Tart apples, sweetened and topped with a crisp, buttery crumble. Ingredients3-4 apples, peeled and cubed (cooking or dessert apples) 2 tbsp butter (plus extra for greasing) third cup sugar ½ lemon, zest and juice of 1 cup blackberries Crumble Topping 1 cup porridge oats ½ cup all purpose flour quarter cup sugar third cup butter, melted Optional: ½ cup nuts (chopped hazelnuts) To serve: whipped cream    Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (180°C) fan. Grease a medium size ovenproof dish. In a saucepan, gently melt the butter and sugar. Add in the cubed apples and lemon juice.  ..read more

Transform vanilla ice cream with sweetened breadcrumbs. Brown bread ice cream is unique to Ireland. Just as other European cuisines have their own iconic dishes used to stretch the last of ingredients which might otherwise go stale. Since home baked Soda bread is best eaten within a day or two of baking, you don’t want to waste any.  It is wonder simply spread with butter on the first day, fabulous toasted on the second day but, by day three, it might be more brick than brioche. Brown bread ice cream was a way to use up the old (not quite stale) bread. Similar traditions exist in cuisines ..read more

Shortbread Biscuits make wonderful Edible Christmas Gifts! The delightful buttery flavour and crunchy texture of shortbread makes it irresistible. Fine shortbread biscuits appear in most luxury goods displays at this time of year. Sold in brightly coloured tubes and nestled among the prints, 3-D cards, candles, scarves and gloves they certainly endure as a considered gift for discerning givers. They are also a God send for last minute shoppers. Just baked, homemade shortbread is beyond compare as it is the tastiest and the best. Delicately crisp, the rich buttery flavour is enough to make your ..read more

Get more inspiration & LIVE Cookalongs with Annual Membership 2024. Mince Pies play such a big part in a typical Christmas.  My grandma made them every year and while she always made her pastry by hand, she only ever used a jar of mincemeat.  I start to bake mince pies at home from the first week in December.  While my kids love the taste of them, they love making them even more with this easy recipe.  They make gorgeous presents wrapped up in florist cello-wrap and tied up with a festive ribbon. Since I bake alot, I find my muffin tins have the perfect size hollows for ..read more

No one is too young or too old to enjoy making gingerbread biscuits. The smell of orange, ginger and mixed spice wafting through the house on a cold wintery day is completely enticing. Perfect gingerbread: From people to entire villages, let your imagination run wild. Gingerbread can be cut into every shape imaginable and decorated as delicately or as gaudily as you like. Now is the right time to make gingerbread that will last right up until Christmas Day. If you’re of a mature and civilised persuasion, gingerbread biscuits are lovely dunked in a cup of tea in the morning. For the rest of us ..read more

A terrine with smoked salmon is something you can prepare ahead for Christmas.  Get more inspiration and LIVE Cookalongs by signing up for HOME COOKING COURSE Ingredients: 10 slices of smoked salmon 2-3 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice 200g crème fraîche 200g cream cheese 1 tbsp of freshly chopped dill salt and pepper For the Cucumber: 1 cucumber 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 3 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp dill 1 tsp salt pinch freshly ground black pepper Method: Peel, deseed and finely slice the cucumber and place in a bowl.  Sprinkle over the salt, mix and allow to marinat ..read more

Carrot cake fans seem to fall into two categories: those who insist their carrot cake should be light, fluffy and cloud-like; and those who prefer a believe the perfect carrot cake is dense, moist and rich. I fall into the latter. The only thing the two camps seem to agree on is that the cake should definitely include a thick layer of cream cheese frosting with a citrusy hint. Historically carrots were a good source of sweetness when sugar and dried fruits were extremely expensive. Carrot cake seems to have its roots in a sweet meat dish. Much like mincemeat, it slowly lost its meat and gained ..read more

Brown Soda Bread - An Irish Staple Its not uncommon for you to be offered soda bread when staying in a B&B anywhere in Ireland. Long ago, the Irish mostly made flat griddle bread because Irish flour didn’t have enough gluten to rise with yeast. Baking soda was developed in the US in 1846 and was quickly adopted by Irish cooks, as it enabled bread with Irish flour to rise. In the late 1800s, white Canadian flour with a higher gluten content came over on returning emigration ships, and bakeries started making white bread raised with yeast, known as “shop bread”, and distributing it by horse ..read more

GINGERBREAD HOUSE WITH ROYAL ICING I always make lots of dough so I can cut out extra biscuits to eat while admiring the beautiful house.  Enjoy hours of fun as you create your own picture perfect house with lots of prettily piped white icing.  The only limitation is your imagination!  Stick any edible sweets and baubles to the icing while it is still wet. Makes 1 Gingerbread House Gingerbread Dough 150g brown muscovado sugar 150g golden syrup 1 tsp mixed spice (or allspice) 1 tbsp ground ginger ½ orange, zest and juice 200g butter, cut into cubes 400g self raising flour, siev ..read more

By now the house will be strewn with tinsel and glittering baubles.  It is the perfect time to indulge in a bit of festive baking alongside a playlist of holiday tunes. These red velvet cupcakes are show stoppers! The cocoa powder in the sponge gives them a mild chocolate flavour and rich colour. For the fabulous red icing I use cream cheese which lends a contrasting tangy taste to these sweet cupcakes. Red velvet bakes have an intriguing trompe l’oeil effect signalling to the brain ‘red fruit’, whilst the flavour of the cake is actually chocolate, due to the addition of cocoa powder.&nbs ..read more