Would you like to make a cake that looks like a pumpkin? Um.. who wouldn’t?! lol. It’s a delicious cake, very moist and tangy. A perfect autumn cake, it was my contribution to a Halloween climbing weekend and could be an amusing centrepiece at some […]
All posts tagged: baking
Traditional Black Forest gâteau recipe with a pastry layer and sour cherries!
When a German friend says let’s make a Black Forest gâteau there’s only one possible answer: ‘Yes, please!’. So begins a voyage of discovery leading to a cake that’s less sweet, so delicious and perfect for a birthday party or a rainy day when the […]
Puff pastry cannoli horns recipe! With a healthier mesquite ‘superfood’ version and some September cakes…
These delicious pastries are a hybrid of the wonderfully flaky British puff pastry horns I remember from my childhood filled with a yummy Sicilian cannoli filling of creamy ricotta with dark chocolate pieces and orange peel. Sprinkled with a hint of cinnamon. Later I’ll tell […]
Healthier pink grapefruit or plum almond tart recipe! And is coconut sugar healthier?
This ‘rustic’ tart is an absolute delight of contrasting tangy pink grapefruit, light almond dacquoise sponge and grapefruit or orange marmalade within a thin crispy pastry. There was also an experimental little plum tart, since this fruit is currently in season, and it was just […]
Simple raspberry and salted caramel vacherin glacé ice-cream cake recipe! And the August cake collection with Sicilian desserts…
Vacherin glacés are a delight… amazingly delicious and simple. My last one had more complex piping so I wanted to show you this very approachable and friendly one with shop-bought raspberry sorbet and Häagen-Dazs salted caramel ice-cream. My 12-year old niece and I very quickly and […]
Earl Grey melting moments biscuits (cookies) recipe
Sometimes simple is absolutely divine, crumbly, buttery and the perfect afternoon tea biscuit. Or cookie if you’re on the other side of the pond. Adding the contents of two Earl Grey tea bags takes these yummy delights to that next level without involving complex baking […]
Earl Grey tangy travelling loaf (Earl grey tea and lemon loaf cake recipe) and who is Earl Grey?
The magic flavour in Earl Grey tea is bergamot, a citrus fruit with a delicate aroma. Earl Grey’s identity and the origins of the tea will be revealed later but first the cake. Having used bergamot in baking before I was curious to try Earl […]
Dreams of Florence, caramel-raspberry dome cakes recipe
These domes of creamy caramel mousse are filled with fresh raspberry jelly inserts and covered in a light caramel glaze. They float on bases of crumbly sablé breton, Brittany salted butter shortbread. Fragments of homemade pralines, caramelized almonds, stud the sides like crunchy jewels. My […]
Healthier sablés or palets bretons recipe (Brittany salted butter shortbread biscuits/cookies)
You can use plain white flour and sugar but the versions with spelt or buckwheat flour, sweetened with light brown sugar or panela (rapadura) unrefined whole cane sugar are also delicious. These are the typical crumbly biscuits from Brittany made with salted butter. They can […]
The mojito lemon drizzle loaf, how to paint on a cake and the May cake collection!
Once you start making lemon cakes it’s hard to stop. When people ask what my favourite cake is I say lemon tart, well tarte au citron which is so tangy and fresh you hardly notice the sugar. But lemon drizzle cakes are sublime too and […]
Lemon drizzle and raspberry layer cake with easy marshmallow fondant and lemon curd – for a birthday! :)
It’s that time of year when I make my own birthday cake and the inspiration was Nadiya’s lemon drizzle cake, the one that helped her win the Great British Bake Off final. It was totally worth making. My birthday fell on a Monday this year […]
Easy almond pralines, pralín and praliné recipe, the top 10 and a feedback request
I used to be scared of pralines or anything caramel. In Paris I wanted to buy jars of praliné paste to take home to Barcelona. But I couldn’t – the suitcase was too full of other baking stuff. And that’s how I learnt it’s surprisingly […]
Ginger and lime marshmallow cloud tarts recipe for Spring and the April cake collection
These tarts look and taste like Spring. There’s a lovely balance of flavours between the ginger, lime and mint encased in beautifully tasty gluten-free buckwheat pastry. Even traditionalists might not miss the meringue topping once they enjoy that unmistakeable soft springy texture of fluffy marshmallows. […]
Torta pasqualina, Italian Easter pie recipe with quark and quail’s eggs!
The first time I spotted a version of this Italian savoury treat was around 20 years ago in Peru, strangely enough. Mum and myself, we were spending a few days in Lima before going on to Machupicchu. Anyway we found this delightful spinach and chard […]
Masala chai, raspberry and pistachio layer cake recipe, the history of a cup of chai and why it’s good for you! :)
First of all don’t ask for Chai Tea Latte because you’ll be saying Tea Tea Latte so people could think you’ve already had too much caffeine and refuse to serve you. Ho ho. Yes, Chai means ‘tea’, originating from the Chinese word for it 茶 chá […]
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