These are very versatile little puddings. They are essentially a variation on a sticky toffee pudding with apricots instead of dates and the addition of crunchy pecans. They are just as good as a dinner party dessert as a midweek… Read More ›
Desserts
Apple and Rosemary Cake
It might look a lot like focaccia but this is actually a cake. And a delicious one at that. It’s from a recipe I found in Lily Vanilli’s “Sweet Tooth”, a book my kids gave to my mum as a… Read More ›
Bakewell Tart – and Alicante
Last week I got to spend a few days in Alicante on the Costa Blanca in Spain, visiting my friends who are spending a year sailing around the Mediterranean. They are wintering in southern Spain while they wait for the… Read More ›
Date and Maple Syrup Cake
So this might be the third post in a row with a recipe from Donna Hay’s “The New Classics” but I promise to give it a break next time! As with the other two recipes from the book, Fruit Flapjacks… Read More ›
Pear, Maple and Ginger Tarte Tatin
I mentioned the Donna Hay cookbook I got for Christmas in my last post and this recipe is also from “The New Classics”. It is likely that my next post will be too! Instead of using packet puff pastry I… Read More ›
Chocolate and Chestnut Roulade
Christmas is over and the New Year has begun. Diets, gym memberships and resolutions are at the top of everyone’s lists. This roulade doesn’t really come under any of those headings but it is still delicious and can even virtuously… Read More ›
Chocolate Cake with Crystallised Oranges
My camera has decided to go on strike for the moment and I am having to use my phone to take photos instead, which is really not helping, as you can see! Combined with the lights on my Christmas tree… Read More ›
Cranberry and Walnut Slices
I am not sure where this recipe comes from originally but I have a couple of friends who make this on a regular basis and it’s delicious. The middle layer uses homemade or store-bought cranberry sauce but you could also… Read More ›
Homemade “Luxury” Mincemeat for Christmas
It may not look pretty but mincemeat, the filling in mince pies, is one of the first tastes of a traditional British Christmas. I had my first mince pie this year this weekend – very early, I know, I… Read More ›
Quince and Ginger Cake
When I moved into my new house I was really pleased to have a “mature” garden, full of interesting plants, bushes and even a pear tree. It has a real cottage garden look to it. It was actually a little… Read More ›