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!

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.

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German style Gingerbread hearts

My easy recipe for making traditional Oktoberfest Lebkuchenherzen or Gingerbread Hearts at home. Hang these brightly decorated hearts around the neck of your sweetheart (or eat and enjoy!)

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A plate of Vanillekipferl or Vanilla crescent cookies surrounded by Christmas decorations, walnuts, clementines and a candle.

Possibly the tastiest of all German Christmas cookies, Vanillekipferl are, crumbly, buttery crescent-shaped cookies, scented with heavenly vanilla. Yum!

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Beetroot Cured Salmon Gravadlax

We’ve landed back in beautiful Munich to the clear and crisp skies and very chilly nights of late winter. It’s not quite spring yet, but the promise of it hangs in the air, brightening the mood and sending the locals outside to soak up every last bit of available sun. I’m rather enjoying the opportunity…

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German Cinnamon Star Cookies zimtsterne.

The ultimate German Christmas cookie, Zimtsterne or Cinnamon Star Cookies are deliciously chewy morsels, topped with a crisp layer of snowy white meringue.

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Chewy, creamy, perfect caramels with a delicate hint of honey, my recipe for Soft Honey Vanilla Caramels is super easy and dangerously addictive.

Lusciously soft, chewy and gently flavoured with a hint of honey, Honey Vanilla Caramels are pure pleasure. Homemade candy is easier to make than you might think!

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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.

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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!

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Speculaas Dutch Spice Cookies

Speculaas or Dutch Spice Cookies are a wonderfully old fashioned Christmas treat and so delicious! These light and crisp cookies are full of fragrant and exotic spices, perfect for the festive season.

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German Mulled wine recipe title card showing a mug of Glühwein and a man holding a mug of mulled wine.

A warming, gently spiced mug of Glühwein, or German Mulled Wine is one of the great pleasures of Christmas and the winter months. It is simple to make at home and fills the whole house with the most incredible aroma!

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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.


Cherry Honey Mascarpone Tart

Cherry Honey Mascarpone Tart

It’s Valentine’s Day, the sun is shining and the florists are doing a roaring trade. Despite all the commercial corniness, I think the world needs a little more love and a bit of cheering up, so if we need the…

Spinach and Ricotta Quiche

Spinach and Ricotta Quiche

Spinach and Ricotta Quiche, an Antipodean variation of the Greek dish Spanakopita is a true cafe classic here in Australia and for very good reason. It is rich and filling, while remaining light, vegetarian friendly and suitable for lunch or…

Tangy Passionfruit Curd

Tangy Passionfruit Curd

One of my most treasured childhood memories is of my maternal grandmother Nana Fay. On the sunny side of her rambling house in Bucklands Beach, a seaside suburb of Auckland, she grew an enormous and prolific passionfruit vine. Every year…

Spicy Pork and Bacon Burgers

Spicy Pork and Bacon Burgers

I like my burgers juicy, spicy, and loaded with toppings and this delicious recipe for Spicy Pork and Bacon Burgers hits all my buttons. Flavoursome pork mince, bacon, jalapeños, cheese and in a clear nod to my Antipodean roots, a…

Mango Vanilla Nice Blocks

I am still working my way through the mass of mangoes that I bought from the markets the other day, (I know, life is hard) and as the summer swelters on I couldn’t resist making a few of my favourite…

Chicken Mango Barley Salad

There are mangoes everywhere at the moment. We are bang in the middle of the summer mango season and they are so perfectly ripe, sweet and juicy that I can’t resist picking them up whenever I’m at the shops. Obviously,…

Classic Apple Shortcake

Classic Apple Shortcake

While I may have summer on my mind, Bavaria is having a gloriously sunny, mild autumn, the bright blue skies a beautiful contrast to the falling leaves outside. If you’ve been following along, you‘ll know that Sunday is my favourite…

Simply Summer by Jay Wadams book cover.

NEW BOOK! ‘Simply Summer’ by Jay Wadams

You may have noticed that it’s been a little quiet on my blog of late – that’s because I’ve been so busy working on my new book which I can finally announce today!  ‘Simply Summer’ is full of my favourite…

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.

Easy Thai Beef Salad Recipe Card.
Pork Dim Sum Dumplings Title Card.
German Potato Dumplings Title Card.
Spicy, fragrant and bursting with flavour, Asian inspired Pork Meatball Soup with noodles will chase away the winter blues. Ready in under 30 minutes, it is ideal for a weeknight dinner.
A picture of a classic Italian Lasagne al forno served with fresh green salad and a glass of white wine
Roasted Feta Stuffed Mushrooms

My FAvourite German Cake Recipes

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

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Easy German Cake Recipes