is  Your Love Big Enough?' by Lianne La Havas

Anything in heart form will pull a few emotional tugs in those you love and adore. Imagine handing one of these to someone, you might even see tears of joy.

 I'm not a Valentine's day fan, but if there's an excuse to make cakes then I will totally embrace the theme! Yesterday I hosted a tutu/glitter party and turned out to be the wicked fairy, wearing a green crumpled witch wig, complimented with a fancy tutu from New York. A scene worthy of a comedy award!

I tend to make a party themed table and the centre piece has to be a cake or tier of cupcakes. With the theme being glitter, pink and anything little girls love, I decided to shape an average cupcake into a heart with baking beans.

As you can see I also made half of the cake mixture into a red velvet sponge so the finished cakes would be like this..

Recipe for 12 red heart cupcakes:

125g self raising flour

125g soft unsalted butter

125g caster sugar

Half a tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

20g cocoa powder

1 tbsp red food colouring

1 tsp vanilla essence

Icing sugar

Pink edible glitter

Method:

: Preheat oven 180°c, line muffin/cupcake tin with red muffin cases.

: Whisk butter and sugar for 5 minutes until well combined.

: Add eggs one at a time and keep on whisking.

: Sift in flour and baking powder.

: In a small bowl combine cocoa powder and red colouring to form a smooth paste.

: Split cake mixture into another bowl, in one bowl add 1 tsp vanilla essence and in the other the cocoa paste. Mix well.

: Put teaspoons of each mixture into cases, preferably side by side not layering.

: To make a heart shape, use three baking beans for each cake and put them outside the case in a V shape.

: Bake for 20 minutes and take out to cool on a rack.

: Once cold, decorate with pink icing and glitter or leave plain so everyone can see the pretty red sponge.

I also made orange cupcakes without red sponge, they tasted and looked delicious.

Enjoy and big love from Mita.x

ê

Favourite song

'Don't Wake Me Up'

Wholemeal Banana Pancakes

♬ 'Speakerboxx/The Love Below' by Outkast

A great soundtrack for getting in the mood for pancakes. I made so many today, I think my tendonitis might have started up again from the flipping wrist action! The basic lemon and sugar pancakes went very quickly at the table, to be honest I find them too flimsy and weak, you know - like a crêpe.

For dessert I prepared American style pancakes. To be honest I'm a fluffy pancake girl at heart, they are bulky and always rising to occasion. 

Here's the recipe for the best banana pancakes, I used wholemeal self raising flour instead of plain, semi skimmed milk and also I found 400ml of milk was beneficial not 300ml. 

I was going to list the recipe etc, but the fact is, its not mine to reiterate! So a link will take you to the Hairy Bikers recipe. Instead I will fill this space with other ideas for sweet and savoury pancakes. The sweet suggestions will work well with fluffy banana flavoured pancakes, maybe switch to basic or plain fluffy for savoury. 

Sweet layer ideas:

Nutella and berries (shown above)

Strawberries and cream 

Lemon juice and poppy seeds mixed in vanilla yoghurt.

Greek yoghurt with honey and figs.

Satsuma and melted organic milk chocolate.

Lemon drizzle sauce (lemon mixed with granulated sugar)

Baileys cream

Banoffee style - whipped cream, melted chocolate and toffee sauce.

Apples covered in cinnamon with toffee sauce.

Marshmallows and chocolate sauce.

Honeycomb crunch (bits of honeycomb with double cream)

Fruit conserve, natural yoghurt, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Blueberry and maple syrup (New Yorker classic)

Savoury layer ideas:

Bacon and syrup

Brie and cranberry

Sliced sausages and fried mushrooms with ketchup.

Fromage frais, dill, smoked salmon and spinach.

Chorizo and rocket

Ricotta and spinach

I think that's about it for now, enjoy whatever idea you go for. Any of these ideas are perfect for a decadent treat and great for brunch.

ê Favorite songs

'GhettoMusick'

'Hey Ya!'

'So Fresh, So Clean'

'B.O.B'