Blackberry Sloe Gin Tart & Gin Explorer Box

Blackberry Sloe Gin Tart

Gin is good. If you’ve ready any of my other posts on the matter you’ll know my feelings about it by now, but if you’re unsure then go look at them here and here. It’s obviously best when drinking, but every now and then it’s fun to cook or bake with it. It lends itself best to go alongside citrus or floral flavours, like lemon or earl grey, but in this recipe I wanted to go for something more autumnal, and wanted something to partner with the sloe gin from my Gin Explorer Box.
Read more

Chocolate & Whipped Cream Pie

Chocolate Pie

I haven’t blogged in a month, and with good reason. There’s more on that later but for now, lets talk chocolate. I was given the Mast Brothers cookbook for my birthday and, as much as they may have been surrounded in controversy in December, that doesn’t effect the quality of the book. It is still packed with a great range of chocolate based recipes. From the simple all the way through to the more complex. I wanted to make something that wasn’t just one of their basics, but wasn’t in the mood to properly spend the time tempering chocolate. This left a few intriguing looking recipes, and with the realisation that I’ve not made a proper chocolate tart since last summer, I decided to make their Chocolate Pie with Whipped Cream.
Read more

Salted Caramel Pecan Pie

Salted Caramel Pecan Pie

I know it’s a couple of weeks late, but my American workmate hosted a Thanksgiving party, and here’s the recipe I said I’d make. Things have been so busy, and I’m now without internet until I don’t know when, so things may become even more intermittent, apologies in advance. Anyway, I said I’d bring a pie and considered a re-bake of my Nutella & Pumpkin Pie but decided it was finally time to make a Pecan Pie. I’ve meant to for ages, but the cost of Pecans and (before this year anyway) I felt my pastry skills weren’t up to scratch. I’ve been practising with pastry a lot this year, I’ve made a number of pies, and a pecan pie felt like the next logical step, especially at this time of year.
Read more

The Wye Valley & Sweet Potato Pie

Tintern BridgeIt’s dark outside, and cold. I’ve not been getting enough fresh air at all. So a chance to get away for a weekend to the outdoors was just too good to pass up. We’d been looking around for somewhere to stay and needed something that was manageable from London in the time we had and we’d been looking at too many things on both Tumblr and Pinterest that meant we didn’t just want your standard “room” or “cottage”. Our criteria were along the lines of “cute”, “rustic” etc and we wanted a cabin in the woods. After trawling through various sites and a whole heap of “glamping” type places that offered accommodation that was alright, I guess, but next door to about 20 of the same thing with them all about 2 metres apart, we eventually found a “shepherds hut” at a little place in Wales. The hut in question was in the grounds of the Kingstone Brewery in Tintern, Wales. We were in luck, it was just a couple of hours drive away and the hut itself (especially at this time of year) was private. It had its own cabin next door with a lounge area, kitchen, bathroom etc and the hut itself had a bed.

Read more

Pumpkin & Nutella Pie

Pumpkin & Nutella Pie

Confession: I have never made pumpkin pie before. In fact, I’ve never even eaten pumpkin pie before. I always mean to, but it’s just not something (until lately) that’s been that common to buy in the UK. I also feel a bit like I’ve been neglecting my love for nut butter. If anyone has been following me since the early days you’ll know that I used to struggle to go a month without a recipe containing peanut butter (mainly) or nutella. So when I came across a list of “pumpkin pie recipes you must try” the one with the nutella mixed in sort of… jumped out at me. It’s halloween on Saturday and I was going to post a pumpkin pancake recipe especially, but after I made this I decided this trumped it.

Pumpkin & Nutella Pie
Read more