London Patisserie Anges de Sucre have created a limited edition of their signature macarons for Macmillan Cancer Support. #MacaronsforMacmillan is set to be launched in October and the special macarons will be available to purchase from angesdesucre.com Seven cocktail flavours include cosmopolitan, mojito and pina colada – each crafted from fresh fruit and fine liqueurs. […]
Betty Blythe Tea Room
Betty Blythe Tea Room is named after an exotic silent movie star in the 1920s. Her memory is celebrated by this West London tea room. A picture tour of the Betty Blythe Tea Room Betty Blythe Tea Room 73 Blythe Road Brook Green London W14 Afternoon tea £22, iced biscuits from £2.95 each […]
Apricot Tart with Honey and Puff Pastry
This Apricot Tart uses a ready-made roll of shortcrust pastry topped with fresh apricot halves. Although my honey base was with a Mexican smoked chilli honey, you could replace this with chilli jam. Updated 2026 · Now with printable recipe – originally created using sample product from Gran Luchito Believe it or not, this recipe […]
French Shopping Booty Summer Special
It is I (who have been shopping at) Mnsr Leclerc… You know I just cannot resist a chance to add to my collection of Les 30 Recettes Cultes whenever I’m in France. I have about 18 of them now and actually could do with a list of which ones I already have so I don’t […]
Apricot Ice Cream with Amaretto
My Apricot Ice Cream uses dried apricots soaked in amaretto liqueur and is churned in a freezable ice cream making bowl. Adding alcohol to homemade ice cream can improve the texture and make it easier to scoop – it’s not a dessert suitable for children so pop a clear label onto your container. Updated 2026 […]
Forget Abergavenny… other autumn food festivals
September is no longer synonymous with back to school fever alone. It’s become the month for the UK to go mad hosting local food festivals and events. Whereas years ago we’d have had summer county fairs with farmers showing off their prize cattle and competitions for best veg, nowadays a local food festival mostly comprising […]
Bitesize Bits September snippets
A round up of lovely stuff we’ve been trying recently… Higgidy are a small company based in Suffolk who sell pies, tarts and quiches. I think you’ll agree they’ve still got that handmade quality, I served them warm for lunch for my vegetarian mother in law but they’d be just as good cold at picnics. […]
Summer Holiday Memories (with Walkers)
Summer holiday memories are precious. I’ve always spent my son’s childhood “in the moment” never like Abba “Slipping Through My Fingers”. [This post was originally sponsored by Walkers Mighty Lights in 2013.] Last year I blogged a list of everything we’d done during the summer holidays and purely for family reference I’ve decided to make […]
Quick Quiche with Boursin and Ready-Made Pastry
This is a short-cut Quick Quiche With Boursin cream cheese, using up a leftover scrap of ready-made shortcrust pastry. Updated 2026 · Now with printable recipe, the original post is preserved underneath. Quickie Quiche and How I Embarrassed My Grandmother My grandmother was red faced and embarrassed. She’d just had her diction corrected by an […]
Elephant Cookies
On taking Ted to London Zoo back in 2010, I asked him before we went in which animal he was most excited to see. “Elephants!” he replied. The animal he was most looking forward to see was elephants. Imagine our disappointment when we realised there were no longer any elephants living at London Zoo. They’ve […]
When I burnt the cigarette biscuits
Trying and failing to make cigarette biscuits
Lemon Courgette Pesto Tart
I’m trying hard to only put DSLR photos on this site whilst blogging family meals that were instagrammed over at my family food site Dinner With Crayons. But actually it was this shot above that did this recipe more justice (plus I didn’t scorch the pastry second time I made it!!) With a conveyor belt […]
