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Fruit Tea Loaf is a traditional sweet treat that’s adaptable to whatever dried fruit you have and whichever spices and flavourings you like. It contains no added fat (other than a little in the egg) but is delicious spread with butter. Perfect with a cuppa or …Read more
Fruit and Spice Bun Ring, with currants, cinnamon, and a maple syrup glaze, looks impressive. But, as I’ll show you in this post, the pull-apart bun ring is easily made AND baked in little more than half an hour. It’s so quick because, unlike most …Read more
Zesty Oat Biscuits are crispy, crunchy, and perfect with a cuppa. With a nutritious base of wholemeal flour and oats, they’re a cousin of digestive biscuits, but with the zesty flavours of orange, lemon and lime. Buttery and sweet, I like to add plumped dried fruit …Read more
Mincemeat Shortbread Squares with Almond Crumble are a great alternative to mince pies at Christmas. Incredibly quick and easy, there’s no pastry to make and no cutting and rolling out. A substantial, buttery shortbread base is covered in rich mincemeat. This is topped with a …Read more
Apple Tart is always a crowd pleaser. Sweet-tart apples, cooked to soft perfection, caramelized with a cinnamon and sugar topping. But what about the base? In this version, you can forget making pastry, rolling and cutting out. That’s because a simple shortbread type dough is …Read more
Apple & Cinnamon Cake makes the most of apple season in this simple but beautifully flavoured bake. Rustic and homely, the cake is a comforting treat with a cup of tea or coffee. To make it extra special, try Apple & Cinnamon Cake warm as …Read more
Coconut & Lime Cake brings together a classic flavour combination in a light and fluffy treat. The moist, buttery cake has a great balance of sweet coconut and tart lime, and is coated in a simple lime icing. Perfect for dessert or afternoon tea with …Read more
Apricot & Almond Scones take a classic combination and use it to flavour wonderfully light, American-style scones. Dried apricots are soaked to bring them back to plump lusciousness and are complemented by flaked almonds and a touch of almond extract. Heavenly with a light drizzle …Read more
Raspberry & Coconut Scones might just be my best ever scone. Bursting with juicy raspberries and with the sweet taste of coconut brought by desiccated coconut, coconut milk and a light coconut drizzle, I think they’re irresistible. Use fresh or frozen raspberries in these American-style …Read more
Blueberry & Lemon Scones, studded with juicy fruit & flavoured with zingy lemon zest, are a not-too-sweet, easy to make treat. Use fresh or frozen blueberries in these American-style scones. To most Brits, a scone is something you slice through the middle and …Read more
Microwave Sponge Pudding is just the thing when you want a sweet dessert and fast. After whipping up the batter, your pudding will take just 3 minutes to cook in the microwave. The result is a light and fluffy sponge, just ready to have some …Read more
Fresh Cream Muffins. How good does that sound? But it’s not just a filling of whipped, vanilla-scented cream that makes these muffins so special. There’s also a lemony preserve and juicy sultanas in the light, buttery muffins. Who doesn’t love a sweet muffin? Everyone will …Read more
Chai Spiced Star Bread, sweet, buttery and spicy, is a treat at any time of year. But I think it’s especially good at Christmas as, although not complicated to make, it looks really impressive. And those who don’t relish mince pies, Christmas cake and the …Read more
Basic Biscuit Dough is a great recipe to have in your repertoire. From this base, you can flavour the dough with all sorts of add-ins to make a range of tempting biscuits. In this post I share with you my basic dough for crisp, buttery …Read more
Genoa Cake, full of currants, sultanas, mixed peel, cherries and flavoured with almond and lemon, is a real treat. Based on an Italian yeasted Christmas bake, the British version is a wonderful cake to enjoy at any time of year. Even for novice bakers, it …Read more
Oat Bites are a delicious sweet snack or treat made in minutes, with no baking. Sometimes called energy or nutrition balls, I prefer the simpler and more honest Oat Bites. That’s because, although loaded with whole food, nutritious ingredients, they’re still a sweet treat best …Read more
These Double Chocolate Muffins are the ultimate sweet treat. Rich, moist chocolate cake, studded with chunks of dark chocolate and topped with a drizzle of melted chocolate. Whipped up and in the oven with just 15 minutes prep, this recipe is fuss-free too. I like …Read more
Homemade Digestive Biscuits are the latest result of my efforts to replace palm oil-laden, store bought products with delicious, easy homemade versions. Crunchy, crumbly and with a satisfying wholemeal, oaty flavour, I think these are miles ahead of the packet versions. Not too sweet, they’re …Read more
These Banana Chocolate Muffins are so easy to make, yet taste incredible. Light and moist, filled with banana flavour, chunks of milk chocolate and a hint of cinnamon. Best made with very ripe bananas, they’re a great way of using those brown bananas in your …Read more
These Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins are the perfect flavour combination. Tart, fruity raspberries studded throughout a buttery cake alongside creamy, sweet white chocolate. I guess it was only with the rise of the big US coffee shops across Britain that ‘muffin’ came to …Read more
I love shortbread. It’s so quick, easy and made with simple ingredients (flour, butter and sugar) that all bakers will have to hand. To take it up a notch, in this recipe I add just two more staples to create Jammy Shortbread Squares with Oat Crumble …Read more
Shortbread is perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. In this post I share an easy, no fuss recipe for sweet and buttery shortbread. I also give a few suggestions for how to vary the flavour of this simple yet always satisfying treat. …Read more
Classic Sultana Scones are so quick and easy, yet always feel like a treat. Serve with double or clotted cream and jam, or simply spread with a generous amount of butter. I think a recipe for Classic Sultana Scones should be in every cook’s repertoire. …Read more
Carrot Cake Oat Bars have all the spicy flavour and moist richness of carrot cake. But are made in a fraction of the time. Studded with sultanas, nuts and coconut, with the scent of orange and spice, Carrot Cake Oat Bars are so easy. Eat as …Read more
Who doesn’t love Hot Cross Buns at this time of year? With their roots in Britain’s pagan past and its celebration of the return of Spring, making a batch of these fruity and spicy buns isn’t difficult, even if you’ve never made bread before. …Read more