Star anise sugar

A great ingredient for the kitchen, this well flavoured sugar is excellent used when making cakes and biscuits, imparting a subtle aniseed flavour to the finished bake. Continue reading “Star anise sugar”

Chocolate strawberry shortbreads: vegan & gluten-free

Vegan and gluten-free shortbread, topped with luscious dark chocolate & tangy dried strawberries: little bites of melt-in-the-mouth joy! Continue reading “Chocolate strawberry shortbreads: vegan & gluten-free”

Instant minted lemonade

This is one of my favourite summertime drinks to make, needing only fresh lemons, fresh mint, water and a little sugar: made in seconds, it tastes much better than any of the artisan lemonades you can buy and can be made for a fraction of the cost of those! Continue reading “Instant minted lemonade”

Orange and pistachio madeleines

Sweet, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth, madeleines are a treat for any occasion. I have gone for madeleines that are flavoured with ground pistachios and orange zest.

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Salted caramel pistachio brittle

This very easy pistachio caramel is not only a great sweet to eat as it is, it so versatile for adorning all manner of cakes and sweet desserts: you just snap off pieces, put them in place and away you go.

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Mocha walnut pavlova

I have not made a pavlova for a few years, but it is always lovely to re-visit an occasional bake such as this. Continue reading “Mocha walnut pavlova”

Chocolate & cherry brioches

This is my chocolate and cherry version of a brioche: very rich, with a buttery interior that is actually very light to eat and practically melts in the mouth. Continue reading “Chocolate & cherry brioches”

Bread & butter pickles: spicy, sweet cucumbers

These sweet, spiced and crunchy cucumbers are very easy and quick to make. These sliced cucumbers are basically bathing happily in a sweetened and well flavoured vinegar. Continue reading “Bread & butter pickles: spicy, sweet cucumbers”

Kouign-amann pastries

This is my version of this buttery, caramelised pastry, Kouign-amann: roughly pronounced “queen ah-marn”. Oh, and these really are truly buttery and flaky, with a nice salty kick and terrific caramelisation all over. Continue reading “Kouign-amann pastries”