Couque de Rins (Honey Cake with Sugar)

These delicious soft and chewy honey cakes came about, like so many recipes, because of a mistake when a baker named François Rins made a mistake whilst  cooking the much harder couque de Dinant. This story, and the recipe itself, are from Regula Ysewijn’s Dark Rye & Honey Cake, a cookbook focusing on baking from ... Read more »

Creole Flambé Bananas

Flambé bananas | Bananes flambées

If you love the darkly spiced and decadent flavours of Caribbean desserts, you’ll adore these Flambé Bananas from Vanessa Bolosier’s Sunshine Kitchen. Traditionally made with plantains, this very simple and easy recipe also works a treat when made with sweet bananas. Read our full review of Sunshine Kitchen and the Caribbean flavours to be found ... Read more »

Maple Cinnamon Glazed Plum & Blackberry Sticky Buns

If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter or my blog’s Facebook page you’ll have noticed that I visited Canada recently, taking in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto and the region around Niagara-on-the-Lake. I’ll be sharing lots (and lots and lots!) from that trip in coming weeks. I totally loved all the destinations I visited and cannot ... Read more »

Moroccan Tagine Of Lamb With Dates And Almonds

Lamb tagine

The tagine is a mainstay of Moroccan food, traditionally cooked in its eponymous special dish with distinctive conical lid, it is a hearty and aromatic meat stew, often featuring dried fruit. It is often served with couscous and vegetables, and an array of simple salads. This recipe comes from a Moroccan cooking class we took recently, ... Read more »

Home Preserving: How to Can Apple Pie Filling

I posted recently about different methods of preserving food, with a particular focus on home canning. My first experiment last year was salmon, new potatoes and shallots in olive oil but as I was only able to heat treat at 100°C, I’m not confident about having eradicated the risks of botulism, so will likely discard ... Read more »