You can bake this cake in a simple 9×9″ tin, and cut it into squares. Serve it warm, adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream – it’s the perfect end to a meal! Or, you can fancy it up a notch like I did here – baking it in two round tins to make a layered cake. I used a vanilla German buttercream between the layers (and a thin layer on the outside for a ‘naked cake’ look), then topped it with caramel sauce, poached pears and some candied nuts.

Now, I made this once before with the same amounts used in Justin’s original recipe – and found that it didn’t taste quite as strong as the cakes sold in Justin’s bakery (Bread Ahead). So this time, I increased the amount of chopped stem ginger and ground spices. It’s such a great cake – sticky and full of ginger flavour.

For the caramel sauce – I really wanted to use a recipe that only had a couple of ingredients. Caramel sauce isn’t complicated – just sugar and a fat (butter and/or cream) that has been heated to a specific temperature for the consistency you want. I adapted this recipe slightly, using a dry caramel (I can’t be bothered adding water only to then boil it away) to make a sauce with the right thickness to top a cake. Not too runny, but you can still get some nice drips on the edges. Of course, I accidentally boiled it too long (distracted) and it was super thick, so I just thinned it a bit with some hot water! You could also add more cream instead.

As for the buttercream? Well, I decided to go for a German buttercream, as I dislike the traditional stuff. I was always that kid removing the icing from her cupcake because American-style buttercream is either sickly sweet or just tastes like butter. German buttercream is pastry cream that has been whipped with butter. And it is delicious! I used inspiration from this recipe, whipping the butter first, and adding the pastry cream in increments. I didn’t have any issues with it splitting, so perhaps it’s the new way to make buttercream?

And to top off the cake? Spiced poached pears and candied nuts! I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe for the pears, which is just so simple! The candied nut recipe makes waaaay more than you need – but they taste great so who cares! I had hoped to get some gold leaf to finish everything, but they sold out Maybe next time!

And that’s it! Maybe a good cake for New Year’s Eve? I had hoped to post this before Christmas, but time got away from me… but hey – what else is new?

One of the many things that is hard to find in the UK is pumpkin purée. Unlike in North America, where “pumpkin spice” is in practically everything come autumn (seriously – it’s insane), the UK doesn’t really do pumpkin desserts. Suuure, you can get a pumpkin spice latte now at Starbucks, but pumpkin desserts are a quintessentially North American thing. Which makes sense – no Thanksgiving, no pumpkin pie.

So in the past, when I have come across canned pumpkin purée, I would buy a couple just for the future. You never know when you might need it! Update – my local little Waitrose has it in stock right now… whaaaatt?!

And of course, when I got the inclination to try these cupcakes, I was out of pumpkin and with nowhere to find it. So I thought about it and realized that spiced sweet potatoes (yams in Canada) taste a whole lot like pumpkin pie. So I figured I could simply use some pureed sweet potato instead of pumpkin! And you know what? I couldn’t tell the difference!

The original recipe for these cupcakes called for a graham cracker crust. Again, not something you can find here in the UK. However, my mom had sent me a box a while back, and I had juuuust enough left to crush up. You could substitute it with digestive biscuits, but I don’t think it’s worth it. The graham crust is more flavour than texture, and without the honey graham taste, I don’t think it’s necessary. You could just omit that part.

Of course, then they wouldn’t be very “s’more” but hey, you do what you can! After all, s’mores are a very North American thing, just like pumpkin pie. Which makes finding graham crackers nigh impossible. Why do I suddenly get these inclinations to bake things with hard-to-find ingredients?!

Anyway, if you’re not yet in the mood for Christmas (I am soooo excited for Christmas!!) and want something a bit more fall-appropriate to make – why not try these? They make a great mini cupcake too! Oh, and if you don’t have a kitchen torch (like me) you can use your oven broiler! Just make sure to keep an eye on them so that they don’t get too brown!

Okay, it’s time for a really simple recipe. I’ve meant to post this for ages, but haven’t made them often enough, and keep forgetting to take a photo. These are one of Richard’s favourite things that I make – they’re a softer cookie (unlike the crisp biscuits that people tend to make here in the UK), with lots of peanut flavour.

Now, the most important part of the recipe is the peanut butter that you use. If it’s one of those cheaper brands, with tons of added sugar and palm oil, then you won’t get as strong of a peanut taste. I only ever buy 100 percent peanut, peanut butter. Surprisingly, Morrisons has a really good one, which is waaaay cheaper than all the health-food ones, but still tastes great. Trust me, I love this stuff. It’s great in a banana smoothie too!

These are really simple cookies, where you just have to cream together the butter and sugar, add some eggs, and then mix in the dry ingredients. Nothing fancy or complicated here!

And you can totally leave them plain, or dunk them in some chocolate like I did here, and top them with some chopped peanuts. But then, I actually prefer the taste without the chocolate, as it can kind of mask the peanut butter. It’s completely up to you! Oh, and the more you spread them out before baking, the crispier they will get. If you want a really chewy cookie, leave them as balls, and allow them to spread in the oven. They’ll end up really soft in the middle.

But what this weather does for me is make me crave all kinds of warm hearty things… and above all soup! I almost never want to make soup during the summer, when all I want is a salad. But now, I want to tuck into something that feels just as cosy as the hot water bottle currently residing somewhere near my toes… which are covered in thick socks.

Now, this soup isn’t just warm and cosy, but it’s actually good for you! As I mentioned in a previous post about cooking with these bad boys, Jerusalem artichokes are full of inulin, which is amazing for your gut bacteria… just not for your dignity. They call them fartichokes after all. And that’s not the only part of this soup which is healthy – celeriac is too! I mean, it’s definitely not the prettiest vegetable to look at (seriously, it’s not winning any vegetable beauty contests) but celeriac is full of dietary fibre, minerals, and vitamins! With these two as the main ingredients in a soup, you’ll feel better in more ways than one. And seeing as how they are both currently in season, why not try this recipe this weekend?

Fun fact, we actually grew Jerusalem artichokes this summer, by accident. Turns out we missed some of the plant we dug up last year, and covered it with our new composter. Now we can’t properly dig the rest up, and so we will forever have Jerusalem artichokes growing by our composter. Which is great news for me, but not so for Richard. His gut seems to go particularly crazy when he has Jerusalem artichokes… which isn’t something he likes too much.

Now I really liked the flavour of this soup, as it’s very different from anything else I’ve ever had. Celeriac has a definite celery taste (obviously), and combined with the nutty Jerusalem artichoke, it was quite unique. I seasoned it a bit less than most things I make, as I really wanted those two flavours to shine through. Normally I go crazy with tons of garlic… mmm garlic… **insert drooling here**

One other thing I tried, was making this dairy-free. I’ve always struggled with digesting lots of fats, especially dairy, and have been trying to reduce the amount I consume. I used some single soya instead of cream to thicken the soup, and you couldn’t really tell the difference! So if you happen to be vegan, or trying to introduce vegan recipes into your life, you can easily switch some ingredients here to make it work for you.

And that’s it! It’s a really simple soup to make, and pairs quite well with my customary garlic sourdough bread… mmmmm… gotta love a big warm bowl of soup, and some crunchy garlicky toast! Perfect for this recent cold snap!

So for me, one of the saddest things about having to leave my Kitchenaid mixer in Canada was the lack of the ice cream attachment. It’s kind of hard to make my own ice cream without one

Enter the no-churn ice cream method! Now, I experimented with this a little last summer, with my No-churn Piña Colada ice cream and the No-churn Strawberries + Cream. But the big problem I have is that almost all no-churn recipes out there use only double cream and condensed milk. And that, my friends, tastes as rich and heavy as it sounds! It’s waaaay too rich with only double cream, but it’s the only way to whip the mix prior to freezing. You dilute the fat content too much with milk, etc. and not only will it not whip up thick before freezing, but it may even separate in the freezer – ending up with a layer of soft cream on top, and hard frozen milk below.

So I tried experimenting with some old recipes (that I had made before I got an ice cream maker) – but ended up with the problems described above. That’s when I saw a little video on Pinterest, of a recipe from Co-Op. It was a Balsamic Strawberries + Cream no-churn recipe, that used an ingredient I hadn’t considered before – yoghurt! I mean, I use it to make popsicles, but never thought to try and use it in my ice cream mix. So, I made a small batch, with no strawberry or anything in it, just to see what the base flavour tasted like. And it was nice! I mean, you could definitely taste the yoghurt, but it wasn’t as rich and heavy, while still being soft. I figured that if you added a strong enough flavour to it, the slight tangy yoghurt taste would fade to the background, or you might not even notice it at all!

Which brings me around to this recipe! (Finally, right?)

Richard’s favourite ice cream in the world is Pooh-Bear (now called “Poor Bear” because of some Disney legal woes) from Maud’s Ice Cream in Northern Ireland. It’s literally one of his first stops after getting off the plane in Belfast. It’s a vanilla ice cream with chunks of honeycomb, which partially melt in, creating little ribbons of caramel and crunchy bits. And ever since I started playing around with ice cream recipes – I knew I’d have to make it for him.

Quick note – when I first heard him talking about “honeycomb” ice cream, I thought he meant real pieces of honeycomb from a hive. I thought it was a weird ice cream inclusion, as you’d end up eating beeswax. See, honeycomb in the UK is what we call “sea foam” or “sponge toffee” in Canada. It’s what’s in the middle of a Crunchie bar! It’s also been known as cinder toffee in certain parts as well.

Honeycomb may sound a bit hard to make, but it’s really not. And it’s kind of awesome to make too! I’ve got the recipe here. It’ll make a bit more than you need for this recipe, but you can use the extra for garnish, or you can coat them in chocolate for homemade crunchie bites! (And if making your own honeycomb seems like too much work, you could always break up crunchie bars!) Of course, I thought that just honeycomb ice cream felt a bit boring, so I decided to add some swirls of melted chocolate so that you’d end up with little flakes when you scoop it. Richard wishes I hadn’t, so any future batches will stick to the traditional pooh-bear taste. The choice is yours!

And as for our verdict on the yoghurt taste? Well, I asked Richard to try it without telling him, and he couldn’t detect it right away. I could taste it, but in all fairness, I was looking for it. The honeycomb taste is strong enough to mask a lot of the yoghurt flavour, but not all. Oh, and I even used zero-fat Greek yoghurt for half the amount! It still whipped up just fine! (I just used a mix of what I had on hand – but it seemed to make no difference). Maybe even choose a yoghurt with a subtle flavour? I didn’t taste mine before using it, and perhaps there would be one that doesn’t taste so yoghurt?

So if you’re looking to make something a little different, and don’t have an ice cream mixer – definitely try this one! It’ll have a subtle yogurt taste, but won’t be as rich as other no-churn recipes out there. Why not give it a shot?

So when we had a glut of rhubarb in the allotment, I could think of one thing I wanted to make with it! Well, I could think of a ton of things I wanted to make, but this was first on my list.

Pies aren’t as big here in the UK as they are in Canada and the US – most people would be quicker to make a crumble with rhubarb. Or maybe even a tart, but not pie. I, for one, love making pies as they leave so much room for creative decoration! Crumbles are good and all, but they leave little to be done artistically. Pies are sooooo much better to play with!

In this instance, I opted to make little strawberries out of excess dough and added them to some leaves and a braided edge. I love braids on pie crusts! Even though this pie can be made with a single crust, I almost always make a double so that I have more to play with, or sometimes swap the crumble for a lattice top. I love a good lattice…

Of course, you can also make a double batch of the dough to freeze one half, and make another pie later! Since the dough recipe requires a single egg to make a double batch, it’s easier to just make the double batch than divide it into two. This recipe was another one that Laura introduced me to, and I’ve used it for every pie I make, ever since._

One other thing that I always include in my fruit pie recipes is pearl tapioca. Or more specifically Minit Tapioca, which my mom sent me from Canada, because I can’t seem to find it in the UK.

Lots of pie recipes include flour and cornstarch, to thicken the pie filling and prevent it from becoming too liquid. This recipe includes a bit of flour, but I tend to find that there isn’t enough to accommodate the amount of liquid in the rhubarb. Tapioca absorbs the excess liquid, and adds a nice texture to the pie filling, while I find that flour can be a bit stodgy. Feel free to adjust the amount, or not include it at all.

Now, the crumble topping is up to you. I personally could take it or leave it (I prefer the look of the lattice top, so perhaps I would leave it more than take it) but I know that some people love the taste/texture. This way, you can have your pie, and eat your crumble too! Since Richard had been talking about making a crumble with the rhubarb, I figured a pie with a crumble topping would be the perfect bridge!

So if you’re like us, and have more rhubarb than you know what to do with – perhaps you should give this recipe a shot! Maybe you’ll love it just as much as Laura?

One of the first things that came to my mind was rhubarb doughnuts! Someone at my work had actually tried to make rhubarb and custard doughnuts before, but the acidity in the rhubarb jam he made caused the cream to curdle. Ever since then, I’ve always thought that if I were to do it, I would turn the rhubarb into a curd instead, as it would prevent any curdling. After all, you can mix lemon curd with cream and it’s fine – and lemon is even more acidic!

So I went back to my tried and true recipe for crème patissière, which is the same recipe I use for making lemon curd! I simply swap the milk amount for lemon juice and add as much zest as the amount of lemons I juice. I figured I could do the same with rhubarb purée! However, once I had stewed the rhubarb, and blitzed it – it wouldn’t press through a sieve like raspberry or some other kind of puree. Too much fibre. In the end, I didn’t see it and simply reduced the amount of cornstarch in the recipe to account for how thick the puree is to start with. I figured that the rhubarb purée was about halfway between how thin milk is, and how thick I wanted the final curd – so I halved the amount of thickener (cornstarch) to just 10g.

The rhubarb taste is there, but subtler than I was expecting. I’m debating trying to make these without the custard next time. I would double the amount of rhubarb puree, and just flavour the whipping cream with vanilla and fold them together. I think the flavour would be amazing – but then I love rhubarb, and it might be too strong for some. But even without the strong rhubarb flavour – these still taste great!

For the doughnut itself, I used the same recipe from Justin Gellatly’s book Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding, that I used in the paska doughnuts. Except, as these weren’t paska doughnuts, I used his traditional recipe with water instead of citrus juice. If you want a few tips on how to fry them, check out the paska recipe! My key tip is always to prove the doughnuts on parchment paper, rather than trying to lift them off a floured surface. You can even pre-cut the squares before shaping so that you don’t have to try and cut around the doughnuts once proven.

When I was trying to decide how to garnish these (all doughnuts need a garnish, IMHO), I was torn between poached rhubarb and rhubarb curls! In the end, I think the poached stuff works better, as it looks more like rhubarb at first glance. It is a better colour. However, the fact that you can make ribbons out of rhubarb is always fun. I used this recipe to make them.

Which garnish do you think looks better?

Either way, if you happen to have a glut of rhubarb from your garden or just love doughnuts, why not try these? You could even try reducing the amount of creme patisserie in the recipe to see if the stronger flavour is better? Taste is always a personal preference. Or, you can just eat the rhubarb curd straight – ha! Pipe it into tart shells, or make a rhubarb meringue pie! Enjoy!

So when I saw this recipe from Waitrose, it felt like the perfect marriage of guilty pasta and veggies! This pesto is so vibrant and fresh tasting, with the garden peas… while also still feeling like a traditional pesto, with garlic and basil. It’s delicious but also feels almost healthy.

The perfect recipe to enjoy after spending the day gardening in the allotment Which is pretty much what we do every weekend!

So if you’re looking for a quick meal on a weeknight, this is the jam! And you can easily swap out the kale for spinach, or another similar green. In fact, I actually prefer the flavour of spinach as opposed to kale. It’s subtler, which allows the pea and basil to really shine.

If you’re the type to keep frozen peas on hand, it’s an easy fridge meal. That is if you’re the type who keeps spinach or kale on hand. Enjoy!

I mean sure, you can make all sorts of paleo “blah-blah-naturally-sweetened-with-bananas” type things… but those aren’t really muffins. Muffins are fluffy, and slightly sweet, with a delicious crusty top. They’re basically cupcakes without the frosting if we’re being honest with ourselves. They’re cupcakes we can feel better about eating.

However, if there was such a thing as a healthy muffin – this would be it! It does contain sugar but also has pumpkin purée, apple, carrot, and zucchini (courgette) inside. Not to mention pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.

It might not seem like the kind of recipe for the beautiful sunny weather we’ve been having, but I think it works. The flavours may feel like fall (with the pumpkin, cinnamon, and cloves) but the fact that it’s healthy makes it feel like summer to me! I can’t be the only one who craves salad and other healthy foods once the weather heats up? Goodbye, hearty and rich stews – hello BBQ!

In my humble opinion, if carrot cake is acceptable all year round, why not these?

So if you’d like a morning treat, or something to bring to the office, and are looking for healthier options – why not try these? I can guarantee you that you won’t be disappointed.

See, sourdough isn’t a new thing. Despite its recent popularity, sourdough is what all bread used to be back in the day. Before breweries developed the commercial yeast that we now use today, the only kind of yeast we had was wild! Wild yeast is everywhere… in the air, on the walls, etc. – all you need to do is provide it with food, and water to let it grow!

They say Egyptians first discovered how to bake bread – someone left a bowl of a porridge-type dish (made of wheat) lying around and discovered it started bubbling. I love the idea of whoever thought “Let’s put this in an oven!” And since that day, we have been raising cultures of wild yeast to add air and flavour to our breads.

So, do you want to make your own starter? You can go about it two different ways – first, you can make one out of just flour and water, or you can use fruit and vegetables! Unwashed fruit contains lots of wild yeast on the surface, plus plenty of sugar inside to feed the yeast culture. Grapes are an obvious choice, but really any fruit and certain vegetables will do (apparently beets work).

In my copy of Justin Gellatly’s Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding, I found a starter recipe that used rhubarb! As I had let my last starter die, I thought I might give this one a shot! I had some leftover rhubarb to use up and figured why not? Not only does the rhubarb add food for the yeast, but it brings its own sour flavour to the starter.

The one thing to consider when using the different starters in a recipe is the water content. Some starters have a higher water ratio than others and will impact your recipe. If the recipe has its own starter recipe, do the calculations to determine the ratio. If your own starter is different, then you’ll have to adjust the amounts to match.

I normally like to keep my starter at a 50/50 ratio to keep things simple, but Justin’s rhubarb recipe came out just a little on the dry side. As I was planning on trying out his sourdough bread recipe, I didn’t bother adjusting the ratio. But in the future, I will feed it 50/50. That way I can add my starter to any recipe and keep my mental math to a bare minimum. I’ll also use only white bread flour, as I prefer it for flavour.

So if you want to make your own starter, why not try one of these?

The Kitchen Basic Sourdough Starter

(One of my favourites – the recipe link has great explanations)

• 440g all-purpose flour (divided)
• 440ml water (divided)

Day 1: Make the initial starter by mixing together 110g flour and 110g water. Stir into a smooth batter, scrape down the sides, and cover loosely with cling film. Leave out at room temperature overnight.

Day 2: Feed the starter by adding another 110g flour and 110ml water to the mixture. Mix well, scrape down the sides, and cover again with cling film. Leave overnight at room temperature.

Day 3: Feed the starter again, just as day 2. You will probably see bubbles by now, and the starter will begin smelling a bit sour, like vinegar.

Day 4: Feed the starter again, just as before. Your starter should definitely smell sour by now. Don’t worry if there is lots of liquid on the surface, but simply mix it all in.

Day 5: Starter is ready to use. You can bake with it today, or place it in the fridge until you need it. Remember to feed about once a week, by removing about half the starter and then feeding it to replace the amount lost. Keep the ratio 50/50 between flour and water unless you intend to alter your starter’s consistency.

Sourdough Starter Made with Grapes

• 120g unwashed, organic grapes
• 480g all-purpose flour (divided)
• 360+ water (divided)

Day 1-2: Mash the grapes thoroughly in a container, cover with cling film, and leave at room temperature for 48 hours.

Day 3: Strain the grapes to remove the juice, and add enough water to equal 120ml. Mix in 120g flour, cover loosely with cling film, and leave at room temperature overnight.

Day 4-5 (same for both days): Feed the starter by adding 120g flour and 120ml water. Mix thoroughly, cover with cling film, and leave at room temp. overnight.

Day 6: Your starter is ready to use. You can bake with it today, or place it in the fridge until you need it. Remember to feed about once a week, by removing about half the starter and then feeding it to replace the amount lost. Keep the ratio 50/50 between flour and water unless you intend to alter your starter’s consistency.

Rhubarb Sourdough Starter (Justin Gellatly – Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding)

(When I made this, I didn’t use rye flour and instead substituted it with more white or whole wheat. It’s up to you what flour you use for flavour. I also didn’t discard as much as I wanted to build a bigger culture.)

• 30g rhubarb, thinly sliced
• 500g water (divided)
• 285g white bread flour (divided)
• 185g wholegrain rye flour (divided)
• 60g wholemeal bread flour (divided)

Day 1: Place the rhubarb in a bowl with 100ml water, 50g white bread flour, and 50g rye flour. Mix together into a paste, cover loosely with cling film, and allow to rest at room temperature overnight.

Day 2: Mix in 50ml water, 25g white bread flour, and 25g rye flour. Cover, and allow to rest at room temp. overnight as before.

Day 3-4: Same as day 2. You should see fermentation starting.

Day 5: Pour 30g of the starter into a new clean container. Pick out any pieces of rhubarb (it’ll be mostly broken down now), and discard them. Whisk in 125ml water, 80g white bread flour, 30g rye flour, and 30g strong wholemeal flour. Discard the rest of the starter (I know, wasteful).

Day 6: Same as day 5.

Day 7: The starter is ready to make bread! You can bake today, or refrigerate until needed. Feed with whatever ratio you want, about once a week.