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!

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.

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Homemade Irish Cream couldn’t be easier to make, tastes streets ahead of the commercial stuff, can be adjusted precisely to suit your sweet tooth and makes an excellent gift for friends – if you are prepared to share it!

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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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Delicate, crumbly pastry filled with aromatic spiced fruit, Christmas Fruit Mince Pies are one of the most delicious treats of the season. One is never enough!

Delicate, crumbly pastry filled with aromatic spiced fruit, Christmas Fruit Mince Pies are one of the most delicious treats of the season. One is never enough!

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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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Homemade marzipan title card.

My Homemade Marzipan recipe is super easy and tastes miles better than store-bought. This eggless, no-bake recipe comes together in minutes with just three ingredients. Perfect for Christmas time, fruit cakes, cookies, marzipan candy and more.

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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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German Dominosteine Chocolates Title Card.

Dominosteine are a traditional German Christmas praline made from layered gingerbread, fruit jelly and marzipan, all coated in a luscious layer of rich dark chocolate. These delicious treats are fun to make at home and are so tasty!

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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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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.


If you’ve run out of yeast you can still make a delicious loaf of bread with common household ingredients. Easy No Yeast Bread uses baking powder to create a beautifully risen loaf of bread in just over an hour.

Easy No Yeast Bread

It surprises many people to discover that you can make perfectly delicious bread without yeast, using common household ingredients. Yeast is, after all, a rising agent, and most kitchens have a jar or packet of another rising agent tucked away…

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.

Pork Meatball Soup

It’s November and soup season has officially started in my household. I felt like something spicy and fresh to banish the start-of-winter-blues. Today’s recipe for Pork Meatball Noodle Soup is just what the doctor ordered: juicy, garlicky meatballs and a…

What could be more comforting than an old fashioned Bread and Butter Pudding? The magical transformation of stale white bread into a sweet and custardy pudding is always a delight.

Bread and Butter Pudding

Rain, rain and more rain. The house is surrounded by fog and drizzle, the fire is roaring happily away and I’m wrapped up warm with a big pot of tea. ’Tis the season for comfort food in my house, long-simmered…

A classic of the Italian kitchen; Linguine Alle Vongole with fresh clams, sweet cherry tomatoes, garlic and olive oil will never go out of fashion. Perfect for long, Italian style lunches, or a romantic dinner for two. Bon Appetit!

Linguine Alle Vongole

One of the many things that I love about living in Italy is being able to get my hands on deliciously fresh clams or vongole at any time. Landlocked Munich has many charms, but a serious lack of fresh seafood,…

Country-style Farmhouse Rabbit Stew is a rich and warming casserole filled with classic flavours. If you like, ask your butcher to joint the rabbit for you.

Farmhouse Rabbit Stew

A simple country-style rabbit stew or casserole with classic flavours, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and bay, with bacon and wine to round out the sauce.
Sweet, tart and wonderfully autumnal, Rosehip and Apple Jelly is full of the flavours of the fall. Perfect for serving with scones and whipped cream or alongside a cheeseboard with some tangy cheddar.

Rosehip and Apple Jelly

Sweet, tart and wonderfully autumnal, Rosehip and Apple Jelly is full of the flavours of the fall. Perfect for serving with scones and whipped cream or alongside a cheeseboard with some tangy cheddar.
Rich, hearty and seriously tasty, Black Bean Veggie Burgers are so flavoursome and so good. Packed full of goodness with beans, oats, walnuts and sunflower seeds, these burgers are a real crowd-pleaser.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

It is POURING outside. Huge gusts of wind are sweeping the yard and rattling the shutters as Storm Alex batters Europe. With rain coming in sideways, you can guess where I am, right? Absolutely! Cosy and warm in the kitchen…

Bavarian Potato Salad

Bavarian Potato Salad ‘Kartoffelsalat’

We are bang in the middle of the Oktoberfest season, and while no Oktoberfest is being held in 2020, that doesn’t mean we can’t have our favourite Bavarian foods at home! If you’ve been following along you will have learnt…

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.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Lemon and Sage title card.
Beef Shank Osso Buco
Tasty Chickpea Burgers
Garlic and Herb Roast Salmon with asparagus and potatoes
Roast Sausages and Fennel

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