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 […]

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 […]

Chocolate Log

This is every bit as delicious as the original (indeed, the original swiss roll is fat free in the first place). The icing is the adjusted part.

You must be organised to make a good swiss roll. Don’t start this recipe without reading it all the way through first. You must have everything you […]

White Bread

Of all the day to day foods which are hard to find dairy-free, bread is probably top of our list. We were reduced to just one (other than speciality breads) which was readily available near us and would keep for more than 24 hours. As a result, we bought a bread machine and I can […]