My blog is having an existential crisis at the moment. I write a lot of blog posts in my head, but recently they haven’t made it much further than that. When I have had the time I’ve lacked the… Read More ›
dried apricots
Dark Chocolate and Apricot Buns – add a cross and they’re good for Easter too!
As it gets closer to Easter I find myself more and more inclined to both eat and bake buns. In the UK, like many other places, we have hot cross buns at Easter: spiced buns with a pastry cross on top… Read More ›
Happy New Year – and Rocky Road
The New Year is all about detox and diets. Recovering from the excess of the Christmas season. Unless you are under 18, of course, when life carries on exactly the same as before except you have more “stuff”. Rocky Road… Read More ›
Apricot and Pecan Puddings with Caramel Sauce
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 ›
Fruit Flapjacks
I am very much a purist when it comes to flapjacks. For me, oats, brown sugar, syrup and butter in a certain ratio (the one of my childhood) make up a proper flapjack. Flour has absolutely no place in a… 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 ›
Not your average Fruitcake – with dried cherries, apricots, blueberries and cranberries
I love fruitcake but sometimes it needs to be a bit more special without being a Christmas cake. This is a light “farmhouse” fruitcake style cake rather than a dense fruitcake, but with more interesting flavours. It’s a large cake… Read More ›
Cinnamon Swirl Bread and Butter Pudding
My intention was to make a beautiful Iced Cinnamon Swirl Loaf and take it to my brother’s when we went to visit him and his girlfriend at the weekend. And as it was going to be so delicious I doubled… Read More ›
Fig and Pistachio Truffles – healthier treats
My kids are currently really into Nakd raw fruit and nut bars and when I asked my son what I could make for an after school snack, he suggested making bars. This is my version and is based on what… Read More ›
Apricot, Date and Sultana Loaf
I made this bread to go with some of the leftover Christmas cheese. Which I had over-bought on purpose, just so that I would have plenty leftover… Not only is this bread delicious with cheese, it is also a wonderful… Read More ›