An Original Obsession

Hello!

I've found a new obsession. Yep. You heard right. A. New. Obsession. It was once Suits (it still kind of is) but now I have a new one that may even have more of a hold on me than Suits. You did read that right. I am hooked on this TV show - I even dreamed about it the other night! I've watched a lot of television shows since Suits but I've never loved any enough to tell you guys about them. Until now.

So I should probably tell you what this show is before I ramble on about it...

The Originals

It's a spin-off from The Vampire Diaries, which is a show I went off a long time ago; after about season 3/4 I think I stopped watching, I thought it was starting to get a bit repetitive but, oh my god, I'm addicted to The Originals, more so than I ever was to The Vampire Diaries. 

It's definitely a lot more of an adult show than it's parent show but I think that makes it a lot better. Obviously it's still gory and bloody - they're vampires, what do you expect? - but it seems to do it in a less teenager-angst way. 

Not going to lie, I have a bit of a thing for Klaus and Elijah too. It's the best of both worlds; Klaus, a bad boy; Elijah, a noble bad boy in a suit. You can guess which one I favour, I'm sure.

I have avoided this show since I first heard about it because I'd gone off The Vampire Diaries and I thought it was basically just going to be the same thing but with different characters. It's not. Not at all. Not in the slightest. It's just not. It's completely different, the characters are more mature, and played by some brilliantly skilled actors may I add, the story lines are bigger and, I would say more talented and gripping but maybe that's all down to the actors.

I was never a massive fan of when Klaus and Elijah and Rebeckah and the rest of the Original family came into The Vampire Diaries but that was because very little was known about them apart from how much they were hated and feared, but this spin-off lets you further into their lives and I have fallen completely head over heels in love with the characters.

Joseph Morgan, who plays Klaus' character, and Daniel Gillies, who plays Elijah's character, are two amazingly gifted actors. For me, they make the whole show. They're not just two stone-hearted, thousand year old vampires who like to kill people for fun, they actually show a lot of emotion and go through some difficult battles throughout the first season. They don't just randomly kill people either, I'll throw that out there now. Hayley, who is played by Phoebe Tonkins, is also brilliant. She's a strong, independent character who you get the feeling can cope completely fine on her own and doesn't need other people to do everything for her - she doesn't rely on the men of the show, basically. The first few episodes I watched, although I was gripped, I did get the horrible feeling it was going to be a love triangle - which I really hate - but it turned in a completely different, unexpected direction and nowhere near a love triangle. It does have a little bit of chemistry and spice in there too, which I love - I'm such a hopeless romantic.

Elijah is without doubt my favourite character, it's something to do with his whole demure and the kind of person he's portrayed as, constantly standing by his brother even after all the horrible things his brother has done to him. The way he's always the protector. And the fact he nearly always wears a crisp suit helps too... I do love Klaus too though, with his whole mysterious character and hidden emotions, he has that cheeky smirk as well, no one can hate that. I'll stop swooning over the actors now. Sorry.

The whole show is simply fantastic.

The season finale is one of the best I've ever watched too, and I've watched a lot of television shows. It's heart-breaking whilst hopeful at the same time. I don't want to give anything away but it's possibly the best episode I've ever watched on any TV show.

I've just started re-watching season 1 on Netflix as I die slowly waiting for season 2 to be released. I'm that addicted that I'm struggling to live without the show in my life - I managed to watch the whole first season in three days... I have no life. 

I have no idea what else to say about this show apart from how frickin' brilliant it is. Everyone needs to watch this because I personally guarantee that you will fall in love - not just with Elijah (or Klaus, if you prefer).

Katie x

The Best Chocolate-y Pudding Ever!

Hello!

I spent yesterday evening making Malteser Cake - the best chocolate-pudding-snack-thing you will ever taste. I promise you, if you like chocolate as much as I do, this is the thing for you.

It may be extremely fattening but it's worth it seen as it's the best thing you will ever taste!

Here is my recipe, in case you would like to recreate it!

Makes 18 pieces

You will need:

4oz Butter

4oz Plain milk chocolate

9oz Crushed digestive biscuits

8oz Maltesers

4 Dessert spoons of golden syrup

For the topping:

270g Cadbury's dairy milk chocolate

(It doesn't necessarily have to be Cadbury's but I use a better chocolate for the topping because I think it's a bit nicer than using the value chocolate that I use in the actual mixture)

Plus:
1 Large tray OR 2 square silicone trays

1.

Chop the Maltesers in half (being extremely careful not to chop your fingers too, I've found they don't add much to enhance the taste).

2.

Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup together, in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.

3.

When the ingredients has all melted and is a smooth mixture, take off the heat.

4.

Add the crushed digestive biscuits to the mixture and mix well, until all of the biscuits are covered by the mixture.

5.

Add the chopped maltesers and mix them in, doing this as quickly as possible so there is less time for the chocolate on the Maltesers to melt.

6.

Spoon the mixture into a tin or a silicone tray (like the one shown in the picture below), making sure the mixture is spread evenly.

7.

Melt the Cadbury's milk chocolate.

8.

Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the Malteser cake base.

9.

Put in the fridge to set. I recommend at least 3-4 hours before you try to eat it, although it may be tempting it will be worth the wait.

10.

After the cake has set it needs to be cut. Due to the fact it's mainly made up of chocolate, it can be difficult to cut so I have a little tip for you. Take the cake out of the fridge about 20-30 minutes before you want to cut it. This gives it time to soften a little but not too much and will make it easier to cut (I normally cut it into 9 square pieces per tray).

And there you have it! There is your Malteser cake! Try not to eat it all at once...

Katie x