As you all must know by now, I live in Chester, which is right on the doorstep of Wales. In fact, the Welsh border is but a five minute walk from my home. I love that, coz I love Wales!! It's beautiful, quaint and very rustically rural in many places.



When we lived in Kent and wanted to go to the seaside we would go to either Hastings or Eastbourned and we loved them. Up here we like to go to Prestatyn, which is not as big as the more popular seasides, but again . . . it's not as crowded either. Down in Kent I would have opted for chips or ice cream as a seaside treat . . . but here in Wales, it's Bara Brith . . . EVERY time!



Also known as "Speckled Bread," Bara Brith can either be a yeast bread enriched with dried fruit or something like a quick bread/cake made with self-rising flour. Traditionally using vine fruits and candied peel, it involves soaking the fruit mixture overnight in hot tea. I generally always opt for the quick bread/cake one as it stores a lot longer, whereas the yeast version needs to be eaten pretty much right away.



This particular version is very low in fat as well, as there is no butter involved at all in it's creation . . .which leaves one free to totally indulge in spreading it with lots of cold butter when it's warm from the oven, or when it's cold for that matter, with a clear conscience!!

Bara Brith and a hot cup of tea, herbal or otherwise. It's a good thing.



*Bara Brith*
Makes one 2 pound loaf
Printable Recipe

The quick bread version of a traditional Welsh cake using whole wheat flour, vine fruits, chopped peel and soft brown sugar. Low in fat, high in pleasure. Eat sliced and spread with softened butter. Delicious! Plan ahead as the fruit needs to soak overnight.

4 ounces dried currents (1 scant cup)
2 ounces raisins (1 scant half cup)
2 ounces chopped mixed peel (1/3 cup)
(chop your own)
400ml of hot strong tea (1 3/4 cup approx.)
12 ounces self raising whole wheat flour (3 cups)
4 ounces of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp mixed spice ( a blend of sweet spices, see column on right side of page)

Weight your fruit out and place it into a bowl. Cover with the hot tea and leave to sit overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a 2 pound loaf tin and line with baking paper. Butter the paper.

Whisk together the flour, brown sugar and mixed spice in a bowl. Drain the fruit, reserving the soaking juices. Stir this into the flour mixture to coat. Add the beaten egg and enough of the soaking liquid to make a soft batter. Spread into the prepared pan, evening off the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool for ten minutes in the pan before removing to finish cooling completely. Store in an airtight container.

I have made no secret on here of my love of lemons. It's very clear that I can't get enough of them! Todd . . . well, he says lemon is not his favourite thing, but that fact doesn't seem to stop him from indulging in my cakes and cookies . . . it is my dream to have a lemon tree, filled to overflowing with lovely organic and unwaxed lemons . . . sigh . . .



This recipe is nothing more than a glorified Swiss Roll, scented and lightly flavoured with fresh lemon zest and filled with fabulous lemon curd. With it's crunchy coating of caster sugar, it's a delicious teatime treat!



Lemon Curd is something I always have in my house. I keep jars of it in the larder and then . . . I am kinda known for my own delicious Lemon Curd that I make myself from scratch . . . so good in fact, that you will be sorely tempted to eat it with a spoon! (You would be forgiven for doing so surely. It's that good!)



Lemon Curd is not that hard to make and once you have had homemade you will be kinda spoiled for ever truly being satisfied with store bought, seriously. It does make rather a lot, but you will be able to find lots of great uses for it, I promise.



You can fill little tarts with it, or fill ginger cookies with it . . . there is no end to it's tasty uses and in fact, you can find a whole list of recipes here that I use it in! (Enjoy!)



I love Swiss Rolls because they are . . . one-quick and easy and two-tasty, tasty, tasty!



This one goes down a real treat with a nice dollop of creme fraiche or even clotted cream if you should be so lucky. Alas . . . I didn't have either in the fridge today so we had it plain. We enjoyed it all the same, with nice hot cups of lemon ginger tea!!



Note to self** Don't forget to pick up some clotted cream asap.



*Lemon Swiss Roll*
Makes one 9 inch roll
Printable Recipe

If you love lemon like I love lemon, you will adore this delicious swiss roll! If you like you may use orange zest instead of the lemon and fill with orange marmalade for a change.

4 large free range eggs, room temperature
4 ounces caster sugar (a generous 1/2 cup)
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
4 ounces self raising flour (1 scant cup)

For filling:
4 heaped dessertspoons of good quality lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Grease a 9 X13 swiss roll pan and then line with baking parchment.

Break the eggs into a large bowl and combine with the sugar and lemon. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is light and frothy and the beaters leave a trail in the beaten mixture when lifted out. Sift the flour into the mixture, folding it in as you go along. Pour into the prepared pan. Shake gently to level out.

Bake for 10 minutes in the heated oven until the sponge is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched.

Have a piece of baking parchment ready and laid out on the counter that is larger than the cake tin. Dust it with granulated sugar. When the cake is baked, invert the tin onto the sugared baking parchment. Quickly loosen and peel off the paper from the bottom of the cake. Trim off the edges with a sharp serrated knife. Make a score mark one inch from one of the shorter edges without cutting through the cake. Allow to cool slightly then spread with the lemon curd and roll up tightly from the cut end. Allow to cool completely before slicing to serve.

If you like you can dust with some icing sugar to serve.

One thing that I always do when I am frying bacon, is to fry extra. It just makes sense. If I am going to to the trouble and the mess . . . why not fry the whole pack instead of just a few slices.



The extra gets carefully wrapped and sealed in a zip lock bag and then frozen so that I have already cooked bacon to hand anytime I may need it. Why pay premium prices for already cooked bacon in the shops when you don't need to.



Cooked bacon is so handy to have in the freezer. Ready for sprinkling on salads, or casseroles . . . the perfect addition to grilled cheese on toast . . . chopped and sprinkled over pizzas . . . or chopped and stirred into these moreishly scrumptious savoury scones!!!



Crunchy on the outside and so soft and flakey on the insides . . . all buttery and stogged full of strong cheddar cheese and . . . lovely bacon. As we all know . . . everything tastes better with bacon! (Peanut butter, cheese, chocolate . . . even jam. Try it some time. You'll see I am right!)



These tasty scones are the perfect addition to a soup meal . . . or with a hearty stew. Great for breakfast . . . on their own or with an egg, scrambled or otherwise. Try making your own breakfast sandwich using these. Just fry an egg (or two) and sandwich them between one of these lovely scones, after having split and toasted it.

Oh man . . . sooooo good! Your husband will love you even more than he does now. I guarantee! They do say the secret way to a man's heart is through the stomach . . .



*Cheese and Bacon Scones*
Makes 15 to 20, depending on how big you cut them
Printable Recipe

Scrumdiddlyumpitiously savoury. Perfect with some sliced ham or cheese, or both. You can vary the spiciness of them by adjusting the amount of cayenne used.

16 ounces (1 pound) plain flour (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 level tsp of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp salt
1 ounce of cold butter, cubed (2 TBS)
4 ouces bacon, grilled and finely chopped with a sharp knife, or
in the food processor
4 ounces strong cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)
1 medium free range egg
375ml of sour milk or buttermilk (1 2/3 cup)

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Dust a large baking sheet lightly with flour. Set aside.

Sift the flour, soda, cayenne pepper and salt into a large bowl. Drop in the butter and then rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine dry bread crumbs. Stir in the bacon and cheese.

Whisk together the egg and milk.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Mix to a soft dough with your hand by running it around the bowl. Try not to knead it as this will develop the gluten which will toughen the scones. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. (The dough will be quite sticky) Pat out with floured hands until you get a square 3/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut it into 15 to 20 squares. (Alternately you can cut them out with a sharp knife or a 2 inch round cutter) Place onto the floured baking sheet leaving about 2 inches between each.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

It is rumoured that there are over 900,000 poppy seeds contained in a pound of poppy seeds . . . I've never actually counted them, nor am I likely to, so I'll just have to take the rumour monger's word for it.



What I do know for sure is that I love poppy seeds in baked goods. Always have done, probably always will. (although to be sure they aren't necessarily ideal to serve in dinner party foods . . . a poppy seed caught in the tooth can be quite disconcerting to your dinner time partners!)



When I was a much younger (ahem) woman I was lucky enough to live in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains of Alberta for a time . . . while there I used to ubdulge myself in these lovely sweet pastries that were sold in most of the bakeshops . . . filled with a sweet and scrummy poppy seed filling . . . no doubt a tasty treat come down from the traditions of Eastern European settlers that filled the Canadian West . . .



Oh my . . . but they were soooo delicious . . . I could never quite get enough of them . . . the pastry all buttery and the filling so sweet and yet crunchy at the same time, with a distinct almond flavour and a lucious glaze gilding all of that goodness.



They were so good that some 30 years later I am still thinking about them . . . or is that just the power of a rose coloured food memory clouding my culinary vision . . . I am not sure.

I only know for sure, that I do have a special fondness for Poppy Seeds that goes way back.



They make quite a lovely showing in these delicious breakfast or teatime muffins . . . the muffins all buttery and sweetly moist . . . and at the same time tangy with lemon, both in flavour and the scent . . and then with those pretty blue seeds scattered throughout . . . a feast for all the senses . . . and lets not forget that lemon sugar crunch topping!

These go down a right treat with your morning cuppa!



*Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins*
Makes one dozen
Printable Recipe

Light and sweetly tangy and filled with lots of poppyseed crunch, and a scrummy lemon sugar topping!!

3 tsp finely grated lemon zest
220g caster sugar (1 cup)
335g of self raising flour (2 1/4 cup)
2 TBS poppy seeds
80ml of fresh lemon juice (1/3 cup)
250ml of milk (1 cup)
60g of butter, melted (1/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a 12 cup muffin cup pan really well. Set aside.

Place the sugar and lemon zest into a large bowl. Rub the two together with your fingertips really well. (This smells great!) Remove 3 TBS of the mixture and set aside. Sift the flour into the remainder. Stir in the poppy seeds. Whisk together the lemon juice, milk, beaten eggs and melted butter. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the liquid all at once. Stir together only to combine. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups, dividing it equally.

Sprinkle the tops of each with the reserved lemon sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for ten minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.

One thing that I love about food blogging is that it's not about me. It's not even about you . . . it's about the recipes and the food!



It's about being able to cook and taste some of the best and most indulgent foods ever . . . and exploring the culinary delights my adopted country has to offer me.




It's about stretching my skills . . . both in the kitchen and . . . behind the camera . . . and about making food that not only tastes delicious, but food that looks good.



It's about waking up every morning and making YOU believe that what I am presenting to you on this page is the absolute best thing ever . . .



and about making you want to go into your own kitchen and cook it for yourselves, because you have just got to taste it for real, and because I have inspired you to do it, and given you the confidence to believe that you can!



Your comments are like me winning the "X Factor of food" every day of my life, and I thank you for that. Here's to 2011. Let's begin as we mean to go on.



Cream Palmiers . . . tasty little bites of fluffy crisp buttery pastry, filled with a soft cloud of sweetened whipped cream and sticky sweet strawberry jam. Kind of like a de-constructed jam tart . . . with puff pastry . . . and CREAM. A delicious teatime treat.



The only down side is they all have to be eaten on the day they are filled . . . so NOT a problem!



*Cream Palmiers*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe

Absolutely delightful on the tea tray!

225g (1/2 pound) of all butter puff pastry
1 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (a scant 1/4 cup)
1 TBS icing sugar, sifted
400ml of double cream (1 3/4 cups)
a few drops of vanilla
2 TBS strawberry jam

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Slightly dampen a baking tray. Set aside.

Dust the work surface with half of the sugar. Roll the pastry out on the sugared surface to a rectangle 10 by 12 inches in size. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining half of the sugar. Gently press the sugar in with a rolling pin. Starting at the short sides, roll the pastry towards the middle from both edges into the centre until they meet. Press together gently. Cut across the rolls into 16 slices. Place onto the baking tray. Press down to flatten slightly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes until crisp and golden, turning them over halfway through the baking time so that they caramelize equally on both sides. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Whip the cream along with the icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Sandwich together pairs of the palmiers with some of the whipped cream and some of the jam. Serve immediately.

I love Brownies . . . all chocolatey and fudgy . . . I can't get enough of them. I also love the white version . . . called blondies. Filled with chocolate chunks, or nuts, they are moreishly scrumptiously good!



Sometimes though . . . I get to craving a brownie that's a little bit different . . . like brownies filled with caramel, or after dinner mints, or turkish delight thins . . . You've seen them all on here before.



No less scrummy or delicious than regular brownies.



Today though I made a fabulous brownie which is peppermint flavoured and topped with a yummy chocolate glaze and white chocolate trim!



It gets it's deep peppermint flavour from peppermint tea leaves, which you blitz with the sugar in the food processor until very fine and peppermint essence, which you can buy here. (It can be a bit hard to find over here in the UK, although I have no idea why?) You can also get it in some of the better grocery stores like Waitrose.



These brownies are wonderfully fudgy . . . beautifully pepperminty . . . and moreishly chocolatey!



If you can stop at eating just one of these . . . you're a much better person than I am!



*Peppermint Brownies*
Makes about 30, depending on how large you cut them
Printable Recipe

Delicious brownies that get even better tasting after a couple of days! Fantastic!

8 ounces of unsalted butter (1 cup)
8 ounces of good quality unsweetened chocolate
2 tsp peppermint tea leaves
14 ounces caster sugar (2 cups)
4 large free range eggs
2 tsp peppermint essence
pinch fine seasalt
4.5 ounces plain flour (1 cup)

For the chocolate glaze:
2 ounces unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
2 ounces good quality unsweetened chocolate
2 ounces semi sweet chocolate
2 TBS golden syrup

For the White chocolate trim:
2 ounces white chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking tin and line with parchment paper, allowing it to overhang by at least 2 inches above the long sides so that you can lift them out easily once baked and cooled. Butter the parchment paper.

Heat 2 inch of water in a small pot to a gentle simmer. Place the chocolate (chopped) and butter (chopped) for the brownies into a heat proof bowl. Set over the simmering water without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Cook and stir, until the butter and chocolate have melted and are uniform, some 6 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the bowl over the water.

Place the sugar and the peppermint tea in a food processor. Blitz until the tea is finely ground. Stir this mixture into the melted chocolate mixture. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir in the peppermint essence and salt. Sift the flour over top and then fold it in. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bang lightly on the counter to settle and then bake in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until well set and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. Allow to cool to room temperature in the pan, on top of a wire rack, before proceeding. Once cool, lift out by the paper handles and peel off the paper. Place onto a foil lined board, or tray.

To make the glaze bring the water in the pot back to a gentle simmer. Place both of the chocolates (chopped) along with the butter (chopped) into a bowl and set over the simmering water, again without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Cook and stir until smooth and melted. Stir in the golden syrup. Spread the chocolate glaze over the brownies in an even layer using an offset spatula.

Place the whit chocolate in another bowl and set over the simmering water, stirring until completely melted. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over top of the chocolate glaze in lines. Run a toothpick the opposite way through the white chocolate lines to make a decorative pattern. Allow to set for several hours before cutting into squares to serve. Keep well covered and serve at room temperature.

I know you probably aren't in the mood for any more decadence after all the rich foods of the past few days . . . but . . . humour me!



You probably still have company in the house . . . and, you may even be expecting more company!



You are probably filled up to the eyeballs with Christmas Puddings and Mince Pies, and fruit cake!



You may be looking for some small indulgence that is completely different than all of this Christmas fare you've been throwing back over the past couple of days . . .




Look no further! These tasty little cupcakes fit the bill perfectly! Intensely flavoured with chunks of dried sweetened pineapple and coconut . . .



Topped with an indulgent tasty cream cheese icing . . .
Covered with a tasty drift of flaked coconut and more dried pineapple . . .

What's not to like???



(It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!)

*Pina Colada Cupcakes*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Deliciously moist with the flavours of coconut, pineapple and . . . um . . . rum!

225g of plain flour (1 2/3 cups)
1 tsp baking soda
5 ounces caster sugar (2/3 cup)
2 ounces softened butter (1/4 cup)
2 ounces soft margarine (1/4 cup)
2 large free range eggs
the grated zest of one lime
50g of sweetened dried pineapple, chopped coarsely
1/4 pint milk (1/2 cup)
1 ounce dessicated coconut (1/4 cup)

For the icing:
150g cream cheese (1/2 large tub)
2 1/2 ounces icing sugar, sifted (1/2 cup)
1 - 1/2 tsp of lime juice, or rum

To decorate:
dried sweetened pineapple, chopped
coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cups. Set aside.

Place the flour, soda, sugar, butter, margarine, eggs and lime zest in a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk for several minutes, scraping the mixture down halfway through. Fold in the pineapple with the milk and coconut. Divide the batter equally amongst the paper cases and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and they spring back when lightly touched. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing beat together the sifted sugar, cream cheese and lime juice (rum) until smooth. Spread over cakes and decorate with the pineapple and coconut flakes. Store in the refrigerator.

Note - You can toast the coconut flakes if you wish.