I had a very dear friend ask me last week if I had a coffee cake recipe I could share with them. Unthinkable - I didn't!! Shame on me. I make coffee cream biscuits and my grandmother's little coffee patty cakes but that's it. I remember I'd always hesitated to make a large cake as … Continue reading Coffee Cake – recipe

Homemade Pasties Homemade shortcrust pastry is by far the tastiest option (see recipe below) or you can substitute 3 sheets of ready rolled puff or shortcrust pastry, thawed. The recipe will make 8 to 12 pasties, depending on the size of the pastry circles. Shortcrust Pastry 250g plain flour ¼ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon … Continue reading Homemade Pasties

So at the end of the day, the pasties were cooked for dinner. Made especially tasty by freshly dug Derwent Valley potatoes and swede. The pastry? I'd recommend anyone make their own butter - makes so much difference to the crust. A family favourite of decades, always tasty and economical, using only 250g beef mince … Continue reading Pasties

For those who would like the recipe, here it is: Honey Caramel Pear Upside Down Cake 825g (or larger) tin pear halves – or equivalent in home preserved For the honey caramel 125g butter 125g brown sugar 1 tablespoon honey Plus – one tablespoon honey, extra For the cake 2 eggs 1 cup sugar ½ … Continue reading Honey Caramel Upside Down Pear Cake – Recipe

I feel that there's always a justification for a morning of ongoing baking. First thing today - a honey caramel upside down pear slice, prepared to send to a neighbour. Smelt so good I had to bake it again. Immediately. After all, the pots, mixing bowl, beaters and boards were already there, so I could … Continue reading Honey Caramel Pear Slice

For those who requested the recipe for the Biscuit Mix Gift Jar, here it is. I added some dried fruit for a little chewy textural component, but this can be omitted of course. I've decided to make some of these jars up, not only as gifts but also to have on hand when I need … Continue reading Biscuit Mixture Gift Jar Recipe

A gift from a friend at Christmas - this attractive jar of biscuit mixture - just need to add an egg and some butter, the label said. I've been meaning to bake them for ages, so this morning it was done. What a great gift - they are absolutely delicious! Crisp and crunchy and part-way … Continue reading My Kind of Gift – the jar of biscuit mixture

I've secretly been quite pleased with myself as I've finally managed to accomplish online shopping and home delivery. However I've found some things can still go awry. A case in point - a few days ago I made out a list to send to one supplier. I badly needed brown sugar but my wrongly quoting … Continue reading The typo that led to Rocky Road

The oranges turned into marmalade, the cream into cultured butter. Never mind the toast for marmalade, made buttermilk buns instead, plus a loaf of buttermilk bread. I know it looks pretty much like my usual loaves BUT there are significant differences in the cutting and tasting. For a start the slight sourness of the buttermilk … Continue reading Marmalade and Buttermilk

I have no idea why I do these things - I bought oranges. I would never actually eat one, don't like them at all. (Well, maybe in a cake is ok.) I refuse to waste them after my impulse buy and strangely enough, I am very partial to marmalade. So it's time to pull put … Continue reading The Unloved Oranges