Ok, I caved. I jumped on the lockdown bandwagon and baked some banana bread. I confess to keeping two manky, bruised bananas to one-side until they smelt so pungent that I couldn't keep them away from some sort of cake batter ANY LONGER. I threw in some foamy green apples and squishy blueberries that needed … Continue reading Banana & Apple Loaf

Ingredients Makes roughly 20 or so cookies. 125g butter (softened) 175g sugar (white or brown) 1 egg 175g flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp vanilla extract 50g cocoa 50g custard powder (optional - you could add some ground almonds or 25g extra cocoa instead) 100g chocolate (roughly chopped) a handful of dried fruit a … Continue reading Fruit & Nut Cookies

Since my last post about Hot Cross Bun's, I've learnt that HCB's originate from St Albans (my neck-of-the-woods) so, I love them even more now. The Alban Bun was the precursor to the HCB and was created by a 14th-century monk, Thomas Rocliffe, at St Alban's Abbey. From 1361, Brother Thomas would hand out the … Continue reading Hot Cross Buns (Take 2)

I love hot water crust pastry. It's the most forgiving, malleable and reliable pastry there is. It's the best option for tentative bakers, bored/housebound children and exhausted parents in need of a comforting meal. Homemade pastry is often deemed as a finickity, time-consuming activity for show-offs and many apprehensive cooks may avoid making their own. … Continue reading Cheesy Garlic Pasties

We are currently on lockdown in the UK. It's an anxious time for everyone and we all have our different ways of coping with this nervous energy. Baking is my coping mechanism. Combine this anxiety with a need-to-be-busy and a dwindling-supply-of-food and TA-DA... This cake was born. It was very much scrambled together from whatever … Continue reading Cupboard Cake

This cake is a combination of lots of wonderful things... Carrot cake, earthy nuts, cream-cheese frosting, fiery chunks of ginger and rustically achievable but charming decoration. It's a pretty simple way of decorating a rather simple cake, but the final result is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. AND IT'S PURDY. This recipe will make a modestly sized … Continue reading Garden Cake

I adore making cinnamon buns. Not just because the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns is quite possibly the BEST smell in the WHOLE WORLD but because the little swirls seem to me to completely encompass the spirit of Christmas. Butter-laden, overstuffed and gassy orbs left to bloat in a small space. Once they're tucked-up … Continue reading Christmas Buns

I have just got back from a long weekend in Berlin. I was in the city for PEOPLE festival, a unique music festival made up of 160 collaborating artists. There was no line-up and the festival is intended to be non-hierarchal. A brilliant concept and something that I'd been looking forward to for a very … Continue reading Berlin

This is such a simple cake to make. (The trickiest bit is trying to de-stone those darned cherries...) It taste's delicious and stays light and fluffy for days. I know this for a fact as the cake in the photo survived a trip to Wales and a tour of the Brecon Beacons before being devoured … Continue reading Cherry & Almond Cake