MADE IT: Pret a Manger Carrot Cake

I've got to think in my sheer moments of kindness I am actually quite a nice girlfriend. Having made Jamie Oliver's Sexy Swedish Buns from his latest book, and the outcome being well pretty flat and disasterous, I fobbed them off on my boyfriend to take into work. He works as a security guard in a nightclub and cinema complex, so many cold tiring nights and hey what hungry tired security worker wouldn't like some manky old bun to chew on at 3am?

The failed bun making at home turned into joy for my boyfriend's work mates, when I decided to pass off the flat bun explosions onto him to take into work (craftly sliced into soldiers....who would guess they evolved from disaster?) To my utter amazement, they loved them, god knows why, and have since gingerly requested more cakes from me every Friday, and with a compliment on my cooking I was swayed.

A request went in for carrot cake and I mooched about in my cookbooks, settling with Pret a Manger's Carrot Cake from Food on the Mood. Sadly from my little Amazon post to the left I can see it's pretty out of date this book and a massive $307!!! But let me assure you it was some good cake.

Hands held high I've never been the biggest fan of carrot cake. I've only ever had stodgey supermarket versions or was given it as one of my nan's very favourite cake stock ups from her kitchen, and something about it just didn't do it for me!

This cake was something else. As well as the obligatory carrot, this cake was packed with extras; coconut, pecans, pineapple, you name it and it was in there. God was this cake too good to be true?

Whisking the eggs until double volume

Various goodies for the mix!

Looking slightly sickly...

The un-iced baked cake

MADE IT: Pret A Manger Alfresco Chicken Salad

When it comes to eating out food on the mood can be the ultimate godsend. From its humble beginnings as a simple array of bland sandwich fillings came salads, soups and sushi to tantalise even the most monotonous of office desks.

I, for one do not work in an office, but I will quite frankly have nothing stand in the way of me getting a morish lunch. When a string of late shifts at my part-time work as a shop sales advisor came up, I needed something delicious to get me through a 3pm til 10pm shift. Why people need to buy clothes and general merchandise until 10pm is a factor even after five and half years working in a shop I will never understand; however my mission for a tasty break time treat beckoned.

I found this little number in a £3 bargain find by Pret a Manger - Food on the Move.

So I'm not going to lie this salad took a bit of effort. To make the renouned Pret seasoning, used on all their signature salads and sarnies, various spices had to be fried, cooled and stored for shaking over your salady creations. Another set back? The mildly spiced yoghurt dressing for the chicken. Slightly longwinded and not really adding a huge deal to the salad, but a welcome little hint of warmth nonetheless.

Still all in all a hearty and filling salad, ticking all the right boxes with my favourite ingredients. A fitting make at home tribute to a shop bought favourite.