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!

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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Title card for Spitzbuben, showing cut out unbaked spitzbuben cookies on a tray and completed spitzbuben.

Spitzbuben are one of the most beautiful traditional German Christmas cookies. Also known as Linzer Augen or Linzer Cookies, the delicious combination of buttery short pastry and tangy redcurrant jelly is a Christmas classic.

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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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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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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!

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Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti Title Card.

Crisp, nutty and deeply chocolatey, my Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti are so simple to make and absolutely irresistible! This classic Italian cookie (known as Cantucci in the motherland) is ideal for Christmas baking and makes a perfect edible gift.

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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 Nut Corners Nussecken Title Card.

Nussecken or Nut Corners are a famous German Christmas time treat made from a buttery shortbread base, topped with apricot jam and a layer of caramelized hazelnut. After baking, they are sliced into triangles, and the corners are dipped in delicious dark chocolate. Let me tell you, they are completely irresistible!

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Apricot Glazed Christmas Ham title card.

Sweet and sticky with a touch of spice, my Apricot Glazed Christmas Ham recipe is sure to please the Christmas crowds. Made with a delicious apricot glaze, this ham is the tastiest, most stress-free Christmas main around.

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Christmas Pavlova Slice

My Christmas Pavlova slice is a delicious combination of ight and airy meringue, piled high with juicy berries. The perfect Christmas dessert!

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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.


Italian Caprese Pasta Salad

Italian Caprese Pasta Salad

Yesterday, it rained properly for the first time in weeks, and today, we woke up to cool, misty weather. It wasn’t long, of course, before the sun burst through, but it was a little hint that my favourite season of…

Tomato and Rosemary Focaccia

Tomato and Rosemary Focaccia

Focaccia is fantastically easy to make, even if you have never made bread before and infinitely variable. Tomato and Rosemary Focaccia is a summer classic.
One Pan Chicken Biryani

One Pan Chicken Biryani

Living and working in East London fueled my serious addiction to curry, with the multitude of amazing restaurants around Brick Lane tempting me daily. The incredible aromas drifting out onto the street would nearly hypnotize me, and before I knew…

Berry Chia Seed Jam

Berry Chia Seed Jam

Ever since I was a little boy I have been fascinated by jam making. It started with watching my grandmother, Nana Fay, making her legendary plum jam, one of the highlights of summer. Since then, I’ve cooked up just about…

Easy Baked Beef Empanadas

Easy Baked Beef Empanadas

In my opinion, there are very few savoury foods that can’t be improved by being wrapped in pastry. From good old Kiwi and Aussie mince pies to Cornish Pasties, from Moroccan Pastilla to Indian samosas, it seems the whole world…

Classic Whiskey Sour

The Classic Whiskey Sour

We are sweltering here in Munich with the temperature sitting in the 30s every day this week. There’s a thunderstorm due this evening which will hopefully break the humidity, but in the meantime, we are keeping cool inside with the…

Fruity White Wine Sangria

Fruity White Wine Sangria

Warm summer evenings call for cool summer drinks, and what could be more refreshing than a big jug of Fruity White Wine Sangria? It’s simple to make, has plenty of liquid to keep you hydrated, and packs a real punch.…

Pork and Ginger Stir Fry

Pork and Ginger Stir Fry

Who doesn’t love a good stir fry? With stacks of punchy flavour, healthy vegetables and lean meat, a stir fry is always my go-to when I want to get dinner on the table fast. My recipe for Pork and Ginger…

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.

Feta and Pesto Stuffed Chicken
Chicken and Chickpea Pilaf
Summer Roast Vegetable Salad
German Potato Dumplings Title Card.
Chicken Parmigiana Australian style
Mussel au gratin or as the Italians call them Cozze al Forno are a fantastic starter or light meal for two. So quick and easy to prepare they are packed with Mediterranean flavour.

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