Scandi Kitchen is a lovely Swedish cafe a few steps from Oxford Circus. It’s where I went for a one-off food photography class organised by Helen from A Forkful of Spaghetti. I’ve often thought that relationships only survive visits to Ikea because men look forward to the hot dogs on the way out to the […]
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Can pumpkin puree be used to make frosting for cupcakes? Absolutely.See below how I was inspired by this Harry Eastwood (of Cook Yourself Thin) recipe. Going away on holiday is terribly inconvenient when you’re a food blogger. In the last month I’ve had both a weekend away to Provence and a week in Montenegro. In […]
When I was excited about a food blogging conference
This is pathetically short and ill-composed post considering how excited I am about this. So much has happened in the last couple of weeks whilst I had no broadband that I’m suffering a bit of a blog-kage and back(b)log. I must however share details of the very exciting Food Blogger Connect event which is taking […]
Appearing in Panto… Montenegro style
Anyone following me on Twitter will be sick to death of hearing this. I have had no broadband since I got back from our holiday in Montenegro earlier this week. I am therefore posting from my mobile which is a bit fiddly. Normal service should be resumed next week. In the meantime I share […]
When I had a yard sale before jumble trail existed
You know that feeling you get after having taken some exams and you get home and don’t know what to do with yourself? I feel a bit like that this afternoon. My house is suitably de-cluttered after this morning’s yard sale and I am not pressurising myself to make any more cake this weekend. Yesterday […]
Mini Blackberry Cupcakes
These Mini Blackberry Cupcakes have little vanilla bases, richly-coloured buttercream flavoured with juicy blackberries and a fresh berry decoration to finish. Updated 2026 · Now with a printable recipe, the original 2009 post is preserved underneath. These blackberry cupcakes followed an earlier recipe for Crushed Raspberry Cupcakes; the two recipes are very similar. The raspberry […]
Classic Baked Custard
I love egg custards so I was very pleased to see how simple these were. I used up my egg yolks left over from the Pecan Pie Macarons It was also my first time baking using a bain marie. I decorated my custard with cinnamon using one of my cookie stencils. The plate you can […]
Pecan Macarons with Salt Caramel
Cupcakes are top of the pops at the moment – we even have a National Cupcake Week – but there is also a bubbling under trend for macaroons – or macarons to give them their French spelling. I have seen macarons (like these ones above) in pictures over the past year but had not seen […]
Crushed Raspberry Cupcakes
These Crushed Raspberry Cupcakes have vanilla bases topped with pink buttercream flavoured with crushed raspberries and their juice. Updated 2026 · Now with printable recipe, similar to the one from my book. This version omits white chocolate. The original post is preserved underneath the printable recipe. I was originally inspired by a photo of raspberry […]
Nigella Book Signing – Dumbstruck
Most of my friends will know that I am a huge fan of Nigella Lawson. I used to read her cookery columns for Vogue in the mid nineties and bought her first book “How to Eat”, the second it hit the shelves. She also resided in deepest darkest Shepherd’s Bush at the same time as […]
Polenta Crust Turkey Burgers with Tomato Salsa
These polenta crust mini turkey burgers were the result of my tea time cooking last night. I had some minced turkey to use and wanted something more interesting than a pasta bolognaise sauce. Normally I coat meat balls with flour but polenta has more bite. Inspiration for My Turkey Burger Recipe – Nigella’s Cornbread Topped […]
Red Velvet Cake
This month I have been baking five recipes from Rachel Allen’s Bake. This time I have baked red velvet cake for the first time. Although this is my last Bake Five blog using Rachel Allen’s Bake, I can honestly say that I will go out and buy this book. It’s been a while since I […]
