

Baubles
"Bauble - a showy but worthless or useless thing" Collins English Dictionary In our house it's sort of Christmas Eve today because...
Dec 23, 2022


Baked apples - so many ways
"All millionaires love a baked apple" Ronald Firbank This all started with a purchase of a big bag of i'Mperfect apples from Coles by...
Nov 26, 2022


Trifles
"Trifle - a matter or object of little value or importance." Cambridge English Dictionary I guess I'm hoping that what I write, although...
Nov 13, 2022


Don't throw that spent corn cob away
"Spent corn cobs harbour masses of flavour that is a shame to waste." Tom Hunt Because - would you believe? - you can make this gorgeous...
Oct 30, 2022


Affagato in the Yarra Valley
"a yin-yang culinary affair, resulting in a moment of instant bliss. It’s easy to marvel at the sheer effortlessness of it all with that...
Jun 20, 2022


Clafoutis
"This seemingly simple recipe baffled me for many years, as I endlessly ended up with a leaden duffer of a pud, so much so that I quite...
Jun 5, 2022


Trifle - no little thing
“A trifle consoles us because a trifle upsets us.” Blaise Pascal, Pensées This is for you Jenny after your disappointment that morsels...
May 4, 2022


From the sublime to the slightly ridiculous - lamingtons
"essentially, plain cakes with frills". Felicity Cloake It seems almost insulting to turn to Lamingtons - a supremely ordinary if...
Jan 20, 2022


Crème brulée - it's really English
"For some reason, a bowl of custard isn't seen as an appropriate dessert for a grown adult – but scorch the top and give it a French name...
Dec 27, 2021


The dilemma of Christmas pudding
“It is a problem certainly, that Christmas plum pudding. There is here something that I do not understand at all.” Hercule Poirot in...
Nov 29, 2021


Turkish sweets - a lucky dip
"Let's eat sweet, talk sweet" Turkish saying My lucky dip book this time is one of Claudia Roden's, and actually one of my favourite...
Nov 26, 2021


I'm missing cake - well dessert really
"Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" William Shakespeare Today I have been flicking...
Sep 14, 2021


Knickerbocker glories and banana splits
Summer is on its way so I think it's alright to talk about ice-cream. On the left is a photograph from one of those old delicious....
Sep 8, 2021


Apple strudel
"all countries in which it is known take great pride in it, and several claim to have invented it." Oxford Companion to Food This is one...
Jul 28, 2021


Magic custard cakes and Impossible pies
"This nifty recipe creates three completely different textural layers using basic, pantry staple ingredients and just one batter. While...
Jul 22, 2021


Treacle tart
"The treacle tart heralds a time of friendship, belonging and being looked after." Poires au chocolat Well I couldn't resist using the...
Jul 20, 2021


Poires Belle Hélène and other chocolate and pear partnerships
"Pears go well with chocolate, they dance together on the taste buds like Fred and Ginger" Larder Love We have reverted to the Zoom...
Jul 19, 2021


Robert and Betty's simple apples
"The Brown Betty is one of those homespun desserts you don’t often see anymore, the kind that travels under countless names and is...
Jun 10, 2021


Queen of puddings - a forgotten oldie
"Sweet but oh so glorious." Nigel Slater Queen of puddings has turned up twice in recent times in The Guardian's newsletter, so I...
May 27, 2021


Old English apple pie
"the apple pie is one of the great dishes of this island, and one that has spread right round the world, recognisably British still,...
Apr 21, 2021

