{Happy Anniversary!} Blueberry and Nectarine Pie

I'm back from my amazing adventure around Sweden and Norway and will be sharing all of that with you in a few posts! After so long out of the kitchen I was excited to get baking again.

Today is a very special day. On this day 35 years ago, two amazing people got married. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! You have always been loving and supportive parents. It is so inspirational to see a love like yours going strong after all these years and three children.

{My Favourite Breakfast} Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

As we near the end of February, I'm finding it harder and harder to keep on that healthy eating band wagon. Mostly it's because the healthy food isn't quite as exciting as a beautiful piece of, say, Snicker's Chocolate Cake or Milo cupcakes with condensed milk icing...mmm...oh yes!

{Happy Valentine's Day} Red Velvet Tower

Happy Valentine's day to all of you out there! My third and last post of this year's Valentine's series is a red velvet tower. This red velvet cake is extra chocolatey with a whole half cup of cocoa powder. That's exactly what you need on Valentine's Day: something red and chocolatey and delicious!

{Valentine's Day} Macarons with Marshmallow Buttercream Filling

Welcome to the second post of my Valentine's series; last week I shared a recipe for delicious dark chocolate cupcakes with a berry buttercream. This week I decided to take on the dreaded macaron! I have made macarons successfully before, and had a bit less luck this time around. Macarons are known for being particularly finicky little treats. Too much moisture, not enough moisture, oven too hot, oven too cold, overmix batter or undermix batter and these biscuit flop completely. I made a relatively large number of these before I turned out with some that I was willing to photograph.

The key to remember here, is that even the flop ones taste good sandwiched together. Most importantly of all: remember to have fun as you go along!

I used the macaron recipe from Brave Tart; Stella also gives tons of tips about macarons. The marshmallow buttercream is from i am baker. I used both recipes as is.

{I Love You Berry Much} Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Berry Buttercream

With less than two weeks to go until Valentine's Day, I am sure many of you are looking for ideas on celebrating the day. Last week I talked about our romantic getaway at Hillsnek Safaris. This week I'm going to give you  the first of three ideas to win your way into your partners stomach with food. The best way to go as far as I'm concerned!

{Romantic Getaway} Hillsnek Safaris

We were lucky enough to spend two nights at the amazing Hillsnek Safaris in the middle of December. From the moment we arrived there we two things that we knew without a doubt: 1) we were in for a really special few days and 2) we were not going to be hungry, no matter how hard we tried! I did my best to narrow down the number of photos I used, but it was tough!

They advise that you arrive around lunch time, however we got a bit lost on the way and arrived around three. Make sure you check the directions before you leave and don't rely on their mobile site! We were just in time to make the afternoon game drive, but as we had been in the car for around seven hours that day, we decided to skip the drive and spend some time relaxing around the pool. We were treated to a delicious high tea with home made iced tea and lemonade.

{A New Favourite} Lemon Curd

I was introduced to lemon curd on a recent trip to Hillsnek safaris (read more about that here!) . I never thought my favourite tastes would venture far from chocolate. I strongly believe that fruit salad is not a dessert, it's a breakfast! So I never thought a fruity dessert would leave such a mark on my tastebuds. But helloooo lemon curd!

{Holding on to Summer} Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

I was shocked this week to walk into the shops and find that in a matter of a week, all the New Year's and Christmas decorations have been replaced by hearts and cupid. We're not even half way through January! I feel like capitalism is wishing my life away. Valentine's Day means we're creeping toward the end of summer and I refuse to let go of summer and these beautiful summer sunsets just yet!

Don't worry, there'll be love and Valentine's Day inspiration on this page. Just not today. Not yet. So today I'm sharing with you a perfect summer cake. The cake is so light and fluffy it's like eating air! And even better there's no butter in it, so you can eat it and stick to those New Year's resolutions. You'll just need to replace the buttercream and lemon curd with some fresh berries.

{New Year's Resolution} Skinny Choc Chip Peanut Butter Muffins

Happy New Year bakers! I know that 2014 is going to be an exciting year for us all. I have lots of things lined up for the blog, including a new home for LiveDreamBake! I've been working on it for months now and am very excited to share it with you! Make sure you're subscribed to the mailing list so you don't miss any updates.

Along with a new year come lots of new year's resolutions. Generally these have to do with being healthier in some way. I thought I'd share with you a recipe to help you on this front. These muffins are one of my go-to post gym snacks. I adapted the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. They're light and fluffy and have only a very subtle banana taste. They're also so easy to make you don't even need a mixer!