Blondies

Another made-up recipe on a chilled evening in with the girls. Perfect for that super-sweet tooth.

Makes 16 blondies

Ingredients: 

• 4oz butter
• 2oz caster sugar
• 2oz soft brown sugar
• 100g white chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 4oz plain flour

Simple Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees 
2. Beat together sugar, eggs and butter
3. Sift in the flour
4. Chop the white chocolate into chunks and stir into mix
5. Bake for 30 minutes

Chocolate Cheesecake

I made this recipe up with one of my housemates for our first house meal in 4th year. We were cooking a roast and decided a chocolatey dessert was 100% necessary but we couldn't be bothered to head out to the shops on a hungover Sunday evening so made do with what we could find in the cupboards. The outcome was surprisingly successful!

Serves 8

Ingredients: 

• 100g butter
• 160g digestive biscuits
• 250g cream cheese
• 100g milk chocolate
• 100g icing sugar
• 1 square white chocolate (to decorate)

Simple Steps:

1. Crush the biscuits into a large bowl then melt the butter and add. Mix them together then lay out in a small dish and flatten the biscuit base using your fingers. Put in the fridge.
2. Melt the chocolate in a separate bowl then add the cream cheese and stir together.
3. Sieve in the icing sugar and mix.
4. Cover the biscuit base with the chocolate cream cheese topping.
5. Grate white chocolate on top for decoration.
6. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

Chocolate Brownies

Not only do these brownies taste AMAZING, they are also super easy to make and work out much cheaper than a lot of recipes out there since they barely use much chocolate despite tasting uber chocolatey. I love them served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Delish.

Ingredients: 

• 55g cocoa powder
• 50ml boiling water
• 85g unsalted butter/margarine, melted
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 100g plain flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 100g chocolate chips

Simple Steps:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a 20cm (8") square cake tin.
2. Mix together the cocoa powder and boiling water then add half the melted butter.
3. Add the rest of the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla and mix.
4. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Pour into the baking tin and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the top is firm to touch.
7. Cut into squares and leave to cool in the tin.

Tips and Tricks:

• Mix it up by using a combination of white, milk and dark chocolate chips.
• If you haven't got chocolate chips, cut up bits of a chocolate bar works just as well and is also a cheaper alternative.
• If you really don't have time, pick some up from Bread Ahead in Borough Market (2 for £4)

Banana Super Smoothie

This is my absolute favourite thing to have for breakfast. I started making it a few weeks ago and now I can't start my morning without it - tastes like you're drinking a chocolate milkshake yet it's actually full of healthy stuff.

Ingredients: 

• 1 Frozen Banana
• 200ml Soya/Almond/Cow's milk (almond is my fave as it's sweetest)
• 50ml water
• 1 tsp raw cacao powder

Simple Steps:

1. Put all the ingredients into a jug or blender
2. Blend using a hand blender or blender
3. Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks:

• Leave the ingredients together for about 5/10mins just to soften the banana a bit - it will be much easier to blend this way
• Ditch the water and reduce the milk to 100ml for ice cream!
• Optional extras would be 1tbsp smooth peanut butter or a squirt of honey/maple syrup

Travelling Solo

A few of my friends made the exciting decision to travel by themselves this summer and asked me for some tips for the solo traveller. For some of them, it's their first big travel experience so they were obviously a little nervous about boarding the plane into the unknown for over a month.

I've been very fortunate to have already had so many amazing travel adventures, from family holidays to school trips, French exchanges, a World Challenge expedition and a Gap Year. Most recently, I travelled round Australia, my first travel experience entirely on my own outside of Europe, so I'm fresh off the traveller circuit and have put together some tips for the solo traveller:

1. Research your first stop

For me, the scariest thing about travelling is the moment you first arrive in the country. You'll most likely be tired and groggy after the long-haul flight and will want nothing more to be showered and in a comfy bed but instead you've got to navigate your way to the hostel, usually without using trusty google maps (shock horror).

This is, however, easy peasy if you book your hostel in advance and check the directions before your go - usually there will be public transport available instead of a pricey taxi. Some hostels even offer shuttle bus services so look out for those.

Be prepared though - on my first night in Budapest the hostel had double booked me and my friend and we were left walking through the streets with our backpacks at midnight in an unknown city (eventually we ended up crashing in another hostel common room for the night after they took pity on us)!

2. Make friends!

This sounds obvious but just go for it. Other travellers are probably the easiest people to form friendships with - everyone's out there for the same reason so you've at least got one thing in common already, plus a lot of other people will be on their own and looking for friends! Before I'd even checked in at my first hostel in Sydney I'd already made friends with a lovely German girl I met on the street!

Don't know where to start? Usually asking the famous backpacker questions, Where are you from? Where are you travelling to? How long have you been travelling? Where next? ... You'll have this conversation A MILLION times!

3. Approach people

I actually found this easier travelling by myself than with a friend, just because you're in a very open position (I normally found people would approach me) and you have to force yourself to talk to people otherwise you'd be by yourself and lonely. Keep your phone in your pocket, put your book away and go and talk to people.

4. Stay in dorms

Probably the easiest way to make friends is with your roommates in a hostel. If you've been travelling a while sometimes if you've got the money it can be a dream to treat yourself to a couple of nights in a private room but if you're up for socialising the dorms are where it's at.

5. Get involved

Lots of hostels run events such as bar crawls and city tours so going along to those is a surefire way to meet people and explore the place you're visiting.

6. Take a kindle/book

There will inevitably be times when you'll be by yourself and embrace these moments by bringing a good book or kindle with you to read, whether you'll be relaxing by the beach or sitting on a (very) long bus journey. Kindles are great because you've got an everlasting collection of things to read but don't panic if you haven't got one - swap books with other travellers or lots of hostels run a book exchange. There are also places like The Little Library in Melbourne where you can borrow, swap or donate a book.

7. Cook with others

Cooking for one doesn't always turn out cheaper and I actually often found it cheaper to eat out. Depending where you are in the world, the price of food is obviously going to vary - I don't think I cooked once in South East Asia since the street food was so cheap!

Pesto pasta is always a winning formula, especially as you'll be able to carry the ingredients with you from hostel to hostel. Team up with other travellers and you can all chip in to ingredients for a slightly more exciting meal or a BBQ on the beach - ALWAYS a good idea.

8. Be selfish

The beauty of travelling on your own is you can decide exactly what YOU want to do. Wander around the city and soak up the place, look online and ask around where's good to go and visit the places that interest you. This is your chance to be incredibly selfish so enjoy it, you're not tied down to anyone.

9. Buy a selfie stick

Ok, so before I bought my selfie stick I've got to admit I used to laugh at people who had them. When I got to Barcelona and was out exploring the city on my own enjoying the view at the MNAC I saw a man selling them and, having just booked my solo trip to Oz, decided to make the purchase. €4 later, I'd switched over to the selfie stick side and I'm a true convert - honestly even the biggest cynics were begging to get into my group selfies. My secret weapon for making friends!

10. Social Media

An inexhaustible tool for travellers, whether you're looking for travel buddies (I met two Germans who were driving around together after meeting on Facebook) or trying to find cool places to go (Instagram, Instagram, Instagram). Also an amazing way to keep in touch with everyone and share photos, either while you're travelling or in future - I met up with a friend I'd met in Vietnam again in Budapest after seeing her Snapchat story.

Also the best way to keep in contact with friends/family back home. Or start a blog... like this one!

Escape the Room

I’ve got to admit, one of my favourite games I used to play on Miniclip back in the day was Escape the Room, where you have to use clues within a virtual ‘room’ to crack the codes and unlock the ‘door’. Just imagine my excitement when I found out there are now real life escape the room experiences cropping up all over the world!

A friend of mine invited me to Time Run in London, tucked away in the capital’s East End – the first mission is finding the place! With live actors welcoming you in and a 3D avatar guiding you through your challenges, this place really blurs the line between virtual and actual reality as you travel through time. Our team was delighted to make it out of the third and final room in the very last minute, joining the other 30% of successful participants. It was loads of fun and the perfect opportunity to escape reality for an hour and a bit. What’s more, it definitely builds teamwork skills – something employers should keep in mind for ‘team building days’.

We escaped Time Run

I had yet another escape the room experience at Escape Hunt when I was all the way Down Under visiting friends in Adelaide. This time was with a bigger group of friends and we were split into two teams in two identical next-door rooms – this definitely added to the fun as our competitive sides came out when we could hear how the other team were doing through the wall.

The winning team (just!!)

For something a little bit different to do with your friends for the afternoon (and to test your friendships), these experiences are definitely worth giving a go! Tickets are also available as gift vouchers so are a really good idea for a unique present for the person who has everything.

London for Free

London is one of my favourite cities in the world - there's always so much going on you can never get bored! Being a student, one of the best things for me is the amount of things you can do without spending a single penny. Here are some of the places I've visited this summer:

Sky Garden

Nearest tube: Bank/Monument

Situated at the very top of 20 Fenchurch Street, or 'The Walkie Talkie' as it's probably better known, at 34 floors and 155 metres up Sky Garden is London's highest public garden. It's completely free for anyone to go up and experience some sensational views across the capital, with the key landmarks subtly marked out for you on the glass panels. On a sunny day, the roof terrace is also open so you can even experience the garden in the open air.

While it is free to enter, there is also a reasonably priced café to grab a coffee and a croissant with a friend. If you're pushing the boat out and have a slightly larger budget, the Fenchurch Restaurant, Darwin Brasserie and Sky Pod Bar all offer culinary delights or cocktails to be enjoyed alongside London's glittering skyline.

Top tip: Book in advance. You can book up to three weeks in advance, however places fill up instantly so keep an eye on the website for when slots come available. Try booking out of season - the summer months are always busiest.

Tate Modern

Nearest tube: Southwark/Borough

The recently redeveloped national modern art gallery now boasts a 360 degree view across London on the 10th floor. While you're there it's also worth exploring the public exhibitions throughout the gallery, taking a walk through the Turbine Hall, and engaging with interactive video and art installations in The Tanks. As with all national galleries and museums, there is no admission fee, although visitors are encouraged to give a small donation and tickets can be purchased for major exhibitions.

Top tip: take the stairs from the 4th floor to the viewing platform otherwise you'll be left waiting for a lift for hours.

V&A

Nearest tube: South Kensington

This is quite possibly my favourite London museum! There are always exciting modern and relevant exhibitions on, especially based around fashion and popular culture - Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty was a personal highlight. While these exhibitions are usually ticketed, it's worth investing in a membership card that gives you unlimited free entry for you and a friend throughout the year - definitely worth if for the £35 card if you're under 26. You also get a load of benefits including a 10% discount in the renowned V&A shop. Otherwise, feel free to roam the free exhibitions and admire the impressive architecture. What's more, it's right next door to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum so you can be a real culture vulture for the day.

Royal Academy of Arts

Nearest tube: Green Park

Similar to the V&A, become a friend of the RA (or just make friends with someone who is) and for £40 for 16-25 year olds you can enjoy a year of free exhibitions for you and a family member. It's a must visit this summer, with the Summer Exhibition and David Hockney at the top of my list to go to.

Borough Market

Nearest tube: London Bridge

Ok, so with Borough Market having such tempting delights on offer this trip probably wouldn't end up as entirely free (the doughnuts at Bread Ahead will make you weak at the knees). However, it's not exactly going to break the bank and we do need to eat after all - it's definitely worth a visit at lunchtime. Most of the stalls hand out free tasters too and if you are looking for a bargain then try visiting at the end of the day.

The Gardening Society at John Lewis

Nearest tube: Oxford Circus

Up on the roof of the John Lewis Oxford Street store from 27th May until 4th September 2016 is a delightful rooftop garden, a beautiful quiet and green haven to retreat to after a busy day navigating through the shoppers in Oxford Circus. It's free to go up and relax in the Secret Garden or you can buy a coffee or a lobster roll from one of the pop-ups. There's even yoga sessions there run by Fat Buddha at £10 a session every Thursday morning.

If you've got a MyJohnLewis Card, make the most of your monthly coffee and cake voucher and enjoy the view over London with a scone and a cup of tea one floor down after exploring the garden.

One New Change

Nearest tube: St. Pauls

The views up the top of this shopping centre opposite the famous St. Paul's Cathedral are some of the best in London. The panoramic view encompasses old and new London, looking across at everything from the Shard to the Tate Modern to St. Paul's Cathedral, which allows you to admire the original architecture. On the 6th floor there is also Madison's Restaurant and Cocktail Bar for after-work drink or a special occasion. Downstairs there are also a host of affordable chain restaurants such as Pho and Zizzi's.

Drinki

Free Singapore Slings for me and my friends in London last week

If you're looking for a free drink in the capital, this app is definitely one to download. The concept is a very simple one: open the app and select a participating bar nearby. Check in to the bar through Facebook then show the barman who will confirm this and make you a free drink (pre-decided by the bar). This gives them publicity, brings in the crowds and allows them to try out new cocktails on the menu - which you get to enjoy for free!

The only downside is that you're only limited to one bar and one drink a night.

London's Royal Parks

I'm so lucky to live in a city with so many beautiful green spaces. London's Royal Parks are some of my favourite places to hang out for a cheap day out in the city with my friends - we normally bring along a picnic and catch up on the grass. It's also amazing how much wildlife there is in London of all places - Richmond Park is famous for its deer and you can even spot the odd Kingston Parakeet (rumoured to have escaped from London Zoo and made their dwelling in London's green belt). Meanwhile it's also fun to watch the geese and swans strolling around St. James's Park.

Lemon Polenta Cake

I'm having a bit of an obsession with polenta at the moment. It's dirt cheap to buy and really versatile - you can make everything from savoury chips, creamy polenta as an alternative to mashed potato, and even use it in cakes as I've done here for a lemon polenta cake. It gives this cake a lovely almondy crunchy texture so is worth giving a go if you want a change from a standard fluffy sponge!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients: 

• 125g soft margarine  (Stork)
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 70g polenta
• 100g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 lemon
• 50g granulated sugar

Simple Steps:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C
2. Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time until combined.
4. Gently fold in the flour and baking powder and polenta.
5. Grate the lemon and add zest to mixture.
6. Squeeze half the lemon and add juice (save the other half for the glaze).
7. Pour the mixture into a lined 7" cake tin.
8. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
9. Leave the cake in the tin.
10. Make the glaze by juicing the other half of the lemon and mixing together with the granulated sugar and pour over cake in the tin.
11. Allow to cool then put onto a plate and serve.

Tips and Tricks:

• Make the glaze while the cake is cooking to save time so you can put it on as soon as it's out the oven - the lemon juice will infuse in the cake better to give it a fruiter taste.
• Try other alternatives such as orange instead of lemon for a citrusy twist!

Banana Bread

This was a semi-made up recipe I came up with in order to use up the black bananas that were sitting in my fruit bowl. Always use over-ripe bananas when making banana bread, they seriously add to the moisture and flavour.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients: 

• 5oz Plain Flour
• 4oz Caster Sugar
• 2oz Butter
• 1 Egg
• 2 Extra-ripe Bananas, mashed
• 1tsp Baking Powder
• Splash of milk

Simple Steps:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
2. Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl.
3. Add the egg, mashed banana and milk and mix together.
4. Gently fold in the flour and baking powder.
5. Pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin.
6. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
7. Allow to completely cool on a cooling rack before eating.

Tips and Tricks:

• Banana bread keeps for days and can actually taste better the day after baking. Keep in a tin and enjoy!
• You can also add things to the recipe to add more flavour. Try a handful of chopped dates or chocolate chips.

Hong Kong

When I booked my Australia trip I thought I'd make the most of the fact I was travelling across the world by extending my stopover in Hong Kong by a couple of days to see the sites and visit friends and family. It really is an incredible place like nowhere else I've ever been to; an urban jungle where everything is built on top of each other so you're always moving about different levels through a contrasting mix of traditional markets and luxurious hotels. Meanwhile, outside of central the city is by no means all concrete skyscrapers, but a sea of greenery with gorgeous views of the surrounding bays.

I arrived late on Monday night and took a taxi to my cousin Mike's apartment in the beautiful Repulse Bay. His wife, Jane, took me out in Central the following day and was an excellent tour guide, taking me up Victoria Peak where there were amazing panoramic views (we were very lucky with the weather as it was a clear day for HK) and we took the tram back all the way down which was really steep - like taking a funicular in the mountains. She took me to a cute local restaurant for lunch then we had a very pampered afternoon with traditional massages and foot rubs before we picked the kids up from school and relaxed by the pool at the country club for the afternoon (it's a hard life).

Later I met up with my uni friend, Anthony, for cocktails at the famous Captain's Bar in the Mandarin Oriental, where we had a quick catch up before supper. Mike, Jane and my other cousins very generously took us out to The China Club, which had the most beautiful interiors and a very impressive art collection. We watched the daily Hong Kong light show from the rooftop then headed down for a delicious meal of Chinese delights: Peking duck and pancakes, spring rolls, dumplings, sizzling beef and of course fortune cookies. We definitely had the best table in the room, positioned right in front of the stage where all sorts of acts were performing throughout the evening, including a tea dancer and a noodle-making display!

Jane took me to Stanley Market the next morning to stock up on souvenirs and presents for everyone back home, then it was Anthony's turn to play tour guide and he was keen to show me the true local experience: lunch at Macau restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui for fried rice and China tea, a walk around the gorgeous tranquil spot Chi Lin Nunnery in Diamond Hill, fortunes read at the Won Tai Sin Temple (apparently I am going to meet a nice man in November at a party), ate famous 'cheese tarts' despite being so full from lunch (when in Hong Kong), took the Star Ferry to central for dinner at Joy Hing in Wanchai, arguably the best barbecued pork in Hong Kong. This place runs out every day is always packed. We were lucky to get probably the last two portions of the day!

Next was time to check out HK's vibrant nightlife. Anthony booked us a table at Scratch in Wanchai where a huge group of his friends joined us for a few games of stack cup, a game I'm definitely going to take back to uni with me! Afterwards we jumped on a tram to Lan Kwai Fong where we hit up a few clubs, Levels and Play, in an amazing multi-storey building. The 7/11 also pretty much turns into a bar at night, with everyone buying drinks and chatting in the streets. The atmosphere was absolutely buzzing and everyone was so friendly, was really gutted to be leaving having just met some wonderful people! HK, I'll be back!

After a flight that felt like forever I finally touched down in London Heathrow. It's good to be home, see friends and family and chill out back in my own bed (although I'm also secretly planning my next trip)!

Melbourne

My final stop in Australia! During my travels I met so many people who had already been and had a list as low no as my arm of places to visit (mainly brunch/dessert restaurants) as well as a handful of places I'd seen on Instagram. Melbourne really is the brunch capital of the world!

I spent my first day with a visit to the state library which had an impressive dome and a couple of interesting exhibitions about Melbourne's history. As I left the museum there was a free walking tour going on so I joined the tour for about an hour as the guide led us around the city, eventually peeling myself off to meet Jack, Theo and Astrid for souvenir shopping at Queen Victoria Market followed by Nutella-filled doughnuts at Doughnut Time, which seemed to be the busiest/most popular place in Melbourne! Afterwards we went around the film museum and had fun with the interactive exhibits, filming ourselves in bullet time predicting we were in The Matrix. Later we ticked off another place on my list, the Ponyfish Island Bar, a really cute bar on the river where we properly experienced Australian winter with mulled wine and outdoor heaters. Harry, another Exeter friend studying at Deaken this year, came in to meet me and we all went for dinner together in Chinatown. That evening I went to see what Melbourne's nightlife had to offer and a group of us went to the famous Revolver (or "Revs") on Chapel Street for a rather edgy night out. 

The next morning I met up with Harry again who gave me a personal city tour - it always helps knowing some locals! We explored the street art in Hosier Lane, visited the National Gallery of Victoria then went over to Fitzroy in the afternoon where we browsed the adorable Rose Street Market and had ice cream at Messina (another one crossed off the list)! That evening my friend Meijke who I'd met on Fraser Island hosted a drinks party at her house to celebrate her birthday. It was fun to catch up with her and meet some more Aussie (and Dutch) locals!

On my last full day I managed to tick off the one place I'd been desperate to go to before I'd even got to Australia. I saw an Instagram from The Naughty Boy Café before I flew out and knew I needed to visit when I got to Melbourne. Turned out it was just round the corner from Meijke's house and she also raved about it so it was a no-brainer. Breakfast that morning was an 'instashake' - brownie, Nutella and freeze-dried fruit - that was so impressive the man sitting opposite me insisted he took a photo. Probably just fast-tracked myself to type 2 diabetes and was in a sugar coma for the rest of the day but it was totally worth it!

Harry had tickets to watch an Aussie Rules match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground that afternoon so we went along with a group of his uni friends to watch Collingwood get thrashed by Port Adelaide and tried to grasp a concept of the rules. Afterwards we explored the shops for some final souvenirs and said our goodbyes and I packed my bags, ready to leave for Hong Kong.