Citrus in January is obligatory as far as I'm concerned. Whether its limes, lemons, grapefruits, blood oranges or, if you're lucky, bergamot lemons there's always got to be something citrussy in the kitchen. That sharp hit of acidic, fresh taste is just what I need on these cold, grey days and if that lifting flavour can be added to a cake then it's all the better. This Upside Down Lime Cake was born out of necessity; my need to be greedy and a need Upside Down Lime Cake
Citrus in January is obligatory as far as I'm concerned. Whether its limes, lemons, grapefruits, blood oranges or, if you're lucky, bergamot lemons there's always got to be something citrussy in the kitchen. That sharp hit of acidic, fresh taste is just what I need on these cold, grey days and if that lifting flavour can be added to a cake then it's all the better. This Upside Down Lime Cake was born out of necessity; my need to be greedy and a need 
Lemon drizzle has got to be up there with my most loved cakes. If there was a line up of carrot, lemon and chocolate caramel cake I’d be hard pushed to decide which to have, and, let’s be honest probably try to find a way to get a slice of each. You may have been following my bergamot adventures and it would have been silly not to bake a bergamot lemon drizzle cake as it combines two of my favourite things in one: tea (bergamot from Earl Grey) 
I have a secret and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who keeps this quiet. I love baking, but, most of the time it never turns out quite how I envisaged it would. Getting all of a huff in the kitchen when the butter is still too cold, spilling the ingredients even when I'm being extra careful and being super paranoid checking the oven temperature is an awful lot of hard work for something that turns out too flat, not quite right or sinks in the 
I am a fan of beetroot; I’ve tried many different recipes with them in the past but sometimes when the vegetable box keeps bringing me beetroot I am stuck for what to do. I have made chocolate and beetroot cake in the past and I fancied trying something sweet with my latest accumulation, hence, Beetroot and Poppy Seed Cupcakes. Something a little different and somewhat stripy for the lunchbox.
You will need (for 12 cupcakes):
200g self 
I learnt something about myself the other day: I am not a domestic goddess. Let me explain. I was sent some baking goodies from Baking Mad and I had chosen to attempt their recipe for Maple Pecan cupcakes. I planned to give them to my Mum for an early Mother's Day treat. I went for a walk to the pub last week and was offered a goose egg to take home; excellent for my cupcakes. All was going well and I was ready for baking. In my head I'm swishing 
It's always nice to see some bright pink rhubarb poking its head out at the market but as it's the first of the season it can be quite pricey. So when you have only £1.80, what can you do with two rhubarb sticks? Make a lovely, vibrant rhubarb compote/jam to sandwich in the middle of two fat slices of cake of course. Other things that you can do with two sticks of rhubarb include: jousting, a spot of relay running or making a parasol (if you have 
Back in July I was at a food festival and got talking to a company called Baked In. They sell the dried ingredients you need to make a cake, all pre-weighed and ready to go. They asked me if I'd like to give one of their mixes a try, the sticky toffee and date was calling out to me so I grabbed a bag and headed off looking forward to putting on my apron. Since then we have had some very lovely hot weather and baking on a hot day wasn't appealing to 
A picnic must always have something sweet to round it off; a jam tart or two, some chocolate biscuits or even a slice of cake. This being an autumn picnic meant that the sweet must have a seasonal feel. Pears were an obvious choice but you can't finish a picnic with just a pear that would be akin to having a carrot instead of a birthday cake. No, these pears needed some warmth and caramelised pears seemed just the ticket.
Parkin is a traditional 
I didn't mean to make this cake. I was sat there minding my own business and my mind started to wander. It wandered into realms of freshly baked things, delicious wafting scents and warm moist sponge. My imagination ran away with me and before I knew it my hands and arms were creeping in to the fridge and searching for butter and eggs.
There have been many times where I've fancied something in particular and invariably I never have what I 
I was terribly excited about making muffins. If you had asked me how much I was looking forward to making muffins I would have responded so enthusiastically that you might have thought you'd asked me the wrong question. The reason for my eagerness was twofold; firstly I had never made muffins before and secondly I had some succulent redcurrants at my disposal.
It was all going so well until I realised I had no muffin cases. Not to worry though 
and a classic whi…