More of a personal note from behind the business

Last week I went on an annual festive pilgrimage with my family to Fortnum and Masons for afternoon tea and to gawp at all the amazing decorations and lights. We’ve been doing it for a few years now and it has become the official commencement of all things festive. It was amazing as always and if you ever have a chance to go to Fortnum and Masons I am sure you won’t be disappointed - gazing at all the amazing hampers is thrilling in itself! Even though festive thoughts have

You may have seen those crunchy little amaretti biscuits that get served with coffee at the end of a meal in an Italian restaurant…well these are completely different! These little gems are pale, light and chewy and deliciously nutty. This recipe only requires four ingredients and is as simple as can be… They would make a lovely gift wrapped up in baking parchment and twisted at the ends, like the real deal! Chewy Ameretti of Dreams 150g golden caster sugar 175g ground almon

Brrrr, it has been a cold week - time to warm things up with ginger and mixed spice in freshly baked warm cookies. There is something very pleasing in whipping up a batch of biscuits, not only does it make the house smell liked spice heaven, you also get to curl up on the sofa and devour them. I don’t know about you but the world is pulling me towards the winter festivities, adverts on the telly, christmas magazines are out and shops have already got their decorations up. I

We have bonfire night happening in the UK this weekend and I can’t wait! I grew up in Lewes, Sussex which always goes to town with brilliant bonfire celebrations and fireworks. It is so much bigger than when I was little, but the atmosphere there and at Battle bonfire night is electric. A classic bonfire treat tradition is the sweet and fruit toffee apple, a whole apple incased in a shiny, red, hard, toffee shell. To give this time-honoured delight a twist, I have switched

The other day, I took the afternoon to make a list of all the Fridays left until the end of the year (surprisingly few!!) so that I could plan the blogs out to make sure they are seasonal and exciting. I promise that I am not normally that organised. So to keep things throughly autumnal and not rush ahead, I reached for golden pecans and decided to make a pie. I decided to push the pecan pie boat out, so to speak, and added some dark chocolate as there was some going spare

The light is drawing in as we head deeper into Autumn and I find myself needing some sustainable energy in the form of oats. I love a flapjack, but sometimes I fancy making them a bit more interesting so these tasty bars will be perfect. Oaty, crumbly, fruity, crunchy and tasty - bingo! You can always play around with the fruit/seed/nut combinations, but stick to the same weights. The seeds give a lovely texture and my trusty friend, cinnamon, makes an appearance to keep i

I will disclose from the outset that these are highly addictive and wonderfully easy which is a dangerous combination. Please don’t blame me if these end up becoming a weakness for you!! I have fortunately had palmiers on many occasions as I am a lover of all things buttery and crisp, but for some reason I have never made them myself. For a treat that only has a few ingredients, it would be easy to think that one palmier would taste just like another, but homemade and fresh

I have wanted to have a go at making biscotti for a while now, I always wondered how it was that they were baked twice; the actual meaning of the word biscotti. After playing with a couple of recipes I found that they were pretty easy to make - so I feel these delicious biscuits will be baked a few times over autumn . They go brilliantly with tea or coffee, but I have also enjoyed them with my Californian family, dunked in a glass of fine red wine! I am sharing two recipes t

Yep, I give up - it is totally autumn! Forget all the in-betweeness, from this week forward I am engulfing myself in all things warming, spiced, comforting and yummy. So starting as I mean to go on, I made the most delicious crêpes this week and thought I would share the recipe with you, so you too can abandon summer and join me! British pears are just coming into season now and they make a perfect accompaniment to crêpes along with the crunch of flaked almonds and the crea