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This is my ugly caramel chocolate cake. It's ugly because I rarely arrange the baking paper evenly for a round cake if it's just to be eaten at home without a special occasion. I messed up by reducing the caramel sauce too much; it's a 5/8 cup of white caster sugar, left to liquidate over a low-medium heat, with a warmed 1/2 cup and a couple of additional tablespoons of full fat milk mixed into it at intervals off the heat.

I put it back on the heat because the caramel had hardened but hardened again because it had been reduced way too much. What I ended up doing was softening it in some water, adding that caramel liquid to the double cream to whip (half of which was lost to a spillage) and it ended up fine. The hardened pieces of caramel, I chopped up what I could and decorated the cake with it.

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Here are some cakes I've made over the past few months! Top left is a chocolate orange cake with a dark chocolate orange ganache. The recipe called for a lot of orange zest; I used naval oranges. I also used orange juice and the cake was ridiculously moist. The nuts decorating the ring and outside of the cake are crushed hazelnut.

Top right is a lemon and pistachio cake. I didn't actually get a chance to eat it but everyone who did told me they enjoyed it. It contained crushed pistachios, which you can see me beating the shit out of in the bottom video. Fuck them nuts. The icing is made from macerated, strained raspberries and whipped heavy cream. I ate the leftover pulp in the container that held the cream and it was DELICIOUS.

The final cake is a trusty Victoria sponge. I tried to frost the outside with some plain whipped heavy cream and sliced strawberries. It was as tasty as always and I always get asked to make this particular cake again. Definitely a fan favourite for sure.

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Top left: Vietnamese beef stew, which I had for the first time. I found it very rich and salty, with the beef being so tender that it cut so easily under my spoon. I could taste tomato. I really liked the spring onion that balanced out the other flavours. The bread was delicious; it was crusty and flakey on the outside with a pillowy soft interior. I've never had a bad service at the banh mi place I ate it at but had some catty customers in there today.

Top right: some filo pastries I made for a friend. I made the filling by dicing a small courgette and a red pepper, frying it in a pan until soft with some salt. Then, I added some cannellini beans, some garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, dried oregano and ground black pepper. I added shredded cheese when I was filling the pastries and brushed oil between every layer of the fold as well as the outside. The end result was a flaky pastry with a soft, savoury inside. The beans really created a 'body' in that it had a thick and pleasant mouthfeel that I don't think the veg could've done on its own. My friend and their partner enjoyed them.

Middle left: it was meant to be a burnt basque cheesecake. My oven is pretty bad at distributing heat at the top, which is good for fluffy bakes but less so for anything that needs a golden exterior. However, it was really delicious on its own. It has a thick, mousse-like texture that felt incredibly decadent. The flavour was rich, with a bit of tang from the sour cream offsetting the sweetness of it. I'm looking forward to making this one again.

Middle right: some mendhi/henna my younger sibling did on my hands. I practically begged them to and was really happy the days after that it stayed on. I wish I had gotten a picture after I washed it off. It was a beautiful rich orange. I was always taught to apply mustard oil afterwards and wash off the excess to make the colour look richer. It's a pretty good moisturiser, too.

Bottom left: cheesecake brownies. Someone I knew was leaving and I wanted to make something for them as a thank you for all the help I've gotten from them. The brownie base was very rich in its chocolate flavour, with it having 200g of dark 70% chocolate. The cheesecake topping is swirled in with remaining batter, with crushed pistachios on one side of it.

Bottom right: they were meant to be burger patties. I'm not fantastic at shaping them. I seasoned them with Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and onion powder. We are them in brioche buns (that were on sale), shredded cheese, onions fried in the leftover flavoured cooking fat, salted tomatoes and leaves of gem lettuce. As much as everyone else enjoyed them, I didn't and it was too much of a chore to make.

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Sage and garlic mashed potato! It was delicious. I had this vegetable baking fat which I let simmer in a pot with chopped garlic and sage leaves. That got poured in with some boiled potato to make some very creamy mash! I ate it with some eggs and generic cow milk salad cheese.

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Here's a collection of things I have made but forgotten to post about!

From top to bottom, left to right I have made:

- Victoria sponge cake, which is a repeat of the one I made for a sibling's birthday two days prior. It was very delicious and very versatile. I would love to remake it with some raspberry instead.

- Chicken tacos and you can see the filling in the pan. I've never actually made chicken tacos before and this was my second time making tacos at all. I left chicken breast to marinate in oil, tomato paste, fajita seasoning, more smoked paprika, garlic powder (my beloved), salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and oregano. Then, to a pan of hot oil, I sautéed peppers until they were softer and added chicken until it was cooked. Afterwards, I added a can of tinned tomatoes and some sugar because it was a cheap can and acidic. After it thickened a little, a sibling helped me shred the chicken up. The cheese I used was cheddar and the mozzarella because that's what I had on hand. It was delicious.

- Cherry jam, made using around 500g of cherries, sugar I guessed by eyeing it and some lemon. I left it to thicken as it boiled before I used an immersion blender to make it smoother. Added more lemon and ended up with a sweet and tart taste.

- Strawberry yoghurt cake I made following a recipe online. It was ridiculously moist and something I'm dying to make again. It was very fluffy, light and filling.

- The last thing is some raspberry cheesecake with a shortbread crust. I reduced some raspberries in sugar and water to make a sort of jam to swirl at the top. This disappeared in two days and hit the spot.

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I took this picture for something else before I realised I should've taken a better picture beforehand for this post. Discounted Alaskan sockeye salmon I stuck in the air fryer and some shop-bought sauerkraut. The pea mash I made with peas, margarine, cumin and pepper. Sort of like mushy peas but without the mint. I haven't really had for regular morning meals recently so this was a really nice change of pace.

I didn't take a picture of my failed attempt at a London fog latte. I didn't have Earl grey tea or a milk frother so what I ended up doing was steeping lavender and breakfast tea in half a cup of boiled water, added sugar, added vanilla extracted and then filled the rest of the cup with milk and let the steeping continue. I liked it enough to make it again.

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I made roast chicken for the first time ever. I followed a recipe and spent the whole time in a state of anxiety. It actually ended up tasting good, much better than it looks. The best part of it was the roasted garlic, closely followed by the burnt parts (caramelised?) of the lemons.

I added flour to the leftover juices and grease left on the pan to make a gravy of sorts? And it looked as well as it sounds. That is to say, fucking awful. It didn't tasted half bad though, very lemony with some notes of rosemary and garlic in there.

I will not be repeating the recipe because the amount of cleaning the oven needed would drive a soldier to tears.

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I remembered to take a picture halfway after eating it. Carrot and parsnip soup. I had frozen some a few days ago and took out one of each to defrost. Then, tossed it in some oil with mixed herbs for the air fryer for ten minutes. Afterwards, I blended it with some stock, salt and pepper, garlic powder and cream. It tastes sweet, mild and garlicky.

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It was supposed to be applesauce. I like peel so I didn't peel it. Made from two medium apples, water, some apple cider vinegar to soften as it cooked and a single star anise. I don't know if it counts as applesauce (I've never had it before) but it was very tasty and I would make it again.

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Greens are: Cavolo Nero kale, curly-leafed parsley and cucumber. I found the leaves in the reduced section.

Dressing is made from apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, wholegrain mustard, honey and soy sauce.

The taste was very peppery and refreshing overall, with some sharpness from the dressing. Very light and would make for the basis of a more-filling salad.