GBBO week 5 – Danish pastries

I was going to title this blog post ‘Easy Danish pastries’ because the dough I used was a cross between a rough puff and an enriched dough, so it wasn’t as much hard work as it could have been … however, it wasn’t that easy either, so I thought it best not to mislead with […]

Week 1 2016 – playing with my new toy: a KitchenAid Cook Processor

Andrew bought me a KitchenAid Cook Processor for Christmas, another almond cream beauty to add to my KitchenAid collection. I’d never heard of it before, but the Cook Processor is essentially an all in one preparation and cooking gadget with pre-programmed options to allow even a kitchen novice (ie Andrew) to cook a slap up […]

Nothing says Happy Birthday like a cake covered in Maltesers

I may have mentioned before (once or twice) that I am quite a fan of chocolate. I really like Hotel Chocolat (and think that because it is quite expensive I won’t inhale it so quickly as ‘normal’ chocolate, although that doesn’t always work) but I also love the usual brands you can find in the […]

Celebrating US Independence Day with chocolate Coca-Cola cake

When you are making something to celebrate US Independence Day on 4 July, you can’t go too far wrong than making something which involves coca-cola, the brand that apparently created the red and white Santa Clause we know today. Personally, I have never been a fan of fizzy drinks – it’s one of the few […]

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 […]

Getting steamed up – steamed suet and sponge puddings

When I was younger I never really wanted what my Mum cooked me for dinner. As a child of the 80s I wanted the kind of food that Iceland still seems to sell: crispy pancakes, mini kievs, chicken dippers, potato waffles, beefburgers with processed cheese ON THE INSIDE, and lots and lots of chips.  MacDonalds […]