Recipe: Make a Simnel Cake for Easter

Recipes

There are many versions of the story of how the Simnel cake originated, so it is difficult to ascertain which one is actually true, so to save confusion we’ll not go into the details. What is known, is that nowadays it is made for Easter and decorated with marzipan...

What is Blind Baking?

Kitchen Tips & Tricks, Recipes

Blind baking is when a pastry case for a pie or tart is baked before adding the filling – it’s most important when you’re going to use a wet filling, such as custard. If a wet filling is poured over raw pastry it prevents the pastry base from cooking properly and will...

How much pastry do I need?

Kitchen Tips & Tricks, Recipes

Unless you are working to a specific recipe for a pie, tart or flan it’s not always easy to determine just how much shortcrust pastry is required. We can hear you asking, “how much pastry do I need?” Although the process of making a batch of shortcrust pastry is...

Tips for making surefire shortcrust pastry

Kitchen Tips & Tricks, Recipes

Shortcrust pastry has so few ingredients and should be a breeze to make but why does it sometimes not turn out the way you expected? It can either become all gungey and unworkable or keeps breaking when you try to line your pie dish. And then there’s the finished...

Recipe: Parsnip Soup with Spicy Chorizo

Recipes

This creamy, velvety soup is rich and comforting with a delicate sweetness from the parsnips which is perfectly complemented with pieces of crispy, spicy chorizo. It takes very little time to prepare and is perfect to enjoy anytime especially on a chilly evening. Make...

Recipe: Crispy Courgette Fritters

Recipes

These crispy courgette fritters are really easy-to-make and they go down very well with a glass of beer or wine or even with a salad on the side. They’re fried in healthy extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil so a little indulgence can be good for you now and then....