Spring mornings are so full of freshness, shards of sparkling sunshine dance on the windows & there’s a sense of “newy newness” in the air. After the dreary drudge of a cold Winter, Spring brings a very welcome & refreshing change. Outside, bursts of beautiful blossoms are emerging from their buds, swathes of leaves suddenly appearing as if overnight & birds are belting out their latest songs, as they flit & flutter amongst the trees. It’s as if we’ve awoken from a deep slumber, like a fairytale Princess in an enchanted castle. I do appreciate not all mornings are fresh coffee & fairytale fabulousness, however this airy light breakfast can brighten even the dullest of days.
As you probably know by now, mornings are my favourite time, perfect for baking, caking & for whipping up a wonderfully easy breakfast à deux – French Toast! Known as Pain Perdu by our French cousins, it means “lost bread” or bread that would otherwise be discarded & is a delightful way to turn lost bread into loveliness. This is my take on the classic French Toast – delicately crispy outside, fluffy inside & thoroughly delicious, accompanied by a pile of fresh berries & warm orange syrup for dipping. There are days when I cook a savoury version of this too, but more about that later!
Everyone has their own level of cooking confidence & this is a really easy recipe for both beginners & seasoned cooks. There is a little pre-cooking prep, but it’s all done by hand & definitely no fancy equipment is needed – well, apart from a tea strainer (that’s as fancy as it gets). Are you ready to bake it happen? Hands washed, aprons on & here we go!
What you need:
4 Large Free Range Eggs
4 Slices Thick Cut Bread (a couple of days old is best), cut into quarters
Half a teaspoon Vanilla Extract (the proper stuff, not “essence”)
100g Salted Butter
4 Medium Oranges or 3 Oranges & 2 Mandarins (whatever you’ve got)
Half a Lemon
1 generous Tablespoon Golden Syrup
Handful of Fresh Raspberries & Blueberries (washed)
Handful of Fresh Strawberries (washed)
What to do:
First, let’s make the orange syrup for dipping. Cut the oranges in half & using a fork, squish out the juice from each orange half into a small saucepan (don’t worry about pips & pith, we’ll deal with that shortly). Repeat with the half lemon. Keep the leftover peels for the composter (they make great soil).
Next, add the syrup & then gently heat the sauce on the stove, carefully stirring until the syrup has melted into the juice.
Get two ramekins or small cups & a tea-strainer, then slowly pour the liquid into the strainer over each cup. This removes any pith & pips that fell into the pan – pop them with the peels for composting. Leave to one side to cool.
Now to prep the fruit! After washing your raspberries & blueberries, pop them onto a dry cloth or kitchen paper, pick up the corners & give them a little shake. This removes the excess water without bashing your berries too much. Share them between a couple of small dishes.
Wash & dry the strawberries the same way, then remove the leaves & stalk (hulling). I like to get a drinking straw for this process – push the straw up through the pointy end of the strawberry & the stalk & leaves will pop out like a mini tree from the top. Again, these can go in the composter. Slice the strawberries into quarters & add to the other berries. Although I’ve used berries here, you can use whatever fruit you like – tinned peaches, pears, apricots, pineapple, bananas, grapes, they all work fabulously.
Next is the egg mixture for the bread. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl with the vanilla extract & whisk by hand until fluffy & foamy. Keep the whisk at the side when done, you’ll need it again.
Place a frying pan on a medium-high heat & add a quarter of the butter to melt. Take the first two slices of bread quarters & dip each one in the egg mixture, then place in the pan immediately.
After about a minute, give the pan a little shake to loosen them, then turn them over (they should be nicely golden underneath). Add another quarter of the butter to the pan & give everything another little shake, so the butter gets all around the toast.
Cook for a further minute, flip it over & if it’s golden, then it’s ready (if you like it a little more cooked, give it a few more seconds until you’re happy with it). Tip onto a plate & set aside.
Return the pan to the heat, add another quarter of the butter & before dipping the next lot of bread, just give the egg mixture a quick whisk to fluff it up, then repeat the steps above.
Pop your French toast on a serving plate, with the dishes of orange juice dip & fresh fruit – et voilà, it’s ready to eat!
If you prefer your toast a bit sweeter, add your own twist by dusting with a little powdered icing sugar or cinnamon before serving. That’s it, tuck in while it’s still warm! If you want to fancy up your French toast, try using day old croissants or even fruit bread & swap out the syrup for warm chocolate sauce (a very easy dessert for after dinner sweetness).
And for those who like their syrup a little extra zingy, try adding about a teaspoonful of grated fresh ginger to the juice before heating – perfect for adding a little spice to your syrup. This also makes great shots to brighten your morning – try adding the juice of two extra oranges, a whole lemon instead of half & when cooled, pour into little glasses (it freezes well too, so you can make it in advance in ice cube trays).
Fancy a savoury slice instead of sweet? Leave out the vanilla & add a pinch of sea salt & black pepper to the egg mixture, then fry in olive oil instead of butter.
This works really well with seeded bread too, adding a little extra crunch to each bite. I like to serve this version with a quick homemade brown sauce for dipping – stir a good splash or two of Balsamic vinegar into 4 tablespoons of tomato ketchup, add a pinch of pepper & that’s it!
However you like it, whether it’s a birthday, holiday or just a Tuesday, this delicious delicacy is a fabulously fragrant treat anytime! Stay hungry! Aimee 😉 x
Early mornings are the best time of day for me, when everyone else is either sleeping or getting ready to go out. It’s usually dark when I leave & I love catching that inky blue sky as it slowly melts into an array of pretty pinks & golds. It’s a serene time of day for me & as Christmas is getting closer, people are bustling about, bags bulging & feet burning, so I like to soak up the calm before the chaos.
little cute creatures from my homemade modelling chocolate, ready to be wrapped & hopefully not eaten. This time of year can become a bit of a whirlwind of things to do & when this happens, I find it soothing to put on an apron & bake a cake. Cake should be created with care, not rushed but relished & enjoyed. A happy Cook makes a happy cake!
known for, my Lemon Drizzle Cake. Lighter-than-air layers of lemon cake & whipped buttercream that seem to evaporate like a zesty zephyr with every mouthful. It tastes like freshly squeezed sunshine & sherbet lemons, almost defying you not to feel brighter & more cheery as you eat it. This recipe is for a seven inch three layered cake, perfect for afternoon tea with friends or a celebration of your own & yes, even Christmas!
Add one egg, beating well until your mixture is glossy & fluffy. Repeat with the rest of the eggs, one at a time.
Using the spatula, press it into the butter & scoop from the sides of the bowl, folding & pressing until all the sugar is squished into the butter to form a very stiff paste.
Strain 100ml of the lemon juice into a measuring jug. Add the sugar evenly until the liquid has risen to 150ml – you should have an equal stripe of sugar & lemon juice in the jug.
Time to start assembling your cake! Get yourself a lovely serving plate & remove the buttercream from the fridge. I’m going to give you a couple of tips here that I’ve learned over the years too.
Using a stem of spaghetti or a skewer, poke several holes all over the cake.
Take the next layer of cake, flip it over as before & carefully lay it on top of the buttercream, making sure it’s level & even.
Sprinkle strands of fresh lemon zest all over the top of your cake, with a few on the plate around the edge. That’s it, your cake is ready to slice & share! I recommend keeping it as simple as this for an afternoon treat with friends, but if it’s for a birthday or celebration, decorate as you like!
Spring has arrived. It’s like we’ve just opened a window after Winter, a breathe of beautiful freshness after the cold snap. This time of year is the most exciting for me, when the sleepy seeds & bulbs are stirring in the ground, springing from the soil & bringing a new season of flowers, vegetables & recipes! There are always lovely smiling faces at my local shops too & although I only popped in for eggs, I always end up with a basket full of goodies 
(including a potted Oregano to add to my ever increasing hoard of herbs on the patio, but not the walnuts that I only remembered as I pulled into the driveway). Whilst waiting at the checkout, I got chatting with one of our Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Fire Fighters (hi Anna!). It never ceases to amaze me how our Fire Fighters head off into potentially highly dangerous situations (obviously they have lots of training & nerves of steel), so huge thanks & appreciation for their service!
been making for many years. When I worked in an office, I would bake cakes for client meetings & once made this for an important new client – I shelled the walnuts myself & a piece accidentally got in the cake, which obviously ended up in her slice! This recipe began as a few scribbles in the back of a notebook one afternoon, when I decided to bake & discovered a lack of sugar, so used golden syrup instead (one of my best experiments!). Before we get started, I just want to address the type of sugar for this particular recipe. Because golden caster sugar is not always easy to find, I tend to use light golden Demerara or Vanilla sugar (just put regular sugar in a jar with a snapped vanilla pod overnight). It blends perfectly without any grittiness, but if you’re concerned just chuck it into a coffee grinder to make it fine. Ready to get baking? Hands washed & aprons on, here we go!
6oz Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
Once all your eggs are combined, sift in the flour & then fold into the mixture. Folding is just stirring in a figure of eight style around the bowl, until your dry ingredients are mixed into the wet.
Slide a pallet knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the tin, then tip it onto your (oven gloved) hand, peel off the greaseproof paper from the base (pull it back onto itself, not straight up or you’ll break your cake) & place the cake carefully onto the cooling rack, bottom side down. Repeat with the other one & leave to go completely cold.
Carefully place the top layer of cake onto the buttercream, pressing gently down & making sure it’s even all the way around.
Leave to set for ……. as if I’d make you wait! Get slicing & sharing your beautiful baking! If you do have any leftovers, wrap in cling film & freeze for an afternoon treat. Whether you’re celebrating or just fancy a slice of sweetness, why not “Espresso yourself” & whip up my Coffee & Walnut cake to share! Stay hungry! Aimee 😉 x
so I don’t have to do much apart from put them on a plate. Then there are perfectly plump pancakes. I’m not talking about the delicately thin, elegant crêpes we usually eat on Pancake Day though. Breakfast pancakes are duvet-like delicacies – substantially thick, warming & with a fluffy filling. What they shouldn’t be is fiddly, time-consuming & boring! Now I’m not saying you need to be standing around the stove, flipping fluffy pancakes for all you’re worth at stupid o’clock (as if I would suggest such a thing!). The best way to get your pancake fix without the faff is to make a batch in advance & keep some ready made in the fridge (or freezer if you really want to be organised).
Heat up a large skillet or frying pan on a medium heat – your pan needs to be nice & hot before you start cooking your pancakes.
Remove each pancake, one at a time & lay on the plate with a strip of greaseproof paper in between each one to separate them.
If you’re serving them immediately, cover the plate with an upside-down mixing bowl to keep them warm & transfer to the table. If not, leave them to cool & wrap a couple at a time in clingfilm, then put them in the fridge or freezer. You can put them in an airtight container too, just keep them separated with the greaseproof paper strips, then serve when you want some. To reheat your pancakes, simply pop a couple in the toaster for about 30 seconds to warm through & that’s breakfast prepared!
These fabulous fluffed up pancakes don’t have to be dull either! They are perfect with an array of fresh fruit, beautiful berries or just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice & a drizzle of golden syrup. If I have a couple of punnets of fresh berries going spare, I’ll put them in a saucepan with some golden syrup & simmer gently until they become soft & squishy, making a warm fruit sauce to pour on top. These soft little flatcakes also taste scrumptious with scrambled eggs – great if you fancy something a bit more exciting than cereal (which is obviously for midnight snacks).
to serve them is to splodge spoonfuls of apricot jam in between the layers with whipped cream, top with a couple of fresh raspberries, then drizzle with pureed peaches – open a tin of peaches, chuck them in the blender, whizz up with a squeeze of lemon juice & pour into a serving jug! If you don’t want to use cream, maybe use strawberry or raspberry ice cream instead. These sumptuous stacks of sweetness look impressive & are really quick to assemble (especially if you have a few pancakes already made). There would have been pictures, but they never last long enough!