hpnotiq lemonade.

My boyfriend & I received a bottle of "Original" Hpnotiq for our 21st birthday last year, and let's just say it did not last long. It is the perfect mix of exotic fruit juices, French vodka and a touch of Cognac. I haven't had a chance to try the "Harmonie" yet but the offerings of infused fruits and flowers sounds delicious!

Because the Hpnotiq had such a full fruity flavour we mixed it with some lemonade, a neutral mixer.

INGREDIENTS:

• 60ml Hpnotiq
• Sprite Lemonade

METHOD:

1. Pour Hpnotiq into highball glass filled with ice and top with lemonade
2. VOILA! A refreshing beverage, perfect for summer!

Image from @lpmmags Instagram

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cocoa cake.

For Easter I decided to make a tasty chocolate cake but didn't want the typical heavy chocolate cake made with chocolate, so I switched it up and tried to make a cake with cocoa powder. This is probably one of my favourite chocolate cake recipes. It's even better when it's been in the fridge as the cake becomes almost like a brownie.

P.S: I decorated the cake with the top of the Easter eggs from my cheesecake easter eggs.

This recipe makes about 8-10 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups plain flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1¾ cups packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1⅓ cups water
• Icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD: 

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C.
2. Butter round cake pan - mine had a diameter of 25cm.
3. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Beat together butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until pale and fluffy in large mixing bowl.
5. Add eggs in 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Then beat in vanilla.
7. Add flour mixture and water in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until well combined.
8. Pour batter into cake pan and bake until springy to touch and skewer comes out clean - about 45minutes.
9. Cool in pan for an hour before dusting with icing sugar.
10. VOILA! The perfect chocolate cake! 

Image from @lpmmags Instagram

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the soup place, melbourne.

I stumbled across this cute little place called The Soup Place during a typical Melbourne sudden storm. Although the storm caught me off guard, it was perfect weather for dining in at this cute soup kitchen. With a great range of soups, including my two favourites minestrone and pumpkin, the Soup Place is perfect for the cooler months ahead.

The portions are perfect for the little price - they have three take away prices starting from $7, and one huge dining portion at only $9. They also serve tacos and a variety of other great nibbles other than soup. This place is definitely a great place to hit up during the cooler months. Now, I just need to find something similar in Sydney.

Find them:
Shop 14, Centre Place, 256-260 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC

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riccadonna flirtini.

For those pineapple lovers - this is the drink for you!

INGREDIENTS:

• 60ml Riccadonna
• 30ml pineapple juice
• 15ml Skyy Vodka

METHOD:

1. Stir all ingredients together and strain into a martini glass.
2. VOILA! The perfect pineapple cocktail!

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thai beef salad.

This recipe makes two very large servings or three decent ones.

INGREDIENTS:

• Two pieces of steak - the better the steak, the rarer it can be. I used two pieces of porterhouse.
• 300g salad mix
• 1 small red onion
• 225g sliced beetroot in a can
• 50g snow peas
• 60ml lime juice
• 4 tablespoon fish sauce
• 3 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• Fresh chilis or chili flakes

METHOD:

1. Marinade the steak in a mix of the garlic, chili, lime, fish sauce, sesame oil and soy sauce for about an hour or two.
2. Sear the meat until cooked to your preference, pour the remaining marinade over the meat.
3. While the meat cooks, prep your salad by adding the snow peas, beetroot and red onion, both sliced in to ribbons.
4. Slice the beef and pour remaining sauce over the salad - at this point you can make another small (about half) batch of marinade as sauce to go over the whole salad.
5. VOILA! Thai beef salad is ready to be served!

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tropicana, melbourne.

With bags of oranges hanging around the entrance, it's easy to dismiss Tropicana. I stumbled across this place while I was in Melbourne with my best friend. We were both starving and this cafe was a few blocks from where we were staying so we decided to give it a chance.

As you enter there are posters of this gorgeous fuchsia juice claiming to be the best juice in the world, money back guaranteed. Now, whenever I see these outrageous claims I scoff and walk away but with the money back guarantee there was nothing to lose. But take my word for it, this is the best juice I've ever had. The only problem is that there isn't enough of it in one serving.

I had the chicken, avocado and tomato sandwich + juice meal which was $11.70 while my boyfriend had waffles + juice which was $12. The food was okay, it was much better the last time I ate there but I still highly recommend going there to try the South American Juice.

Find them:
213 Elizabeth St, Melbourne, VIC

 
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riccadonna strawberry bellini (rossini).

Here's a new twist on the classic strawberry and champagne!

INGREDIENTS:

• 120ml Riccadonna
• 30ml pureed strawberries

METHOD:

1. Gently stir the Riccadonna and strawberry puree with ice and strain into a flute
2. ENJOY! A sweet and refreshing Riccadonna based cocktail!

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