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!

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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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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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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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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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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Perfectly tender, rosy roast beef is easier than you think! Slow Roast Beef where the beef is seared before roasting at a very low temperature produces juicy, delicious beef every time.

Perfectly tender, rosy roast beef is easier than you think! Slow Roast Beef produces juicy, delicious beef every time.

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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!

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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.

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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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Quarkbällchen German Donut Holes title card.

Super light and fluffy on the inside and crisp and sugary on the outside, my German-style Donut holes or Quarkbällchen recipe is so easy it’s like kitchen magic. Made without yeast, they are ready in minutes. Perfect for parties or sharing with friends (or just eating all to yourself!)

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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.

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.
Tasty Chickpea Burgers
A picture of a classic Italian Lasagne al forno served with fresh green salad and a glass of white wine
Italian Beef Cannelloni Recipe
Real Bavarian Pork Schnitzel Title Card
Pork Dim Sum Dumplings Title Card.

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