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.
I am so excited to have you here, so let's dive in and get cooking!
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!
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!)
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
My Mulled Wine Cheesecake is full of Christmas’s rich spices and flavours. A deep-red, almost black mulled wine jelly on top of a creamy citrussy filling with a deliciously spicy base. This fabulous no-bake cheesecake is Christmas heaven!
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.
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
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!
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!
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
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 (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 (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.
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
Trending Recipes
Looking for Dinner Inspiration?
Below are some of my most popular dinner recipes. Quick and easy with simple ingredients and big flavours.
My FAvourite German Cake Recipes
While people often associate Germany with pretzels and beer, it’s really all about coffee and cake!
