Blood oranges have the briefest of seasons and I look forward to them every January. Their extraordinary colour — somewhere between ruby and sunset — makes any bake look spectacular. This polenta cake is naturally gluten-free, incredibly moist, and has a wonderful slightly gritty texture from the polenta that I find completely addictive. I found…
I bought the plums from Bridgnorth market last weekend, they were perfectly ripe, none of this ripen at home nonsense which basically means they go mouldy and never get to ripen. A cake cum pudding is always a favourite here and the cake batter can all be mixed quickly in one bowl. I made my…
These cakes can be rustled up in next to no time at all. I had a couple of lemons which needed using up and my stash of frozen redcurrants never seem to go down and I’m on a mission to use them before the redcurrant bushes produce fruit again later on in the year. These…
Homemade bread rolls are one of life’s simple pleasures, and these cheese and onion versions take them to another level entirely. The onion is cooked slowly until sweet and golden, then folded through the dough with generous handfuls of mature cheddar. When they come out of the oven, the cheese on top goes all crispy…
January is not the month for restraint in baking, whatever the diet industry might tell you. These salted caramel brownies are unapologetically rich, fudgy, and indulgent — exactly what dark, cold evenings call for. The caramel swirl through the middle is the kind of thing that makes people close their eyes when they take the…
New Year’s Eve doesn’t always call for champagne and canapés. Sometimes what you really want is a bowl of something warm and grounding after the excesses of Christmas. This parsnip and apple soup is exactly that — sweet, earthy, and deeply comforting. The apple adds a subtle tartness that stops the parsnips from being too…
Ingredients500g block puff pastryPlain flour for dusting1 medium free-range egg, lightly beaten For the filling: 450g sausagemeat50g fresh breadcrumbs50ml real ale6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped, plus 28 small leaves for decoratingSmall handful of fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves finely chopped1 eating apple, cored and grated MethodIn a big bowl, mix all the filling ingredients together…
Every year without fail, I spend an afternoon in December making these cinnamon star biscuits. They started as something to hang on the tree, but now they’re expected by pretty much everyone I know — the neighbours, my colleagues, the postman. The dough is wonderfully forgiving and the biscuits keep for weeks in a tin,…
Discover beginner-friendly home baking essentials with must-have tools, pantry staples, and tips for easy affordable baking success.
A chocolate yule log is one of those show-stopping centrepieces that looks far more difficult than it actually is. The trick is in the rolling — do it while the sponge is still warm and flexible, and you’ll avoid the dreaded crack. Though even if it does crack a little, that’s what the ganache is…
