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!

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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Christmas Fruit Mince Tart

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.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Speculaas Dutch Spice Cookies

Speculaas or Dutch Spice Cookies are a wonderfully old fashioned Christmas treat and so delicious! These light and crisp cookies are full of fragrant and exotic spices, perfect for the festive season.

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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.


Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pies

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pies

It’s a day for another comforting meal. Something nurturing, wholesome and flavoursome. Who could resist Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pies? Crumbly short pastry cases, filled with chicken, mushrooms and vegetables in a creamy sauce. All topped with a layer of…

Classic Chocolate Berry Roulade

One of the surest signs that summer is on the way to Munich is the re-emergence of my local fruit stand on Munich’s Sonnenstraße. Perched in the most unlikely place amid the hustle and bustle, trams, buses, commuters and traffic…

Peaches and Cream Cake

Peaches and Cream Cake

Blue skies over Munich today. There is a hint of summer in the air, in the warmth of the sun and the gentle smell of grass and hay that wafts through the city when the wind comes from the south.…

Quick and Easy Hummus

Quick and Easy Hummus

Wow, it’s been a crazy start to the week and it’s only Monday evening! Reading the papers each day seems to bring more alarming and alarmist stories from across the globe, however life here in Munich seems to be carrying…

Pastéis de Nata Custard Tarts

Pastéis de Nata – Portuguese Custard Tarts

Today, I’ve got beautiful Portugal on my mind. I adore Portugal: the warm and friendly people, the colourful landscape, and the stunning UNESCO heritage cities dotted all over with the most amazing tiles. The old fashioned trams and winding streets,…

Spicy Herby Calamari Rings

Spicy Herby Calamari Rings

It’s the middle of the week, we’ve been on the road the last two days and I had a craving for some quick and easy seafood for dinner. Definitely a night for some Spicy Herby Calamari Rings. Living in Munich…

Perfect Chicken Liver Pâté

Perfect Chicken Liver Pâté

This Chicken Live Pâté recipe is absolutely fool-proof. Chicken livers are gently poached with flavourings before being whipped into silky, buttery, utterly moreish pâté. Topped with white wine and green peppercorn jelly, this is the perfect pâté for your next party.

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.

Speck and Artichoke Risotto
Creamy Salmon Pasta Recipe Title Card.
Pork San Choy Bow Title Card.
Pork Dim Sum Dumplings Title Card.
Baked Honey Lime Chicken

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