Fresh from reading “River Cottage: Preserves” I headed out inspired into my garden this week to harvest what little fruit I had left on my 3 blackcurrant bushes ready to turn into Jam.  I’m probably a little late in the season but lucky (or not) for me I had enough for one solitary jar – [...]

Zebra Cake is this weeks cake of choice and a great one it is too. Simple things impress me and it turns out (courtesy of my wife) that the stripy effect is even easy enough for me to manage!

So we all know about honey, don’t we? Bees collect nectar from flowers (the type of which influences the flavour of the honey) and make honey in beehives. Simple. Why can’t all food be as pure as this? (OK, so it’s a little more complicated as this article shows).

To me the best cakes are the type you can enjoy sitting at home or in a café with a cup of coffee. There seems to be a tradition in England of serving cakes covered in cream or ice cream as a “pudding” – great for your palate, not so good for your waist line.

When you have something as delicious as Rhubarb for the first time in it’s season, the only worthy treatment is to stew it.

Simple things for simple people. This recipe is the ultimate quick fix breakfast or midnight snack – at least in my eyes. And hey – it’s suitable for Vegans, too

Sernik is a Polish cheesecake much unlike any cheesecake you’ve ever tried before. This one is much richer and denser, but none the worse for it, with a sweet and delicious taste. You’ll need curd cheese (Quark?) for this, which might or might not be hard to find. We buy it in a local European [...]

Welcome back to blogging everyone, after the Christmas break! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. I certainly did, with Santa bringing me everything from a pasta machine to some signed books from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. Christmas may be just finishing but to me the season isn’t quite over until New Year has been and [...]

The countdown to Christmas starts now! Pierniki are little Polish cakes (called Prianiki in Russia) – which are flavoured with cinnamon and cloves, and generally eaten in the festive run up.

First, ignore any racial connotations which might pop into your head when you read the title of this recipe – blame it on the literal translation, if you must. Basically, this is a dark, chocolatey cake, filled with a delicious vodka and cherry cream.