Scones are a great treat at tea time, (once served at 4 pm sharp) and quintessentially British. While the English have taken credit for their popularity, this is a dish which all regions of Britain enjoy, and have a history with. The simple scone is thought to have originated from Scottish Quick Breads, (baked on [...]
These Victorian, regional Cherry Turnovers are a speciality of Buckinghamshire in southern England, where wonderful, local Cherries are grown in many private and commercial cherry orchards. They have a light pastry top and bottom, and ripe, tangy-juicy cherries in the center. Cherries have a very short growing season if you are after picking your own; [...]
Souling Cakes are from the Cheshire region, on the border with North Wales. A Souling cake (or soul cake) is a small round cake, like a biscuit, which is traditionally made for All Souls’ Day (the 2nd November, the day after All Saint’s Day) to celebrate the dead. These plain cakes, often simply referred to [...]
Porter Cake is a rich fruit cake made by adding in Porter, an old fashioned dark beer. Porter is not as widely available as it once was, but it used to be a firm favourite of the working classes of the 18th and 19th century. The name of the beer itself came from its popularity [...]
Chester Pudding is a very early (Victorian) and regional version of a Lemon Meringue Pie, baked in a shallow tart dish. It is very quick and easy to make and it should be served slightly warm for friends and family on a golden evening in Summer. Unlike a Lemon Meringue Pie, a Chester Pudding tastes [...]
This is a recipe for Cacen Goch, a wonderful Treacle Cake from Bardsey Island, where it is also known as ‘Tamad’. This was eaten very often as an afternoon cake, and it is very moreish, tasting fruity, buttery and sweet. You can see why it was so popular, it is simple and quick to make, [...]
Yorkshire Parkin is a regional ginger cake of the north-west, with slight variations across the area. Having read and made many different recipes for Parkin, many coming from ‘A Yorkshire Cookery Book’ 1916 (recipes for which Mary Gaskell collected from Yorkshire housewives, to print in a cookery book to raise money for the 1st World [...]
Simple, quick and delicious. From Scotland this original Cream Crowdie recipe (often called ‘Cranachan’ or ‘Gruth is Uachdar’) is everything you could hope for in a seasonal dessert; it is easy to make and you will not be able to resist coming back for more – this Cream Crowdie recipe is what is often called [...]
This Chocolate Brownie recipe, like our Hot Chocolate Puddings recipe, is the real thing; they are definitely not your average Chocolate Brownie. If you ever felt you and your friends or family really deserved a treat or reward, or it is a very special occasion, then this is what you should make. Buy bars of [...]
From at least Medieval times salt was mixed with saltpetre, and other ingredients such as sugar, honey, pepper or juniper berries, to carry out the processes of preserving pork. Dry Cured Hams are the hind leg of a pig that have been salted, then air-dried to ‘cure’. This is done using a curing compound, (consisting [...]
When you hear that jam can be made in 20 minutes, any jam, in twenty-minutes, you might well be skeptical … by saying it even I feel like a snake-oil salesman trying to convince you that rubbing on this lotion will miraculously make you live longer. But its true, any fruit, any jam, in 20 [...]
Sticky Toffee Pudding is a great tasting recipe, and certainly a modern British ‘classic’, (alongside Jam Roly-Poly and Spotted Dick puddings) capturing for many the childhood memories of growing up in the 20th Century. Some say Sticky Toffee Pudding was developed in the Lake District in the 1960′s while others claim it is from an [...]
Scones are a great treat at tea time, (once served at 4 pm sharp) and quintessentially British. While the English have taken credit for their popularity, this is a dish which all regions of Britain enjoy, and have a history with. The simple scone is thought to have originated from Scottish Quick Breads, (baked on [...]
These Victorian, regional Cherry Turnovers are a speciality of Buckinghamshire in southern England, where wonderful, local Cherries are grown in many private and commercial cherry orchards. They have a light pastry top and bottom, and ripe, tangy-juicy cherries in the center. Cherries have a very short growing season if you are after picking your own; [...]
Blackberry Jam is a real treat on toast in the mornings. It has a unique, and easily recognisable flavour amongst jams, with its sweet-sharp dance on the tongue and deep berry taste. To help the jam set, (adding in extra pectin) the recipe uses one brambley apple and a small amount of fresh apple juice [...]
Many people’s favourite jam is strawberry, and with good reason, this fruit lends itself to jam making, and is wonderfully delicious when eaten on a fresh piece of buttered Manchet Bread. Collecting the fruit is a great summer time family day out and the return on the labour by having your own home-made jam to [...]
