Delicious, easy recipes by Jay Wadams

Welcome to
Days of Jay

I'm Jay, cookbook author and food photographer.

Days of Jay is my website, where I share easy, delicious recipes for home cooking.

My recipes are packed with photos and useful tips and tricks to help you as you cook. They are all inspired by healthy, seasonal ingredients and my travels across the globe, especially in Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and Australasia.

Welcome to
Days of Jay

I'm Jay, cookbook author and food photographer. Days of Jay is my website, where I share easy, delicious recipes for home cooking.

My recipes are packed with photos and useful tips and tricks to help you as you cook. They are all inspired by healthy, seasonal ingredients and my travels across the globe, especially in Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and Australasia.

I am so excited to have you here, so let’s dive in and get cooking!


It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!


Well, the countdown is until the year’s end, and Christmas is just around the corner. Check out some of my most popular Christmas and festive recipes below!

Cinnamon Star Bread Title Card showing star bread from two angles. Text overly 'Sweet Cinnamon Star Bread'.

One of my favourite Christmas bakes is Cinnamon Star Bread. With the delicious flavour of cinnamon rolls, this sweet bread recipe makes a beautiful loaf to feed a crowd. It is also actually much simpler than it looks, relying on clever cutting and twisting of the layers of dough to achieve the beautiful design.

GET THE RECIPE

Eierlikör Linzer Cookies Title Card.

These perfectly crumbly Eierlikör Linzer Cookies are filled with Advocaat spiked pastry cream. They make a delicious addition to your Christmas baking, especially served with a big mug of eggnog or Glühwein!

GET THE RECIPE

Mini Berry Pavlova title card.

My simple recipe for Mini Berry Pavlovas with lots of tips and techniques to make sure you get the perfect Christmas pavlova!

GET THE RECIPE

Biscotti or Cantucci are a deliciously crunchy Italian treat. My recipe for Almond and Apricot biscotti is so easy and perfect for the festive season. Serve with a strong espresso or a glass of Italian vin santo.

GET THE RECIPE

With beautifully bright colours Cranberry Orange Cured Salmon is a wonderful dish to serve as a starter at your festive table. It’s so simple to make and home and delicious with a creamy horseradish sauce.

With beautifully bright colours Cranberry Cranberry Orange Cured Salmon is a wonderful dish to serve as a starter at your festive table. It’s so simple to make at home and so delicious with a creamy horseradish sauce.

GET THE RECIPE

Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

With perfect spirals of chocolate and vanilla, my melt-in-the-mouth Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies are as good to look at as they are to eat. Made from crumbly, buttery shortbread they make a perfect and beautiful Christmas gift, though they are delicious any time of year!

GET THE RECIPE

German Braised Red Cabbage title card.

No festive table in Germany would be without a big pot of braised red cabbage, flavoured with apple, cloves and juniper berries. Depending on where in the country you are, this could be called Rotkohl or Blaukraut and it is the perfect accompaniment to roast goose.

GET THE RECIPE

Christmas Fruit Mince Tart

There’s nothing quite like the delicious aroma of a freshly baked Christmas Fruit Mince Tart to let you know the festive season has really begun. With brandied fruit mince and a buttery almond pastry, this recipe is perfect for a Christmas feast.

GET THE RECIPE

Perfect Roast Goose title card.

Beautifully bronzed Roast Goose is one of the most impressive festive meals. The dark and succulent meat is wonderful served with a rich gravy, red cabbage and potato dumplings, ideal for family celebrations like Christmas dinner. Brining the goose ensures that the meat is perfectly juicy and seasoned. Yum!

GET THE RECIPE

Fried Apple Rings Title Card.

Sweet, juicy and fragrant with a cinnamon sugar coating, Fried Apple Rings or Apfelkücherl are one of my favourite German Christmas market treats. You don’t have to stand around in the snow to enjoy them though, with my simple batter they are super easy to prepare at home.

GET THE RECIPE

The Latest Recipes From My Kitchen

Discover my latest and greatest recipes below, or use the search function to find exactly what you’re looking for.


Strawberry Frose Wine Slushies

Strawberry Frosé Wine Slushies

Sweet summer strawberries meet rosé wine in this fruity and refreshing adults-only slushy. Strawberry Frosé Wine Slushies are perfect for long lazy summer days.
Zucchini and Feta Pizza

Zucchini and Feta Pizza

We are still working our way through the seasonal surplus of delicious zucchini, not that I’m complaining! I adore this abundant and healthy summertime vegetable and I’m always looking for interesting ways to cook with it. Mostly in the warmer…

Vietnamese Prawn Spring Rolls

Vietnamese Prawn Spring Rolls

Light, fresh, and full of delicious vegetables, Vietnamese Prawn Spring Rolls are fun to make and the perfect light meal for a hot summer day. Mix and match fillings to suit your tastes, but don’t forget the spicy peanut dipping sauce!
Homemade English Mufins

Homemade English Muffins

Is there any brunch more tempting than Eggs Benedict? The sight of a perfectly poached egg, cloaked in buttery hollandaise sauce, perched atop a lightly toasted English muffin is enough to get most stomachs rumbling. Whether you like it with…

Thai Massaman Beef Curry

Thai Massaman Beef Curry

I love Thailand, and one of my favourite memories is of attending a cooking school in Bangkok, where we shopped for fresh ingredients at the markets, before cooking meal after meal in a beautiful old colonial house. We practised all…

Shakshouka Spicy Tomato Eggs

Shakshouka Spicy Tomato Eggs

Hooray, it’s the weekend! As the world slowly returns to business-as-usual, the rhythms and rituals of the working week are coming back. Even though I work from home, to me the weekend mornings are still the days of a lazy…

Roasted Feta Stuffed Mushrooms

Roasted Feta Stuffed Mushrooms

I love mushrooms. Truly, mushrooms would have to be one of my desert-island foods. Whether fancy shiitake, the prized porcino, colourful pfifferlinge or plain old button mushrooms, they are all delicious, with their earthy flavour and delicate texture. Whatever time of year it is, mushrooms…

Walnut and Orange Blossom Baklava

Walnut and Orange Blossom Baklava

Tatlı yiyelim, tatlı konuşalım or ‘Let’s eat sweet and talk sweet’ has to be my favourite Turkish expression. It’s definitely the perfect way to describe having a slice or two of sticky, sweet, nutty Walnut and Orange Blossom Baklava with…

Recipes By Meal Type


light-bites
Main Event
Sweet Things
cocktail hour

Marillenknödel – Austrian Apricot Dumplings
Wurstsalat (German Sausage Salad)
Easy Cherry Tomato Tart
Zwetschgendatschi (Bavarian Plum Tart)
Homemade Chocolate Popsicles

Looking for Dinner Inspiration?


Below are some of my most popular dinner recipes. Quick and easy with simple ingredients and big flavours.

Juicy Maple Glazed Pork Chops
Honey and Ginger Chicken
Flammkuchen German Pizza
Greek Lamb Shank in parchment paper with potatoes, olives, tomatoes and onions. Title card.
Pork San Choy Bow Title Card.

My FAvourite German Cake Recipes

While people often associate Germany with pretzels and beer, it’s really all about coffee and cake!

Get the recipes!

Easy German Cake Recipes