Happy birthday to me – Nutella cheesecake

It was my birthday on Sunday, hence the peace and quiet from this neck of the woods over the weekend. I have managed to stretch out the celebrations to well over a week, starting with a visit from my mum last Wednesday where I cooked her a great chicken, asparagus and orzo pasta recipe … […]

St Patrick’s Day Irish stew, chocolate Guinness cake and Baileys ice cream

It’s St Patrick’s day, and even though I only have the most tenuous link to Ireland (I sit opposite an Irish girl at work), I am happy to take any opportunity to join in with the craic. Plus, it’s not every day you have the perfect excuse to make Nigella Lawson’s chocolate Guinness cake, which […]

GBBO challenge week 8 – vegetable cake

Find out more about by Great British Bake Off challenge. Okay, I admit it, this week is a complete cop-out. The technical challenge during week 8’s GBBO was a dacquoise – a layered cake of hazelnut meringue, coffee cream, chocolate ganache and crushed hazelnuts. I did seriously plan to make this cake, until my lovely […]