There’s something truly special about Autumn mornings. Early morning walks in the local woods reveal a ravishing crop of colour – from auburn red & golden yellow leaves to deep green holly, their spiky & spectacular foliage defiantly remaining gloriously glossy amongst the backdrop of crisp, colourful leaves, deliciously damp air & thorny hedgerows bearing beautiful fruits.
Seasonal fruits & berries are especially full of flavour, perfect for packing into an array of pastries & pretty desserts. Then there are those less-than-perfect pickings, the ones that don’t quite have the same aesthetic appeal – these are my favourites. Those punnets of berries marked down in the shops are like gold! Perfection is OK, but it doesn’t always mean flavour. Maybe they’re a bit squishy or rather over-ripe, but those berries are full to the brim with flavour & can be turned into tasty treats galore. A recent trip to the local shops resulted in a bag full of berry deliciousness, perfect for a homemade jam-session.
This is one of my favourite & easiest ways to turn that berry bounty into a juicy jammy-crammed spread for cakes, toast & treats. It’s not overly-sweet, having a slight twangy tartness that gives it a fresh-fruit flavour. Also, you can use fresh or frozen fruit, or both – I like to mix them, topping up the fresh with frozen ones whenever needed. Now, before you start rolling your eyes & wandering off, jam making needn’t be difficult, time-consuming or messy. Trust me, I’m not one for faffing around in the kitchen – this is literally punnet-to-pan jam in under 30 minutes (not including waiting for it to cool though – I’m not a magician!). Intrigued? Hands washed, aprons on & let’s get jamming!
What you need:
400g Fresh or Frozen Raspberries
200g Fresh or Frozen Blackberries
300g Sugar (I use regular sugar, nothing fancy)
2 tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (half a lemon approx*)
2 tablespoons Cold Water
(* Keep that squeezed lemon half for the end of the recipe)
3 Jam Jars & Lids (the mixture makes 2 full & 1 half jars approx)
3 Cupcake Cases (all will be revealed later)
1 Medium-sized Oven-Proof Glass Bowl
1 Stainless Steel Saucepan (not your best non-stick one)
1 Small Plate or Saucer
What to do:
Firstly, let’s do a little prep! Put the small plate or saucer into the fridge for testing your jam at the end.
Next, here’s how I sterilize jam jars. Pre-heat the oven to 165*C. Wash the jars & their lids in hot soapy water, rinse & shake off the excess water. Place them on a clean baking tray in the oven (keep the jars the right way up) & bake for 10 minutes or so. I like to get these washed & ready to go in the oven for when I start making the jam, so it saves time (multi-tasking at it’s finest!).
Remove the tray from the oven & leave on a cooling rack – do not touch the insides of the jars or lids once cooled (or you’ll have to start again).
That’s the prep done, onto the jamming! Pop the berries into the saucepan, add the water & fresh lemon juice, then gently heat on low for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. This is to soften the fruit skins & allow the juices to be released. For those of you asking, “where’s the pectin?”, it’s in the lemon juice – all citrus fruits have large amounts of natural pectin in them & that’s what helps with the firming process of jam. It also saves you money, because you don’t need to buy special sugar for this recipe.
Remove from the heat, add the sugar & stir gently to dissolve into the fruit. Put the pan back on the heat & turn it up a little, until the fruit begins to boil. Bubble away for about 15-18 minutes. Important bit – DO NOT STIR! Swirl very gently if you must, but set that spoon down!
To test the jam, scoop a teaspoonful onto the cold plate & tilt it slightly. The jam should move a little, but very slowly, if at all – that’s how you know it’s ready.
Carefully, scoop into a clean, heat-proof glass bowl & cover with clingfilm – press it gently onto the surface of the jam, so you don’t get any condensation. If you don’t want any seeds in your jam, put a sieve over the glass bowl to strain. Rinse the seeds & tip into the composter.
Leave to cool until almost room temperature, then pop in the fridge for an hour to set.
While you’re waiting, the jam pan is looking a bit of a mess right now, so here’s how we turn it from sticky to sparkly again! Grab that half a squeezed lemon, rub it around the inside of the pan & leave it there. Add a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda, a tablespoon of white vinegar & a good squirt of washing-up liquid – it will get fizzy & bubbly, don’t panic. Half-fill with hot water, give everything a good stir around & leave it to stand on the side for half an hour. Give it a wash in hot soapy water – all clean again! I use this method for cleaning all my stainless steel pans & trays (I also use it for cleaning the cooker top & oven, but that’s another story!).
Time to jar up that jam! Get your freshly sterilised jars & scoop that jam into them, leaving a half inch space at the top of the jar. Place a cupcake case over the top, outer side up & press over the jar, then put the lid on & tighten. Not only does it look pretty, but it helps make a better seal & also keeps your lids from getting gooey.
Once your jam is packed into pretty jars, either store them in the fridge or a cool pantry. Once opened, definitely pop them in the fridge. I cannot say exactly how long they keep, as it doesn’t last long enough. However, it’s usually a week or two before they’re completely demolished.
Delectably dark & a gorgeously glossy garnet shade, this beautiful berry-crammed jam is so flavoursome! Perfect spread on toast, sandwiched in a spongecake or simply spooned into pastry cups to make the jammiest of jam tarts. Try adding a tablespoonful to a cup of Greek yoghurt, swirled around to make the most vibrant fruity breakfast treat. So next time you see punnets of pretty berries looking lost & unloved, pick up a few & get jamming! Stay hungry! Aimee 😉 x
Autumn is definitely making her presence felt, with sultry November sunrises becoming crisp, chilly mornings splashed with sunshine. The trees have turned tinted leaves into a stunning array of amber hues & luscious colours. This collection of colourful foliage always draws my admiration, as they seem to suddenly appear in full beautiful bloom & disappear just as quickly. Recently, whilst parked under a particularly pretty tree at a local supermarket, I managed to snap some shots of it’s vibrantly golden leaves shimmering in the sunshine.
Nature is my biggest inspiration (as you probably can tell from my sugar artwork) & this time of year is no exception. It’s a deliciously indulgent season, perfect for hot chocolate & comfort foods to sustain us until Spring. And what better way to celebrate the changing of the seasons than with a sumptuous chocolate cake, layered with rich dark cherries & fluffy cream! Ready to bake it happen? Hands washed, aprons on & here we go! 
Sieve all the dry ingredients into a bowl & mix well with a fork. Put to one side.
Sift half of the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture & using a spatula, fold in until all completely blended. Add the rest of the dry ingredients & repeat until the mixture is a thick, smooth batter & there is no flour visible.
Split the batter between the two tins evenly, smoothing the tops lightly with the spatula. Place in the oven (lower rack) for approximately 30 minutes, until the tops are risen & cracked. Poke a stick of spaghetti in the centre & if it comes out clean, your cakes are done.
Run a spatula knife around the edge of each cake to separate it from the tin. Carefully remove the cakes & place on the racks to cool. Be very gentle, as your cakes will be fragile & soft. Leave to cool completely before removing the greaseproof disc gently from underneath.
Carefully drape your strips of leaves over a rolling pin & leave until completely set. They will become curved & softly shaped, perfect for topping your cake.
Take the other chocolate cake & flip it over, so the flat side is on the top, then place it on top of the filling. This will leave you with a nice flat surface for decorating! If you’re serving this later, pop your cake in the fridge in an air-tight container (to stop it drying out).
Time to indulge, so grab some plates & serve! The fluffy, almost fudge-like texture of the cake is complimented by the cloud of mascarpone cream & crisp, chocolate leaves that crackle as you bite them. This cake also looks fabulous with frilly white chocolate leaves mixed in with the dark, dusted with grated white chocolate too. If you have any extra chocolate leaves, save them for nibbling with your morning coffee or add them to the frothy tops of hot chocolate, amid swirls of cream & marshmallows.
The seasons have started to shift, it’s almost as if you can taste it in the air, as we swap long lazy Summer days for softer sunsets & cosy nights. Hot-headed August has passed the baton to sultry September, bringing with her the bountiful & beautiful beginnings of a delicious Autumn. There is nothing as therapeutic as an early morning meander in the countryside, especially during September! Gloriously gorgeous berries adorn the brambles & hedgerows, while trees are groaning under the weight of their fruity loot. Nature is amazing, turning tiny Spring blossoms into an Autumnal array of plump berries & fragrant fruits, with a little help from her pollinator peeps of course!
Firstly, we’re going to make the plum compote. Half the fruit, carefully remove the stones (you can put them in the composter). Set aside a few plums in a dish, cover & pop in the fridge to keep them firm for later (these will be for your topping).
Gently heat until the sugar dissolves into the water, carefully nudging everything around the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula. Bring to a boil & simmer gently for about 15 minutes on a medium heat, stirring regularly to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. It should reduce to a sunset-coloured jammy syrup that smells like Autumn.
Turn down the heat, remove the spices & orange strips, then a
Roll out the pastry a couple of inches larger than your tin & about half a centimetre thick. Lay it carefully over your rolling pin & gently lift onto the baking tin, allowing it to drape into the middle. Push it into the edges gently, so that it covers the entire base & sides of your tin evenly.
Grab a bit of greaseproof paper, screw it up to make it easier to shape to your tin & then loosely place on top of your pastry. Tip some baking beads or dry pasta shapes onto the paper, spreading them all across the top & filling the pastry case.
Tip the Mascarpone cheese, double cream, Greek yoghurt, lemon curd & vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl & briefly whisk together until thick & fluffy. It’s going to be piped on top of your dessert, so it needs to be thick enough to do so. If it’s too thick, add a little more Greek yoghurt to loosen a little (a couple of teaspoons should do the trick). Once you’re happy, pop the bowl in the fridge to chill.
Now for those pretty plum slices we made earlier! Place the slices skin-side up at intermittent gaps across the top, like shards of sunshine peeking through the clouds. Add a couple of mint leaves at intervals – you don’t need many, just a few will do. Pop your dessert in the fridge for about ten minutes or so.
This delicious dessert would make a pretty Autumnal centrepiece for a special dinner or celebration. Refreshingly tangy, softly spiced plum compote, crowned with a feather-light fluffy cloud of Mascarpone cream & fresh plums, all sat atop a crisp, melt-in-the-mouth pastry base. If you have any of that delicious plum compote left over, it’s a magical multi-tasker – it tastes rather lovely spread on hot buttered toast, or try a spoonful with a few slices of cheese & crackers too.
Sultry September has arrived with a slight coolness about her & although the mornings are a little chilly now, the sunrises are just as spectacular. Getting up early means I see some amazing sunrises & Autumn never fails to deliver. An array of moody clouds smooched across the sky this morning, kissing the rooftops as it gave way to the sunshine before we’d finished breakfast. The garden looks prettily overgrown at the moment, all luscious long grass, wispy branches 
& a scattering of jewel-coloured blackberries on the hedgerows, contrasting with their dark green background. They are happily growing at a rapid rate, replacing the ones that have already been plucked & packed in a pie with sweet sliced apples & cinnamon sugar.
a good fruit pie! Although a slightly stodgy pie is very welcome at this time of year, sometimes we like something a little lighter but just as indulgent. On one of my recent shopping trips to our local shops, there were shelves stacked with punnets of pears. They looked so beautiful & fresh, with pale juniper green skins & a smattering of gold around the bottom. Obviously, I had to buy some & starting thinking of how to do them some justice in a lighter pie, recipe calculating in my head as usual. By the time I got to the checkout a few minutes later, I’d packed my basket with a selection of ingredients & headed home excitedly to start my next creation.
The filling would have included single cream, however there was a slight incident. Upon opening the fridge, the cream pot leapt from the top shelf, unceremoniously smacking into the floor & spectacularly showering me & everything in it’s path. Cue a huge clean up operation & a slight delay in my creation. When things like this happen, I tend to have a look around to see what I can replace it with, rather than hit the shops again & I had some lovely over-ripe bananas that were the perfect replacement! My Pear & Almond Tart (Crostata di Pere e Mandorle) is a simple but pretty dessert, easy to make & the addition of the dark chocolate makes it deliciously decadent. Ready to bake it happen? Hands washed, aprons on & here we go!
4 ripe Pears, peeled & cored
Roll out your pastry to a couple of inches larger than the pie tin. Using your rolling pin, flop the pastry over onto it & carefully drape it over your pie tin, so it reaches all the inside edges.
Remove your tin from the oven & put on a cooling rack. Leave the greaseproof paper & baking beans in place for at least 5 minutes (they will be hotter than the sun), then lift them out on the greaseproof paper & put in a heatproof bowl or similar to cool.
Now to make the filling! Take the pears & halve them. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the core. Slice each half into fine, frond-like fingers. Place one half in the pastry case, rounded side up & gently press to fan them out. Add the next pear half & repeat, making sure each is nicely spaced apart.
Scatter the chocolate pieces all over the pears evenly.
Stir the ground almonds & flour together in a separate bowl, then fold into the wet ingredients until blended thoroughly.
Remove & put on a cooling rack to rest. Once cool, trim off the pastry edge until level with the pie tin. Set aside while you make the decorations.
Lift the paper up & place on a cooling rack until completely cool.
Gazing into the garden while sipping my first coffee of the day, there is an Autumnal air about it. The early sunshine is just peaking over the rooftops, causing the dew laden lawn to shimmer in the sunlight & perfectly summing up the Summer.
inbetween. The poor plants don’t seem to know which way to turn & our multi-tasking willow tree has been happily soaking up the excess water, whilst providing welcome cool shade to the local wildlife. There are baby olives on our little olive tree trying to ripen, green tomatoes just starting to blush red & a bounty of blackberries waiting patiently to be plucked. The garden seems to be clinging on by it’s very leaf-tips to the last days of Summer, as Autumn has quietly arrived & begun to unpack her colourful attire across the landscape.
us, just waiting to be turned into tasty transitional treats. Some of my best ideas come from mooching around the markets, shopping when everyone else is sat in traffic (or still in bed), & picking up some fabulous bargains. The early bird always catches her worm & although thankfully not very worm-like, earthy foods have caught my eye recently – the beautiful but humble mushroom.
amazing! From the tiny to the tawny, closed cup or open, the frilly or the flat, these fabulous funghi are just waiting to be turned into delicious dishes!
stems work well), along with any mushroom stems, parsnip, bean or pea trimmings – wash everything well to remove grit & dirt, then chuck them all in a roasting tin with 2-3 pints of cold water, a splash of olive oil & a few good grinds of black pepper & sea salt. Cover it with foil to seal in all the juices & bake at 200*C for just over an hour, then strain & that’s it. Use it fresh, stick it in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze it. Save the veggies to whizz up into soups or sauces & pour any leftovers into jars for the fridge or ice cube trays to freeze.
Next, although I have used two types of pastry (shortcrust for the base & puff for the lid), you could use shortcrust all over or just use shop-bought puff lids if time is limited – please make sure it’s proper all-butter puff to do your pie proud. If you do fancy having a go at making your own, here’s the link to my puff pastry recipe: 
Sprinkle in the plain flour around the pan & stir fry everything together until the flour has disappeared. This is going to make a roux in the pan, as it will absorb the butter & oil in the mixture, thickening everything up nicely.
Tip the mushroom pie filling into the pastry lined tin & spread out well. Dip your finger in a cup of cold water & run it around the edge of the pastry.
Put the pie tin on a cooling rack for a few moments to relax before serving. That’s it! Just get everyone around the table & dig in! Meaty but meatless, this mushroom-packed pastry goes well with either a generous scoop of cheesy mashed potatoes & steamed crisp vegetables, or a zesty green salad scattered with a few spots of aged Balsamic vinegar & toasted pine nuts. Slice it up cold for a luscious leftover lunch or freeze in slices for indulgent lazy suppers after a long day at work.
amber & ruby rouge coloured leaves in the garden. Sultry Autumnal evenings require soothing, slow-cooked, substantial suppers full of rich colour too. Working long hours or shifts, whatever your line of work or study, can have a knock-on effect when it comes to preparing a hearty, satisfying evening meal. As the nights start to draw in, we begin to crave richer & robust fayre to comfort us in the cooler evenings ahead.
being turned into simple suppers & frozen in readiness for rewarding after-work dinners. Vegetables are sliced & chopped (my little food processor is an absolute treasure for this!), then popped into pans of water or stored in the fridge for when you just need a handful of veg. Pots of stock can defrost on a cooling rack, waiting to be whipped up into a rich, rib-sticking risotto, topped with a couple of 
roasted, crispy chicken legs. One of the best things about a risotto is there’s always enough left to make arancini for lunch the next day too, which means you’ve already covered meals for two days & there’s no waste!
infuse into the sumptuous sauce. You can buy ready prepared chicken portions if you prefer & use whichever cut you enjoy. Chicken legs & thighs are perfect for this recipe as they are much more flavoursome, especially when they’re cooked on the bone. These portions of meat tend to be overlooked & so often wasted, yet they are a much cheaper, just as tasty alternative to chicken breast. If you do use chicken breast, you will need to reduce the cooking time as they cook quicker & the meat can go stringy (don’t worry, I’ll remind you later on in the recipe).
6-8 cloves fresh Garlic, chopped finely or crushed
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan, then fry the chicken portions skin side down for about a minute. Add the bacon & fry this alongside the chicken.
Once browned, transfer the chicken & bacon to a large casserole dish. Using scissors, snip the bacon into pieces & scatter over the chicken, then put the lid on.
Usually, while it’s resting, I’ll pop some dinky jacket potatoes on metal skewers in the oven. By the time they’re done, the chicken will have rested sufficiently & you can dish up!
This recipe is brilliant for freezing, just spoon leftovers into individual pots or bags & freeze (lay an open freezer bag in a bowl, then fill & seal – it won’t move around & spill sauce all over if you do it this way). Defrost & warm through when you fancy something warming (great for those evenings when you know you’re going to need a speedy supper!). Any leftover sauce is really versatile too! Simply freeze in single portion pots & use as much or as little as you need. It’s lovely ladled onto well-buttered jacket potatoes, poured over a pile of papparadelle, or even just heated up & eaten as a chunky soup with fresh crusty bread! I’ve even made a lasagne with it, layering between thin sheets of pasta & creamy cheese sauce.
decadent desserts. On my way back from the train station on Friday, I decided to pop into my local shops to pick up a chicken for dinner & somehow got side-tracked by the most delightful fresh figs. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I can’t just pop in anywhere for one thing & will always leave with a jam-packed shopping bag, crammed full of inspirational ingredients that take my fancy.
slender slices of sweet, jammy baked figs took over, I swiftly put two trays in my basket. 
Turn out your pastry onto a lightly floured worktop & shape into a rectangle. Roll away from you into a long piece, about a centimetre thick. Try to keep the edges as straight as you can, but don’t worry too much or you’ll drive yourself loopy! Using a dry pastry brush, dust off any excess flour as you go, especially when folding the layers (otherwise it may affect the recipe & you want flaky pastry, not floury).
Take one of the three pieces of butter & cut into small chunks of about 1cm (you can just pull it apart, but the heat from your hands might melt it).
Dust the worktop with a little more flour. Turn the pastry one turn to the right & roll out again, just as you did above.
Lay your pastry on a piece of greaseproof paper, fold the top of the paper over your pastry & put it on a plate in the fridge for an hour (you might need to leave it longer during hot weather, so probably add another ten minutes if you’re not sure – I’ve left it a couple of hours before & it didn’t do any harm). If you’re like me & like to get organised, this would be a good time to make the ice-cream (my recipe is a bit further down).
Tip the Mascarpone & Greek yoghurt into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract, one tablespoon of the lemon juice & a good pinch of the zest (you want a subtle hint of lemon here, not a “smack you round the chops” kind of taste that makes your ears flap).
Once you’re happy with it, spoon the mixture into a couple of plastic tubs, only filling about halfway up & put the lids on.
This time of year gives us some stunning pink sunsets & amazing natural colours to brighten up our meals on those frosty days. The fruits are dark, rich & intense; the vegetables are vivid, flavoursome & versatile. It’s Nature’s way of getting those essential nutrients into us via such attractive packaging (most of which you can eat too!). Working or not, lunches can often be random sandwiches with questionable fillings, or pasties filled with even more questionable meat. Sometimes we need to set aside half an hour to whip up something a bit more substantial than a shop-bought sandwich from the local garage on your way to work (I’m not judging, we’ve all done it).
This savoury tart is crammed full of luscious cheese & finely chopped beetroot adorns the filling with beautiful deep amethyst & magenta colours. Everyone knows how much I love cheese, so I began my experiment with a positive attitude. I adapted the recipe, mainly because my experience with grating anything by hand usually ends up with me grating my knuckles or a fingernail. The original recipe had grated beetroot & just one cheese, so I’ve added a few more to give it a more rounded flavour & it’s good to use up various bits of leftover cheese (apparently leftover cheese is a thing in some homes!). Ready to bake it happen? Hands washed, aprons on & here we go!
Make the pastry: tip the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the butter & crack in the egg. Get your hands in & mix it all together to form a firm dough. On a lightly floured worktop, roll out the dough to about 5mm thickness & make sure it is larger than the tin you are using (a couple of inches extra all around should be enough).
Grab a sheet of greaseproof paper & screw it up, then unravel it & lay it over your pastry in the tin. In a previous blog, I’ve mentioned about baking blind, so if this is something you will do often then I suggest you get some ceramic baking beads. If not, use a couple of handfuls of dried pasta such as fusilli or penne. Tip them onto the greaseproof paper, then bake in the centre of the oven for about 10 minutes.
This beautiful beetroot tart is perfect for packed lunches & keeps for a couple of days wrapped up in the fridge or you can always freeze some. Serve in slices, either on it’s own or with a gorgeous green salad & well-buttered jacket potato. Even though I don’t like beetroot, I actually adore this & it adds a semi-sweetness to the soft, creamy cheese filling. Obviously, my Husband loves it too, so I make two & there’s plenty to go around.
Another version of this cheese-crammed tart is to use leftover vegetables from the fridge too, including any roasted veggies you cooked the night before (I’ve always got a jar of these, because I roast them up for pizzas). Got two or three rashers of smoked bacon in the fridge? Snip into bits, fry them in a drizzle of olive oil & chuck them in the bottom of the baked pastry case, add pieces of veggies – roasted peppers, courgettes, onion, they can all go in & no waste! 
Pour the eggs & cheese mixture over the top & bake as in the recipe above. Blissfully beautiful, the sweet peppers offset the tang of the cheese & the smokey bacon perfectly. Or, why not swap raw asparagus for the beetroot – it’s so crisp & delicious! Snap off the lower woody stalks, trim the tips to a couple of inches long & thinly slice the rest of the stems into tiny discs. Lay the tips in a sunray pattern around the tin, sprinkle in plenty of 
the chopped stems & add the cheese & egg mixture. Chop or rip some fresh mint leaves & scatter across the top, then bake as before. Slice & share warm, or save for lazy lunches, brunches or swift suppers.