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!

Classic British Christmas Cake recipe title card.

Even though I grew up on the other side of the world in New Zealand, it wouldn’t be Christmas Day without a Classic British Christmas Cake. This dense and sweet cake, packed with dried fruit, spices and plenty of brandy is an absolute must for the festive season and is something I look forward to…

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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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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.

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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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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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Candied Orange Peels title card.

Candied Orange Peel makes a great gift (especially when coated in lashings of dark chocolate). It’s easy to make at home and a great way to turn orange peel (which would usually be tossed out) into a tasty candy.

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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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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.

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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 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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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.


Seven Valentines Day Desserts

7 Perfect Valentine’s Day Desserts

Any of these irresistible desserts is perfect way to finish a romantic Valentine’s Day meal for two. They’re all made in advance so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your date!
Christmas Fruit Mince Tart

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.
Soft Boiled Scotch Eggs

Soft Boiled Scotch Eggs

Soft Boiled Scotch Eggs with perfectly runny yolks are the picnic food dreams are made of. With flavoursome pork filling and a crispy crumb coating, this traditional British recipe is a winner every time.
Roast Sausages and Fennel

Roast Sausages and Fennel

Italian-inspired Roast Sausages and Fennel is a fantastic one tray meal. Roasting fresh fennel makes it deliciously creamy and sweet, the perfect partner for juicy pork sausages.
Title card for Spitzbuben, showing cut out unbaked spitzbuben cookies on a tray and completed spitzbuben.

Spitzbuben – German Christmas Cookies

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.
Chilli Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I love baked potatoes, but you know what’s even better? Chilli Stuffed Sweet Potatoes! Sweet potatoes, baked until tender, loaded up with a spicy chilli and covered with cheese and sour cream. So tasty!
Raspberry Jelly Cheesecake

Raspberry Jelly Cheesecake

With a dark chocolate base, tangy cream cheese filling and a topping of raspberries in a jewel-like jelly, Raspberry Jelly Cheesecake is a showstopper of a dessert and the perfect way to make the most of in-season raspberries.
Pork and Apple Sausage Rolls

Pork and Apple Sausage Rolls

A real crowd-pleaser, Pork and Apple Sausage Rolls are sure to be devoured as soon as they hit the table. A British classic recipe that has been whole-heartedly adopted by New Zealand and Australia, you can’t beat a buttery, flaky pastry sausage roll with plenty of tomato ketchup!

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.

Italian Sausages and Lentils
Honey and Ginger Chicken
Beef Shank Osso Buco
Roasted Feta Stuffed Mushrooms
Prawn and Lemon Linguine
Sweet Potato and Chickpea Soup

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