Brookford Kitchen Diaries

Once upon a time, I created a character – Maxine Henderson, although she prefers to be called Max. Max lived in Brookford, a village in The Cotswolds, worked at Blossoms and Buds, the village garden centre, and wrote a monthly … Read More

How to make crumpets

It’s winter – even if the blue sky is telling you otherwise – and at winter your fancy turns to comfort food and cups of tea. And what can be better comfort food than toasty warm crumpets with melting butter … Read More

Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

My daughter goes mad for these cookies and while I totally understand why she does, they’re such a palaver to make that I really need to be in the mood – and I’m not in that mood as often as … Read More

Baked Lemon Cheesecake

This baked lemon cheesecake appears in my next book – which, of course, means that it gets tried out on my family first, and you guys second. I can’t tell you who bakes it in the book as that would … Read More

Apple and Cinnamon Scrolls

  I could almost call this little series of posts “What Kate Cooked,” but that’s a tad restrictive. This recipe was made by Kate Spence, the protagonist in my current novel (working title) Happy Ever After. She baked a batch … Read More

How to make honey madeleines…

Two things are consuming most of my thoughts at the moment – planning my upcoming road trip in France (I’ll tell you about that another time) and finishing the first draft of my current manuscript (working title Happy Ever After). … Read More

How to make chocolate olive oil mousse

My protagonist, Kate Spence, makes a batch of these chocolate olive oil mousses in a scene in my new novel (working title Happy Ever After). It’s one of those scenes, you know, the ones where the story changes direction, and these … Read More

How to make yoghurt and passionfruit pannacotta

I’m not really sure whether this is a terrine or a panna cotta, but the name really doesn’t make  a huge amount of difference for our purposes. Although according to wikipedia – so it must be true – a panna cotta … Read More

How to make…Spicy Dragon Wings

Despite the exotic name, these are quite simply spicy chicken wings – although there is nothing simple about the taste. Heavily laced with sriracha chilli sauce, you’ll be grateful for the cooling avocado dip. These are the perfect beer food … Read More

How to make Christmas Crack

New Zealand Christmas Tree

Ok, I need to say at the outset that this really is the name of the recipe. Christmas Crack. My friend made some for her builders and wondered whether she could therefore legitimately call it Builder’s Crack? Hmmm….you’re probably going … Read More