Easter Recipe - Salted Caramel Eggspresso Martini

I was scrolling through Instagram the other day when this recipe for an Easter cocktail from The Grounds of Alexandria came up on my feed.

How delicious would it be to serve this up to friends and family over the Easter weekend?

Lucy the manager from the Potting Shed Bar at The Grounds was lovely enough to share her

recipe. I've popped it below in case you want to give it a try!

INGREDIENTS:

200g Cooking chocolate

30ml Salted Caramel Vodka

15ml Flor De Cana Spresso (coffee Rum)

15ml Tuca

30ml Cold Drip Coffee

30ml Thickened Cream

Medium sized Easter eggs to garnish

Daisies to garnish

METHOD:

Melt chocolate using the double boiler method, coat the glass and tip it upside down to remove any excess, before placing it in the fridge to set overnight. Patience here is key, and the tip is to use quality cooking chocolate – your regular cadbury block unfortunately won’t cut it here (but it’s handy to snack on while you work).

Add all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake with ice.

Strain into your pre-set glass.

TO GARNISH AND SERVE:

Add a cracked easter egg and place on the side (we dare you to try not to eat the leftover). 

Top with coloured daisies and serve.

What do you think?

I definitely think I'm going to give this one a try!

Recipe and photos via The Grounds of Alexandria

My Birthday Festivities!

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm finishing up the week feeling very loved after a week of birthday festivities.

The boys woke me this morning with breakfast in bed, a gift and 4 bunches of flowers. 

One from each of them. Just beautiful!

The morning was spent answering birthday phone calls (such a lovely start to the day), reading birthday text and facebook messages and getting the boys ready for school. Simon and I decided to have lunch at The Grounds. Always a great place to spend some time. 

The sun was shining and it was great to have a wander around while we waited for our table.

Lunch was delicious! We decided on the steak sandwich and lamb parpadelle with a side of fries + polenta chips. We picked up some Nutella balls on the way out to take home for afternoon tea instead of having a birthday cake. 

After school we lit a candle and the boys sang me Happy Birthday. The Nutella Balls were divine!

Mum always used to buy me balloons for my birthday growing up, so she had some delivered today.

One balloon for every year. 39 balloons in total. Love them!

Earlier in the week Simon and I met up with some friends for an early birthday dinner and drinks at Manly Wine.  A jug of Grapefruit Margaritas and some nibbles.

 Finn and I met my mum for dinner last night and Finn ordered this Nutella Calzone for dessert. Nutella, marshmallows + nuts. OMG so decadent! It really has been a week of celebrations!

I also managed to fit in a movie. We saw the "First Monday in May". A fashion documentary on the creation of the Metropolitan Museums's fashion exhibitions and behind the scenes of the Met Ball. Very interesting! Ever since "The September Issue" I have been hooked on these glimpses into the fashion world.

So another birthday done and dusted!

 I'm looking forward to the year ahead and whatever it may hold.

How has your week been? Any birthdays coming up?

Brunch at The Grounds of Alexandria.

The other day Simon, Noah and I had brunch at The Grounds of Alexandria.

It's probably been about 6 months since we were last here and there has been a lot of changes and expansion to The Grounds.

A notable change is the new parking area available. This makes popping in a whole lot easier. There are several levels of parking and parking attendants everywhere to guide you in and find you a spot. Parking is free and has a limit of 2 hours.

There were new food and coffee stalls, a bigger florist and the new restaurant The Potting Shed.

It's such a gorgeous green space to hang out in and there is always something new to discover.

Even though the parking lot was full, the place didn't feel crowded. It is easy to find a space and table for yourself. Also with greenery and hanging plants everywhere, little nooks are created and gives a sense of privacy. We arrived at about 10.30am with no reservation and walked straight in for a table.

 I'm sure it would be different story on the weekends though.

Noah and I loved the banana bread with berries and marscapone. I loved the cute touches like Noah's banana smoothie in a teddy bear mason jar and the quirkiness of my Iced Coffee.  The Iced Coffee comes on a little tray with coffee ice cubes, a shot of coffee, a jug of milk and a syringe of vanilla.

Simon had the big breakfast with sausage, bacon, beans, avocado and toast. It all looked and tasted delicious. I've never seen such thick rashers of bacon!

After eating we had a wander outside, Noah loved the farm animals and Kevin Bacon the pig was his definite favourite followed by the goats.

Before heading home we popped into Salt Meats Cheese next door and grabbed some pasta and sauce to have for dinner. They have lots of fabulous homemade goodies and they also hold pasta making and other cooking classes there.

I would definitely recommend a visit to The Grounds of Alexandria if you haven't been yet. It's a really lovely place,  a visual feast and the food is fantastic too.