Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

I made these chocolate orange cupcakes for Marcus' mums birthday. I used a stork chocolate cupcake recipe and adapted it as I knew it was chocolate orange I wanted to do and all of the other recipes I had seen looked over complicated. These were really easy to whip up and I know will be making some more again soon.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

115g butter

115g caster sugar

2 large eggs

75g self raising flour

40g cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

2 teaspoons orange essence

For the icing

85g butter

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

225g icing sugar

1 teaspoon orange essence 

decorate with mini terry's chocolate orange segments

Method 

1. Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees (I used a fan oven)

2. Put all of the cake ingredients into a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to combine them all together. If you don't have a hand mixer you can just do it with a wooden spoon.

3. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases, I got 12 cakes out of the mixture. 

4. Place the tray in the middle of the oven and bake for between 15-20 minutes. 

5. Take the cakes out once baked and place on a wire rack to cool.

6. Beat all of you icing together in a mixing bowl and combine together. Taste to ensure you can taste the orange flavour, you can always add more if you prefer. 

7. Pipe the icing onto the cakes once they are cooled, decorate with a mini chocolate orange segment. 

Mindful Moments

Looking after yourself is very important but it is something we sometimes forget to do. Life can be hectic at times making it impossible to put aside any time for ourselves. I'm not the best at relaxing, actually if I am being totally honest it is something I very much struggle with but there are things I like to do to de-stress and just be detached from my thoughts even if it is just for a short amount of time. I always tend to feel guilty when I take time out which is something I am working on but here are some of the things I like to do and that really help to lift my mood.

A Cup of Tea Solves Everything

I feel like sometimes the little things matter the most and just by making a cup of tea and taking the time out to sit down with a drink to take that bit of time out really helps. There are a lot of different teas I like to drink, I love English teas as well as peppermint, green tea, fruit teas and before bedtime I will have a chamomile tea. 

Getting Creative 

I get that not everyone is creative, personally I love to make clothes and enjoy designing new clothes to make. Even just getting stuck into a colouring book or one of my recent favourites an adult dot to dot book can really take give your mind something else to focus on.

Bake

When I am really anxious or feeling on edge and have a free hour or so I will put my iPod on and bake something, it is kinda win win as I feel so much better afterwards and I get something tasty to eat. There is something relaxing about baking and it lifts my mood, I like to bake things I have never baked for. Just make sure you always have the ingredients in!

Get Lost in a Book

This is something I wish I did a lot more than I currently do, the thing with having anxiety is it can affect my concentration making reading quite difficult however when I take the time to do it reading a book is something I enjoy. Reading before bed can help to make you feel relaxed and aid a better nights sleep.

Having a Bath

I am a massive fan of having a bath, bath nights are my favourite. I always feel relaxed afterwards and it is time I can have to myself without it being interrupted which if you live with your parents can be quite difficult. A lush bath bomb, relaxing music and a face or hair mask makes the perfect bath.

Meditation Apps

I think I have been through every single meditation app there is, Headspace is a good one as is one called Calm. There is a recent one called Stress relief that I have found which helps me to get to sleep at night. I usually use meditation apps in the evening as I find it very hard to switch off at night but you can use them whenever you need them. Headspace take ten meditations only take up 10 minutes of your times and has fun animations. These are useful for when you are having a busy stressful day and need to take some time out. 

Thought Diary 

This is something I like to do when thoughts keep going round and my mind is racing or before bedtime to empty my mind. It makes me feel slightly lighter and more focused when I have written in my diary. I write anything from what I have been up to, how I have been feeling and any thoughts I want to air.