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!

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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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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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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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 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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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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Eierlikör Linzer Cookies Title Card.

These perfectly crumbly Eierlikör Linzer Cookies are filled with Advocaat spiked pastry cream. They make a delicious addition to your Christmas baking, especially served with a big mug of eggnog or Glühwein!

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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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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.


German Dominosteine Chocolates Title Card.

German Dominosteine Chocolates

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

Soft Honey Vanilla Caramels

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!
German Christmas Stollen Title card showing two pictures of Stollen.

Traditional German Christmas Stollen

German Christmas Stollen is always a real treat during the holiday season. Made from an enriched yeast dough, loaded with rum-soaked fruit and candied peel, Stollen is delicious served with a cup of coffee or a warming mug of Glühwein.
Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

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!

Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

With plenty of ginger and bright and zesty orange, silky Pumpkin and Ginger Soup is like a burst of sunshine in a bowl. A delicious recipe to keep you warm when it’s grey and cool outside.
Hasenpfeffer Title Card.

Hasenpfeffer (German Rabbit Stew)

Nothing beats a rich and comforting stew when the weather turns cold outside. Hasenpfeffer, or German Rabbit Stew, is a deliciously flavoursome meal made from tender red wine marinated rabbit. Serve this traditional German dish with plenty of mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage. Guten Appetit!
German Butter Cake or Butterkuchen Title Card

German Butter Cake (Butterkuchen)

German Butter Cake or Butterkuchen is like a big, soft hug from a German grandmother. This old-fashioned bake is made from an enriched yeast dough, topped with loads of butter, sugar and sliced almonds – and let me tell you, one slice is NEVER enough! Perfect to serve for Kaffee und Kuchen.
Bee Sting Cake Title Card

German Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich)

Made from sweet yeast dough, vanilla custard cream and a crunchy honey almond topping – it can only be a Classic German Bienenstich or Bee Sting Cake. This most beloved of German cakes is perfect for afternoon tea and will surely have you coming back for more.

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.

Hasenpfeffer Title Card.
Feta and Pesto Stuffed Chicken
Honey and Ginger Chicken
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.
Baked Honey Lime Chicken
Garlic Herb Roast Pork

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