Mermaid's Makeup

I'm not really sure you can actually call this baking or if this can count as a recipe but I'm going to pass it off as both because why not?
I discovered the Jus-Rol Bake-It-Fresh range about a year ago and can't get enough of it! My favourite is the Pain Au Chocolat but there are others in the range such as Cinnamon Swirls, Croissants, Apple Danish and a few more savoury ones. So far I have only tried the first two (which are both delicious).
I use the term baking lightly when it comes to these because the pastry is already made and pre-cut, all you have to do is put them in the oven and add the extra ingredient in the pack depending on which one you're making, e.g the chocolate sticks for the Pan Au Chocolat pack. Nevertheless, they are very yummy and there's something about freshly baked pastry that just beats the shop bought stuff. It also makes your house smell really good which is an added bonus.
They're perfect for breakfast, snacks or a light dessert and are extremely quick and easy to make with little mess or washing up. You can get them at most supermarkets, making them easily accessible. They only cost a few £'s and are often on offer which is even better.
With it being my summer holidays I decided to treat myself and make the Pain Au Chocolat ones for breakfast!
Although it's pretty self-explanatory and there's a picture guide on the back of the box, I thought I'd show you how to make them anyway!

Firstly, you'll need to preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C for a fan assisted oven/Gas Mark 6). Inside the box there is a can and a packet of chocolate sticks. The can has the pastry inside it. To open it, you pull on the red tab you can see in the above picture, and tear the paper around the can which will open it up.
Once you've pulled the paper around the can it should look something like this. As you can see, the pastry is exposed in the middle where the can has separated. To get the pastry out, all you have to do is grab the can either side of where the pastry is coming out then twist and pull it apart.
This is what the pastry roll will look like once you've removed it from the packaging. To make it even easier for you, the pastry is pre-cut and has little perforated edges where you need to tear it, meaning each pain au chocolat will be the same size. Once you've found the edge of the pastry, start to unroll it until you get to the perforated edge and tear that piece off the roll. Continue to do this for all 6 pieces of pastry.
Cover a baking tray with some baking paper and lay each piece of pastry out on it. You'll then need to take the pack of chocolate sticks and lay one at each end of the pastry.
Once you've done that they should look something like this. From here, roll each end towards the middle. I find that if you start one end and roll it over once, do the same to the other side and then roll them in at the same time, you'll end up with a more even roll on both sides.
All that's left to do is to pop them into your pre-heated oven to bake. The packet says to leave them in for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown but I find that in my oven they cook a but quicker. I'd suggest checking on them at around the 8 minute mark and this will give you a better idea as to how much longer they need because they tend to burn quite easily if left for too long. Take them out once the pastry is nice and golden. I would wait a few minutes to eat them because although the pastry on the outside will feel cool enough to eat, the chocolate in the middle is usually still very hot so be careful!
When you're sure they're the perfect temperature to eat, sit back, relax and enjoy your buttery, chocolatey goodness!

If you haven't tried these yet I would highly recommend you head down to your local supermarket and grab yourself a packet of whichever one tickles your fancy and give them a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.

I hope you enjoyed this post, next time I'll try to do something a little more exciting that involves actual cooking/baking!!

Talk soon,
Mercedes

Hey guys, my name's Mercedes and I am currently a university student training to be a midwife (bet you haven't heard of too many people doing that). With very few days off from placement and university, all I want to do when I am free is stay in bed and watch YouTube videos, binge on Netflix series or just generally veg out and do nothing. As fun as this is, it can get a little boring at times (when I've run out of morning routines or GRWM's to watch) so I thought why not start a blog so I can still spend hours on the internet but actually do something a little productive. I'm far too camera shy (and dull) to start my own YouTube channel so figured that this was the next best way to express myself and talk about things I'm interested in, if not for anyone else, because I don't anticipate anyone actually reading my posts, but just for myself to look back on one day and probably laugh at how ridiculous I sound! Oh well, if you can't make fun of yourself now and then what's the point? Hi 30 year old Mercedes, I'm sure you're already thoroughly embarrassed!