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Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Frangipane and Blueberry tartlets

The new harvest of blueberries have hit the markets and with it I bring a gorgeous recipe to make some tartlets. 


These are made from a sweet almond shortcrust pastry, filled with frangipane, topped with blueberries and a dusting of icing sugar. Yum!



FRANGIPANE AND BLUEBERRY TARTLETS

Ingredients

FOR THE PASTRY
150g plain flour
50g ground almonds
100g butter, cubed
30g caster sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten

FOR THE FRANGIPANE
50g butter
100g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
1 egg
1tsp almond extract
100g blueberries
icing sugar, to dust

Makes 12 tartlets

Method
Firstly make the pastry by sieving the flour and almonds into a bowl. Add the butter and rub into the mixture till it resembles breadcrumbs. 
Add the sugar and yolk and mix with a palette knife till combined, add 1 tbsp of water and continue mixing.
Use your hands to make the pastry come together until it forms a soft dough. Place into a plastic food bag and leave in the fridge to cool for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170oC for a fan oven.Once cool, roll out the pastry to 1/2cm thickness, cut out using a large flower cutter or similar and place into the tin. Prick with a fork several times.
To make the frangipane, place all the ingredients, minus the blueberries into a mixing bowl and beat till combined.
Spoon into each case and then press a few blueberries into the tops of each one.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown, if it looks like it is burning turn down the temperature.
Once cooked, leave to cool slightly and then dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!




Dior Skinflash spray foundation and hydrating concealer


Heading into the House of Fraser store I knew was going to be a bad idea, but I didn't realise how much of a bad idea it was until I found myself dragging my card out my purse to spend £55 on a foundation and concealer combo. All I can say is my skin has never looked better since.



This foundation truly has changed my life and my skin. Firstly lets just say how ingenious a spray foundation, it makes applying so much simpler, all I do is close my eyes, hold the can a little way away from my face and spray for a second or two. What you are left with is a fine mist of foundation that with a little buffing blends away to leave a flawless face. The only downfall is that it can be messy and does go in your eyelashes/eyebrows which means that you have to use a product on those too. This foundation gives sheer to medium coverage but is very build-able simply by holding the spray for longer. I cannot give this foundation enough praise, it makes foundation applying so quick, easy and fuss-free, perfect for when I want another five minutes in bed!  



 The concealer doesn't disappoint either, I find this works perfectly with the foundation and covers dark circles seamlessly. It offers high coverage with no cake and lasts for a long long time. Seriously I have got a massive ten hours of wear out of this, and that's with my seriously oily skin. All I can say is money well spent!


Have you tried any spray foundations?

Monday, 7 April 2014

The foundation for your nails // Rimmel's Oh, Mr Darcy



On the search for a natural almost foundation nail colour? Well look no further, for my entire nail polish painting life I have been on the hunt for a completely natural nail colour that highlights your nails and makes them look oh so natural, and I think I have just found it. Let me introduce, Oh, Mr Darcy, this just hits the nail right on the head, oh so pretty and natural-looking, I think I am in love! Not only is the colour beautiful, the formulation  and application is so so good, in fact I thinking about heading back to Boots to pick up more from the line.


What about you, will you be picking any from this line up?