No-Knead Bread

Yes, really! You can make delicious bread with no kneading and minimal effort. It makes fantastic bread for weekends, as you do need to be around to bake in the middle of the day if you want to eat it very fresh. If you don’t mind eating it the following morning, you can do it […]

Madeira cakes in all sizes!

I have had a request for a scaled up version of my madeira cake recipe for a wedding cake. The texture of madeira cake is firm enough to cope with ornate icing which makes it a good choice for wedding cakes. However, you do have to remember that it does not keep like a fruit […]

Fast and Fabulous Fruit Loaf

This is a fabulously fruity and amazingly easy fruit loaf. It’s a great recipe to make with children. I made this with mine when they were not much more than 18 months old. Once they can stand on a chair, they can help to choose the proportions of the dried fruit and put handfuls onto […]

Fantastic Chocolate Sponge Cake

This has been a mainstay of my family for more years than I can remember. It is easy to make and produces a reliably delicious, light and fluffy cake. The only thing which you must NEVER EVER do is open the oven before 20 minutes of the cooking time have passed. You can make a […]

Traditional Easter Simnel Cake

This is our favourite recipe for a traditional Simnel Cake. It’s based on Nigella Lawson’s recipe with tweaks to make it work dairy free. The marzipan balls on top are great fun for the children to make. There are supposed to be eleven (for the disciples of Christ minus Judas, of course) but, when you […]

Mince Tart

Like a mince pie, but better!

This makes a great party offering: it looks fantastic and isn’t hard to do! Much more impressive than mince pies for the end of a dinner party, less effort and very Christmassy with a little twist of originality. Enjoy!

You will need an 11″ / 28cm loose […]

Mince Pies

The traditional accompaniment to a glass of mulled wine during the Christmas season.

For this recipe you will need 2 sizes of pastry cutters (wine glasses will do in an emergency), 2 tart trays, a pastry brush and a wire cooling rack.

Recipe: Mince Pies

Summary: Can’t have Christmas without mince pies! Here’s how […]

Traditional Fruit Cake

All ready for decorating

My mother has been making this cake for Christmas and special occasions in the family for about thirty years. It is truly delicious: moist but not sticky. It isn’t cheap because of all the fruit, but it is well worth the effort for a traditional Christmas cake. Do note […]

Lemon Vanilla Cheesecake

This is a simple recipe which is easy to prepare and looks impressive – always a good combination!

For this recipe you will need an 8″ / 20 cm diameter sandwich tin and a food processor. The tin needs to be at least 1½” / 3 cm deep to give you a reasonable depth of […]

Madeira Cake

This cake makes a great Christmas cake alternative for people who don’t like dried fruit. If, as in our family, you end up doing both fruit and madeira, try making this one square for a different look:

For this recipe there are two alternative methods: with and without a food processor. Both ways give […]