This is one of my favourite cakes and the original recipe comes from the Hummingbird Bakery. I have adapted it slightly. One of the reasons it is so good is that as blueberries are not available all year round (unless you… Read More ›
fruit picking
Blackcurrant Trifle – a reminder of summer
Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that fruit picking is one of my favourite summer time pastimes (yes, my life really is that exciting!). This year the weather was so terrible there… Read More ›
Deep Blackberry and Apple Streusel – or posh crumble, perfect for entertaining
The picture really does not do this dessert justice. I had thought I would try to take one of a slice the following morning, in the daylight and with time to set it up nicely. As it was I barely… Read More ›
Homemade Sloe Gin, or Life in the Sloe Lane
You will have to forgive the pun – I couldn’t resist it after my recent post about blackberry picking… Once you start looking around it’s amazing how much you can find in the hedgerows. Sloes are the fruit of the… Read More ›
Homemade Blackberry Jam – Life in the (slow) Lane
I suddenly realised the other Thursday that while I had organised my daughter’s 11th birthday sleepover treat in my head for that Saturday, I hadn’t actually shared the details with the two girls that were invited. Or indeed their mothers…. Read More ›
Blackberry Muffins
When I have a freshly picked heap of blackberries I tend to look at them and think either crumble or jam. This year I have decided to try to be a little more diverse and it struck me that not… Read More ›
Strawberries and Cream Cake – a farewell to the Summer
Here in the UK the summer seemed to arrive at the same time as the autumn last week. Finally, just as the nights started drawing in and the mornings began to bring with them a different quality of light and the… Read More ›
Homemade Blackberry and Apple Crumble – Autumn is on its way
I belong to a gym where I tend to do yoga and pilates classes and laze around in the pool, jacuzzi and steam room. I rarely actually go to the gym itself because if I go running I would rather be… Read More ›
Homemade Apricot Jam
Apricot jam has to be my all time favourite jam and one of the added bonuses of a summer holiday in France by car is that you can buy fruit by the crate in the supermarkets and bring it home to make… Read More ›
Blackberry picking – fun and free!
I love this time of year and start to get completely obsessed by what I can find in the hedgerows. Blackberries are always the first thing that get me all excited about the change of season. I start to look… Read More ›