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 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.


Garlic Herb Roast Pork

Garlic Herb Roast Pork

It’s a bit of a grey Wednesday here in Munich, with no sun to tempt me to go wandering outside, it’s a perfect day to stay in the warmth of the kitchen, where I’ve got some bread in the oven…

Spicy Cashew Nut Chicken

Spicy Cashew Nut Chicken

Something I often crave is my favourite quick and easy stir fry, and Chinese restaurant menu staple dish, Spicy Cashew Nut Chicken. This much-loved dish is available in virtually any restaurant, but I find when you make it at home…

Honey Lemon Raspberry Tart Title Card.

Honey Lemon and Raspberry Tart

Honey, Lemon and Raspberry Tart has a lusciously light, honey, cream, and lemon filling, set off with tart and juicy raspberries in a nutty pastry crust.
Creamy Mushroom Pork Steaks

Creamy Mushroom Pork Steaks

The sun is shining, the beer gardens have tentatively opened for business and the cool air over Munich is beginning to carry the sweet smell of the countryside to the south. The chestnut trees are still absolutely bare, but it…

Homemade Irish Cream (Bailey’s)

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!
Herby Spiced Cauliflower Cous Cous

Herby Spiced Cauliflower Couscous

While I love Munich, my mind is already drifting off to our next holiday location – the magical island of Cyprus, where I was lucky enough to spend several years living in the tiny village of Bellapais. When I think…

Pork and Cider Stew

Pork and Cider Stew

Pork and Cider Stew, rich with chopped apples and pungent with aromatic sage, is an absolute winner. Meltingly tender pork coated in a thick and flavoursome sauce will warm even the most wintery of hearts. Best of all, it is minimum effort for maximum flavour.
Beetroot Cured Salmon Gravadlax

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…

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.

Real Bavarian Pork Schnitzel Title Card
Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Chicken recipe
Honey and Ginger Chicken
Baked Teriyaki Glazed Salmon Title Card.
German Sauerbraten recipe card.
Full of punchy, invigorating flavours and loads of fresh veg, Ginger Beef Stir Fry is made in minutes and tastes incredible. Get all your ingredients prepped before you start cooking and you’ll have dinner ready in a flash.

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